Jennifer Patten
Executive Director
Bio
Passionately dedicated to the arts and education, Jennifer Patten serves as the Executive Director of The Diller-Quaile School of Music, where she leads with a deep commitment to the School's mission of inspiring creativity and fostering a lifelong love of music. A New York City-based educator, administrator, cellist, and dancer, Jennifer holds a B.A. in English and Music from Boston College, an M.M. in Musicology from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and an M.A. in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
While at Columbia, Jennifer held a Graduate Assistantship in the Art and Art Education department, actively contributing to the development of learning objectives and subsequent state-approval of the Advanced Certificate in Creative Technologies. She further expanded her research on audience engagement, educational outreach, and pedagogical training programs in her thesis “The Art of Teaching Teaching Artists How to Teach,” examining training initiatives across several NYC-based dance companies.
In 2010, Jennifer joined the pilot Rhode Island Teach for America corps, where she collaborated with colleagues in Providence to launch The Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. Serving as the middle school English Language Arts and Historical Perspectives instructor, she designed arts-integrated curricula aligned to both Rhode Island and Common Core standards. As Director of Curriculum Integration, she led the development of arts-integrated curriculum across 7th-10th grades.
Jennifer’s skill as an educator garnered significant recognition, including being named a District Teacher of the Year by the Rhode Island Department of Education and receiving a Community Leader Service Award from the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She presented her work and initiatives at conferences throughout southern New England.
After moving to NYC, Jennifer began her degree at Teachers College and later served as Head of School for the Martha Graham School, where she revitalized the school’s training and programming, leading significant growth in enrollment, financial stability, and community outreach. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she transitioned the school to online operations, ensuring its mission continued to thrive.
Most recently, Jennifer served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects at The New School’s College of Performing Arts, overseeing the Mannes School of Music, School of Drama, and School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. In this role, she developed new coursework, cultivated partnerships, and established new programs, including the Mannes Summer Piano Festival.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Jennifer is a highly trained cellist and dancer, aspiring Irish fiddler and ukulele player, dedicated runner and weightlifter, Broadway enthusiast, voracious reader, and avid traveler.
Phone
212-369-1484, ext. 204