Laura Gravino is a native Long Islander who holds a Bachelors of Music from Five Towns College and Masters in Music Education from Boston University. She has NYS Certification in Music Education for all ages. With over twenty years of educational experience, Laura was most recently the Senior Director of Programming at Bloomingdale School of Music in New York City, overseeing all teaching and learning for the Upper West Side institution.

Nicole Davidson went to Usdan as a student and is excited to be back this summer as Co-Chair of the Music Department and conductor for the Junior Band! Her primary instrument is flute, but she loves the sound of all instruments coming together in the band. During the year, Nicole is an elementary band teacher and can be seen presenting workshops to newer teachers through NAfME, NYSSMA, and NYSCAME. She is a four-time quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award.

Michele is so excited to join the Usdan community this year as the Education Coordinator! It was Michele’s great-grandmother in her little Italian apartment who inspired Michele’s love for storytelling. That love has transformed into many areas of her life: singing on stage, writing in coffee shops, filming for the U.S. Army, and now, creating at Usdan. It is the fact that every person has a story to tell—their story to tell—that Michele aims to support and ignite the creative process of the stories being told in each studio.

Jessica Liss Feuer joined Usdan’s full time staff in June 2023. She has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector with a focus on fundraising, philanthropic partnerships, and program development. Prior to Usdan, she served as the Associate Director of Advancement and Philanthropy at the MLB Players Trust, the charitable arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association. As a child, Jessica spent two summers at Usdan, majoring in Musical Theater and minoring in Dance.