Ron Russell; MFA-Directing, Louisiana State University; BA-Neuroscience/Theatre, Oberlin College. After founding the nationally acclaimed Summer Theatre Enrichment Program at El Centro de Servicios in Lorain, Ohio, Ron came to New York as Education Director at Theatre for a New Audience. There from 1996-2001, Ron administered one of the nation's most in-depth programs for introducing NYC Public School students to Shakespeare, serving over 25,000 students during his tenure, and created new programming including the Playwriting Program at Project Renewal, an assisted living facility for homeless men. Ron sat on the Arts-in-Education panel of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1998-2001. He co-founded Off-Broadway's Epic Theatre Ensemble in 2001, and has directed extensively in NYC including 13 Off-Broadway productions (7 for Epic, including Kate Fodor's Hannah and Martin and an acclaimed recent Macbeth). His classroom experience includes over 50 educational sites, and his work as an educator in NYC has been recognized by citations from the Municipal Arts Society and Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg.