Lisala Beatty
Director
Lisala Beatty
Director
With over twenty-two years of dedicated service, Lisala Beatty has been a stalwart supporter of music education, contributing to the social-emotional, cognitive, and academic skill development in over 500,000 students and 650 music teachers nationwide as the current Director of Music and the Brain (MATB). Currently serving 400+ schools nationwide, MATB is strengthening young minds through its scaffolded, school-day (K-12) general music method and curriculum featuring piano learning for all.
Lisala has supported music teachers and students with thousands of MATB lesson demonstrations and observations at partner schools, conducted hundreds of music educator workshops nationwide, and supports the ongoing curriculum development of MATB with a stellar team of music educators. Lisala is also a creative force behind hundreds of original MATB recordings that keep students highly engaged. During the pandemic, Ms. Beatty and her team at MATB launched learn.musicandthebrain.org, a dynamic hybrid learning platform for synchronous and asynchronous music instruction recognized by Fast Company and the Anthem Awards.
A performing vocalist and songwriter for over three decades, Lisala appears on over thirty-five recordings, with more than 600 live performances worldwide. Before her tenure with Music and the Brain, Lisala was a senior advertising sales executive at Universal, the Walt Disney Internet Group, and Ziff-Davis. Lisala holds a B.S. in Economics from the Univ. of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, majoring in Marketing.
Email: Lisala@musicandthebrain.org
Tel: 212 631 7825
Elana Stiel Obstfeld
Program Manager
Elana Stiel Obstfeld spent 16 years teaching elementary and middle school music prior to joining the Music and the Brain team in 2019. A former MATB teacher, she has experienced firsthand how Music and the Brain can positively impact individual students, educators, and entire school communities.
A passionate and innovative educator, Elana began her career in New York City where she taught K-8 music in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood and coordinated arts programming for her school. After relocating to the Philadelphia area, she taught PreK-8 music, built and supervised her school’s enrichment program, introduced various arts programs and performance opportunities for students, and served as a mentor to new teachers.
Elana holds a BA from Barnard College where she majored in music and education, and holds an MA in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Emina Nusbaum
Program Administrator
Emina Nusbaum has provided administrative and operational coordination for Music and the Brain for more than twelve years. In addition to data management of school partnerships, she supports program material design and production, research, vendor relationships and budgetary record keeping. Emina helps implement the mission of the program including prompt communication with partners to ensure quality control and the delivery of program materials and equipment.
Chiara Fasi
Program Manager
Chiara Fasi is a long time educator with over 15 years’ experience in classroom education, coaching and teacher mentorship. Chiara began her career with Music and The Brain as a classroom teacher, where she taught the program in Bronx and Brooklyn k-12 schools for 8 years. She also worked as an Instructional Coach and Teacher Mentor for Harmony Foundation and Greater Miami Youth Symphony Orchestra. Recently she joined the adjunct faculty teaching theory and ear training at Long Island University.
As a professional violinist Chiara has shared the stage and recorded with many notable artists and venues including Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. Chiara holds a BA in Music with a concentration in Violin Performance from Florida International University and a MA in Media Arts with a concentration in Audio Production from Long Island University.