Art Educators' Bios

Christina Jones

Band Director

jonesc4@gcsnc.com

holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  She has performed with the UNC-G Wind Ensemble and Greensboro Community Band.  She has taught privately and has had students participate in All-County, All-District, and Honors Bands.  She is currently a member

of the National Association for Music Education and the Central District Bandmasters Association.

Amelia Renee Byrd

Dance Educator

byrda2@gcsnc.com

(Memphis, TN) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre/Dance and a Bachelor of Professional Studies alongside a teaching licensure in K-12 Dance Education from the University of Memphis. Amelia was formerly the Dance Educator at Colonial Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts and a member of Project: Motion Dance Collective in Memphis, TN from 2008-2011. Amelia has presented work with Project: Motion, the University of Memphis Theatre and Dance Department, the UNC-Greensboro School of Dance, Playhouse on the Square’s Summer Youth Theatre Conservatory, the Greensboro Fringe Festival and the North Carolina Dance Festival. Amelia is a 2014 graduate of UNC-Greensboro, receiving a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance/Choreography and is currently working as the Dance Educator at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in High Point, NC where she also serves as a co-lead Dance Educator for Guilford County Schools. Amelia was a member of JOYEMOVEMENT, a dance company in Greensboro, NC having performed for four seasons (2014-2018). Amelia served as a board member for the North Carolina Dance Education Organization (NCDEO) as the Director of Dance Advocacy (2020-2024).

Chris Cloud

Guitar Director

cloudc@gcsnc.com

is a modern and classical guitarist who has been performing and teaching since 2003. He formed Cloud Music Academy in Greensboro in 2015 providing tens of thousands of lessons spanning multiple instruments, including a teaching recording studio which worked with local and touring. He is currently the Director of Guitar Studies at Penn Griffin School for the Arts, where he teaches Middle and High School guitar. His students have performed at the New York Guitar Festival, the Carolina Blues Festival and NC Folk Fest. They also regularly participate in guitar competitions, festivals, and other community-based performance activities. He performed solo and with groups in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. He has been on stage with grammy winning artists such as Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Andrew York and Jason Vieaux including a world premiere of Sergio Assad’s “The Walls” and performing solo for the Bryan Series. He performed at Carnegie Hall during the summer of 2024. And now helps build festivals that serve the artistic youth and the education community including ACE Spirit Week Festival and Guitarganza.

Chiwahn Walden

Modern Music Production Educator

waldenc@gcsnc.com

has 25 years of music teaching experience in North Carolina and Virginia teaching students in Grades Pre-K to 12. Mr. Walden received the Bachelor of Science degree in Music Engineering Technology from Hampton University. He is dedicated to his teaching philosophy of ensuring strong foundational knowledge and skill acquisition, while prioritizing exposure to new concepts to ignite an increased appetite for growth, discovery, and creativity within his students. Mr. Walden desires and works diligently to maintain a student-centered educational environment that promotes respect for all and building community. He utilizes his wealth of experience teaching middle and high school chorus, middle and high school bands, elementary music, and private instrumental studio lessons to support and facilitate the development of well-rounded student musicians.

Devereaux Nash

Notes for Notes

dnash@notesfornotes.org

Hello! My name is Devereaux and I’m the Studio and Education Assistant at the Notes For Notes studio in Penn-Griffin. I have been involved in the arts since pre-k and have studied vocal and choral music, the violin and orchestral music, dance, and theater. I am also a recording artist and producer, as well as a published author and poet.  

I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a bachelor’s in political science. During college, I was a member and the director of the premier all-female Acappella group The UNCG Sapphires and won ICCA awards for best vocal arrangement, and best choreography while directing. After college, I co-founded A Collective of Excellence — a non-profit dedicated to celebrating Arts, Education, and Culture in the Triad area. During this time, I also became an educator for Guilford County Schools. After spending some time in GCS as a social studies educator I am excited to fuse my passion for the fine arts, community service, and educating the youth into this role at the Notes for Notes studio! 

Caleb Alexander

Notes for Notes

calexander@notesfornotes.org

is the lead producer at the Notes for Notes studio in Penn-Griffin. He has been in the music industry for over 8 years, working in various studios across the country ranging from Atlanta and New York City to Los Angeles. Mr. Alexander has been a part of Notes for Notes and the PGSA Modern Music Program for over two years as a producer and educator. 

Damien Miles

Orchestra Director

milesd4@gcsnc.com

Mr. Miles graduated from UNCG in 2023. He began music by playing percussion in middle school band before picking up the double bass. In school, he studied music education and jazz performance and worked as a performing musician and private instructor. Mr. Miles is excited to bring his perspective to the orchestra program at Penn-Griffin.

Keaton Brower

 Theatre Arts Director

browerk@gcsnc.com

Mr. Brower is a Kernersville-based director, actor, and educator who started as Theatre Arts Director at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in fall 2025. Outside PGSA, he is the Lead Theatre Instructor at North Carolina Governor’s School East and Artistic Director at Carolina Ensemble Theatre. Mr. Brower's directing credits include the world premieres of Captive, Song of the Spinners, and Sunrise Reverie (NC GSE), as well as James and the Giant Peach (Piedmont Players Theatre), and Deathtrap (Triad Pride Acting Company). He has worked as assistant director on productions such as A Christmas Carol, Dracula (Triad Stage), and the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Ripe Frenzy (New Repertory Theatre/Boston Center for American Performance). As an actor Mr. Brower has appeared in A Christmas Carol (Carolina Ensemble Theatre, NCShakes), Much Ado About Nothing (RhinoLeap Productions), Unto These Hills (Cherokee Historical Association), the upcoming short film Heaven’t (JNR Productions), and more. He holds a BFA in Theatre Arts (Performance) with a minor in Arts Leadership from Boston University, a Diploma in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a High School Diploma in Drama from UNC School of the Arts, and a Certificate in Theatre from NC Governor’s School East.

Richard O’Hara

Visual Art Educator

oharag@gcsnc.com

Graduated from Clemson University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Sculpture.  He graduated from the University of North Texas with a Masters in Fine Arts in Printmaking.  He obtained his teaching licensure from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales in 2002.  He taught in Alamogordo, New Mexico until 2007.  He is a working artist in several Media venues and has taught at PGSA since the spring semester in the 2007-08 school year.

Dr. Matthew Wilson

Music Educator

wilsonm14@gcsnc.com

Dr. Matt Wilson is a violinist and violist from South Carolina. He earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Appalachian State University, a master's in music education from UNC Greensboro, and a Ph.D in music education from the University of Kansas. He is an active member of the National Association for Music Education and the American Strings Teachers Association. Dr. Wilson loves to cook and make music with a wide variety of community ensembles in the triad area!

Jada Poteat

Vocal Music Director

poteatj@gcsnc.com

received her Master of Music in Choral Conducting from UNCG in 2024 and her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2022. She is deeply passionate about building an empowering, safe, and welcoming culture in her classroom in which students can grow not only as musicians but as people. The chorus program at Penn-Griffin focuses on developing healthy vocal techniques, music literacy, musicality, and confidence in singing in a variety of musical styles. Beyond the music itself, Ms. Poteat works to develop strong relationships with her students, encouraging and teaching them to use music as a source of mental wellness and discipline in their personal lives.

Jasmine Joyner

Photography Educator

joynerj4@gcsnc.com

Hello!  My name is Jasmine Joyner, and I am a photographer and educator.  I teach Photographic Design to students in grades 7-12.  I am passionate about storytelling through a visual medium and am honored to share my knowledge with the young people I teach.  I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Through hands-on photography sessions, challenges, critiques, and projects, students will learn technical and visual skills to create great images.