Advocacy with Purpose: Using Data & Storytelling for Arts Education

Annamarie Bollino currently serves as the Facilitator of Fine and Performing Arts for Stafford County Public Schools where she works with 120 music, visual art, and theatre arts teachers while overseeing all aspects of the district’s comprehensive arts program to over 30,000 students. She also leads numerous division initiatives and adult professional learning experiences. Under her leadership, Stafford County Public Schools has been named a Best Communities for Music Education Award Winner by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation. Annamarie has experience working with Pre-K through graduate level students at several Virginia institutions. 

Annamarie is currently the President of the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) and represents the Southern Division of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) on the Music Program Leaders Council where she is also Chair-Elect. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences and workshops, most notably VASSP, NAMM, NAfME, NAEA, The Midwest Clinic, and Learning Forward. She is also published in Teaching Music and VMEA Notes.

Throughout her career, Annamarie has been a passionate advocate for arts education. As an educator and arts supervisor, her daily actions and interactions support arts educators, programs, initiatives, and budgets at the local level. In winter 2021, she founded the inaugural VMEA Hill Day, encouraging music educators to connect with their legislators to advance music education. In addition, she supports arts education at the state and national level through her work during Virginia Arts Advocacy Day and as a delegate during NAfME’s National Assembly in Washington, D.C. Annamarie is proudly spearheading the initiative to bring the Arts Education Data Project to Virginia, enabling the field access to a publicly available interactive dashboard that reflects arts education data for the state. 

Annamarie received her B.M in Music Education from West Virginia University, a M.M. in Music Education from George Mason University, and an Educational Leadership Certificate from Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to her academic degrees, Annamarie earned her certification in Orff-Schulwerk at George Mason University. Currently, Annamarie is writing her dissertation to satisfy requirements towards a Ph.D. in music education.