Playwright, educator, advocate and life-long resident of Anne Arundel County, Heather Bagnall is running for State Senate, District 33. Heather has long been active in the arts community of Maryland, working to bring programs of empathy, kindness, communication, and teambuilding into local schools and theatres. Heather has also worked nationally collaborating with artists, theatres, and schools to bring her curriculum, “Cultivating Kindness Through Theatre Arts,” to underserved communities while working as a mentor to young artists and fledging non-profit organizations. Heather attended Broadneck High School, during which she also interned as research assistant to Professor Robert Madison at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Heather graduated from Towson University and continued her education in New York and Chicago.
Heather Bagnall has spent a career as an accidental advocate in every job she has held, unwillingly and unable to remain silent when she saw injustices. Now she wants to bring that same energy and empathy to the Maryland State Senate.
“We need to invest in our communities, ensure that we are not only funding education, but using those funds effectively and giving teachers and students the resources necessary to learn not what to think, but how to think. Our teachers have been hamstrung with a curriculum that doesn’t allow for teachers to teach from their strengths, nor for students to pursue areas where they excel. We need to integrate arts, empathy, and alternative learning styles back into the classroom, and empower teachers to bring their own skills to the curriculum.
I also want to invest in the infrastructure of our communities, creating safe spaces for families, such as bike paths, sidewalks, and crosswalks. When I was in high school, I did an experiment to see how long it would take me by public transportation to get from my house in Arnold to the (then) Annapolis Mall. It took three and a half hours to go the eight miles. I walked to AACC along College Parkway, and took the bus, which didn’t come until the third scheduled time. That was nearly thirty years ago, and in that time, we have developed much of Anne Arundel County, but those same communities are still waiting for sidewalks and bike paths to keep their families safe. I want to invest in expanding public transportation to get cars off our already clogged roads.”
Among her varied career in arts management and arts education, Heather has worked for the Holton-Arms School Creative Summer and Special Programs for nearly twenty years, first as a camp counselor and theatre director, and later as the Program Director of the Center of the Arts, an afterschool arts enrichment program open to the community. Heather continues to work seasonally as the Assistant Director at Creative Summer. Heather also spent one season as the Programming Director for First Night Annapolis, and worked for many years as the Program Manager for Class Acts Arts, bringing quality cultural arts programs to area schools. She then set out as a solo artist and Co-Founding Artistic Director of Tasty Monster Productions, which has launched five original works for family audiences dealing with issues of loss, gender stereotypes, bullying, mental illness, miscarriage, and the moral ambiguities of war.
“I view myself as so fortunate to have grown up in Anne Arundel County and to have been able to purchase my first home in Crownsville right out of college. I want to preserve the character of our communities while working to find a solution for affordable housing so that our civil servants, our teachers, police, firefighters, can afford to live where they work and work where they live, and to ensure that the next generation of young families and young people have access to our district.”
This Friday, February 16, join Heather and her family, neighbors, supporters, and friends, both old and new, as we launch our campaign to focus on making District 33 a strong voice for Maryland and bringing empathy and community back to politics. Campaign Kick-Off Happy Hour Meet & Greet, Friday, February 16, 6-8 pm, Deep Creek Restaurant, 1050 Deep Creek Avenue, Arnold, MD, 21012. No ticket required. Light hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.
To see updates on the campaign and connect with Heather, see below:
www.HeatherBagnallforSenate.com
www.facebook.com/HeatherBagnallforSenate
www.Twitter.com/HBagnall4Senate
HeatherBagnallforSenate@gmail.com
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