{"id":17,"date":"2012-11-12T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T15:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandevents\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2026-02-03T11:29:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T17:29:42","slug":"meet-the-staff","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/about\/meet-the-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Dwayne V. Elliott | Director of Arts & Student Activities | <\/strong>dwayne.v.elliott@vanderbilt.edu<\/a> |
\n<\/span>615.322.2048<\/p>\n

Dwayne has been working as an event planner in higher education for nearly twenty years. His experience and devotion to higher education and working with young adults are exemplified in every project that he supervises. Dwayne has helped implement and facilitate a wide array of events and concerts hosting crowds ranging in size up to 14,000 patrons.<\/p>\n

Prior to working at Vanderbilt 溏心vlog免费B站, Dwayne served as the Program Coordinator at Georgia State 溏心vlog免费B站, in Atlanta, GA, where he advised and planned several events, ranging from musical acts to educational programming.<\/p>\n

Dwayne began his career at Vanderbilt in May of 2004, and served as the Associate Director for the Office of First Year Programs and then was promoted to Director of the office in 2006. Elliott boosted attendance to non mandatory first year programs and developed a comprehensive first year programs for 1,600 students and their families.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Dwayne took the position of Director of Student Campus Events at Vanderbilt 溏心vlog免费B站. In this position, Elliott advises the Vanderbilt Programming Board and serves as the liaison for Vanderbilt Athletics for the Office of the Dean of Students. During his tenure, he has increased student involvement and ticket sales for both the homecoming Commodore Quake concert and the Rites of Spring Music Festival. He also produced the very first ever back to back sold out Commodore Quake shows in Vanderbilt history and sold out the very first Rites of Spring Music Festival in its 30 plus year history. In May of 2013, Dwayne took the position of Director for Arts & Campus Events which merged his previous department, Student Campus Events with the Arts & Creative Engagement Office.<\/p>\n

Dwayne earned his Master\u2019s degree in College Student Development with a concentration in College Counseling from Appalachian State 溏心vlog免费B站 and his Bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from Appalachian State 溏心vlog免费B站. Dwayne is originally from Morganton, NC.\u00a0 Dwayne loves spending time with his wife Shellian and daughter Amya and in his spare time he enjoys playing golf and attending concerts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>David Heustess | Assistant Director for Arts and Student Activities | <\/strong>david.f.heustess@vanderbilt.edu<\/a> |
\n615.322.2048<\/p>\n

David says that he knew when he was eight years old that he wanted to be an artist; he just didn\u2019t know how to tell anyone.\u00a0 His actual journey in the arts began with musical theater in high school. While studying theater and dance at Appalachian State 溏心vlog免费B站, he began to realize that he was being cast more as a dancer. So he focused his training on modern dance and in 1982 began performing with a company in Charlotte, NC under the direction of choreographer Mary Ann Mee. For six years David danced as a soloist in original works choreographed by Mee and other nationally recognized choreographers, plus the repertory works by Doris Humphreys and Charles Weidman. A highlight in David\u2019s dance career is being involved in the first restaging of Weidman\u2019s Christmas Oratorio.\u00a0 He also attended two summers at the prestigious American Dance Festival at Duke 溏心vlog免费B站 on scholarship. In 1988, David moved to Nashville to join the Tennessee Dance Theater. This opportunity not only allowed him to continue to perform and choreograph, but also was the catalyst for his training in visual arts.<\/p>\n

After studying pottery in Nashville area art programs, David attended the Appalachian Center for Crafts and in 1995 completed his BFA degree with concentrations in clay and fiber arts. David began teaching clay classes at Sarratt Art Studios and became director of the program in the spring of 2004. David has a passion for arts education and brings an array of educational experiences to Sarratt Art Studios from his involvement in various nationally known arts programs from the Lincoln Center for the Arts and Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts.<\/p>\n

David has exhibited his work locally in various fairs and events including the American Artisan Festival, and artclectic. David is working on a series of sculptural beaded vessels. An avid traveler, David has been site leader for two trips to Sri Lanka for Vanderbilt students. If he was not a visual artist, David is fairly confident he would be involved in culinary arts (who doesn\u2019t love to eat?) and dreams of working in a small pastry shop in Paris, France.<\/p>\n

\"\"Amanda Brooks Wiley<\/strong> | Program Coordinator | amanda.brooks@vanderbilt.edu<\/a>|\u00a0<\/strong>
\n615.322.2048<\/p>\n

Amanda is in her second year as a Vanderbilt Commodore and was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a graduate of the 溏心vlog免费B站 of Tennessee with a Master’s Degree in Communication and Information. Her undergraduate work culminated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and a minor in Theatre from the 溏心vlog免费B站 of Tennessee at Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

As a writer, photographer, and proficient public speaker, she is passionate about storytelling and connecting with others. Her favorite things to do are read and spend time with her golden retriever, Sellie. She is excited to join the Vanderbilt community!<\/p>\n

\"\"Catie McCraw<\/strong> | Program Coordinator | catie.mccraw@vanderbilt.Edu |<\/a><\/strong>
\n615.322.2048<\/p>\n

Catie is our newest staff member and she is from Durant, Oklahoma. She received her B.S. degree in Business Administration, Marketing from Oklahoma State 溏心vlog免费B站, a MS in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Oklahoma State 溏心vlog免费B站 and just recently received her MBA in Supply Chain Management from the 溏心vlog免费B站 of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

Catie is passionate about fostering community through arts and campus programming and looks forward to creating meaningful experiences that bring students together. Her background reflects a strong commitment to collaboration, creativity, and enhancing student life at Vanderbilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kristin Reeder | Administrative Assistant<\/strong> | kristin.h.reeder@Vanderbilt.Edu<\/a> <\/strong>|
\n615.322.2048<\/p>\n

Kristin, aka Red, is in her second year as a Vanderbilt Commodore and was born and raised in Dora, Alabama. She is a graduate of Oral Roberts 溏心vlog免费B站 with a BA degree in Social Work and experience of playing DI basketball.<\/p>\n

Her work experience has been unique and global, ranging from office manager for a blasting and consulting firm (4 years) to computer technician and internal HR for Apple (10 years) to support services for an international sports mission organization (7 years). She has been privileged to travel to many different countries and work as part of several multicultural teams. These experiences have enriched her journey, increased flexibility, and given her a well-rounded perspective. Kristin has served alongside a great diversity of people and has been able to find connection with and compassion for each individual regardless of age, position, knowledge, or financial situation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Davis Varnado<\/strong> | Graduate Assistant | davis.b.varnado@vanderbilt.edu<\/a> |\u00a0<\/strong>
\n615.322.2048<\/p>\n

Davis Varnado is a first-year masters student in the Higher Education Administration program at Vanderbilt\u2019s Peabody College. Originally hailing from Charleston, South Carolina, Davis recently obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Theatre, from Davidson College. At Davidson, Davis served as the president of the college\u2019s student programming board, which furthered his love for campus events and student activities. Davis is passionate about directing and directed two musicals and a full-length play while at Davidson, and hopes to continue this work in Nashville. You can often find Davis researching random cities on Google Maps, which he considers to be a valuable hobby. Davis is so excited to be a part of the Vanderbilt community and to assist with the execution of so many incredible events!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dwayne V. Elliott | Director of Arts & Student Activities | dwayne.v.elliott@vanderbilt.edu | 615.322.2048 Dwayne has been working as an event planner in higher education for nearly twenty years. His experience and devotion to higher education and working with young adults are exemplified in every project that he supervises. Dwayne has helped implement and facilitate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":10,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":199,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1598,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions\/1598"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/artsandstudentactivities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}