Outstanding arts educators to be honored at annual OCMAA awards ceremony

More than two dozen teachers and administrators who oversee instrumental, vocal, theater, dance and visual arts programs will be honored during an upcoming ceremony for making a difference in the lives of Orange County students through arts education.

The virtual Orange County Music and Arts Administrators — or OCMAA — Awards will take place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12. Educators, students and others who support the arts can register to attend the free 2021 OCMAA virtual awards ceremony by visiting this link.

The evening will include a display of student visual art from the countywide OCArts4All Virtual Art Showcase, award presentations by district and arts organization leaders and student performances.

And, this year’s program includes the addition of two lifetime achievement and heritage awards, the Jim Thomas Award for Theatre and the Phyllis Berenbeim Award for Arts in Special Education, both named after former OCDE visual and performing arts coordinators.

Founded by OCDE, the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators is an active coalition of school districts, community arts organizations, parents and business leaders who work collaboratively to ensure a high quality inclusive, accessible, and equitable arts education for every child.

For those unable to attend the ceremony, here’s the full list of the 2021 Orange County Music and Arts Award recipients:

  • Jamie Tanzer, Newport Mesa Unified School District – Secondary Dance
  • Greg Bergevin, Irvine Unified School District – Elementary Instrumental Music
  • Justin Padilla, Los Alamitos School District – Secondary Instrumental Music
  • Emily Helmick, Garden Grove Unified School District – Elementary Vocal Music
  • Brian Hogan, Anaheim Union High School District – Secondary Vocal Music
  • Sarah Seibert, Santa Ana Unified School District – Elementary Theatre
  • Sarah Anderson, Newport Mesa Unified School District – Secondary Theatre
  • Suzanne Fowler, Orange Unified School District – Elementary Visual Arts
  • Michaela McPolin, Huntington Beach Union High School District – Secondary Visual Arts
  • Karen Doles, Garden Grove Unified School District – Secondary Visual Arts
  • Albert Yap, Orange Unified School District – Media Arts
  • Christine Choi, Orange County School of the Arts – Arts in Special Education Award
  • Patricia Neff, Garden Grove USD – Juliana McGrath Award, Elementary Classroom
  • Stephanie Smith, Irvine Unified School District – Juliana McGrath Award, Elementary Classroom
  • Brian Belski, Anaheim Union High School District – Arts Administrator
  • Jennifer McCully-Rodriguez, La Habra City School District – Arts Administrator
  • Hilda Vazquez, Anaheim Union High School District – Arts Administrator
  • Robyn MacNair, Santa Ana Unified School District – Arts Administrator
  • Laura Rubio, Fullerton Joint Union High School District – Arts Administrator
  • Monica Colunga, Irvine Unified School District – Arts Administrator
  • Matthew Franklin, Garden Grove USD – Teacher on Special Assignment, Visual Art
  • Kate Hoffman, Huntington Beach Art Center – Arts Advocate
  • Shanin Ziemer, Arts Now Communities & Arts Orange County – Arts Advocate
  • David Martyn, Garden Grove USD – The Irene Schoepfle Award for Music
  • Julie Hahn, Anaheim Union HSD – The Phyllis Berenbeim Arts in Special Education Award
  • Autumn Browne, Anaheim Union HSD – The Jim Thomas Award for Theatre

For additional information, please contact Scott Fitzpatrick, OCDE coordinator for visual and performing arts at stfitzpatrick@ocde.us. You can also follow OCArts4All on Facebook and Twitter.