Jenna Gabriel, Special Education Manager at the Office of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts shares her reflections on the VSA Intersections:  Regional Arts and Special Education Conference in New Orleans.

What have you learned from the regional intersections that you will take with you to the national intersections?

We are privileged at the nation’s performing arts center to serve educators and arts leaders across the country, and while we all share a deep commitment to this work, it looks different in every community. So often because of the volume of sessions, speakers, and attendees at the national conferences, we sort of fly in and pitch our tent for a few days. The emphasis stays on the national focus of our work. These regional conferences have been an amazing opportunity to work in concert with the community in our host city and create meaningful connections between local expertise and the national community of practice, and I think our content has been richer for it. I look forward to carrying that focus on community connections with me in our upcoming national conferences.

What was a highlight of the NOLA Intersections for you?

Definitely the local flavor! Holding space Friday in a community center like the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, which has been so important to the community post-Katrina, hearing the Preservation Hall Band play as part of the “Embracing Sound” workshop, learning about the history, culture, and traditions of Mardi Gras Indian craft, our amazing student performers… Half of the sessions at this weekend’s conferences were led by educators, administrators, or culture bearers based in New Orleans, and that felt like a real celebration.