Lizz fell in love with DREAMS during her time as a Photography Teaching Artist from 2015 to 2017.  Prior to teaching at DREAMS, Lizz attended and taught at Rutgers while earning her MFA in Studio Art.  Later she also taught at CFCC.  In June 2020, Lizz completed her Master’s in Nonprofit Management with a certificate in Arts Management from the University of Oregon and returned to Wilmington to serve her native community.  Lizz’s nonprofit experience, educational and artistic accomplishments inform her dedication to a thriving, creative community of confidence.

Nancy has been working in the field of movement education for over 20 years. She began her dance training at the age of three and continued to train classically.  Nancy studied at Meredith College where she completed a B.A. in dance education along with K-12 NC certification in dance. After completing her M.A. degree at New York University’s Steinhardt School for Education, Culture & Human Development, she began working in both dance administration and education in New York City’s public and private institutions. Nancy is proud to serve on faculty of Dreams of Wilmington as a teaching artist as well as the Leland Cultural Arts Center where she instructs classes to both adults and children.

Jameka Wrisbon Purdie is a native of Wilmington and an alumnus of New Hanover High School. Since the age of 8, she has always been fascinated by the design and creation of wearable art. After becoming a wife and mother, she rekindled her love for jewelry creation. In 2009, she began creating custom and one-of-a-kind jewelry designs under the name Alter Ego Designs. She started teaching jewelry-making classes at DREAMS in the Summer of 2021 and has thoroughly enjoyed sharing her craft with the DREAMers. When not teaching at DREAMS, she can be found in her studio, at local art festivals, or as a featured artist at Art in Bloom Gallery.

Angela Fernot is a graduate of the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Her experience ranges from drawing portraits to illustrating full comic books. Angela is an “all over” artist who loves to explore new projects, techniques, and tools. Working with children is her greatest honor. She believes they not only keep her on her toes, but they always show her new ways to see the world as we learn and grow together.

Anne Firmender has taught dance in both public and private schools to students of backgrounds, and abilities since 1982. She has trained at a number of prestigious schools including The School of American Ballet, California Institute of the Arts, and Cornish College of the Arts (where she received her BFA in Dance summa cum laude).  Anne’s choreography has been performed in a wide range of venues, including the North Carolina Dance Festival and Dance-a-lorus. She is a founding member of The Dance Cooperative, where she served as School Director for many years.

Director, choreographer, and community arts educator, Kevin is a native of Bolivia, North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied contemporary dance and ballet.

Over a 15-year career, he has worked with acclaimed dance artists including: Rosie Herrera, Sidra Bell, Camille A. Brown, David Parsons, In 2008, he founded Techmoja Dance and Theater Company as an inclusive and diverse dance and theatre company. Founded as an inclusive and diverse theater and dance company in 2009, Techmoja was born from the multi-year partnership between choreographer Kevin Lee-Y Green and his mother, Donna Joyner Green, an arts administrator and culture bearer. Kevin is among the three Dance Theatre of DREAMS founding Teaching Artists and has been teaching at DREAMS since 2014.

A native of Charlotte currently living in Wilmington, N.C., Batanides is an international fine artist and children’s book author/illustrator. Predominately working with acrylics, watercolor, and charcoal, her works have been featured across the United States and throughout Jamaica. Batanides’s use of rich, vibrant colors brings the art of music to life and invites the viewer to lose themselves in the rhythm of the moment. At DREAMS Batanides enjoys watching her students explore new ways of expressing their creativity. She believes in building community within the classroom and hopes to provide each DREAMER with the tools they need to continue to thrive.

Over the past four decades, Roger Davis has provided the Port City with a sensational serving of musical talent. Whether performing for a crowd of weekend brunch-goers, a public gallery event, or the occasional night venue, Roger “Rog” Davis holds his melodic roots in the Wilmington area and remains a well-respected performer/composer within the local jazz community. A founding teaching artist of DREAMS, Rog still loves sharing his gift with new generations of musicians.

Trey is passionate about using theatre, performance, and storytelling as a tool for education and community building. Trey has directed projects for Burning Coal Theatre (North Carolina), Hubbard Hall (New York), and Pauline Productions (Massachusetts) and has worked as an assistant director and administrator for South Coast Rep (California), Burning Coal Theatre (NC), North Carolina Theatre (NC), and the New Swan Theatre (CA). Trey is currently an Artist in Residence at UNCW through the Honors College program. Trey’s theatre company MoB Theatre (www.mouthsofbabestheatre.com) works with teens, young adults, and the young at heart to tell stories for and about their community. 

Molly has been a ceramic artist for about 10 years now. She specializes in functional wares and colorful surface design. Molly came to DREAMS as a volunteer Summer 2022, and a year later, began teaching her own class! She currently teaches “Pottery with Purpose” which focuses on functional ceramics that students can enjoy in their every day activities.

Chloe is an actor, writer, and visual artist. As an artist, my work is very social justice based. As a teaching artist, I attempt to teach self expression through theatre arts, as well as collage- using photography and art from all over.