The Gloucester Center for the Arts is an artist-run organization. The GloArts Board is made up of the founders and directors of each of our partner organizations. Each board member is deeply experienced in both their artistic areas and in running creative businesses.
Alexandra Grace is a singer-songwriter, artist, and educator from Gloucester, MA. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where she earned her B.M. in Songwriting & Performance with a minor in Psychology. She and her students have performed at many venues, including selling out the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Alexandra is a trained instrumentalist, with 20 years of practice on the piano and 10 years on the guitar. Her primary instrument is voice.
Primarily playing the Tenor Sax and Trombone, Carlos Menezes Jr. strives to bring the big sounds of his main influences, Gene Ammons, Illinois Jacquet, and Sonny Rollins to the stage. Between 2011 and 2015 he toured professionally on sax and trombone with NYC’s “The Toasters.” In that time he performed in front of thousands of fans across 43 countries in 4 different continents. In 2015, he earned his Master’s in Music Education from Boston University with a focus in Third Space learning and pedagogy.
Jaden Chris is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and educator originally from New Jersey, but now a resident of Gloucester, MA. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he earned his B.M. in Professional Music, with concentrations in Guitar Performance and Jazz Composition. He started teaching in 2018 while still at Berklee with the hopes of making music more accessible to all. He tailors his curriculum for each student to fit their learning needs, goals, and musical passions.
Justin Genna is an actor & dancer living in Gloucester, MA & NYC. Genna grew up In Madison, WI and started training in ballet at a young age. Genna worked professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet for eight seasons then attended American Conservatory Theater’s Master of Fine Arts program. He spent time in NYC working in TV, Film, and Off-Broadway. In the last 4 years, he co-founded Lanes Coven, a reimagined Shakespeare & Classics theater company where he is also a director, choreographer and producer.
Lily Narbonne is a stage & screen actor living in Gloucester, MA and Brooklyn, NY. Lily earned her BFA at the Boston University School of Theatre; with a full 4th year tuition Sir Rex Harrison Scholarship for “Emulation of Craftsmanship.” She traveled west to attend the MFA Program at the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco. Lily owns & runs Lanes Coven Theater Co with husband Justin Genna. Lily played Juliet in Romeo & Juliet in 2023 and directed a hit Midsummer Night’s Dream this past July, for which she was nominated for a Best Directing award.
Miranda Aisling (ash-lean)’s mission is to reconnect art to daily life, a purpose you can see through her work as an interdisciplinary artist, community organizer, and creative entrepreneur. Aisling holds a M.ed. in Community Art from Lesley University and a B.A. in Studio Art with emphases in Painting and Ceramics from Mary Baldwin University. She was the Head of Education & Engagement at the Cape Ann Museum from 2020 – 2024, curating seven exhibitions and creating 1,650 events for over 45,000 people. She is returning to her roots as a community organizer with the Hearth Art Studios.
Sarah Slifer Swift has been on faculty at Boston Conservatory, Boston Ballet School, Boston Conservatory, Salem State University, George Washington University, Amsterdam College of Art/School for New Dance Development, Scotland’s National Center for Dance (Dance Base), and Liza Indiciani Studio of Dance. Slifer Swift performed as a dancer with several contemporary dance companies and choreographers in the US and in Europe. Her choreography has been performed in Amsterdam, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and in New England and has received several grants and awards.