Our Staff

Linda is an experienced professional in both the non-profit and for profit sectors. As Interim Executive Director, Ms. Horner is charged with oversight of all aspects of CSSSA Foundation’s strategic growth and development, including communications, donor development, finance, community relations and arts advocacy, Board management and leadership transition planning. Linda has a long history of working in arts education and workforce development for youth, including as the Executive Director of the L.A.C.E.R. Afterschool Programs and Special Project Director of the STREETLIGHTS Production Training Program. In addition, Linda worked in a leadership position with City Hearts: Kids Say Yes to the Arts and the Hollywood Arts Council.

Linda is a graduate of Third Sector Company’s Interim Executive Academy. She participated in the Wells Fargo/Executive Service Corps Executive Director Leadership Institute; the Community Redevelopment Agency - Hollywood Arts Retention Program (HARP); and earned a Certification from UCLA Extension - Fundraising Certificate with Concentration in Institutional Development.

Gary Shields is an experienced and passionate arts administrator having held positions in the both private and public sectors. Before joining the CSSSA Foundation, Gary previously worked for the GRAMMY Foundation, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, Education Through Music-Los Angeles, and the Nashville Symphony. Gary is also an avid pianist, award-winning composer, and music educator formerly on faculty at Cornerstone Music Conservatory in West LA.

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Gary received his B.M. in Music Theory/Composition from Vanderbilt University and his M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern California. Gary's composition teachers include National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, Frank Ticheli, Erica Muhl, Michael Kurek, and Michael Rose. Mr. Shields also studied piano with Jama Reagan and harpsichord with Carl Smith and Lucinda Carver. While a graduate student at USC, Gary was a mentee of GRAMMY and Emmy award winning film composer, Thomas Newman.

Jessica Hemingway, Class of ‘04

Program Manager

Jessica Hemingway works with communities and schools across California to raise awareness and build access to the CSSSA experience. She has been working as a regional outreach coordinator for several years and is now expanding this outreach to connect with prospective CSSSA students in target communities across the state. Jessica has deep roots at CSSSA. During the CSSSA summer session, she teaches contact improvisation and acting studio. She is also an alumna of the CSSSA Theatre program and is excited and honored to spread the word about CSSSA and help discover talent in new communities.

As a professional artist, Jessica has also worked in theater, dance, and film and holds a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts. She currently works and resides in Los Angeles creating both solo and collaborative performances with musicians, dancers, and filmmakers.

Yvette Carrillo 

Volunteer

Yvette, a 2017 CSSSA Theater Graduate, is from Atwater, CA located in the Central Valley. She currently resides in Davis, CA attending UC Davis studying both Clinical Nutrition and Theatre. Favorite past roles and works include Jekyll (Jekyll & Hyde) and participating in the university's annual First-Generation Monologues. Other creative platforms she enjoys include writing, ballet folklorico, and playing the flute/piccolo in various music ensembles. Yvette is a firm believer in the power of the arts to shape and transform communities.

Dovely King 

Volunteer

Dovely King is an 18-year-old accomplished rising filmmaker and activist. She attended The California State Summer School for the Arts in 2020, focusing on film arts. She received the Herb Alpert scholarship and is now a freshman at The University of Southern California studying Film and Television Production. She plans to grow as an artist and become a writer/director in the near future.  

Paul Salzberg 

Volunteer

Paul attended CSSSA in 2018 for Music— playing the piano and trumpet. He is now studying piano performance and exploring his interests in composition and music pedagogy at CSU Sacramento. He is looking forward to a future study abroad opportunity in Paris, and playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the CSUS School of Music Orchestra in Spring 2022.