OUR STAFF

Born and raised in West Orange, NJ, Lauren Meehan pursued music, playing violin at the age of 8. While perfecting her musical craft in her teens, she performed at Lincoln Center, the Capitol, and the United Nations. A former youth violinist, she recognizes the need for early and engaging arts education opportunities for young people. She has been an active participant in the arts, education and philanthropic communities since, serving as a founding member and later the co-chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers Emerging Leaders Affinity group, a 2014 Leadership Newark Fellow, and is a charter member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education Emerging Leaders Affinity Group. She graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor’s in Art & Archeology in 2008 and completed a Master’s in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University in 2010, focusing on art crime. Lauren currently serves on the board of the Newark Preservation & Landmarks Committee and interviews applicants in greater Newark with the Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee. She also works with the Princeton University Office of Career Services and the FLI Program for low-income, first-generation undergraduate students.

Mayuri Chandra has worked for arts organizations and museums for over thirteen years developing, administering and evaluating programs for audiences of all ages in cities such as Boston, New York and London. For two academic years, she managed all teen programming in- and out-of schools at Studio in A School in New York City across all five boroughs. In her time there, she managed mentorships, workshops, internships and afterschool classes, developing curricula, administering sites and reporting feedback to foundations and funders. As the sole staff member of American Friends of Attingham, a British-based NGO committed to the study of historic houses, she managed membership, development, and communication of a network of alumni, consisting of leaders across arts fields around the world. Immediately following her Masters in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2005, she worked for two years in the Adult Education department of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, overseeing programs in the galleries and a weekly lecture series.

Amber is a former intern of Arts Ed Newark, formerly known as Newark Arts Education Roundtable (NAER) at the time. She is born and raised in Newark's southward, attended Newark schools, and is an alum of University High School.

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She is a graduate of Rowan University with a degree in Africana Studies and study abroad experience. She has since stayed in the Newark community previously working as a Financial Education Coordinator then WIOA Career Counselor for Newark Youth One-Stop. She later became the Program Coordinator for Arts Ed Newark overseeing the Arts Ambassadors Parent Program which equips and trains Newark Parents/Caregivers on advocating for the Arts in Newark schools (public and charter). 

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She wears many hats in the community and continues to oversee the Arts Ambassadors Program and other initiatives for Arts Ed Newark. She continues to stay active in the youth and arts sector as a volunteer alum for the Newark ACT-SO program and Scholarship chairperson for the Newark NAACP Scholarship committee.