Office of Entrepreneurship and Career Development
Merrill Hall, MU011, IU Jacobs School of Music
1201 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405
Email: jsomoecd@indiana.edu
THE STAFF
ALAIN BARKER – Director
Office: (812) 856-5719 | Email | LinkedIn
BM: Cape Town (South Africa), MM & DM: IU Jacobs School of Music
Alain Barker has an entrepreneurial career that includes arts organization development, arts policy research, communications and marketing, teaching, and performance. He joined the Office of Entrepreneurship and Career Development as its founding director in July 2014. From 2004-2014, Alain directed Jacobs School of Music marketing and publicity operations. He was executive director of the Bloomington Early Music Festival and has also worked as a consultant to the Garth Newel Music Center in Virginia. Alain was principal flute in the Marion Philharmonic and co-principal flute in Oviedo, Spain. He has served on a number of local board and commissions, including the City of Bloomington Arts Commission, the Bloomington Rotary Club, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Board of Directors, WFIU (Public Radio) Community Advisory Board, and the IU Arts & Humanities Council.
JOANIE SPAIN – Career Advisor
Office: (812) 855-4904 | Email | LinkedIn
Joanie has more than twenty years of experience in relationship management in nonprofit and higher education and more than seventeen years experience in career advising, exclusively in the arts. She is an exhibiting artist at the Bloomington Creative Glass Center gallery. Joanie is available to meet with students and faculty on a drop-in or appointment basis.
THE 2023-2024 STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM
Each year, the OECD invites talented student leaders to join the team to help with programming and student engagement.
KEARSEN ERWIN – Special Projects Manager
Email | LinkedIn | StageTime
Kearsen Erwin is an oboist and arts administrator currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Oboe Performance from the Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Linda Strommen. As a passionate activist for the arts, Erwin has sponsored and led diverse initiatives on IU’s campus and in broader Indiana communities through his work as an assistant to the Quality of Place Faculty Co-Chair in the Center for Rural Engagement and president of Classical Connections. In March, Erwin performed the premier of Shulamit Ran’s opera, Anne Frank, and frequently makes appearances with orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States.
JAMEY GUZMAN – Engagement
Email
Jamey Guzman is a first year Master’s student in Composition and Music Scoring for Visual Media. Deeply passionate about contemporary opera and vocal music, Jamey has been commissioned by a number of opera companies and ensembles, including Really Spicy Opera, Paradox Opera, the N.E.O. Voice Festival, Strange Trace Opera, New Voices Opera, ENAEnsemble, SONIT, and Jupiter Opera. She was a recipient of the 2022-2023 New Works Arts Commission from the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN. Jamey holds Bachelor’s degrees in Composition and Flute Performance from the Jacobs School of Music and is a five-time alum of Really Spicy Opera’s Aria Institute for Composers and Librettists.
FAITH KOPECKY – Communications
Email | LinkedIn | Stagetime | @faithkopeckysoprano
Soprano Faith Kopecky is a versatile emerging artist studying with Timothy Noble at Jacobs School of Music pursing a MM in Voice. Within the past year Faith was seen in IU opera choruses of Don Giovanni and Candide; Social Media Manager for Unsung Opera, sponsored by the OECD; Circulation Assistant at Cook Music Library; and appointed as Media Manager for IU SNATS. Faith graduated from The University of Tampa with a BM in Vocal Performance, BA in Theatre, and education minor. She was 2-term President of the Theatre Honor Society, Alpha Psi Omega, Historian for Sigma Alpha Iota, and placed with TBNATS & SERNATS in the Classical and Musical Theatre Divisions.
MAISAH OUTLAW – Manager
Email
Maisah Outlaw is thrilled to bring a blend of her skills and experiences as an artist, educator, and team leader to her role as Manager in the OECD. She recently transitioned to a career in opera after working internationally as a Montessori teacher. Her career has taken her across five continents to encounter numerous cultures. After committing to the pursuit of her lifelong passions and gifts, she was admitted to the Jacobs School of Music, where she is currently studying in the master’s program. Outlaw most recently performed as the Old Lady in the IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater’s production of Candide. Since the start of her graduate work, Outlaw has premiered the role of Aunt Lou in Highway 1, USA at the collegiate level. In Italy, she has performed the role of Ottavia from L’incoronazione di Poppea and Zia Principessa from Suor Angelica.
ELLA TORRES – Media
Email | LinkedIn | Stagetime
Ella Torres is a voice master’s student beginning her second year with the OECD’s student leadership team. In her first year at Jacobs, you may have seen her in the opera choruses of Ainadamar and L’Étoile, performing with Voices of Concentus, Early Music Student Society, or taking photos at OECD events. In October, Ella will perform Serpetta in La finta giardiniera with IU Opera Theatre. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a B.M. in vocal performance and an arts leadership certificate in 2022. Ella is a proud alumna of Sigma Alpha Iota.