Welcome the Greater Lawrence Fellowship of the Arts
Board of Directors
Lisa Miller-Gillespie
President
Lisa is originally from Denver, CO, but has called MA home for the past 24 years. Lisa studied jazz, modern, ballet dance while living in Colorado. Her personal style can be described as a fusion of the various disciplines she has studied. Some theatrical productions have included: August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” at the Vokes Theater, Lynn Nottage’s “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark” at the Quannapowitt Theater, Rinde Echert’s “Highway Ulysses” at the ART, as well as “The Full Monty” and “The Crucible” at Acting Out Theater.
Maurisa Charest
Vice President
Reese is originally from Brooklyn NY and, since 2012, has lived in Methuen MA. With over 30 years experience in theatre arts, Reese is an actor, director, playwright and educator. She has been teaching in higher education for over 20 years including roles at Kingsborough Community College and Northern Essex Community College where she is currently in her tenth-year teaching communications. Recently, she completed a production of her fourth one-act play, See Ya Later Sparrow at Acting Out! Theatre Company in Lawrence MA.
Jake Zeigler
Director of Government
Jake Zeigler Jake is an Educator, Musician, and Labor Activist who lives in Methuen, MA. He has dedicated his career to empowering youth of the Merrimack Valley and Greater North Shore communities through engagement in social, educational and musical development. He is currently the History and Math teacher at Northshore Recovery High School and the Teachers Union President of the Northshore Education Consortium Employees Federation. In his spare time he performs as lead guitarist for Troubadour Soul.
Letty Lo
Director of Culture & Education
Letty Ló Letty is an Afro- Latina artist, educator, & creative. She was born in the Dominican Republic & migrated to the United States at the age of 6 years old. Letty is a dedicated and passionate artist who found her voice singing at a local church in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Her soulful melody and rawness captivates her audience in an organic nature. Letty’s mission is to create music that represents and uplifts communities that are often left out of the conversation.
Maggie Andrulis
Secretary
Maggie Andrulis Maggie is on the school partnerships team of a local telebehavioral clinic, with a passion for increasing access to mental health supports for students. Her background is in digital imaging and design, with a focus on photography. She grew up dancing, singing, acting, and playing various instruments. A New England transplant with family roots, Maggie values community and is excited to connect with folks through the arts.
GLFA Advisory Board & Volunteer
An Advisory Board Member is a volunteer who will assist GLFA in achieving objectives. During your time with GLFA, we appreciate your experience in financial, professional, and personal resources that can be used to benefit the organization.
Lesly Melendez
Lesly brings years of business, nonprofit, government, and community activism to her work. As someone who has this breadth of experience, she is considered a change agent, facilitator, and organizer. As a community weaver, Lesly brings her passion for collaboration, community, and equity to the forefront of her work. She brings a unique perspective to what is needed by people of color to advance in the professional world. Lesly brings her love of writing, community, and civic engagement to this effort.
Jim Henderson
Jonathan Guzman
Jonathan has been involved in the arts since he was a child. Throughout his life, art has temporarily removed him from reality, allowing him to express his emotions, and build on the various aspects of who he is and what he might become. The Pablo Casals Escuela Especializada en Bellas Artes was one of the most prestigious art schools in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, where he studied his academics and art until moving to Lawrence in 2010.
Loida Dominguez
Loida Dominguez, is also the CEO of a Women’s Empowerment brand called, The Empowered Mother. She’s a life coach and mentor, a singer songwriter and the published author of, The Awakened Winners. She uses all of these tools to better support people to awaken to deeper layers of love within themselves.
She is a single mother of a magnificent young man by the name of, Nicholis King Joy. Her son was born with Down Syndrome, he’s been her inspiration and he is the light of her life. She is a devoted and loving mother, that creates change in the way people perceive individuals that need extra support. She offers a perspective of unconditional love and is committed to this being her life’s journey.
She’s also vegan, in support of the well being of animals as sentient beings. She is passionate about speaking for those that can’t speak for themselves. She’s devoted to being the change she wants to see in the world and is committed to leaving the world better than when she came
Michelle M. Aguillon (she/her/hers)
Michelle is an AAPI theater artist who has directed, acted, designed, and produced in the Boston area for over 25 years. She has directed at Newburyport Arts Center, the Umbrella Stage Company, Chuang Stage Co, Off-Kendrik, Hope Rep Company, Company One, Central Square Theater, Emerson College, the Lyric, Speakeasy, Vokes Players, Theater Uncorked, Arlington Friends, Concord Players, and Hovey Players.
Directing credits include In The Heights, Appropriate, The Elephant Man, Dancing at Lughnasa, Natural Shocks, By The Way Meet Vera Stark, Middleton Heights (World Premiere), Dracula – A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Fences, Joy Luck Club, Disgraced, To Kill a Mockingbird, True West, Piano Lesson, Passion, the Annual Asian-American Playwright Collective Annual Play Festival 2020-2024, Augusta and Noble, Vietgone, Proof, Clybourne Park, Terra Nova, Of Mice and Men, Sense and Sensibility, Miss Saigon, Secret Garden, Rabbit Hole, Marjorie Prime, The Pillowman, Kimberly Akimbo, Looking for Normal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and G.R. Point.
Upcoming productions where she will be directing are: Yellow Face at Footlight Club, The Kittie Knox Plays with Plays in Place, and Once On This Island with Arlington Friends of the Drama. Michelle is the Executive Director at the Creative Arts School in Reading. She studied acting and theater at San Francisco State University and the National Theater of London. Michelle recently served as the Director of DEI with the Eastern MA Association of Community Theaters (‘21-23). Michelle is also a writer with the Asian American Playwright Collective of Boston; her short plays have been produced by the Annual Boston Theater Marathon
Mabel Johnson
I am a board-certified child, adolescent, and Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I have been working in the healthcare industry for over 20 years. My approach to mental health treatment integrates medication management and advocates for counseling/ therapy. I utilize a holistic approach to treatment that combines evidence-based practice with patient care, including therapeutic communication and patient-centered care. I take a sensitive, empathic, non-judgmental approach to patient care. I recognize that partnership with my patients to address their specific needs and values to achieve an overall sense of wellbeing through psychoeducation, collaboration, and client advocacy leads to the best treatment outcome. I am direct with my patients, ensuring that plain-speaking, honest conversation leads to open communication lines. I currently run a practice that is open to clients with various psychiatric concerns, including ADHD, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, bipolar, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and personality disorders, substance use disorder treatments, and many others. I honor my patients’ input in tailoring treatment to suit their needs, and I am respectful of other health professionals’ work and open to collaboration.