Melissa Kelman joined CLARA in December 2020 as an education associate, to support CLARA Classroom and other growing needs of the education department, and is now the education program manager leading CLARA Classroom and the summer camp program.
A graduate of Webster University’s film and video program in St. Louis, Missouri, she is driven by a personal mission to create educational content that fosters unity by breaking down barriers. Melissa has worked in five continents as a visual storyteller — producing documentaries, museum installations, digital interactives, television programming, and more. Her decade of work as a professional dancer includes performances at embassies, museums, and other cultural institutions including the Kennedy Center in 2014 and the White House in 2014 and 2015.
As a musical choreographer at a performing arts school for children in South Korea, Melissa developed an innovative program using dance to teach ESL; upon her return to the states, she continued working in education — first at a Montessori school in Washington, DC, and then at an education innovation center.
She is proud to join CLARA in its mission to support the arts and provide quality arts education in our schools and communities.
