Today we welcomed Dawne Brown White, Executive Director of COMPAS (Community Programs In The Arts). This organization began in 1968, when The National Endowment for the Arts reached out to Twin Cities resident Molly LaBerge (now Molly Taylor), to create a pilot program connecting high school classes with living professional poets. Originally named "Poets in the Schools", the organization incorporated and was renamed COMPAS in 1974. Over time their repertoire of arts programs for local schools expanded to include theatre, music, drama, visual art, spoken word among others. Their approach has become a model for teaching artist residencies nationwide. Over the years, COMPAS artists have worked side by side with over two million kids and countless adults, teaching them how to find their inner voice, write poems, paint pictures, create sculptures, improvise music, tile a mosaic, and have become recognized nationally as an exemplary provider of arts education programs. In 2020, COMPAS received Avivo’s Champion Award for their partnership to provide arts programming for adults living with mental illness.