Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education (LNAAE)

LNAAE is a professional learning network of educators, artists, administrators, and activists from across the globe who meet online to further their own learning and share resources. Gatherings address general network topics as well as learning sessions highlighting a particular presenter and topic, including presentations by artists and educators with disabilities and those working with people with disabilities, reports from specialists in the field, first-person accounts of the role of the arts in education, and more. All are welcome!
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education is proud to be part of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. The network was originally formed by Dr. Rhoda Bernard, Managing Director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. Network events are organized and managed by a steering committee of members who serve one-year terms and are appointed by Dr. Bernard.
Join us for our next meeting!
Sign up to join the network and learn more.
Join us for our next meeting!
Thursday, May 29, 2025, 4:00-6:00 p.m. EST
Growing Through Music with ChiME
This month’s Learning Segment, led by Gosia Bagley, executive director of ChiME, will showcase the Chicago Center for Music Education’s evolution from its humble beginnings 44 years ago into a medium-size nonprofit that uses music as a tool for self-growth and prioritizes access to music education for everyone, regardless of economic status and ability. ChiME is especially focused on breaking down accessibility barriers for students with disabilities by employing music therapists and adapting its curriculum to specific student needs. Some themes we will discuss include:
ChiME’s work to fill the arts education void in the public education system
Harnessing the power of music to help everyone reach their true potential
Individualized unique ability to provide a variety of services to a wide range of participants
Meaningful professional development model for teaching artists
Elevating transformative sustainable practice fueling artistic passions for everyone
Bio: Gosia Bagley
Gosia Bagley received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance from DePaul University School of Music, where she studied under the guidance of Mary Sauer, the principal keyboardist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has always been passionate about instilling the love of music in students from a young age and using music to help them express their voice, connect with others, and develop valuable habits and skills for life. To hone her leadership skills, Bagley completed the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI) with the National Guild for Community Arts Education in 2015 and has engaged with numerous leadership institutes, retreats, and online offerings over the past 10 years, including those organized by the Guild and the Nonprofit Leadership Lab. She has also developed her literary storytelling skills through her 19 years as the editor for The Instrumentalist magazine and Piano Explorer magazine. At ChiME since 1999, Bagley has taught piano lessons, group classes, early childhood classes, and K-8 classroom music in ChiME’s partner schools. She started her journey with the administrative side in 2012, and holding the positions of family program chair, program director, and the director of classroom and instrumental music before being named interim executive director in June 2023. She helped ChiME launch its music therapy program and has been responsible for oversight of the school’s programs, including maintaining and developing the program content and continuum, providing support and guidance to enrolled families, managing performances and events, and overseeing faculty professional development. Her work in both the pedagogical and administrative aspects of ChiME has helped the school achieve its goals of clarifying its unique recipe, strengthening the curriculum, and developing a meaningful professional development model for teaching artists. She became the executive director of ChiME in December 2023.
Upcoming Meetings
Meetings are held on Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 PM (EST) on Zoom. (Sign up to join the network and learn more)
Past Meetings
- March 27, 2025 Demystifying Grants Fundraising with Sarah Benvenuti, Benvenuti Arts(Opens in a new window), Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window)
- January 23, 2025 Creative Sound Play, Working Memory/Cognitive Flexibility, with Hayes Greenfield(Opens in a new window), (Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window))
- November 7, 2024 The Critical Role of Administrators in Supporting Accessible Community Arts Education, with Nicole Agois, Dr. Piper Hutson, Scott Turner(Opens in a new window), (Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window))
- September 26, 2024 Global Braille Joy: Re-Visioning Postal Art, with Amber DiGerlando(Opens in a new window), (Meeting Summary)(Opens in a new window)
- May 30, 2024: Finding A New Voice: A Singer’s Journey With Cochlear Implants, with Dr. Anne Palmer(Opens in a new window) (Opens in a new window)(Meeting Summary)(Opens in a new window)
- March 28, 2024: Visibility For Accessibility, with Kristin Long (Opens in a new window)(Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window))
- January 18, 2024: Screening of the documentary film, Yo Obsolete, by Christopher Unpezverde Núñez(Opens in a new window), with commentary by LNAAE Steering Committee member Krishna Washburn (Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window))
- November 18, 2023: From Behind the Bridge to the Impossible Dream: A personal story living with disabilities—determination, discipline, and triumph, with Akini A. Gil (Opens in a new window)(Meeting Summary(Opens in a new window))
- September 19, 2023: Disability Justice, with Jenna Gabriel (Opens in a new window)(Meeting Summary)(Opens in a new window)
LNAAE’s Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education is a welcoming community of educators, artists, administrators, and activists committed to disrupting ableist practices and reimagining equity in arts education through continuous learning, listening, collaboration, and action.
Vision
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education aims to deconstruct ableism in arts education by supporting artists and educators through connection, resource-sharing, and lifelong learning that centers on artists and educators with disabilities.
Values
As a group, we are guided by:
- Ensuring accessibility
- Creating high-quality arts and arts education experiences across ages and art forms
- Ingraining accessibility in artistic approaches to high-quality programming
- Centering first-person accounts
- Collectively learning and growing
The 2024–25 Steering Committee
Suzanne Joyal, MA
Mehdi Raoufi, MA
Elise Sobol, EdD
Elisabeth Staal, EdM
Krishna Washburn, MEd
General Information
Join Us! LNAAE meetings are always held on Zoom and are open to everyone. While all are welcome to attend, you will need to sign up for our email list to receive the full meeting invitation.
To make our meetings accessible to as many people as possible, ASL interpreters are always included, and a meeting summary with audio description is provided afterward.
Resource Spotlight
Check out some resources provided by LNAAE members and presenters!
Creative Sound Play for Young Learners: A Teacher’s Guide to Enhancing Transition Times, Classroom Communities, SEL, and Executive Function Skills(Opens in a new window), by Hayes Greenfield
Sensemaking and Neuroaesthetics(Opens in a new window), by Dr. Piper Hutson
Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People(Opens in a new window), by Sins Invalid: A disability justice primer based on the work of Patty Berne and Sins Invalid.
Telephone(Opens in a new window): A film co-directed by network member Krishna Washburn and choreographer Heather Shaw brings awareness to the important art form of audio description (AD) for dance.