Douglas Love-Ramos joined Patel Conservatory as its chief arts education officer on April 1. He has been at the forefront of performing arts and education for more than 20 years.
He brings with him a wealth of experience covering multiple disciplines, media and platforms. His first priority at Patel, he said, will be listening.
Patel, Love-Ramos said, “is an established, successful school. I want to meet our teaching artists and our school partners and students and patrons and donors and understand where our deepest strengths are, so I see where there’s room to grow.”
His commitment to bringing the arts to all aligns with the organization’s commitment to arts education outreach.
“Douglas brings a powerful blend of creativity, strategic growth and educational innovation,” said Greg Holland, Straz president and CEO. “I look forward to the impact his leadership will have on our arts and education initiatives.”
“Expanding access is something that I have pursued my entire career,” Love-Ramos said. He wants to ensure “that everyone can participate regardless of their ZIP code.”
One of Love-Ramos’ most celebrated accomplishments did just that. He was on the team that developed the Learning Through the Arts initiative at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
For nearly 15 years the program brought every fifth grader in Miami-Dade County, about 25,000 annually, to see Rock Odyssey, a multi-million-dollar rock musical production of The Odyssey, free of charge.
Love-Ramos also created what is now the most-accessed arts education platform, Dramatic Learning for World Book and developed long-running children’s television series for Disney (Out of the Box) and HBO Family (Jammin ‘Animals). This is in addition to publishing nearly three dozen books and plays, as well as overseeing several performing arts venues.
“What’s great about this point in my career is that I’ve had a lot of different experiences,” Love-Ramos said. “I’ve always been totally focused on arts changing lives. So, the fact that I can bring those experiences into one institution … and to have the support of that community as we’re inventing and exploring together the new frontier of what arts education can accomplish, that’s exciting.”
On a recent visit to Patel, Love-Ramos was struck by ”the incredible dedication, the feeling in the building that there’s a seriousness and a discipline to the art forms, as well as a sense of support for students having that feeling of belonging and that their expressions are not only encouraged, but valued.
“There’s just that shared camaraderie,” Love-Ramos said, “but with an underlying current of real respect for the art forms and a serious dedication, which is what it’s all about.”