Our Mission
Willie Mae Rock Camp is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and gender-expansive youth through transdisciplinary music education.
What We Believe
We believe in building a creative culture where all voices are heard and represented. That's why our youth programs are tuition-free, require no prior experience for participation and are centered on BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth.
What We Do
We provide a range of interdisciplinary music technology programs for in-school, after-school, summer camp and online learning, plus community workshops and events in our Brooklyn music laboratory.
How We Do It
We integrate acoustic and electronic instrument instruction with music software and STEM learning to give students creative skill-building opportunities with technologies so they can thrive as creators in the tech driven future. Programming is delivered by music pros, teaching artists and professionals in creative technology fields.
History
Founded in 2004 by a group of NYC female musicians, Willie Mae Rock Camp was the second rock camp for girls in the U.S. Over time, we expanded beyond the summer to year-round programming in partnership with organizations and schools throughout NYC.
In 2020, we integrated STEM learning with music education to engage students with the physics of sound and electronic musical instruments, creative software and recording technology. Then in 2021, we opened our very own sound laboratory in Brooklyn where students can access over 30 digital, analog and modular synthesizers, computer stations, iPads, guitars, basses and electronic drum kits, as well as a state of the art quadrophonic sound system.
Willie Mae Rock Camp
Willie Mae Rock Camp
Willie Mae Thornton
We stand on the shoulders of Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, a musical pioneer and the inspiration for our name. Born in 1926, Willie Mae Thornton was a singer, songwriter, and self-taught drummer known for her powerful voice and stage presence. She is considered one of the founders of Rock and Roll, and recorded “Hound Dog” and “Ball and Chain” years before both songs became hits for Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin. As a strong, Black, female voice in a field dominated by men, Willie Mae Thornton transgressed gender and racial barriers. Underrecognized in her time, her groundbreaking work paved the way for generations of female and gender nonbinary musicians to come.
Our Staff
LaFrae Sci
Executive Director
LaFrae Sci is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, educator, and composer with a career spanning 30 years and 38 countries. A founding member of Willie Mae Rock Camp and former lead teaching artist, she was appointed as executive director in 2020, and has spearheaded the organization’s expansion to a full suite of year-round, STEM-informed programming.
Sci has extensive experience developing music education programs in the United States and internationally. As a composer, she writes for film, theater, and jazz and classical orchestras, with a range spanning immersive and ambisonic music, blues, ethnomusicological traditions, rock, pop, hip-hop, and deconstructed techno soul. Her practice is grounded in the origins and extended influence of the blues, from spirituals to afro-futuristic soundscapes.
Alissa Derubeis
Senior Manager of Education and Corporate Partnerships
Alissa Derubeis is responsible for creating and implementing program systems, codifying curriculum, and appropriately growing our program tools and technology along with our STEM-based expansions. For the previous eight years, Alissa has supported entities focused on music and musical instruments locally, nationally, and internationally. Her specific focus has centered around increasing access and gender equity within electronic music education.
Celia Manley
Director of operations
As Director of Operations, Celia Manley works across departments to ensure Willie Mae Rock Camp has the resources and systems it needs to meet its goals and operate effectively. Celia has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on public and private grants management for youth-serving organizations. She has a fine arts background, with a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and an MFA from California College of the Arts.
Kambaba Jasper
Studio Manager
As Studio Manager, Kambaba Jasper maintains our Brooklyn sound lab and collection of gear in addition to leading music education programs on-site, in schools, and citywide through our community partnerships. Kambaba first joined Willie Mae Rock Camp as a teaching artist in 2021. She is a musician and artist from North Carolina living and creating art of all kinds in Brooklyn. Her creative expression ranges from fluid, journal-esque, experimentally curated or improvised, to intentionally reflective pieces exploring her intersections of Blackness, Transness, and Neurodiversity.
Nala Duma
Program Assistant
Nala Duma is a musician, choreographer, and educator whose work explores Blackness, gender, and modernity through music, dance, and theater performance. Nala has over five years of experience in arts administration and an extensive background creating work for such arts institutions as the Kitchen and Times Square Arts. Nala obtained her B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and, currently, she supports program operations for Willie Mae Rock Camp as a Program Assistant.
Board of Directors
Laura Greer
Apollo Theater
Lisa Marrocchino
CEO, Proteus Ocean Group Ltd.
Sabrina Shulman
Chief Political Officer, Vote Run Lead
Gina Izzo
Carnegie Hall
Tiffany Wan
Global Head Of Product Strategy, Bank Of America
Shirley Taylor
Senior Director Of Education, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.
Marisa Zalabak
Open Channel Culture
Leena Punjabi
F&G