CMEA Outstanding Educators Award Winners
EMILY LATTANZI – OUTSTANDING EMERGING EDUCATOR
Now in her fifth year of teaching, Emily Lattanzi serves as Director of Orchestras at East Lyme High School, where she also music directs the spring musicals. She is currently pursuing her DMA at Boston University. Before teaching in East Lyme, she taught at Plainfield High School, serving as both choir director and music director for musicals. She holds a B.A. and B.S. in Music Education and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Connecticut. Emily is incredibly grateful to have received the Emerging Music Educators Award from CMEA. She feels deeply grounded and ready to dig her heels into her role at ELHS—the very place that first inspired her love of music education.
DAN O’BRIEN – OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR
Dan O’Brien teaches high school and middle school band, jazz, global & creative music in East Hartford, CT. As an active professional musician in the fields of jazz and improvised music, his pedagogy aims to engage students of all experience levels in culturally responsive content that is rigorous in both authenticity and diversity. He believes that when students feel represented in the cultural context of the music they strive to create and have developed tools to express their creative inquiry, they will have gained the potential to be genuine movers and shakers of our global musical landscape. Dan holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University, a Master’s in Jazz Composition from the University of North Texas, and post-graduate studies in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music.
STEVE ZIMMERMAN – OUTSTANDING ADMINISTRATOR
Steve Zimmerman is in his fifth year as Coordinator of Music and Visual Arts for the Westport Public Schools, following 25 years directing instrumental music at Northwestern High School. His bands were selected five times as showcase ensembles at the CMEA All-State Conference, and he was named Connecticut Music Educator of the Year and a Yale Distinguished Music Educator.
Driven by a belief in the power of arts experiences to nurture curious, connected, and joyful learners, Zimmerman is a passionate advocate for music education and teacher development. He currently serves as Treasurer and Executive Board Member of the Connecticut Arts Administrators Association. He has held statewide leadership roles for over three decades, including three terms as CMEA Northern Region Director, President of Phi Beta Mu, and chair positions for numerous state and regional music festivals. He is also active as a festival adjudicator, a presenter for professional development sessions at CMEA and NAfME conferences, and a frequent clinician across the Northeast.
Steve lives in Burlington with his wife, Kate, daughters Paige & Lauren, and dog “Ollie” – who he wanted to name Gus (Holst).