Our Team

Jessica Craft
Founder + Chief Executive Officer

After working in financial services, Jessica Craft founded Rock to the Future (RocktotheFuture.org) in 2010 with the mission of helping Philly youth achieve their fullest potential through free, student-driven music programs. She believes in the power of music to change lives and that arts should be accessible for youth in their own neighborhoods. A Temple University graduate with a degree in Business Administration and Economics, Jessica has been featured in the New York Times, named a Local Leader at the PA Conference for Women, and received the Designing Leadership award from the Arts and Business Council of Philadelphia. Her past volunteer work includes being a big sister through Big Brother, Big Sister, working with Habitat for Humanity, volunteer drum instruction at Girls Rock Philly youth and adult camps, and organizing community benefit events.
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Daniel Lord
Operations Manager

Daniel is a Philadelphia-based musician with a long background in Arts NonProfits. After working for years as a percussion instructor, he made it his priority to work for organizations with strong ties to the community, allowing him to make a larger impact on the world around him. He previously worked with Walnut Street Theatre and was Creative Director for Theatre N in Wilmington, DE. Since moving to Philadelphia 4 years ago, Daniel’s passion for music has only grown. He understands the importance of Arts Education as it has personally made a huge impact in his own life.

Christine Dancey
Donor Relations Coordinator 

As a Philadelphia native (Masterman and Temple Alumni) Christine is passionate and dedicated to the evolution of Philadelphia's communities, particularly the underserved ones. She is both an artist and administrator, most interested in finding spaces where both of these world's collide. Professionally, Christine has served in a variety of sectors but mostly the art and culture sector, specializing in engagement, strategy development and project management. She also has skills within donor development, strategic partnerships, and a variety of marketing skills. Personally, Christine loves the study of God, family, art and to laugh. She is overjoyed to join RTTF's team and community and looks forward to all we will accomplish together.

Juliana Cala
Youth and Family Coordinator

Juliana is passionate about seeing the development of well-rounded artists, acknowledging the importance of collaboration among the music, business, and education fields. Music is close to her heart as she holds a Bachelor of Commercial Music in Artist Development in addition to an MBA from Liberty University. This moved her to join the Rock to the Future team in the summer of 2020. Having a bicultural background, being born in Colombia and raised surrounded by a multicultural community, has enabled her to empathize with diverse people groups and individuals and value cultural richness.

Kaamilah Moore
Site Director - Germantown

Kaamilah leads the virtual mentorship program and lead Rock to the Future's after-school program at Roosevelt Elementary. Prior to this role, Kaamilah volunteered at the MusiCore after-school program in North Philadelphia before helping to launch RTTF's newest expansion in Germantown, where she served as the first Academic Coordinator at the site. These volunteer efforts along with other partnerships and collaborations were achieved through her own community service organization, the HLA Foundation - where she serves as Executive Director, which aims to work with underserved youth both domestically and internationally. Kaamilah has a background in career development and strategic management and works with CEOs, C-suite teams and Fortune 500 companies on their hiring directives, company-wide initiatives, and corporate social responsibility projects. Kaamilah holds both a B.A. and MBA from Florida A&M University

Victoria Watts
Site Director - Kensington

Victoria was born and raised in San Diego, California. After pursuing the arts as a teenager, she moved to the east coast in college to attend the Contemporary Music Center, a by-invitation artist colony that develops performance skills, studio knowledge, and songwriting advancement for young artists. After a stint in Nashville, she moved to Philadelphia where she received her Bachelors of Arts for History from Eastern University. After running her own successful business in the music industry, she now focuses on Youth Development in the arts."

Josh Craft
Chief Music Officer

Joshua is a Philadelphia-based songwriter and music instructor who has been teaching music for over fifteen years. He has taught for Paul Green’s School of Rock, Farrington’s Music, Major Music, and privately. Because of his love of teaching and dedication to Rock to the Future, he worked his first two years at RTTF on a completely volunteer basis. From arranging music for weekly band rehearsals to teaching music business and songwriting, Josh is always ready to encourage, support, and inspire young creative minds. He has written songs for notable local bands such as The Bee Team, Conversations with Enemies, and many more. He combines his love of and talent for music with his love of teaching to encourage the success of students at Rock to the Future.

Dakota L. Gibbs
Ready for the Future Instructor

Dakota's passion for the intersection of art, social change, and urban youth drives him to make a meaningful impact in the communities around him. As the Ready for the Future Instructor and alumnus of the Bartol Foundation’s Trauma Informed Practice for Teaching Artists program, Dakota hopes to combine all his skills to provide a safe and supportive environment for student growth, success, and expression for their next stage. His love for community building was sparked as a Resident Assistant while at Swarthmore college where earned his B.A. in Economics and Philosophy. At Swarthmore, Dakota spent a good deal of his time connecting communities, arts, and social justice as he was part of the organizing team of the Compass conference for undergraduate students of Multi Heritage, ran events, and implemented and facilitated long term projects as a Student Program Coordinate for the Swarthmore Intercultural Center, and coordinated student shows and benefit concerts as the Director of Sound Machine, the campus band space. Dakota is no stranger working with students as he worked multiple summers with high schoolers on Stage Rage- a class that combines psychotherapy and acting for at-risk high schoolers.  

Artie Sadtler
Music Instructor

Artie Sadtler is a guitarist, bassist, producer, and music teacher currently living in Philadelphia, PA.

Beginning his study of music at the ripe age of three years old, Artie has been devoted to creating music for what feels like his entire life. While ultimately settling on the bass as his primary instrument, he has spent a great deal of time on other instruments, such as the piano and the guitar, on his musical journey. However, it has always been the bass on which he feels the most at-home.

Going to college at the Berklee College of Music was a life-long dream come true, as many of Artie’s heroes were teaching and performing there every day! He studied or performed on the bass with established players such as Victor Bailey, Mark Giulianna, and David Fiuczyinski.

Artie has toured and performed extensively since 2017, playing close to one hundred shows a year with his band STIG, as well as performing in local bands and venues off the road.

Rachel Godfrey
Music Instructor

Guided by an interest in how we can build a softer and more spiritually sustainable world, Rachel centers the arts, technology, and social justice education in her writing, research, and facilitation. After graduating from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in African American Studies, she began her career as a teaching artist and arts educator, helping students navigate the intersection between identity formation, community-based advocacy work, and the arts. Before joining the Rock to the Future team, she worked with the Encampment for Citizenship, Highland Park Arts Commission, and Philadelphia’s Urban Technology Project. As a singer-songwriter, Rachel spends her evenings working as the Musical Director of playwright Rodrick Edward’s forthcoming musical, Jukebox.

Additionally, she works as an arts and culture journalist, highlighting global-minded artists, educators, and other cultural workers using personal passions to nourish their communities. While storytelling is her artistic priority, she is also an herbalist-in-training, serving as a member of Philadelphia’s ShareHerbs Collective.

Emerald Chase
Music Instructor

Emerald is a singer-songwriter and graphic designer. They were raised in Cape May, New Jersey, but moved to Philadelphia during middle school. When they started school in Philly, they also started attending Rock to the Future for musical education. During this time, Emerald gained experience through Rock to the Future in music theory and stage performance, among other things. After being influenced by several teachers, musicians, and artists, Emerald began attending college seeking a degree in education.

Barron Lacy
Music Instructor

Barron Lacy is from Upper Darby, PA. Having studied music from a young age, he continued his music studies after graduating high school and obtained his B.A. in Music Education with a piano concentration from Cairn University.  The transformative power of music to inspire and enrich the lives of others, especailly in the lives of youth, is a deep passion for Barron. In addition to teaching at Rock to the Future, he has been a music teacher in the School District of Philadelphia since 2014.

Derek Gertz
Music Instructor

Derek has been playing music for nearly 20 years and teaching for 10 of them. He earned a bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance from the University of The Arts in Philadelphia but enjoys performing all genres. For the past 7 years, he has been working as a musician full-time and has played all over the country. He plays with a number of acts in the area including his own jazz(ish) trio, and also performs as a solo instrumentalist regularly. As a session musician, he can be heard playing guitar on many hip-hop, electronic and pop/rock records with local Philly artists and a few artists from around the U.S. He enjoy writing music as well and is employed as a composer/sound designer for Once More Theatre Company and Irish Heritage Theatre Company right here in the city. As much as he enjoys playing and writing music, he enjoy teaching just as much. He is a dedicated and passionate educator and loves teaching students of all ages. However, he especially enjoys working with children and teens.

William Bausch
Music Instructor
William Bausch is a drummer who also plays guitar, piano, bass and flute with diminishing skill levels. He was stupidly lucky to study and play with some amazing jazz musicians, like Donald Byrd, Alan Dawson, and Ralph Peterson; he became obsessed with Cuban music, studying for a decade in NYC, Canada and Havana--he even learned to speak Spanish in the process; he got to play in a bunch of clubs in New York City, and tour all over Japan, Moscow, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, and parts of Massachusetts and Vermont. And he taught in public schools in NYC for over 25 years. He has three music degrees and looks forward to using them some day. Right now, he’s obsessed with composing, recording, mixing and learning more about the technology that allows him to do all that. Oh, and William went into the recording studio with his group SANTOS right before COVID struck and is hoping to release a new album very soon (www.santosmusic.online). Please don't call him Will. Or Bill.

 

Cameron Cephas
Band Coach and Instrumental Instructor
Cameron is a graduate of Boys' Latin of Philadelphia, and he has volunteered and worked with the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Beulah Baptist Church. He has over five years of experience providing mentorship and teaching music theory and rhythm to middle and high school students in Philadelphia. He is a skilled drummer and musician, and he enjoys working with local youth and teaching music in a creative and collaborative setting.

Namarah McCall
Music and Creative Maker Lab Instructor
Namarah is a Philadelphia-born artist exploring sounds and words to represent the echoes of the heart. A singer-songwriter, educator, storyteller and gamer enthusiast, Namarah shares her interpretation of how we live life, grow and change and the stories that take us through the journey. Namarah is excited to join the Rock to the Future team as the Music and Creative Maker Lab Instructor. Namarah weaves together Rock, Rn&B, Pop, Gospel and Hip-Hop – an experimental practice to share her soulful voice and intricate melodies. When Namarah is not in the classroom, she can be found performing on main stages like the TLA, working production for her local church, or coaching performers across the greater Philadelphia community. She is an activist and community change-maker, believing that anyone can impact the world if they are willing to make unique partnerships to reimagine the world through music, the arts and any other medium – in Namarah’s world, it’s about the human connections we form that make life worth living.

Victor Vieira-Branco
MusiCore Kensington Site Director
Victor has worked with education since 2010. Upon moving to Brazil from the United States in 2010 he began a career in the ESL industry. There he worked as a teacher and quickly became involved in administration. More recently, Victor directed a six-week international summer program in New York for 5 consecutive years. On the side he maintained a career as a musician, having studied Vibraphone Jazz & MPB Performance in Sao Paulo and performing frequently in the country as well. With a permanent relocation in 2019 to Philadelphia, his mix of background in educational admin and music made him a great fit for the Rock to the Future team as Site Director of the Kensington MusiCore Program.

Julia Rainer
Ready for the Future Club Instructor

Jodi Kelley
Choral Ensemble Instructor
Jodie began her journey as a musician at the age of four, when she first began violin lessons. In 2012, Jodie earned her bachelors degree in music therapy at Temple University. Jodie's teaching career began ten years ago, and she has taught violin, piano, guitar, voice, and theory. Jodie taught through the School of Music, R&M music studios, and Perelman Jewish Day School, and led the Carousel House Choir for two years. As a teacher, Jodie hopes to show her students that music is not a chore, but a beautiful journey of growth and dedication. 

Bashlee Sanon
MusiCore Germantown Academic Coordinator
Through her education and volunteer experience Bashlee has focused on social change and community engagement. Both are things she believes are essential to understand when you desire to create a positive impact within a community. She aspires to use her passion of educating others on how to find themselves and use their voice to make a difference. Excited to join the Rock To The Future staff as the Academic Coordinator, she believes that with the right guidance and understanding students will have the desire to bring out the best in themselves and succeed academically, socially and emotionally.

Tori Potenza
MusiCore Kensington Academic Coordinator
Victoria is a Boston native who made Philadelphia her home several years ago and is dedicated to serving her community. She is an education professional who has been working as a Museum Educator at Eastern State Penitentiary for the past four years. She believes that educational programs and cultural institutions are essential to bettering our communities and give more opportunities for different types of learners. She has a Master's in Public History and has dedicated her education to advocating for students, empowerment for women, and environmental causes. She also has several creative projects like hosting and producing a local podcast, and writing for a film blog. She believes a variety of creative outlets are important for development and educational success.

Jeremy Blessing
Music Instructor
Jeremy is a Philadelphia resident who graduated from Central High School in Northwest Philadelphia and earned his Associates in Humanities from Community College of Philadelphia. He has worked for the School District of Philadelphia and has served as a music instructor and show director for the Princeton School of Rock. Jeremy is an experienced vocalist and musician and has played the guitar, bass drums, keys, and Ukulele. He is passionate about music and providing music education to young people in Philadelphia

Jake Kaplan
Bass Guitar Instructor and Creative Maker Lab Instructor
Jake recently moved to Philadelphia by way of Massachusetts and is excited to be sharing his love of music with the city’s at-risk youth and teens. Jake earned a Bachelor's in jazz bass performance from the University of the Arts, where he graduated in 2017 with honors. He went on to continue to study music - earning a master’s degree in Jazz Studies and Composition at the New England Conservatory in 2018. Through honest performance, education, and composition, Jake wants to help others explore the depths human experience as well.