Andrea Carroll
Treasurer

Andrea, a literacy specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools has spent much of her adult life educating and building students and teacher’s engagement in literacy.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Language Pathology from the University of the Pacific as well as an elementary teaching credential from San Jose State University.  After spending over a decade in the classroom, she received a Master’s in Education from George Mason University focusing on Literacy Leadership in Diverse Educational Settings.  Currently, she works as a Literacy Coach at Little Run Elementary School.  A California native, Andrea was always surrounded by the performing arts as both her father and sister are classically trained pianists while she chose to spend her time on the ice as a competitive ice dancer for over 10 years. Nowadays, she enjoys sitting in the audience watching her sons Teddy and Ben perform in musical showcases, driving them to and from music lessons, and supporting the promotion of the arts in the community.

Trish Huheey
Secretary 

Trish Huheey is currently the Director of Resource Management for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environmental Management and Remediation. Trish has over twenty years of experience with planning, programming, budgeting and execution of environmental funding for the Department of Defense. During her 35 year career as a DoD employee, she has served varied roles in multiple departments. She began her civilian career as a human factors engineer, working in cockpit design for Naval aircraft. After that, she transitioned to work as an environmental engineer, focused on integrating environmental considerations into DoD’s weapons systems acquisition process, for both the Navy and then the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Most recently she served as an OSD budget analyst, leading funding budgeting and execution and environmental audit efforts across the Department, leading to her current position. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech, a Master’s in Engineering Management from the George Washington University, and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. In her personal life, Trish was a theater kid who grew up with a love of theater arts and raised two theater kids herself. Both of her daughters grew up as students in the Acting for Young People family and are now continuing that tradition as AFYP teaching artists. One is now a professional actor and the other is planning for a career in theater design.

Board of Directors

Sohini Baliga

Sohini Baliga has 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, and advancement in nonprofit and advocacy work. Born in India and raised partly in the Middle East, she moved to the US for college and now lives in Northern Virginia. A dedicated arts supporter, she served for ten years as the executive director of the Vienna Choral Society, former board member of the DC Shorts Film Festival, and volunteers often as an arts grants reviewer in the DC Metro Area. She is also a determined cello student — heavy emphasis on “student.”

Kathy Beyer

Bio coming soon!

Ellen Bickford

Ellen, a librarian for Fairfax County Public Schools, has spent much of her adult life educating and building students’ engagement with literacy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Education from Wittenberg University in Ohio with teaching certifications in English, 7-12 and special education, K-12. After spending six years teaching high school English to students with emotional challenges, she earned her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Technology Integration from George Mason University with plans to become a tech specialist. She became a mom of two sons instead and kept teaching middle schoolers English and media literacy! After twenty years in the classroom, Ellen received her librarain certification through UVA’s library endorsement program. Currently, Ellen is a librarian at Robinson Secondary School where she collaborates with all grades, contents, and learners. She loves having the best job in the school! Although an athlete her entire life, the arts always played a big role as well. Be it participating in a school or community theater production, seeing Broadway shows, supporting her FCPS theater teacher husband, or being a mom of two AFYP kiddos, she is an avid supporter of the arts for all.

Michael Chapman

Michael Chapman is President and Founder of Envision Economics, a boutique economic damages consulting firm specializing in the determination of Intellectual Property damages. He is also an International Trade Attorney who represents foreign companies involved in trade disputes in the United States. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School. Deep down, however, he is a Badger to the core – having earned a BA with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in between myriad performances as a trumpet player in the UW Marching Band during a prolonged undergraduate adventure. He is a long-time fan and supporter of AFYP – with 2 daughters who have grown up (or are growing up) as part of the AFYP family. In fact, Michael has served as the unofficial photographer for AFYP for nearly a decade, capturing special moments in all showcase shows since Big Bad Musical in 2010.

Kimber Craine

Kimber Craine has enjoyed a varied career in the arts. Most recently Kimber was the grants manager for ArtsFairfax, a local arts arts agency. Prior, Kimber was director of program initiatives for the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) under the leadership of First Ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. In that role, he managed several national public/private partnerships, including the National Student Poets Program, Film Forward and Save America’s Treasures. Before PCAH, he was the communications manager for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) for 14 years. Prior to coming to NASAA, he worked for a number of regional theaters in new play development, arts education outreach and other capacities. At the core of every endeavor throughout his career, he led efforts to boost the arts and humanities role and help nurture the next generation of artists, poets, filmmakers and other creators. Kimber holds a BA in English from Hartwick College; an MA in theater from the University of California Santa Barbara; and a postgraduate degree in Communications and Public Relations from George Washington University.

Maggie Dickinson

Maggie Dickinson is an actor located in New York, NY. She is a student of Seth Barrish and Lee Brock at The Barrow Group and has previously trained at HB Studio and Wellesley College. Her seminal acting training, however, took place right here at Acting For Young People. She is a Summer Acting Camp alum dating back to 2006, was a cast member of the earliest AFYP Advanced Actors Workshops, and served as a member of AFYP’s inaugural class of interns. She advanced to teaching Improv for five summers, all the while happily assisting Mary as a member of the Admin Team. She earned a degree in Psychology with a focus in Child Development from Wellesley College after developing a passion for working with children and young people at AFYP. She has worked all over the five boroughs of New York City as an early childhood educator and as a tutor for children in the foster care system. She is an avid rower, reader, and baker of cupcakes.

John Ferri

John passionately advocates for global arts, arts education, and cultural diplomacy, which refers to using arts and culture to promote mutual understanding between groups of people. Singing in two community choirs, the arts remain core to his daily life. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a course of study in Italian Language and Literature, French, Public and Professional Writing, Transatlantic Studies, and West European Studies, along with a course in Not-For-Profit Management. He is a communications professional and an AFYP alumnus who knows that AFYP provided key tools that fostered confidence and strong communication skills for life in him and his peers. John enjoys supporting and promoting programs that enrich young people’s education and help make them more well-rounded people.

Kevin Murray

Kevin retired from George Mason University in 2021 after 30 years of service. He served as Interim Director, Program Manager, and Performance Faculty for Mason’s School of Theater. In addition to teaching, mentoring, and recruiting Mason students, Kevin oversaw special projects including The Mason Cabaret, the Mason Improv Association, and the Musical Theater Ensemble. Kevin taught Acting for the Camera and Audition Techniques for Stage and Screen, and he continues to teach these courses as part of AFYP’s summer camp. Kevin is also a professional actor. He has appeared in scores of plays, films, television programs and commercials. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association. He continues to act in film and television and was recently seen on FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), We Own This City (HBO), The Good Lord Bird (Showtime) with Ethan Hawke, Aftermath with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Veep (HBO) with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, House of Cards (Netflix), and many independent films.