San Diego Junior Theatre, the nation’s longest-running youth theatre program, welcomes Elissa Russell as its new Education Director.
Elissa comes to SDJT from Theatre Aspen in Colorado, where she held the position of Director of Education Programming and Administration. Elissa has also worked as a teaching artist and administrator at Midland Community Theatre, Austin’s ZACH Theatre and Virginia Repertory Theatre. She holds a degree from the University of Texas at Austin with a specialization in Shakespeare, and formerly reviewed theatre for the Austin Chronicle.
In Elissa’s position at Theatre Aspen, she made active strides in expanding outreach efforts in neighboring communities, placing the utmost urgency on expanding their current programming beyond Aspen to include areas with limited access to arts education.
She says, “It is vital to me to grow my career with a company that prizes equity, diversity, accessibility and creating a generation of future theatre lovers. San Diego Junior Theatre’s commitment to upholding these standards makes me confident that our ideologies are in alignment.”
JT’s Executive Director, James Saba says, “We are very excited to welcome Elissa as Junior Theatre’s new Education Director as we recharge, recalibrate and reimagine in-person educational programming in the Casa del Prado. Elissa is passionate about arts education and its power to transform lives and she will be a wonderful addition to senior staff.”