Dr. Cole Kai-Lewis is an Ethnomusicologist with a passion for merging music and arts outside of traditional academic settings. Kai-Lewis has a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her leadership strengths include cultivating student-community partnerships that enhance learning, instruction, and accelerate professional development. She is currently working as a middle school teacher in New York and brings expertise in student engagement, classroom instruction grounded in strategic curriculum design and program development for diverse audiences.