UZIMA! Drum and Dance
Board of Directors
Richard Herbst
Dr. Marvin Curtis, President
Marvin V. Curtis, is President of 100 Black Men of Greater South Bend. He is Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Music of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, is the first African Americancommissioned to write a choral work for a Presidential Inauguration. The Philander Smith Collegiate Choir of Little Rock, Arkansas and The United States Marine Band performed his City on the Hill at the 1993 Inauguration for President Bill Clinton, and it is housed at the Smithsonian.
A Chicago native, his degrees are from North Park University (BM), The Presbyterian School of Christian Education (MA) and The University of the Pacific in Music Education (EdD). Additionally, he studied at Westminster Choir College, The Juilliard School of Music, and The University of Ghana at Lagon as a Ford Foundation Fellow.
An active composer of musical genres and a choral and orchestral conductor, his writings on African American music are published in scholarly journals. He is Vice President/President Elect of the South Bend Symphony, the first African American to hold that position. He is President of the St Joseph County Library Board and involved in numerous community organizations. For 12 years, he was National Scholarship Chair for the National Association of Negro Musicians.
His honors include his 2021 induction into The South Bend Hall of Fame.
Shanna Neal, Secretary
Executive Pastor, Christian Life Center, South Bend
Shanna Neal, born and raised in a large family in the driven city of Chicago, completed undergrad studies in Tulsa, Oklahoma at ORU in Elementary Education. Upon returning to Chicago, Shanna's love for children and the family motivated her pursuit professionally in both teaching in the classroom & joyfully transitioning to social work. As Shanna became more sensitive to the challenges of the Chicago child welfare system, more professional training as a permanency specialist seemed natural to see children in a permanent loving, and safe home. This became the most rewarding chapter professionally but also a catalyst for an increased appetite to help people toward better ends. While maintaining this bi-vocational status with her “first” call to ministry as a youth pastor eventually this call became louder, and full-time ministry came about. This call into the service of the local church led to completing graduate studies with an emphasis on Biblical Studies while pursuing more education and training in Biblical Counseling & inner healing. A new call almost 15 years ago, led Shanna and her husband Doug (of over 26 years) as a team to accept the Sr. Pastors role at Christian Life Center in South Bend Indiana. They have 3 adult children together. Shanna is the author of "HeartWork:From a house of sand to one that stands," She also leads the ministry of HeartWork & Soul Care: a ministry of support, healing, and wholeness. You can find more information at shannamneal.com.
Kelly Burget
Host of WNIT’s Experience Michiana and Founder / Artistic Director of UZIMA! Drum and Dance Company
Kelly Burgét is one of the hosts of WNIT-TV’s Experience Michiana which showcases unique businesses and events in the Michiana community. She considers herself extremely fortunate to have been trained in a myriad of artistic forms of expression. While living in New York, she studied ballet, jazz, modern and tap at The Fournier-Greco Performing Arts Center, Musical Theater at The Betsy Dickerson Performing Arts Center and was also accepted into the Certificate program at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where she grew in her love for West African Dance. She was also a scholarship recipient at The Manhattan School of Music where she studied classical violin. Kelly has performed at various venues in the Tri-State area including Lincoln Center, The Brooklyn Academy of Music and the 92 nd Street Y. Along with her dance and musical training, Kelly appeared in over 75 National and Regional commercials including Hallmark, AT&T, McDonalds, Colt 45, and Pepsi. She also made several appearances on Sesame Street, Another World, and the ABC Afterschool Specials. Kelly is thrilled to be the Artistic Director of UZIMA! Drum and Dance and loves journeying through life with this tribe of amazing individuals. She believes dance is much more than the physical body, it is the legacy of the human spirit which is ageless and endless. She is delighted to have created a space where people of various dance abilities, ages and races can celebrate the power of movement and its ability to bring UZIMA! - wholeness, health and life to individuals, families, and communities.
Senior Director of Development, Inclusive Philanthropic Engagement, Brown University
Dr. Coates joined Brown University in 2019, and serves as a major gift fundraiser and the academic liaison for the Centers for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, and the Study of Slavery and Justice, as well as the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at Brown University. She is an active member of Fabulous Female Fundraisers, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the National Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE).
Dr. Coates served in various leadership roles for 25 years at the University of Notre Dame. Regional Director of Development, Enrollment Division Senior Leader, Director of Office for Outreach and Engagement and Office of Pre-College Programs, Director of Trio Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search Programs, and Recruiter for the National Consortium for Minorities in Engineering and Science. Alyssia is happily married to Jua Coates, and they have two amazing children, Ashley and Ian.
Dr. Coates is a former member of UZIMA!’s dance company.
“I accepted the call to serve as a board member because UZIMA! brought healing to my life, and I found a community to share my gifts, talents, and treasures.”
Michelle Jewell
Booking and Logistics Manager, Big Sea Entertainment / Director of Communications for UZIMA! Drum and Dance
In her role as Booking and Logistics Manager for Big Sea Entertainment, Michelle Jewell handles scheduling appearances and managing travel logistics for author Kwame Alexander and other literary professionals. Michelle's extensive experience in executive support led her to her position with Big Sea in 2023, finally placing her in a full-time position in an arts-related industry for the first time in her career.
The daughter of the late Chicago jazz musician Franz Jackson, Michelle grew up around music and the performing arts. Her parents emphasized the importance of art appreciation in all forms and provided a fertile environment for their children to experience a variety of artistic experiences. Michelle trained in ballet and jazz dance starting at age 10 and has performed in various productions throughout the Michiana area as a dancer and actress. After a 20-year break from dancing, she resolved to resume her passion at age 50 and discovered her dance family in UZIMA! in 2018. Michelle currently serves as UZIMA!'s Director of Communications where she manages internal and external communication, bookings, the company website and media. She is honored to serve as a board member for UZIMA! because being a member of the company has literally changed her life. She has a fervent belief in the company's mission and potential to make a positive and lasting change in our community and beyond through the art of dance.
Ida Reynolds Watson, Vice President
Ida Reynolds Watson is a native Detroiter who in 2005 moved to South Bend after having lived in Minneapolis. She found that bigger cities typically offer a variety of culturally diverse entertainment options, an area that South Bend was lacking in, until Kelly Burget, a professional dancer focused on Afro-centric performance had an idea to begin a performance troupe called UZIM! in 2012. The concept went beyond just a professional dance troupe but one that was community-based and would encompass professionally trained dancers as well as novices. UZIMA! is a Swahila word for wholeness, health and love of life. Ida has had the opportunity to see UZIMA! emerge and grow into the wonderful community-based performance dance troupe that welcomes novices of all age levels.
“So it was an easy decision for me to want to support UZIMA! as it transitions into a non-profit entity in order to ensure its longevity within South Bend and beyond.”
Alyssia Coates, Ph.D, Treasurer
Cinema Program Director, University of Notre Dame DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Ricky Herbst serves as the Cinema Program Manager of the Browning Cinema at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. In this role, he holds curatorial oversight of the Browning Cinema and arranges a nearly year-round exhibition program, which includes the ANDkids World Film Festival as well as several film festivals curated in partnership with University of Notre Dame academic departments, centers, and institutes.
A native of small-town Iowa, Ricky’s early involvement in the arts taught him the importance of both movies and movie theaters when building community. Leaving Iowa to study at the University of Notre Dame, he sought out to study how attitudes, beliefs, and opinions change—or don’t—both at individual and societal levels. Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre provided that training while allowing him to dive further into his deep interest in film and television.
Throughout his career in law and criminology, cinema remained a constant, whether working in the entertainment law sector or programming film series, either for educational institutions or ad hoc groups. Ricky applies his experience in program construction and departmental development to Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema. Previously, Ricky was Notre Dame Law School’s Assistant Director for Public Interest Law and remains active as a co-founder of Ultreia, Inc., a nonprofit often collaborating with LangLab to produce events with local artists. He holds an M. Phil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge, where he was active in the Sidney Sussex Film Society, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. in Psychology and Film, Television, and Theatre summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.