Staff Biographies

Libby Smigel MFA PhD

Libby Smigel was confirmed as Executive Director of the Dance Heritage Coalition in November 2009, after stepping in as Acting Executive Director in July 2009. Smigel served as the DHC's Project Director, during which time she led a project to define best practices of applying the Copyright Act's fair use doctrine in essential preservation work, programs, and services of dance archives, libraries, and museums. (Publication is available as a booklet and PDF.) She also coordinated a Save America's Treasures grant to assist endangered dance company archives. Earlier, as a freelance consultant, Smigel worked on the DHC traveling exhibition "America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100" and drafted the DHC booklet "Documenting Dance: A Practical Guide."

Smigel has taught undergrad and graduate courses in drama, dance, and English at an array of higher education institutions, including American University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, York University, and Rochester Institute of Technology. She is an active dance researcher and editor. Most recently, she has been actively involved in the development of reference publications. She is co-editing a two-volume series on Icons of American Dance, has contributed entries on dance figures for the Dictionary of American Biography, and was consulted on the antiquity entries for the International Encyclopedia of Dance. She currently serves as Area Chair for Dance and Culture for the American Culture Association and the Popular Culture Association (PCA/ACA), for which she also sits on the board of directors, and she served on the first board of directors of the Society of Dance History Scholars.
Telephone: (202) 223-8392
E-mail: LSmigel [at] danceheritage [dot] org

Tanisha Jones MA

Tanisha Jones serves as Consultant to the DHC Secure Media Network project. Jones is the Coordinator of the Jerome Robbins Archive of the Recorded Moving Image in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Before to joining the Dance Division in July 2007, she was the 2006-2007 Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) Research Fellow in the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department at New York University (NYU) Libraries. She worked as a research assistant for the Library of Congress's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP): "Preserving Digital Public Television," a cooperative project with NYU, Thirteen/WNET, WGBH Boston, PBS, and the Library of Congress. Additionally, Jones has presented her work at professional conferences and organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA), Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), Joint Technical Symposium (JTS), and the Archivists' Round Table of New York (ART). She served on the Board of Directors of the New York-based nonprofit organization Independent Media Arts Preservation, Inc. (IMAP) from 2005 - 2009 and was recently elected to IMAP's Advisory Council. Jones received her master's degree in 2005 from New York University as a graduate of the inaugural class of Tisch School of the Arts' Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) program.
Contact Tanisha Jones through the central Dance Heritage Coalition office: (202) 223-8392.

Anne K. Griffith MA

Anne Griffith is DHC’s Coordinator of Special Projects. Griffith brings an extensive background in financial management, project development, program management and evaluation, staff training, and other consultant services to aid small nonprofit organizations increase capacity and achieve organizational stability. Griffith completed a master’s degree from the Urban Studies Institute at Mankato State University.
Telephone: (202) 223-8392
Email: AKGriffith [at] danceheritage [dot] org

Johanna Seltzer

Johanna Seltzer is DHC's Website Administrator, coordinating several aspects of DHC's website upgrade. Seltzer brings a wealth of experience in technology project management and internet communications, recently working for diverse organizations such as Dance/USA, Balance Interactive, and River's Edge Yoga. Seltzer has a BA in Dance from the University of Maryland, and a Graduate Certificate in Arts Management from American University. In 2007, she left her Project Director position at Dance/MetroDC (a local service organization for the regional dance community) to work as a contractor in technology, communications, and finance.
Telephone: (202) 223-8392
Email: JSeltzer [at] danceheritage [dot] org