The staff of Performing Arts Educators is made up of performers, producers, directors, stage managers, educators, and administrators. We have been called “the most organized, well-run production company for amateur performing arts groups” by professional staff in world-class venues. We pride ourselves on running tight, well-oiled productions, so our performers can enjoy their performances without worries.
Matthew Straub, Executive Director Emeritus

Matthew provides the leadership and vision for our many performing series. He is currently producing series at Carnegie Hall (15), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (12), Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2), a song and dance production on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, and previously at Broadway and off-Broadway venues, plus Olympic-related venues (Sydney 2000, London 2012) for over 20 years. His performance background includes as a flutist for the former Florida Symphony Orchestra and primary wind at Walt Disney World, and extensive fife performance, including the WDW Fife and Drum Corps and the Gettysburg, PA fife and drum corps (11th Pa. Volunteers), plus Baroque instrumental performance on original instruments, and even the Andy Warhol 1966 Plastic Exploding Inevitable. Educationally, he organized and taught orchestra band and chorus parochial music programs from kindergarten through high school, plus Humanities at the college level. Matt has organized and administered college evening programs in Pennsylvania. As the co-author of a leading Mime textbook that is still in use today by performing artists (Mime: Basics for Beginners, (c) 1984). Matt has experienced the performing arts as an artist, educator, and producer. Currently, he is teaching himself how to play mandolin.
Katie Salmon, Executive Producer

Katie Salmon is the Executive Producer and Operations Director at Performing Arts Educators (PAE), where she seamlessly blends her lifelong passion for performing arts with her extensive experience in ed-tech immersive learning companies. A former pre-professional performer herself, Katie is deeply committed to nurturing and expanding PAE's Fellowship Community. She brings over a decade of expertise in leadership development, inclusive practices, and engagement to PAE, fostering an environment where performers can thrive and shine. Katie is driven by a belief in the transformative power of performing arts and is passionate about creating meaningful, memorable performance opportunities for the community. She finds immense joy in witnessing the growth of performers as they gain confidence and realize their artistic potential.
Dr. Carrie Straub, Special Events Producer

Carrie Straub, PhD is a Special Events Producer and board member of Performing Arts Educators. Carrie is interested in improving accessibility to the arts for all individuals and uses program evaluation and research methods to identify evidence-based practices of fine arts instruction. Carrie also is Executive Director of Educational Programs and Research for Mursion, a San Francisco firm using virtual environments for leadership development. Her costuming and theater performance background, coupled with her role as school director of Stonesoup School, compiled with her cutting edge work with Mursion's educational avatar approach, has informed Carrie’s work at the intersection of education and the arts.
Mackenzie Jacob, Special Events Producer & Marketing Director

Mackenzie is a business school graduate from the University of Connecticut. Her experience spans from Nickelodeon's Media Planning team (Paramount) to the Creative Services department at HBO (Warner Bros. Discovery), and with clients such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney, and more during her time at Allied Global Marketing. She also served as an Ambassador for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. As an Ambassador, she worked with the Broward Center and its affiliated venues to promote their shows to younger audiences. Her reviews have been published in the Miami Herald and the Sun Sentinel’s “The Forum”.
Mackenzie's journey with PAE began nearly a decade ago, and since then she has served as the Media Manager for performance at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and across the world in Italy and Spain. The arts have always played an integral role in her life as she firmly believes that the arts are a gateway to the world. Movies, television, and theater offer a slice of life that encourages empathy for others and a deeper understanding of the world around us.
Mackenzie's journey with PAE began nearly a decade ago, and since then she has served as the Media Manager for performance at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and across the world in Italy and Spain. The arts have always played an integral role in her life as she firmly believes that the arts are a gateway to the world. Movies, television, and theater offer a slice of life that encourages empathy for others and a deeper understanding of the world around us.
David Knoell, Executive Stage Manager

David began with Performing Arts Educators in 2014, and has been stage manager at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Rome, Italy. David currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where he has worked as a theatre professional at Pioneer Theatre Company, Plan-B Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Prior to Utah, David lived in Chicago where his credits include performing and directing with The Second City, Stage 773, The Playground Theatre, and Chicago Dramatists. In Florida, David worked at all three major theme parks, Mad Cow Theatre and Orlando Family Stages. Other professional credits: Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, and Hallmark Pictures. David is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union for professional actors and stage managers and IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (Local 99). Alumnus: University of Nebraska, (BA). University of Central Florida, (MFA). David currently serves Salt Lake Community College as an Assistant Professor of Theatre. dktheatrical.com
Stephanie Stroud, Stage Manager

Stephanie is an Assistant Professor of Theater at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the former Artistic Director, producing manager, and director of the Theatre Department of Concordia University Chicago. Directing credits include: UNTIL DEATH (a new play by Dana Lynn Formby), A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM, and CRIMES OF THE HEART (Feb 2017). She has acted on Chicago stages such as Lookinglass Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Mortar Theatre, and Erasing the Distance Theatre. Additionally, she is a lecturer on Woman’s and Gender Studies and Female Voices in Theatre. Stephanie graduated with an MFA from Penn State University, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Washington University.
Lucie Shannon, Playbill Editor

Lucie Shannon's lifelong passion has been to enact change through initiatives that have a lasting impact on her local communities. She brings this passion with over 14 years of experience in the nonprofit world with experience ranging from creating a translation and interpretation program with the DDA and Washington State leaders in the field of early intervention therapy, to partnering with Washington State public health organizations to create the Social Safety Ambassador program, to securing a student loan program for the only independent animal grooming school in Las Vegas. She was an inaugural board director for a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization focused on promoting public health education and is now their Director of Operations. Lucie has worked with Performing Arts Educators since 2008 and enjoys managing the Playbills for their productions.