Our Leadership
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
INNOVATOR, TRAILBLAZER, CHANGE AGENT
MICHELLE L. BONTON, M.ED
Michelle Bonton is a native Houstonian, veteran educator, entrepreneur, and a self-described “broke philanthropist” who believes in giving her time, talent, and resources to impact the community for good. As a public servant in education for 30 years, 15 of which were in senior leadership, Michelle impacted the lives of thousands of children and their families. Building on her training and leadership, she founded Kaleidoscope Youth Development Services (KYDS) Inc. in 2006 and led the organization for 13 years. At the time of her retirement in 2019, KYDS, Inc., had a 14 million dollar budget and employed nearly 200 people, most of whom were people of color.
Director of Artistic Programs
STACEY ALLEN
Native Houstonian, holds a BA in Dance from Sam Houston State University and a Master of Arts in Cross Cultural Studies. She most notably performed with Urban Souls Dance Company. She also taught dance in a multitude of sectors including public schools for over 10 years. Stacey's choreographic perspective is to create works that are culturally competent and incorporate social justice and activism and embrace non-traditional theatergoers and strives to create community through public art.
Stacey co-founded Pretty Cultured wherein the development of "Movement Passport" began. Pretty Cultured also co-created several dance pieces relating to the African Diaspora. Founding and leading Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective is the intersection of motherhood, movement, education, and more.
Notable work includes “Formed in My Grandmother’s Womb” as a part of Project Row Houses’ Round 50: Race, Health, and Motherhood (2019), "A Single Thread Weaves a Future" as part of Fresh Arts’ SpaceTaking Residency (2021) and “The Fairytale Project” at Discovery Green (2022.) Stacey Allen is currently a Project Freeway Fellow with Diverse Work (22-23.)
In her first year serving as the Director of Artistic Programming at Anderson Center for the Arts, she has curated "Salvation" and "Shear Elegance" for FOTOFest and "Ebony Love Letter." Also under her direction the Artist in Residency program has launched.
Community Engagement Manager
KRISTINA ZATOPEK
Kristina is a lifelong resident of East Harris County. She attended Cimarron Elementary, North Shore Middle School, and North Shore Senior High School. She recently graduated with her MS in management and leadership from Western Governors University. Kristina is the first person in her family to complete a Master’s degree. She is actively involved in multiple projects and organizations throughout the North Channel community.
Kristina looks forward to using her skills and knowledge to make our communities stronger by bridging social and civic gaps.
Her personal philosophy comes from her favorite quote from Camus, “In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer”.
Our Board Members
Randy Snyder
Randy Snyder has been with San Jacinto College, North Campus since 1997. During this time, he was the Director of Bands; founded the Summer Music Camps; oversaw the University Connection; served as an advisor for Phi Theta Kappa; currently Co-Chairs the SJC Fine Arts Council; and, since 2014 has been the Fine Arts Dept Chair serving the Art, Child Development, Education, Music, and Speech programs. Randy is honored to serve as a board member of the Harris County Cultural Arts Council. Snyder earned degrees from Stetson University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Houston.
Randy is a trumpet player and has been a member of the jazz trio “Scotch and Soda” for over a decade. Snyder is a published composer and member of ASCAP. Before moving to Texas, Randy was a high school band director for eight years in Florida. He is married to Ana Lucia Sorondo Snyder, and they are the parents of three sons.
Barbara Gaston
Barbara has a passion for helping and assisting others. She is currently employed at Grace Cathedral Church of Houston as the Church Administrator. She is also a director with Harris County Municipal Utility District # 344 and a licensed health and life insurance agent with Church Solutions Insurance and Financials. She is a certified church consultant and notary public.
Barbara has worked for over 16 years for Chase Bank in various positions. She also served on the former North Forest Board of Trustees for nine (9) years and held various offices, including board president. Barbara was born and raised in northeast Houston and remains active in the community and schools. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston Downtown. She is married to Lindsey Gaston, Jr., and they are the parents of three sons, Brandon (Tiffany), Brian, and Roland Gaston, and the grandmother of Serenity and Trinity Gaston.
Andrea Bonner
ANDREA BONNER is a native of Houston and owner of Style on Demand, a fashion consulting business. She is also chair of Consumer Arts and Sciences at Houston Community College, where she leads the department and teaches courses related to the fashion industry. Andrea is convinced that using her platform to share her knowledge and equip her students for futures in fashion has been her true calling.
“Once I started working with students, this huge light bulb went off,” she says. “This is where I want to be. I enjoy teaching students, and I always tell them that fashion is a multi-trillion-dollar industry globally and that there is definitely an opportunity out there for them to make a living in fashion. Working with students to show them what those opportunities are and how they can do well in the industry is where I found my footing and my sweet spot.”
Serving as a board member at ACA is a natural fit for Andrea and gives her an opportunity to bring her organizing and trendsetting skills in style to the performing and visual arts sector to help advance ACA’s mission and goals.
Leyla Cantu
Leyla Cantu is a real estate broker at Can-2 realty. In 2017, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services at Springfield, College. Mrs. Cantu volunteered at J.W. Oates elementary as a dance instructor and was also a member of the school’s Share Decision Committee. She was also the Executive Director of the Houston Organization of Latino Artists, also known as H..O..L.A., an artistic development organization that focuses on promoting, enhancing, and discovering talent by actively recruiting musicians and performers to allow them to reach their full potential.
Leyla Cantu is very passionate about preserving and promoting the Mexican-American culture through the performing arts and feels the necessity and responsibility to share her sense of pride and identity for the Mexican culture through dance. Keeping in mind that children are our future, a good foundation increases the possibilities of becoming successful citizens and an asset to society.
She has been dancing in a professional ballet Folklorico group for the past 14 years. In 2014 she founded TBH/Mejikenze Ballet Folklorico at Talento Bilingue de Houston with a group of new dancers ranging between the ages of 5 and 18 years old. Mejikenze currently offers intensive and specialized training in the art of Mexican folk dance, emphasizing technique, body alignment, strength, control, and style. The program is designed to develop-well rounded dancers and expand choreography by learning repertoire from various states and regions in Mexico. Mejikenze Ballet Folklorico also prepares students to follow either a professional or collegiate path, while assisting them to prepare auditions videos for various scholarship programs and university submissions.
As has been noted, Leyla Cantu focuses on encouraging the teens in our community to discover their passion for art, music, drama, and dance. She strongly believes that it will help them do better in school, find it easier to stay out of trouble and be less likely to become depressed.
Chevelle Wilson
An HR Technology professional with over 25 years of experience. She excels at building high-performance teams designed to deliver value. During her career, she has overseen multi-million-dollar implementations across multiple industries. She is passionate about the work that she does in ensuring that organizations have systems designed to deliver scalable solutions that meet future objectives.
Chevelle is a two-time graduate of Texas Southern University, in Houston, Texas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Airway Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems. She went through at least ten interviews prior to graduation, failing many of them, until she received her first job offer. It wasn’t until many years later while working in Human Resources and seeing very qualified people not obtain job offers simply because they did not interview well, that she decided to launch Coaching for Success.
Coaching for Success is more than mock interviews and interview techniques. It is personal coaching geared toward the individual. Interview coaching identifies the individual’s areas of weakness and provides proven tools, knowledge, and skills to overcome those weaknesses. Chevelle works with each client until they are ready to shout, “Coach! Put me in!”, which has become her signature phrase. In addition to her professional success, Chevelle is a community service advocate as an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., as well as a published author. She wrote a book called Coffee with The Guys, a collection of conversations between herself, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, whom she affectionately refers to as “The Guys”!