Meet Our Staff
Please note that our staff is working remotely. Email is the best way to contact us, but if you call and leave a message, we'll get right back to you. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Executive Director
Adrienne Valencia
Adrienne Valencia brings more than 25 years' experience as an educator and non-profit arts administrator to her role at AECSD. Her wide range of skills include program development and implementation, community engagement, marketing, operations, finance, and fundraising. A pianist, singer and former music teacher, Adrienne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Humboldt State University and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky, Lexington.
(619) 550-3068 (Direct)
Program Manager: Residencies and Professional Learning
Deirdre Moore
Deirdre Moore is our master teacher with over 20 years’ experience facilitating learning with students from infants to professional adults in subjects ranging from general education to discrete arts and the integration of the two. Deirdre has worked as a professional development facilitator, a teaching artist, and an elementary teacher of performing & visual arts. Deirdre holds a B.S. in Special Education from the University of St. Joseph and a M.Ed. in the Creative Arts in Learning from Lesley University, as well as teaching certifications in elementary education in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and California.
(619) 344-0498 (Direct)
Program Manager: Arts Intervention and Community Programs
Alison Urban
Alison Urban is a Theatre scholar and practitioner with two decades of experience teaching in San Diego. She holds a Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from UC San Diego, an MA in Drama from the University of Alberta, and a B.A. Honors in Drama in Education and Community from the University of Windsor. Alison began her career at the San Diego Zoo as an Educator and has since been a teaching artist and, more recently, an arts administrator at La Jolla Playhouse. She is a passionate advocate for arts education in schools and currently lectures for the School of Teacher Education, focusing on Theatre methodology and arts integration. Throughout her career, Alison has worked to make space for traditionally underrepresented communities to use the arts to share their stories.
(619) 877-2617 (Direct)
Operations Administrator
Erika Paul
Erika Paul is the glue that holds us together. She does a myriad of tasks that keeps AECSD humming along smoothly. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, Erika has a degree in English and has a passion for creative writing and poetry. Erika utilizes her love for writing and her problem solving and organizational skills to support the programming staff and teaching artists.
(619) 677-6558
Programs Assistant
Kimberly Acosta
Kimberly is a visual artist and graphic designer, having received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from UC Riverside and a Master of Fine Arts in Animation from UCLA. Kimberly also received a certification in Museum Studies from San Diego Mesa College. She has served as a teaching assistant in the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA and has experience working with numerous museums in visitor services, marketing, special events and education programming. Kimberly has a great passion for both the arts and arts education, which she uses to support the AECSD programming staff.
(619) 243-0230
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