Our Staff

Jeremy has devoted over 25 years to the nonprofit sector, serving in leadership roles at nonprofit organizations nationwide and receiving numerous awards for his work, including the J. Richard Ullom Professional Excellence Award, the Gateway to Impact Award, Employee of the Year Award, and the Nonprofit of the Year Award from the Torrance Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman’s Award by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Jeremy has built a reputation as a compassionate and dedicated leader, consistently focused on improving quality and achieving better outcomes. His professional network and connections to resources have enabled him to strategically lead organizations to previously unattainable success.

As Chief Executive Officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Central Coast, Jeremy tripled the organization’s operating budget, restructured staffing and operational functions, added $1 million to the reserve fund, substantially increased event net profits, and overhauled the organization’s strategic plan to be focused on growth. Under his leadership, the organization went from 3 sites serving 300 youth to 12 sites serving over 2,700 youth in six years.

Most recently, Jeremy served as the CEO of Switzer Learning Center in Torrance, California.

Gary Shields is an experienced and passionate arts administrator having held positions in the both private and public sectors. Before joining the CSSSA Foundation, Gary previously worked for the GRAMMY Foundation, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, Education Through Music-Los Angeles, and the Nashville Symphony. Gary is also an avid pianist, award-winning composer, and music educator formerly on faculty at Cornerstone Music Conservatory in West LA.

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Gary received his B.M. in Music Theory/Composition from Vanderbilt University and his M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern California. Gary's composition teachers include National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, Frank Ticheli, Erica Muhl, Michael Kurek, and Michael Rose. Mr. Shields also studied piano with Jama Reagan and harpsichord with Carl Smith and Lucinda Carver. While a graduate student at USC, Gary was a mentee of GRAMMY and Emmy award winning film composer, Thomas Newman.

Jessica Hemingway, Class of ‘04

Program Manager

Jessica Hemingway works with communities and schools across California to raise awareness and build access to the CSSSA experience. She has been working as a regional outreach coordinator for several years and is now expanding this outreach to connect with prospective CSSSA students in target communities across the state. Jessica has deep roots at CSSSA. During the CSSSA summer session, she teaches contact improvisation and acting studio. She is also an alumna of the CSSSA Theatre program and is excited and honored to spread the word about CSSSA and help discover talent in new communities.

As a professional artist, Jessica has also worked in theater, dance, and film and holds a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts. She currently works and resides in Los Angeles creating both solo and collaborative performances with musicians, dancers, and filmmakers.

David Barton

Program and Operations Coordinator

David is a writer, filmmaker, veteran, and technical jack-of-all trades. He holds an M.F.A. in screenwriting from CSUN and a Bronze Star with Valor from the 75th Ranger Regiment. David’s experiences range from public-sector to Netflix Originals machine learning models to non-profits.