Lisa Diomande has had many jobs and careers. She began as an actress, getting a BFA in Drama from New York University, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and in Sanford Meisner technique. She toured in a bi-lingual production of Don Quixote, playing Hermione in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and Gertrude in Hamlet. She toured New York City schools with ATOMIA, a musical troupe with Young Audiences, and taught drama in middle and high school before training in Orff-Schulwerk, a musical pedagogy for two, three, four, and five year olds. Her dance training led her to stage-manage dance recitals in Haitian, Ivorian and Diaspora spectacle. She began teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) and GED (General Education Diploma) in 2007, pursuing an MA summa cum laude in Language and Literacy from The City College of New York in 2015. She established and taught in a successful adult education program at Henry Street Workforce Development Center, surpassing expectations and graduating over 100 adults. Lisa speaks Spanish and French and is currently the Executive Director of Kotchegna Dance Company, specializing in dance and drum traditions from the Ivory Coast. She is devoted to the intersections of expression, language, culture and education. She is pleased to join the important mission at Schools That Can to provide new horizons and opportunities to New York City students from all backgrounds.