Katrina Brown

Biography

KATRINA BROWN-ALIFFI, EdD, is a dance educator and teacher-leader at Democracy Prep Public Schools in Harlem, New York, where she co-piloted the flagship school’s dance program in 2017 alongside her students. Prior to joining the Democracy Prep network, Brown-Aliffi piloted a middle school dance program within a different NYC-based charter network where she taught for three years. 

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Brown-Aliffi earned a B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies with double minors in Business Administration and Social Entrepreneurship/Not-for-Profit Business Management from Samford University in 2013. As an undergraduate student, she was a member of her college’s dance team and on faculty at Dance Et Cetera, Birmingham Ballet, AileyCamp New York, Steel City Dance and Cheer, and the Samford University Campus Recreation Center. Upon moving to New York in 2013, Brown-Aliffi graduated with an M.S. in General and Special Education from Touro College in 2014 and an M.A. in Dance Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2019. More recently, she graduated from Teachers College – Columbia University with an Ed.D. In Dance Education. 

In 2016, Brown-Aliffi was presented with an Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education Inaugural Learning for Life Award for her dedication to continued education and learning. In 2021, she was recognized by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools as a “30 Under 30 Changemaker” for her commitment to scholarship on arts education in the charter sector. 

Over the past decade, Brown-Aliffi has presented multiple workshops at the Southeastern Council on Family Relations, the National Dance Education Organization, and the International School Choice and Reform annual conferences, including “Teachers Who Advocate: Reframing the Impact of COVID-19 on Arts Education in the NYC Charter Sector” (2021; 2022), “Dance Education in New York City Charter Schools: Engaging in Critical Dialogue on the State of the Arts within the Charter Sector” (2020), and “Moving Through Text” (2023).

In 2019, Brown-Aliffi authored Dance Education in New York City Charter Schools published by the Journal of Dance Education in mid-2020. Her chapter, “COVID-19 & Arts Education Programming in the NYC Charter Sector,” which is part of “COVID-19 and the Classroom: How Schools Navigated the Great Disruption” edited by Dr. David Marshall, was published by Lexington Books in January 2022. The same year, she published “When Art Works in Networks: A Multiple-Case Study of Network- Level Arts Education Supports in Charter Management Organizations in New York City” in Arts Education Policy Review. More recently, alongside co-author Dr. Mila Parrish, Brown-Aliffi published the Dance Education edTPA Online Preparation Guide with Human Kinetics in 2023.

Subjects Taught

• DCE 658
• DCE 663

Scholarly Creative/Research Activity

Given her experiences as a dance educator in the charter sector and her interests as a researcher, Brown-Aliffi continues study dance and arts education within the charter sector and situate her work at the intersection of dance education and charter schools. 

2020 – 2024
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Doctor of Education (EdD), Dance Education
Dissertation: How Art Works in Networks: A Mixed Methods Study of Arts Educators and Arts Education Programming in New York City Charter Schools

2016 – 2019
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
Master of Arts (MA), Dance Education
Thesis: Dance Education in New York City Charter Schools

2013 – 2014
Touro College, New York, NY
Master of Science (MS), General & Special Education

2009 – 2013
Samford University, Birmingham, AL
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Human Development & Family Science
Minors in Business Administration & Not-for-Profit Business Management