Why Arts?

In this episode, I’m joined by Rasheen Jamison-Richardson , founder of Legacy School of Performing Arts Training Institute, Inc. and alum of Harvard Graduate School of Education, to explore what it really means to build through adversity. We talk about how arts access builds confidence, identity, and even life-saving awareness in young people. Rasheen shares how integrating the arts strengthens ma...

In this episode, I’m joined by  Rick Westerkamp, an educator and theater artist I had the joy of graduating alongside at Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was constantly inspired by Rick’s care, clarity, and deep commitment to arts-centered learning—so this conversation feels especially meaningful. Rick brings experience from classrooms, leadership roles, and professional stages. From his wo...

In episode 4 of Why Arts?, I’m joined by Nicola Wallis , who spent 19 years as a Practitioner Research Associate in Early Childhood and Collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and has recently transitioned into her new role as Early Years Program Manager at the National Portrait Gallery, London. With a background in primary and nursery education, Nicola specialises in understanding how...

In the third episode of Why Arts?, I’m joined by Ryan Jenkins—co-founder of Wonderful Idea Co. and a longtime educator, tinkerer, and designer working at the intersection of art, science, and making. Ryan’s work grows out of years spent at places like the Exploratorium and Tinkering 0School in San Francisco, where curiosity, experimentation, and hands-on learning are at the center. He has designed...

In the second episode of  Why Arts? , I’m joined by Linda Nathan—educator, author, artist, and Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Linda’s work centers on designing democratic schools, organizational change, and learning environments that place equity, creativity, and relationships at the core. She brings decades of experience founding and leading schools within the Boston Public...

In the first episode of Why Arts?, I’m joined by Lisa Goddard, a PhD Fellow in Reggio Childhood Studies at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia / Fondazione Reggio Children. Lisa’s work explores children’s play and pedagogical approaches that support deeper relationships between humans and more-than-human worlds. She brings experience as a preschool teacher, pedagogista, curriculum developer...

A child who rarely spoke found their voice through clay. That moment didn’t show up in test scores—but it changed everything. Why Arts? grew from moments like these. Not just visual arts—and not just art as a subject—but the arts as process, inquiry, relationship, and meaning-making. This podcast explores the arts not as an “extra,” but as a way of thinking, relating, and learning—across classroom...