Founding director of the M.A. in Arts Leadership Program at University of Houston
Fleurette S. Fernando is the founding director of the M.A. in Arts Leadership Program at University of Houston where she serves as assistant professor. She is also currently serving as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in UH's Katherine G. McGovern College of the Arts. Fleurette is a graduate of Toronto's Claude Watson School for the Arts, Montreal's National Theatre School of Canada’s Directing Program and holds an M.F.A. in directing from York University. Fleurette has worked as a director, choreographer, educator and arts administrator in arts organizations across Canada and the U.S., including San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Richmond’s East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and Brooklyn Academy of Music. She is a former Executive Director of Katy Visual and Performing Arts Center, where she previously served as Performing Arts Director and Development Director. Fleurette served as the Artistic Director of Montreal’s Black Theatre Workshop and was the recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts’ first John Hirsch Prize for Young Directors, as well as a Fellowship of the Americas from the Kennedy Center for Performing. Most recently, she served as the Director of Grants for Houston Arts Alliance and as an adjunct professor of theatre studies at the University of Houston, Downtown. Fleurette currently serves on the UH Faculty Senate and on the board of MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston) and the Association of Arts Administration Educators. In 2018, Fleurette received the UH Teaching Excellence Award for her work in community engagement.
