FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Read Jean's full biography here. 

Poet, actor, playwright, Cambridge Poet Populist from 2009 to 2011, and the current Poet in Residence at First Church in Cambridge. He created the Many Voices Project, a series of readings and follow-up poetry workshops, inspiring conversations about race and equality. He is the director of City Night Readings, a series featuring diverse poetic talents, writers, and artists. Jean Dany is a 2017 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant recipient for his play: Your Voice Poet, and the winner of STC's Playwrights of Color competition. He travels nationally and internationally to perform his poetry. He has published in English, French, and Haitian Creole. He says, Life is Good!

Eryn Johnson is a non-profit leader and advisor whose work is grounded in racial/social justice, and inspired by close to 25 years of service in arts-based community organizations. Eryn is a full time nonprofit consultant with expertise in professional development workshop facilitation, inclusive community engagement, youth leadership, creative place making, fundraising (including grant writing and corporate donor cultivation), and strategic program development. Her local and national clients have included Health Resources in Action, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Julliard School of Music, Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Linde Family Foundation.

Eryn served as Executive Director of the Community Art Center in Cambridge, MA for 13+ years, as Director of Education at the Boch Center, and Program Coordinator at ZUMIX, Inc. Eryn has an MA in Performance Studies from New York University, and a BA in Theater from Oberlin College.

Eryn has been connected to Jean Appolon Expressions for many years through her work in arts advocacy and education, and through regularly attending JAE community classes.

Maggie Marseille is an accomplished higher education leader, community advocate, and nonprofit board member with more than 20 years of experience in administration, operations, student services, and organizational leadership. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to fostering inclusive environments, building meaningful partnerships, and advancing initiatives that support students, professionals, and communities. 

Maggie earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Emmanuel College and later obtained a Master of Science in College Student Development and Counseling from Northeastern University. Her passion for education, service, and leadership has consistently guided her professional and volunteer efforts.

Maggie is a board member of Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE), where she actively supports the organization’s mission to preserve and celebrate Haitian culture through dance, education, and community engagement. She also serves as a Director-at-Large on the Emmanuel College Alumni Association Board of Directors, working to strengthen alumni engagement and support the ongoing growth of the Emmanuel College community.

A proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, Maggie is both a Ruby Member and Life Member, reflecting more than two decades of sisterhood, leadership, and service. She is also an active member of the Greater Boston NAACP and remains committed to advancing educational access, cultural awareness, and community empowerment.

In recognition of her professional achievements, leadership, and service, Maggie was honored with the Emmanuel College Academy of Distinguished Alumni Award in May 2026. As a first-generation Haitian American, she is passionate about mentoring others, uplifting underserved communities, and creating opportunities that inspire future generations to thrive.

Maggie enjoys travel, fitness, community engagement, and spending quality time with family and friends.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & COMPANY DANCER

Read Meghan’s full biography here.

Carey McKinley is a multimedia artist based in Gloucester, MA. She met Jean in the late 90s, and has witnessed first hand how his work transforms people, young and old, and the communities that he engages. She is delighted to serve on the JAE board. Carey's career spans from performing with prominent dance companies (Snappy, Prometheus, Batuke do Norte, Sun Ho Kim), to guest performing with national artists (Bobby McFerrin, Sara Rudner, Reggie Wilson, David Parker), to working with start-ups on the environmental forefront and in technology (Harvard Green Campus Initiative, YouthStream Media), to designing dynamic, integrated curricula and programming at Boston area schools (Winsor School, Cambridge School of Weston, Walnut Hill, Tufts, Babson). Carey’s choreography has been presented at UNC-Chapel Hill, Harvard School of Design, Bard College, UW-Milwaukee, and locally. Her philosophy centers empowerment, integrity, and connection, and her classroom/studio is a container for contagious courage. In 2023, Carey moved to Gloucester, and joined the faculties at MAGMA and The Landmark School.

Marie-France M Noel, born and raised in Haïti, is a lover of art, food and nature. Marie-France has danced since Haïti and fell in loved with Jean’s class in 2005. She believes that dance heals, rejuvenates and build communities.

Professionally, she is a Community Health Center Program Manager at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Artistically, she is the creative designer and founder of KADOKÉLÉ (www.kadokele.com), a lifestyle clothing and handcrafted jewelry brand that inspires women to Live Artfully by embodying an unapologetic, kind and purposeful life.

Marie-France received a bachelors degree in Healthcare Management at Newbury College and her masters in Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University.

Sahita Pierre-Antoine is always exploring the ways in which dance and movement intertwine with issues of community care, advocacy, and social justice. She is a Registered Dance/Movement Therapist and a Mental Health Clinician, currently based in the greater Boston area. Prior to her career in mental health, she worked in the international development and nonprofit sector for 10 years in her home country of Haiti, where she collaborated with grassroots groups and international organizations focusing on preventing and eliminating violence against women, women’s economic empowerment, and community development.

Sahita is always dancing and she is happy to have found Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) where she can move to her beloved and warm Haitian rhythms in the cold New England climate.

Sahita joined the JAE Board in 2022, and is currently serving as the Governance Committee Chair and the Capital Campaign Committee Chair.

STEAM EDUCATOR, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MEDIA + MARKETING, FORMER COMPANY DANCER

Meghan enjoys finding ways to let new audience members find dance, and see it as a welcoming place for joy and accessible self-exploration. She developed her chops building dance audiences in co-producing and marketing Calamity Co Dance, a series of variety shows, featuring dance alongside music, comedy, and always snacks. Education has also been a though-line in her work, having worked behind the scenes supporting Reach, a teen outreach program at Boston University, and being heavily involved in extracurricular performing arts events when she was a teacher at Watertown High. In addition to her work with JAE, Meghan is a professor in mathematics education at Vanderbilt University.