North Carolina Presenters Consortium - New Paradigms Panel Biographies

About This Session: "New Paradigms for the New Reality of the Performing Arts" will focus upon what we have to do, and what are we already doing differently, today, to survive and prosper as Presenters, Artists, and Agents, in the new economic realities we face." Identifying and adapting to new Paradigms is the point. DELIVERING USEFUL SOLUTIONS TO OUR AUDIENCE IS OUR GOAL!

ERIC AMADA I RHONDA BELLAMY I JACOB DEATON I RAE GEOFFREY I GASPARD LOUIS I Mister MOJO I JENNIFER MORRIS

Eric Amada is the founding partner of Arts Management Associates. Prior to founding AMA in 2023, Eric was a Vice President/Booking Representative for CAMI (1988-2022) and more recently served as a consultant for CAMI Music (2018-2020). He served as an adjunct professor of Entertainment & Arts Management at Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2008 and 2009.

Now a resident of Wilmington, NC, Eric was raised in a family of professional musicians including his mother, concert pianist Susan Starr and his grandfather, Isadore Schwartz, who was a violinist in the Philadelphia Orchestra for over 40 years.

He is also the proud father and stepfather of five children, three dogs, two birds, one cat and whatever else happens to wander on to the property he shares with his wife and partner, Joy Hyatt Amada, a former board member of NCPC and a former marketing director and programming director at UNCSA’s Stevens Center in Winston-Salem, NC.

Rhonda Bellamy is the founding executive director of the Arts Council of Wilmington/New Hanover County, which is celebrating its 11th year as the nucleus of Wilmington’s dynamic arts community. She was promoted to President/CEO in 2022.

She is chair of Arts North Carolina, the statewide arts advocacy organization which calls for equity and access to the arts for all North Carolinians, unifies and connects North Carolina’s arts communities, and fosters arts leadership.

Named to Wilmington Biz 100 (four years running), Rhonda has been honored with the White Lotus Lifetime Achievement Award from NC Project Lead, the City of Wilmington’s Living Legend Award, Woman of Achievement Award in the Arts from the YWCA, and Woman of the Year by the New Hanover County Human Relations Commission. She was honored to serve as the official Mistress of Ceremonies for the 59th North Carolina Azalea Festival.

Prior to full-time work in the arts, Rhonda was an award-winning news director/anchor/talk show host with 25+ years in radio, television, and print in the Wilmington market. Currently she is host and executive producer of “Around Town with Rhonda Bellamy” on WHQR Public Media.

A native of New York, Rhonda graduated from Wilmington’s E.A. Laney High School and North Carolina Central University, where she holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in Media/Journalism and graduate credits in Instructional Media.

The mother of two enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren.

Jacob Deaton is a veteran, guitarist, producer, artistic director, promoter and agent based in Atlanta Georgia.

After his stint in the USAF where he served 11 months deployed in Tusla, Bosnia as an Airfield Manager, Jacob began his music career at age 22 where he graduated from the Atlanta Institute of Music with an emphasis on guitar studies. As a performer, Jacob averaged over 300 dates per year for over a decade performing as a guitarist for hire for artists that include broadway star Jennifer Holiday, gospel pioneer Kim Burrell, the late Southern rock legend Col. Bruce Hampton, and many others.

In 2014 Jacob started the Georgia Players Guild, a production house of note-for-note tribute experiences, of which he directs and represents to this day. In his time producing shows, Jacob developed the 21st century skills in digital marketing and advertising necessary to sell a high volume of tickets to the success of an 80% sell out rate across all shows nationwide. His experience in the field has led to consulting for many artists, agencies and performing arts centers across the country.

Rae Geoffrey is the Managing Director of the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts in Asheville, North Carolina. A three-venue facility presenting an annual season of world-class artists, Wortham Center also provides a creative home and professional support services to more than forty local companies, cultivates a robust arts education program for students, and connects community to the arts through a series of diverse programs. Rae is a member of the Dance Touring Initiative through South Arts, serves on the Board of Directors of Arts NC and the Arts AVL Leadership Council, and chairs the Nonprofit Committee of the Arts AVL Coalition She served as a past President of the NC Presenters Consortium, a panelist for the North Carolina Arts Council, ArtsMarket Showcase Selection Panel. Rae is passionate about the power of the arts to connect people and build better communities.

Gaspard Louis is the Founder/Artistic Director of the Durham based modern dance company Gaspard&Dancers (G&D). He received a BFA in Dance from Montclair State University and continued his dance studies on scholarship at Gus Giordano's in Chicago and Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab in New York. Following his studies, he joined the New York based company called AllNations where he performed traditional dances from many parts of the world for US troupes across the globe. Subsequently, he performed and traveled worldwide with Pilobolus Dance Theater. He collaborated on the choreography of nine major dance works with the company and taught master dance classes both nationally and internationally. In 2012, Gaspard received an MFA in Dance from the Hollins University/American Dance Festival Program; and became the Creative Movement Director for the “ADF project dance” community outreach program. Since forming his company he has created over 25 works, which has been shared with audiences around the world. Additionally, Gaspard has been a guest teacher and choreographer at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), Duke, Elon and North Carolina Central Universities. Gaspard is excited about G&D’s upcoming season with performances in South Korea, Armenia, NC State Live, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs.

"This Bayou Man, Mister MOJO, and his troupe of near-mad musical provocateurs, have poured Louisiana Fire on audiences across the planet since 1985.” Syndicated News Network. Thrilling audiences Worldwide since 1985, MOJO & The Bayou Gypsies have made millions of people happy, and enriched the lives of countless children with their Arts Outreach. Mojo has performed on PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, Superstation WGN, FOX, and CMT TV Networks, released 25 albums of original Music certified by the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He is a producer, composer, performer, manager, and presenter in Music, Stage, and Film, who started his professional career in 1963. Mister MOJO was a Board Member of NAPAMA (North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents) for six years., and received NAPAMA's 2021 Liz Silverstein Award for Artist/Agent/Manager. He is the historian who got the Zydeco Rubboard into the Smithsonian Institution, and is executive producer of historic, feature-film documentaries. He is an International Music Ambassador for the State of Louisiana, and is an active advocate for the Arts working with many of America's top Arts Agencies as a member, a speaker, and mentor. He's also a character actor appearing in feature movies, a featured star in the opening of CMT's "Swamp Pawn" series based in the Louisiana Bayous, and star/producer of the “Swamp Girls Gone Crazy” series about strong, successful women entrepreneurs from the Bayous! Mister MOJO’s life and career are the subject of the multi-award winning feature documentary, “The Magic Behind the MOJO”, by Gallo Films. Filled with MOJO's original music, the film won an award for “Best Original Score” from the Southern Academy. His song, "Lights on the Bayou" is also the theme for the documentary series, "Soldiers Stories", permanently playing in the The National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Diversity, Inclusion, and Charity are pillars of MOJO’s lifetime work reflected in his performers, his music, and, especially, his lifetime of mentoring and supporting hundreds of Artists, Agents, Managers, Presenters, and causes since the 1960s to today. After a 2-year Covid Intermission, MOJO & The Bayou Gypsies are back on the concert stage for their 38th Season. Mojo's charitable performances have raised millions of dollars for worthy causes. His three Humanitarian Awards from Shriners Hospitals for Children say it all. “I measure my success by how many people I’ve made happy… that’s my Lifetime Mission and Goal!”

Jennifer Morris joined Siegel Artist Management in 1998, became a partner in 2002 and owner in 2016. She is a founding member of the Dance Managers Collective and currently serves on the planning committees for the Midwest Arts Xpo (MAX) and Tennessee Presenters ArtsConversation. She has served on the Board of Directors of Pennsylvania Presenters and North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA). She has served on the professional development committees of Midwest Arts Xpo, Performing Arts Exchange, Arts Midwest Conference, Pennsylvania Presenters and co-chaired the Pennsylvania Presenters Spring Arts Conference in 2010 and 2015. Jennifer regularly serves as a panelist and mentor at state, regional and national conferences. In 2011, she created and produced the first Agents & Managers Retreat, now a NAPAMA event, and in 2014, she received the NAPAMA Award for Excellence. Over the course of her 30-year career she has worked in many different facets of the performing arts industry including general manager for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, special events manager for the Town of Brookline and marketing manager for the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines (now Des Moines Performing Arts). Celebrating more than 50 years, Siegel Artist Management represents an eclectic artist roster of music, dance, special attractions, arts education, and family entertainment.

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