Our Team

Joe Westermann

Conceiver of Creative Pathways

Joe Westermann is a Fort Worth, TX raised, now NYC-based teaching artist, currently working toward his BFA in Dramatic Arts and MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at The New School for Performing Arts.  

In the Fall of 2020, he co-founded a non-profit arts education program for high school students in his hometown of Fort Worth, TX called Spotlight Cast & Crew (SC&C). The mission of SC&C is to provide a musical theatre experience that is directed, choreographed, designed (lighting, sound and costume) and performed by students in grades 8-12 in the greater Fort Worth Area. The objective of SC&C’s mission is to provide an annual three-week intensive in the summer at no cost to any of the students involved. He serves as the organization’s Co-Founder and Program Director, and also works alongside the student participants every year, leading them through a series of workshops and mentorship sessions pertaining to different subjects within the realms of Theatre Arts and Leadership. 

Additionally, he currently serves as the Licensing Representative for The 24 Hour Plays. In this role, he oversees their educational outreach endeavors as well.

Skylar D'Andrea

Creative Pathways Curriculum Co-Developer

Skylar D’Andrea is a senior at Pace University and is getting their BA in Acting. She specializes in devised theater and ensemble work and hopes to create pieces that uplift and highlight LGTBQ+ stories. They also have passion in education and have taught arts and theater to individuals of all ages. She has worked at camps such as Camp Takodah and Kidstock! They have also taught theater full-time at New York Edge, an after school program that teaches extracurricular activities in New York public schools.

Avery Loving

Creative Pathways Curriculum Co-Developer

Avery Loving is an actress, theatre artist and teaching artist based in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas. She is currently earning a BA in Acting and a BA in Film & Screen Studies at Pace University. She first started studying teaching with Breakthrough Fort Worth in the summer of 2020 where she taught Literature and ran the acting club, and has worked as a nanny for years. Her experience working with children and learning about education led her to pursue teaching artistry. She currently works as the acting mentor at Spotlight Cast & Crew to help students find and cultivate a process. She is very excited to be a part of Creative Pathways because she wants students to have the ability to explore teaching artistry from a young age in a way that represents it as a rigorous and rich artistic practice.  

Taylor Janney-Rovin

Creative Pathways Curriculum Co-Developer

Taylor Janney-Rovin is an artist and educator dedicated to creating inclusive, engaging learning experiences that give EVERY participant the opportunity to take the stage and shine.

With nearly a decade of experience as an inclusive learning specialist and instructional coach in NYC schools, Taylor merges her expertise in education with a passion for the performing arts to foster creativity, community, and connection in the classroom. She is a proud teaching artist with CO/LAB Theater Group, a nonprofit that provides creative and social opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. As a producer and game show host with SO Fun City, she delivers “fun-forward, science-backed” programming that promotes literacy and social-emotional learning in schools and summer camps nationwide.

Taylor served as the dramaturg for Fish in a Tree with NYC Children’s Theater and as the Educational Outreach Coordinator for How to Dance in Ohio on Broadway. A lifelong learner, she holds a BFA in Drama from Syracuse University and a Master’s in Special Education from Hunter College.