BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christianna Morgan, President
Christianna Morgan has been involved with theatre from a young age, starting with her role as Student #4 in the fourth grade production of Chocolate Fever. Drama Club was her "team sport" all through school, and she eventually earned her BA in Theatre from UMass Amherst and a Master of Arts in Performance Studies from the University of Bristol, England. She credits her years as a performer, stage manager, director, and producer with teaching her how to turn any challenge into an opportunity and to stay calm in any crisis.
In her current career as an elementary school counselor, Christiana teaches social and emotional development, and knows that when students connect positively with their peers, their school experience improves. The performing arts allow students to learn and practice social and emotional skills, and Christianna is excited to bring more opportunities to young people through SAY, Inc. after years of helping lead the Kennedy School Drama Club.
Deneen Scully, Treasurer
Deneen Scully has been chasing the Muses for longer than she would care to share with you. She initially found them in her high school theatre department. The ensemble was a motley mix of nerds, jocks, divas, and dilettantes. The welcoming group guided Deneen center stage and into the limelight while encouraging her inner introvert to wait in the wings.
Deneen believes the stage is magical, electric and mercurial; the potential to find your Muse increases with each performance. Acting, singing, dancing, and creating are challenges that build confidence and foster more than a few butterflies in the stomach. When her son first took the stage in his charismatic debut as Snake #1 in The Secret Garden, the seeds were planted for her next step in the theatre by creating a Drama Club where he and the rest of his Elementary school could find their muses. Now, with Somerville Arts for Youth, Deneen looks forward to sowing the seeds of creativity throughout Somerville.
Deborah Hier, Clerk
As a dancer, Deborah Hier studied under the direction of Jeannette Neill, Jim Viera, Bill McLaughlin, and Michelle Chassé, to name a few. As a parent, Deborah saw her daughter's passion for the theatre ignite when a local playwright staged her children's musical at the Kennedy school in 2012. That fall, Deborah, along with other like-minded parents, created the Kennedy School Drama Club, a largely volunteer-run organization that continues to offer theatre education opportunities to K-8 students during the school year.
Deborah believes that theatre helps young people understand their world and celebrate their unique place in it. With the launch of Somerville Arts for Youth, she is thrilled to expand these opportunities to all young people and parents in Somerville.