About Us

Our Team

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  CALLY FLOX

  Founding Director, BYU ARTS Partnership

  Cally Flox is the founding director of the BYU ARTS Partnership. She is a co-author of the book A Teachers’ Guide to Resiliency Through the Arts. With a BS from Utah State University, Cally taught dance, math, and physical education in public schools. She is a licensed administrator with a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from BYU. She completed additional training in sensory integration and the neurophysiology of learning. She spent eleven years at the Life Arts Center in Sandy, Utah, as a teaching artist and creative development specialist for children and adults. Cally received the NAEA award for Distinguished Service Outside the Profession (2023), the BYU Experiential Learning Award (2023), and the McKay School of Education Service Award (2019). She served as President of the Utah Dance Education Organization (2010) and is a board member for Dance and the Child International (daCi USA). Cally is a keynote speaker and workshop provider for children and adults, and has presented at many conferences including: Learning Forward, Trauma Sensitive Schools, Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Students, the National Dance Education Organization, Dance and the Child International, Professional Development Schools and the National Network for Educational Renewal. Cally enjoys the outdoors and spends much of her personal and professional time engaging with people in the arts, including her spouse, children, and grandchildren, who share her passion.

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  HEATHER FRANCIS

  Research & Design Coordinator

  Heather Francis holds an MA in Teaching Artistry from Wayne State University and a BA in Dance Education from Brigham Young University. As a licensed K-12 dance educator, Heather taught dance to people ranging in ages from three to ninety-three. Along with creating and performing dances, she loves traveling, learning new skills, making messy lists, and connecting with friends. Heather’s professional experience includes teaching children’s creative dance classes in elementary schools and studios, directing a dance program and developing a dance-integrated math curriculum for a middle school in South Salt Lake, adjunct teaching in BYU’s Dance Department, and co-directing the BYU Kinnect Dance Company. Since 2017, Heather has served in the BYU ARTS Partnership as the Director of Research and Development and the Arts Bridge Program Coordinator.  Her primary responsibilities include overseeing the development of the Advancing Arts Leadership website, the Building an Arts-Rich Schools advocacy resource for administrators, and providing workshops on dance and aesthetics in partnership programs.

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  JAMES HUSTON

  Multimedia Content Creator

  James joined the BYU ARTS Partnership as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in 2012. He now works as a program facilitator, helping the team run various arts-integration programs for educators. He also enjoys documenting and promoting the programs through videos and photos. James has a BA in Media Arts, with an emphasis in Narrative Film Production. He ran his own film production company for several years before joining the BYU ARTS Partnership. In his free time, James enjoys playing the drums and guitar, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, and photographing nature and wildlife.

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  ALYSSA ESCALANTE DIXON

  Program Coordinator

  Alyssa Escalante Dixon is a licensed educator with an Arts Integration Endorsement who earned an MEd in Teacher Leadership and a BS in Elementary Education from Utah Valley University. Previously, Alyssa spent time teaching 5th grade at an art-focused charter school and at a bilingual school and has taught abroad in South America and Asia. She also worked in special education as Alpine District’s Assistive Technology Specialist. At the BYU ARTS Partnership she oversees 150 Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program educators, working in elementary schools in various art forms. As a Program Coordinator and the Arts Express Conference Chair, Alyssa facilitates professional development for teachers in the BYU Public School partnership districts.