A musician, educator, and advocate for social justice, Monique places cultural humility and empathy at the center of her approach, and is fundamentally committed to creating and sustaining environments at the intersection of excellence and equity. She is currently the Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program at Longy School of Music of Bard College, prior to which she served as Music Director of the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) Music Program and liaison to the LA Philharmonic’s YOLA education team. Monique also holds the office of Vice Chair of the board of El Sistema USA, in which capacity she co-leads the ESUSA Equity-centered Pedagogy Working Group, recently co-led ESUSA’s 5-year strategic planning process, and serves on the Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding committee.
As NEC’s inaugural Director of Cultural Equity and Belonging (CEB), Monique will lead the establishment of the Center for CEB, coordinate the development of community-wide plans and programming, build partnerships amongst NEC’s constituencies to shape, support, and advance institutional goals relative to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and serve as a resource for students, faculty, and staff.
