Dr. DeVivo was raised in the theatre.

He began his professional career as a technical apprentice for a summer stock company while still in elementary school and has continued to build experience as a theatre artist, educator, and researcher ever since. The 2023-2024 school year will be Dr. DeVivo's fifth as the Theatre teacher for Holmdel School District. He has over 25 years experience teaching and creating theatre with young people. Prior to Holmdel, Dr. DeVivo taught Theatre, English, and Humanities courses at Lacey Township High School, was Director of Education for Writers Theatre of New Jersey, taught workshops on theatre integration and playwriting, and was a consultant with the NJ Department of Education for the creation of the Theatre exit exams at the state's vocational schools. Dr. DeVivo has also served on advisory boards for Middlesex County Vocational Technical High School and Union County Academy for Performing Arts and was a long-time member of the planning committee for the New Jersey Governor's Awards in Art Education. He is a member of the NJ Thespians State Board of Directors and oversees the NJ Thespians PlayWorks competition and a member of the Board of Directors for the new Oscar Hammerstein Museum & Theatre Education Center in Doylestown, PA!

Dr. DeVivo is an expert in youth theatre with a particular focus on playwriting. During his time at Writers Theatre, he revitalized the annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival for which he was recognized by the New Jersey Department of State with a 2009 NJ Governors Award for Arts Education. He has been an adjudicator for multiple young playwrights contests within the United States and continues to advise youth around the world through the Young Playwrights Guide.

Dr. DeVivo is also an adjunct professor at New York University and has presented research in the field of educational theatre at international conferences and published in academic journals including Youth Theatre Journal and ArtsPraxis and has appeared as a guest on various arts and education podcasts. His doctoral dissertation explored the personal and professional benefits experienced by former participants whose plays were produced in a youth playwriting festival. This work heavily influences his classroom pedagogy and was a finalist for the Phi Delta Kappa Dissertation Award. Dr. DeVivo continues to research and write about educational theatre topics. Links to some of this research can be found here.

Additional awards he has received include the Lowell S. and Nancy Swortzell Graduate Scholarship, the New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education, and the Award of Excellence from the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. Dr. DeVivo was also inducted into the Liverpool Central School District Fine Arts Hall of Fame and was a nominee for the 2021 Outstanding Educator Award given by Paper Mill Playhouse.

He holds Ph.D. and Masters degrees in Educational Theatre from New York University and a BFA in Theatre & English (dual major) with University Honors from Niagara University. He is married to Bridget DeVivo, the award-winning Director of Drama at Oak Hill Academy in Lincroft. Together they lead a troupe of three children and one pug, who mostly take direction well.