Great Neck Arts Center Executive Director Regina Gil has been elected to the prestigious Advisory Committee of the Partners in Education Program of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. The program is designed to assist arts organizations across the country in developing or expanding educational partnerships with local school systems to strengthen the role of arts in education.

"It is a delight for us to have Regina Gil's experience and expertise on our Advisory Committee," said Barbara Shepherd, the director of National Partnerships-Education for the Kennedy Center. "Clearly, New York has recognized her leadership and we are interested in tapping that leadership for the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Program."

The program's focus is on the education of teachers and is based on the belief that the professional development of teachers is essential to the effort to have students experience the arts in schools. The program consists of a training institute at the Kennedy Center for partnership teams representing arts organizations and school systems.

Locally, The Great Neck Arts Center is one of only three Kennedy Center partnerships in New York State and the only partnership with a public school district. Since 1998, The Arts Center has been paired with the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District, bringing specialists in integrating the arts into the classroom to the district. District Director of Music Sal Somma and District Director of Art Judith Chen are The Arts Center's Plainview-Old Bethpage School District "partners."

The Arts Center had previously partnered with the Great Neck School District. The other Kennedy Center partnerships in New York State are with the State University at Binghamton and at Purchase and their local arts centers.

"This is a great honor both for me and The Great Neck Arts Center," said Mrs. Gil. "This recognition gives The Arts Center a national profile and brings honor and distinction to our community. I am aware of the concerns and issues facing the arts and the arts in education across the country and feel that I would like to be part of the national discussions where strategies are worked out to address those issues."

Mrs. Gil was elected at the annual meeting of Partners in Education, held in Washington, D.C., in February. As an Advisory Committee member, she will act as a direct contact for the Kennedy Center's North Central region.

At the Kennedy Center Institute, participants examine the variety of educational offerings for teachers developed at the Kennedy Center since 1976. Events provide teachers with hands-on experience in examining the concepts and processes of an art form and the relationship of art forms to other curriculum.

Initiated in 1991, the Kennedy Center program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, The National Committee for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center Corporate Fund and The Roger S. Firestone Foundation.

The Great Neck Arts Center has been a Kennedy Center affiliate since 1996. Mrs. Gil has attended every Partners in Education conference since that time and has participated in a number of the organization's activities, including serving on its Nominating Committee.

Mrs. Gil, the founder and executive director of The Great Neck Arts Center since 1989, is a New York State licensed art specialist, a freelance graphic designer, painter and sculptor. She is the founding president of the Artists Network of Great Neck, currently sits as a 2005-06 Grants Review Panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts and serves as commissioner for cultural affairs of the Village of Great Neck Plaza. Mrs. Gil was recognized as a 1999 "Woman of Distinction" by the New York State Senate, awarded the "Woman's Roll of Honor" by the Town of North Hempstead and received the 1997 "Eleanor Roosevelt Award" from the AJC Women's Commission for Equality. In addition, she is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the Arts.