EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Carolyn Merritt is a mom, anthropologist, and lifelong dancer who became hooked when she discovered Argentine tango. Her love of tango brought her to Argentina several times, including a two-year stint in Buenos Aires. She is the author of Tango Nuevo (2012) and a contributor to the edited volumes Tango Lessons and The Cambridge Companion to Tango. A 2016 National Critics Institute Fellow, Carolyn has written on dance and culture for publications including Dance Chronicle, thINKingDANCE, Practicing Anthropology, and more. She has advocated for educational equity and arts programming in Philadelphia’s public schools, and connected with students of all ages as an instructor of anthropology, yoga, cooking, and dance. Carolyn lives in Philadelphia, where she works as a development consultant and writer and spends time with her wonderful son.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT & BOOKKEEPER

Maddie Hopfield is an NYC-based dancer, choreographer, taiko drummer, and arts administrator. She is a former Philadelphian with a movement background in martial arts, postmodern, and house dance. She is thrilled to support the work of the Tango Therapy Project as an arts and finance administrator. You can find more of her work at maddiehopfield.com.

LEAD TANGO TEACHER

Kristin Balmer is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and University of the Arts. Kristin uses painting as a way of transforming the ethereal and transient into something fixed and material.  She learned bookmaking while working in the bindery at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Kristin is co-chair of the local chapter of the Guild of Bookworkers, and loves exploring the nexus between books and artmaking.

Kristin Balmer has been dancing tango for 28 years, and teaching for 15 years. She started dancing as an adult, with an ingrained idea that she was uncoordinated. In order to learn tango, she first had to learn how to learn. The skills she gained in the process are what make her a patient teacher, dedicated to reframing concepts continually in order to accommodate different learning styles to get through to every student.  She is also dedicated to building students’ confidence, as she believes people learn more readily in an environment where they feel comfortable. She sees tango as a hobby that has the potential to immeasurably enrich people’s lives by giving them a chance to connect with themselves and with one another.

CO-FACILITATOR

JUDITH SACHS is Founder and Director of ANYONE CAN MOVE, an adaptive movement program in Philadelphia, PA. She is a certified Dance for PD® teacher and a certified A Matter of Balance (MOB) teacher in Pennsylvania. Her goal is to get everyone moving, whether in a chair or across the floor. See more at www.anyonecanmove.com.

BOARD PRESIDENT

Rebecca Ichord (BS, University of Hawaii and MD, George Washington University) is Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics, Director of Stroke Program and Section Head for Neurocritical Care Consultation Services, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Co-Director of the Pediatric Neurocritical Care fellowship at CHOP, Dr. Ichord serves as a mentor for numerous residents, fellows and junior faculty research activities. Among her research subjects are ischemia & hypoglycemia in developing brain studies in animal models, pediatric and childhood stroke, traumatic brain injury, and post-cardiac arrest encephalopathy. A passionate tango enthusiast, Dr. Ichord has traveled to Argentina to dance and is an avid supporter of tango music composition.

BOARD TREASURER

Amy Yang (Master of Family Therapy, Drexel University and BSc in Neuroscience and Biology, Temple University) is a data and technology specialist currently serving as Associate Director of Civic Tech Programs at BlueLabs Analytics. As a former psychotherapist, Amy has built a career that integrates her experience in healthcare delivery with her background in research and data. She has over five years of experience evaluating the implementation fidelity and impact of health programs serving under-resourced communities, most recently at AccessMatters where she managed the data analytics and reporting for federal and state programs. An avid tango dancer for nearly 15 years, Amy also has experience teaching, performing, and organizing tango events in the Philadelphia area.

SECRETARY

Mary Carmel Etienne is an educator and higher education advising administrator, currently serving as the assistant dean in the School of Arts and Sciences at La Salle University. Spanning a 17-year career, she has served in various leadership roles in advising and program operations, including at Temple University, Trinity Washington University, and Hofstra University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and economics from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s in geography and urban studies from Temple University. In addition to presenting and writing about advising, she has also presented on facilitating dialogue to advance equity and inclusion and has co-authored articles on faculty development.

Mary is a tango dancer, DJ, organizer, and teacher in Philadelphia, PA. As an active and experienced member of the tango community, she endeavors to create and contribute to dance spaces that value learning, inclusion, and connection.

BOARD MEMBER

Alex Pfister is a Neurologist and Dancer. She studied modern dance and Taiko (Japanese drumming) in NYC, performing with the Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble and Neo. She then went on to study medicine, completing her training in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania where she is now a Neurohospitalist Fellow. During her residency training she designed and carried out a Modern Dance study for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is currently continuing to teach dance classes though Penn Neurology in an initiative called MS Dance Movement. She and her husband co-direct a Philadelphia based dance and Taiko performing group called Casual Fifth. She has long been dedicated to the performing arts and neurologic community and is excited to join the board of the Tango Therapy Project in their mission to create a dance program for people with Parkinson's Disease.

BOARD MEMBER

Huaou Yan (B.A., Harvard University and J.D. Harvard Law School) is a partner at Blank Rome LLP, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense and government investigations. But perhaps more importantly, Huaou has been a lifelong lover of Argentine tango music, and having recently dived headfirst into learning this magnificent dance (including traveling to Buenos Aires to dance), he has been wondering what he was doing for the first thirty-five years of his life that he didn't start sooner!

BOARD MEMBER

After twenty-five years in technology management, sales, and support, Kerry entered the health and wellness field as a body work practitioner. Along the way, she discovered Argentine Tango, the therapeutic aspects of which became quickly apparent to her. This fascination led her to learn more from the academics who researched the therapeutic effects of Argentine Tango and went on to provide several community programs. Kerry’s professional and personal life have also included serving on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, one devoted to providing Argentine Tango dance events and the other to providing peer support to people with LGBTQ+ family members and friends. Additionally, Kerry has been actively involved with several other nonprofit organizations.

TTP VISIONARY

Laurie (MLA, UPenn) ran a Design/Build/Maintain landscaping business in greater Philadelphia. After retirement, Laurie returned to Texas and served on the board of Pease Park Conservancy. Taking dance lessons was on her bucket list and after trying several dance forms, she fell in love with Argentine tango and the friendships she finds in the community. Her move to Texas allowed her to spend happy times with her mother, who had Parkinson’s Disease, and as Laurie describes it “found it difficult to initiate steps, but she could stand up and dance little jigs, swaying and stepping to the beat of the music, all smiles and laughter.” The joy of dancing with her mom inspired Laurie to volunteer with Power for Parkinson’s tango classes, which in turn inspired the birth of the Tango Therapy Project!

ADVISOR

Dr. Madeleine Hackney is a neurokinesiologist focused on the intersection of dance, mobility, and brain health in aging. She is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure, a Research Health Scientist with the Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (CVNR) and an Investigator with the Birmingham/Atlanta VA Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). She is an affiliated faculty with the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program within Emory University (since 2021). She has received funding from the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the NIH, the NSF, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Parkinson Foundation, the CDC and other foundations. Her research has received media coverage in the New York Times, Scientific American, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, National Public Radio, CNN, AARP Newsletter and in Musicophilia, by Oliver Sachs. She has been a key member of the VA Gerofit implementation team since 2020, which is a thriving, longitudinal physical activity program for older Veterans. Dr. Hackney has presented her work on music and dance-based exercise, including tango for those with PD and older adults, and webinars for conferences about older adults, movement disorders, and physical activity combined with the arts, both nationally and internationally.