ArtsBuild’s Director of Grants and Initiatives, Rodney Van Valkenburg, was elected on February 7 to the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Advisory Committee while attending the Partners in Education Annual Meeting, held in Arlington, VA.
As an Advisory Committee member, Mr. Van Valkenburg will act as a direct contact for the North/Central region he represents. Other Advisory Committee members include Robin Bailey, Tracy Butler, Linda Candib, Laurie Fellenz, Darren Verbick, Robin Wilks-Dunn, and Chauna Williams.
Mr. Van Valkenburg joined ArtsBuild in 2001 after serving for more than 18 years with the Chattanooga Theatre Centre as Director of Programs and as Director of Education. He holds a MFA in child drama from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro.
He is a past President and volunteer Executive Director with the Tennessee Alliance for Arts Education and past President with the Tennessee Theatre Association. In addition, he was Secretary and Chair of the Children’s Theatre Division of the Southeastern Theatre Conference and served as a panelist for the Learning in the Arts grants with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Mr. Van Valkenburg has directed over 100 plays for adults and youth, and served as Artistic Director of the 1990 International Theatre Camp in Narva, Estonia. In 1992 he was named Youth Theatre Director of the Year by the American Alliance for Theatre in Education and received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Tennessee Theatre Association. Mr. Van Valkenburg was also recognized for his “Distinguished Service to Education” by the Chattanooga Chapters of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.