Joan Katz Napoli has served for sixteen years as Director of Education and Community Engagement for The Cleveland Orchestra whose education and outreach programs serve more than 70,000 annually. In addition to school fieldtrip concerts and an outstanding Youth Orchestra, Music Study Groups for adults, and Music Mentors and Music Masters that support instrumental music programs in local schools, The Cleveland Orchestra was one of the first in the country to implement an arts integration program, Learning Through Music (now in its 14th year) which uses music to support learning across the K-5 curriculum, and has recently established a Musical Neighborhoods program in partnership with local Head Start sites, using music to build school readiness skills.
Prior to The Cleveland Orchestra, Joan worked in public television, first with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), then with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) where she was the national Director of K-12 Learning Services. Joan managed several award winning educational television programs and series for the PBS network including: Good Morning Ms. Toliver (Peabody Award 1993); Who Will Teach for America? (1992 Emmy-nominee); Futures with Jaime Escalante (Peabody Award 1991); and a prime-time special, Math: Who Needs It?