Applicant Qualifications
Dynamo Studios:
As an organization, we have accomplished quite a lot since our inception on little to no funding (this was done by design). We have designed, managed, and developed multiple large scale production spaces around the city in addition to developing and operating well over 250 programs servicing over 3,000 students and community members since June 2017. We even co-led the development and opening of a new middle school! More recently we have been focusing our efforts on implementing consistent programming around schools in our community. Programs and lessons have been embedded into classroom curriculum and are also offered through after school extra curricular programming. Most of this has taken place at Howard Connect Academy and Howard High School.
As an organization we’ve been described as the “source for the highest level of expertise in the field of innovative media education in Chattanooga” by a prolific educational foundation. Mayor Kelly even said when he toured the school that “this is truly some of the most important and innovative work happening in our city.”
Our programs have been so successful over the past few years that we even caught the attention of various universities and major producers wishing for us to expand our model to their cities. This would allow for us to expand to Atlanta, Seattle, LA, and Richmond. All of that is a long way off, but regardless it’s exciting and flattering to have people at that level asking for our expertise and support.
Aside from the high level of expertise, industry connections, and work ethic we bring to the table, we also bring a very thorough strategic plan for achieving impact. Our ‘Impact Model’ is a play by play plan that breaks down ways to effectively achieve change and growth with students. The model is so strong that schools and other non profits are starting to adopt it and use it as a road map for their own students.
We say all of that with the utmost humility. At the end of the day it’s not about us. We want to celebrate the students more than anything else, but we are proud of our work and what we’ve been able to build in our beloved Chattanooga.
Project Execution Personnel:
Kessler Cuffman - Highly accredited and professionally licensed teacher of 8 years, EF Educational Leader and Ambassador, recipient of the PEF Teacherpreneur People’s Choice Award, project lead for Howard Connect Academy production space, designer and developer of the Chattanooga Library studio. Additionally, Kessler was able to leverage well over $500,000 from local foundations and corporate sponsors to support various projects that Dynamo Studios was a part of. Beyond Dynamo, Kessler has years of professional experience as a producer and guitarist working with artists and labels of every capacity.
Domonique Whitaker - DWhit is a Chattanooga transplant hailing from Memphis, TN. He is an award winning videographer, photographer, and content creator who has worked with top artists all over the country. His incredible work ethic and excellence in the studio placed him at the top of the list for candidates when we announced the newly created ‘Programs Director’ position. He is using his experience growing up in the inner city (Orange Mound) and his experience as a professional media producer to lead and grow students at Howard High School.
Anthony Wiley - Born and raised in Chattanooga, Anthony never lost the power to imagine. He is a music producer, equity trainer, meditation teacher, activist, and community organizer with over ten years of experience. Anthony is a Second-Class Petty Officer in the United States Navy. After three deployments, two of which were overseas, he received two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Coast Guard Expeditionary Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. While on active duty, Anthony wrote about his experiences in a white- male-dominated institution and was published in the anthology, ‘Why Black Lives Matter (Too)’.
As a partner with the Chattanooga Racial Equity Collective (CREC), he invites us into his practice, providing us tools and insights to help navigate this long, tedious life journey and find the will to change. Blending Zazen and mindfulness to unify the body, breath, and mind to meet ourselves with compassionate, non-judgmental awareness Anthony developed this practice to respond to those who have experienced early childhood trauma, PTSD, or belong to a marginalized group.
Jered Martin - Jered is a teacher, instructor, and mentor with Dynamo Studios for the past two years, in addition to being a career music industry photographer, videographer, and content creator. Jered has shot for artists and brand all across the music industry ranging from Switchfoot, Relient K, Rise Against, New Found Glory, Paramore, Anberlin, MXPX, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and brands such as Ernie Ball, LR Baggs, and Ultimate Ears - just to name a few. Additionally Jered directs our industry partnerships and our student career pipeline.