Katie Kirkpatrick (Instructor) began her love for acting at Gregg Jones’ improv class at Santa Fe College. She went on to study acting and directing in Los Angeles and graduated from the Second City Conservatory. Since, she has directed and acted in children’s plays, improv shows, short films, commercials, and theatre. She practices her stand up comedy weekly and teaches improv and acting to ages ranging from 3 to 53. “I always knew I would end up teaching. I love watching people discover something within themselves and passing on what I’ve learned in my experiences.”

Karen Porter (Program Sponsor & Educational Liaison) is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher with more that 20 years of teaching experience. She is currently an Independent Educator and Publisher and has her own company Loga Springs Academy. She is a published author of the books, Modern American Drama, Peace Peace Peace: a Coloring Book from Around the World, and Abby’s Read-Along, Sing-Along Picture Books which includes 40 hours of continuous English grammar and reading instruction. She was an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Florida, and University of Florida as well as a Multicultural Liaison for Pinellas County Schools in Clearwater Florida. She has taught Teacher Training and Cross-Cultural Communication for the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Pinellas County School System, Saint Andrews University in Scotland, East China Normal University in China, and Rutgers University in New Jersey. Having worked in various educational settings, she is aware of the many different types of assessment and educational methods for teaching. She has presented in New York, Seattle, Orlando, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Scottish, and Florida at various educator conferences including the international Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) and the British Association of Language Education Professionals (BALEP).

Samara Golabuk (Program Coordinator for the ART) is a Graphic Designer and mother of two living in Gainesville, FL. She became involved in theatre in high school, and went on to a variety of community and professional pursuits including children’s theatre, voice-over acting, and more. She’s been seen on the stage at the Gainesville Community Playhouse and the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre, where she has recently taken up residence on the Board of Directors as the Chair of the Design and ARTiS Committees. She looks forward to helping the Acrosstown grow and thrive in the coming years, and hopes to expand the ARTiS program to include a broad spectrum of after school theatre opportunities for children of all ages.