Patel Conservatory Faculty and Staff
Wendy Leigh, Vice President of Education
Administrative Staff
Stephanie Reitz, Director of Business and Operations
Claire Olson, Registrar
Melissa Fortman, Associate Registrar
Patricia Simon, Education Marketing Manager
Sophie Serrano, Education Marketing Coordinator
Caitlin Simpson, Education Marketing Coordinator
Tina James, Education Programs Coordinator
Paul McColgan, Space and Equipment Coordinator
Dance Department
Peter Stark, Dance Department Chair/Artistic Director, Next Generation Ballet
Melissa Stafford, Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet Principal
Laurie Jones, Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet Assistant Principal
Ivonne Lemus, Ballet Mistress, Next Generation Ballet
Ashley Hilton, Dance Administrative Supervisor
Susan Downey, Cross-Departmental Dance Coordinator
All Dance Faculty
Music Department
Gregory Ruffer, Music Department Chair/Chorus Master for Opera Tampa
Deborah D. Lynch, Staff Accompanist/Musical Theater Specialist
Allison Novak, Music Department Coordinator
All Music Faculty
Theater Department
Ami Sallee, Theater Department Chair
Matthew Belopavlovich, Theater Faculty
Audrey Siegler, Theater Administrative Faculty
All Theater Faculty
All instructors at the Patel Conservatory are passionate, working artists with extensive experience in their specific disciplines. Their impressive backgrounds and qualifications include degrees from Juilliard, the Eastman School of Music, Berkeley, the Royal Academy of Music and Drama in London and other fine institutions, as well as an expansive array of professional performing arts experiences.
"Conservatory Faculty" is listed on a class page when an instructor has not yet been assigned to a particular class. All Conservatory faculty biographies can be found in the links on the left.