BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mario Palacios is President and Co-Founder of PHOA. He earned a degree in Industrial Engineering and holds a postgraduate Diploma in the Scientific Organization of Work. Mario’s experience in human resource management led him to found the cooperative ENEPA and Talleres Integradores de Arte Alas, an educational space for the arts and community education in recycling in Caracas, Venezuela. Along with his wife, Gloria Ruiz Palacios, Mario raised his two children, violinist, Yilian and cellist, Raudol, in a culturally rich environment. Mario is driven to contribute to educational arts and music programming in his adopted city, Baton Rouge.

Danielle Caudle, Treasurer, has a 20 year background in accounting and office management and currently operates her 66 acre family farm. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Danielle attended LSU before moving out of state with her husband who is in the Army. She completed her degree at American Military University. During life with the military, Danielle, her husband and their five children have lived all over the world. Danielle’s indispensable contributions to the board include budgeting, grant writing, marketing, general program management and support.

Alicia Whidden, Secretary, has over 17 years of experience in education. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. Following years of fieldwork in the Midwest and Africa, Alicia was called to teaching. She returned to Dallas and served as a special education teacher at Lake Highlands High School. Enthralled with educational research, Alicia received her MA in Education from Lamar University. She is presently pursuing a PhD in Educational Research at Louisiana State University. Alicia is interested in non-traditional forms of education, including homeschooling, citizen science, and art education. She is the mother to three wonderful children and is working on her dissertation in the hopes of completing her PhD soon.

Jacqueline Dee Parker is an artist and poet who serves as the PHOA Artistic Advisor and board member. She was born in New York City and raised in New Haven, CT. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a MFA in Creative Writing/Painting and Drawing from Louisiana State University. Jacqueline taught at LSU for many years, working in the Department of English before joining the faculty of the School of Art. Ann Connelly Fine Art (LA) and Devin Borden Gallery (TX) represent her work, and she is an artist member of the Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art. She is the recipient of a 2007 Artist Fellowship from the Louisiana State Division of the Arts and a 2021 Individual Artist Grant from South Arts. Jacqueline’s work is widely exhibited and is included in private, public, corporate and museum collections. She lives in Baton Rouge with her husband, cellist Dennis Parker.

THE PALACIOS FAMILY

Gloria Ruiz & MARIO PALACIOS

Founders & Gloria: Executive Director

rAUDOL pALACIOS

Artistic Director, Cello and Ensemble Teacher

Yilian Cañizares

Guest Musician and Sponsor

OUR MUSICIANS

We have teachers of high professionalism who have graduated from universities across the country with degrees in music performance. All of our teachers have years of experience in not only performing, but also in teaching their own instrument and other aspects of music. Our amazing instructors can teach all skill levels - from beginners to professionals.