Karla Nweje is an arts educator, choreographer, performer, and literary artist.  She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Brooklyn College/CUNY. As a literary artist, Karla is a published author and contributing writer to literary publications and writes/presents interactive workshops and assemblies for youth.  After obtaining teaching credentials, she worked as a NYC high school language arts teacher by day and a performer by night.  During this time, she used movement and theater arts techniques to enhance the learning process in her classroom. The positive results she witnessed affirmed her conviction that the arts are vital to the comprehensive development of youth. Karla has performed and toured with dance and theater companies in NYC, Atlanta, and the Twin Cities.  She continues to create and share work through The Samimejon Movement, her group performance initiative.  A 2013 recipient of Ordway’s Excellence in Educational Service Award, Karla served for 10 seasons as a teaching artist and design team member for its Dance to Learn program.  She is on several teaching artist rosters, including COMPAS, and was its 2019 Teaching Artist of the Year.  Karla is a regular presenter and speaker at arts and education conferences. Through arts residencies, workshops, professional development and more, Ms. Nweje continues to cultivate partnerships across organizations, programs, and school districts to make quality arts experiences accessible to all learners.