NEW ORLEANS – KID smART, a local nonprofit focused on providing public school students with greater access to arts-rich education, has welcomed Ragan Gankendorff, Aaron Hartley and Tiffany Lin to its board of directors.
“We are excited to welcome our new board members, who embody our values of collaboration, creativity, sustainability, access and equity,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART, in a press release. “They bring a diverse set of skills and abilities that will propel our organization forward.”
Gankendorff is a Washington, D.C. native and Tulane University graduate. After earning her MBA, she began a career in academic medicine at LSU Health New Orleans and then Tulane School of Medicine. Currently, she serves a dual role as executive director and associate chair for the Tulane School of Medicine’s Center for Clinical Neurosciences and executive director of Health System Clinical Affairs.
Hartley, better known as Flagboy Giz, is a New Orleans native musician, cultural performer, beadworker, producer and emcee. For nearly a decade, he has been a member of the Wild Tchoupitoulas Black Masking Indians. He has been featured in the New York Times and performed at Lil Wayne’s Weezyana Fest, Red Bull Street Kings and the National Fried Chicken Festival.
Lin has served as the director of the design program for Tulane School of Architecture since 2009, coordinating core studios and developing beginning design education. She is also engaged in a range of architectural visioning projects for nonprofit community partners through the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design. In collaboration with Judith Kinnard, she designed the SunShower SSIP House, an off-grid disaster relief dwelling which received an AIA New Orleans Honor Award. Lin recently received the SOM Foundation Research Prize to examine existing public spaces, monuments and memorials through the lens of social psychology. She earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University and a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University, where she was the recipient of the MArchII Faculty Design Award and the C.W. Prize in Housing Design.
Founded in 1999, KID smART works to provide public school students with greater access to arts-rich education. In its 25-year history, it has served more than 63,000 students and 11,000 teachers in schools throughout New Orleans.