Little Kids Rock

David Wish

Founder and Executive Director

Dave Wish is the Founder and Executive Director of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that funds and runs one of the largest, free instrumental music programs in US public schools today. Little Kids Rock is also a leading provider of free instruments and curriculum. Dave has initiated and managed the launch of campaigns to restore and revitalize music education for over 160,000 low-income children in ten states.

A recognized social entrepreneur, Dave has been awarded numerous honors for his work in the field, including prestigious fellowships from Ashoka, The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, The Kenneth A. Picerne Foundation, and The Goldhirsh Foundation.

Dave’s work has been highlighted by national and local media outlets including The New York Times, CNN Headline News, Time Magazine, MTV, A&E, The Dr. Phil Show and National Public Radio. He has also been a speaker at the Imagine Solutions Conference, TEDxSantaCruz and the Net Impact Conference.

Dave is active in the broader field of music education and sits on the Board of Directors of the Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium as well as the Advisory Boards of Oberlin's Music in America Initiative and the Music Empowers Foundation.

Isa Deloge

Office Manager

Isa joined Little Kids Rock as the Office Manager in February 2006 and has brought years of administrative experience to the Little Kids Rock organization. Isa is the "Jill of all trades" and is involved in almost every aspect of running this rockin' organization.

Isa holds a Bachelor of the Arts in History from Marist College. In her spare time Isa enjoys hiking, kayaking, cooking, singing, participating in triathlons, dancing, skiing, going to concerts with her husband Jim and hanging out with spirited friends.

Gina Sideris

Development Officer

Gina is responsible for planning, proposing and executing development strategy and leading fundraising and community support initiatives. Following a brief stint as a music teacher, Gina’s twenty-three years of work in development cover a broad range of initiatives from grassroots advocacy campaigns to capital campaigns to charitable trusts and estate gifts, serving in a wide array of nonprofit fields from eldercare to the arts and education. Gina holds a BA in Music Education from Montclair State University.

Jessica Fleischer

Grants Manager

Jessica joined Little Kids Rock as the Grants Manager in November 2009. Prior to coming on board, she worked in the field of non-profit administration, with a focus on organizational planning, performance improvement and program evaluation.

Jessica holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from Barnard College and an M.S.W. in Administration from the Hunter College School of Social Work. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys singing, long walks, and spending time with her family.

Keith Hejna

Communications & Outreach Coordinator

Keith joined Little Kids Rock in April 2009 as an intern and progressively increased his responsibilities until finding his voice in communications and outreach. Keith heads up Little Kids Rock’s media and artist relations efforts while implementing the communications plan to help spread the word that kids all over the country are rocking out with us!

He freelances for the Montclair Times and has run a successful public relations campaign for the Centre County, PA Special Olympics, worked as an editorial assistant for Gotham Sports Media, LLC., and interned for Penn State Athletic Communications. He has covered press conferences of sports icons like Joe Paterno and Gary Carter. Keith holds a B.A. in Public Relations with minors in History and International Studies from Penn State University while spending a semester abroad in Australia.

Gregory Pavliv

Director of Training

Gregory joined Little Kids Rock in August 2010 as Director of Training whereby he facilitates cutting-edge teacher trainings, program improvement, teacher retention and organizational growth. Prior to joining the staff, he was an LKR teacher and Ambassador in Newark, NJ.

An accomplished conductor and pianist, he has performed throughout the area as well as on a tour through France. Gregory has implemented curricula for grades K-12 and has created student driven programs such as the Elton John Red Piano Benefit Concert in Asbury Park, NJ, and the Cirque du Soleil Correspondence Project in Morris Plains, NJ. As an elected State Delegate to New Jersey at the NEA’s Representative Assembly, he authored a bill designed to protect Fine Arts Specialists in public schools across the country. Gregory has a Bachelors’s of Music from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s of Education in Curriculum Design from the University of Phoenix. He and his five year-old daughter, Anastasia, write and play music together. Gregory’s free time is spent following the Virginia Tech Hokies college football and New York Rangers hockey teams.

Chuck Speicher

Director of Curriculum

Chuck Speicher was Suzuki piano coordinator for Montclair State University Preparatory Center for the Arts between 1996 and 2005, also teaching music history and music theory. His guest teaching and performing engagements have included the Wellington Suzuki Workshop in New Zealand, the Suzuki Institute of Alaska, the International Music Festival in Ohio, the South Carolina Suzuki Institute at Furman University, the New England Suzuki Institute in Maine, the Summer Jazz Workshop at Montclair State University, and the Stokes State Forest Music Festival in New Jersey. In 2006 he was a judge in the Alaska State MTNA piano competition and adjudicator for piano students in the cities of Anchorage and Homer.

Chuck freelances regularly on piano and keyboard and in 2002 traveled with the "Crazy Energy Orchestra" to Morocco to perform at the wedding of King Mohammad VI. He also performs throughout New York and New Jersey with jazz guitarist Ritchie Duraney and has had solo piano performances at New Jersey Festival of the Atlantic, William Patterson University and Montclair State University. In 1989 Chuck was the recipient of the New Jersey State Governor's Award in Arts Education. He is currently on the faculty of the New England Suzuki Institute in Maine as well as the Lecturer in Residence for the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival in Massachusetts. Outside of music Chuck enjoys the band of superheroes made up of himself, his wife, and his son, calling themselves "The Montclair Danger Trio", fighting crime and promoting local bands….of musicians, not robbers.

Miranda Altman

Program Manager

Miranda joined the staff as Program Manager in April 2009. Prior to Little Kids Rock, she has worked as an analyst for Fidelity Investments as well as been involved with YMCA youth summer camp programs as a counselor and mentor.

Miranda holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of New Hampshire. A former college athlete, Miranda now enjoys hiking, writing, and an occasional competitive Scrabble game in her spare time.

Jessica Mondelli

Program Assistant

Jessica joined Little Kids Rock in May 2010 as a Program Intern. She gradually increased her hours and responsibilities and became the team’s full-time Program Assistant in March 2011. Jessica makes sure LKR teachers have everything they need to run a rockin’ program at their school – whether it is help with registration, instrument requests, or additional supplies for their classroom. She also helps out with workshop recruitment and getting new teachers on board with LKR.

Prior to joining Little Kids Rock, Jessica instructed a drama club for middle school students at a private school and interned at Bauer Publishing where she contributed articles to QuizFest and AstroGirl magazines. She holds a B.A in Journalism and Theatre Studies from Seton Hall University. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys singing, writing, baking, watching Jeopardy, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets!

Christine Fanning

Development Assitant

Christine joined Little Kids Rock in January 2012 as the Development Assistant. She provides administrative support to all fundraising efforts to ensure that Little Kids Rock continues to provide rockin’ music programs for children.

Prior to joining the Little Kids Rock team, Christine interned at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Bauer Publishing where she wrote blogs for Life & Style Weekly. She holds a B.A. in English from Montclair State University. In her spare time, Christine enjoys writing, baking and eating anything chocolate, and spending time with family and friends.