Lori Klinger co-founded Rosie’s Theater Kids (RTKids) in 2003 with the help and support of Rosie O’Donnell. She has worked with her talented staff in developing and implementing the innovative musical theater programs that RTKids brings to New York City public school students. Under her leadership, the program has grown to over 2,000 students per year and in 2009 established a permanent home with the opening of Maravel Arts Center on West 45th Street. In 2015, RTKids’ ACTE II students were invited to perform in the East Room of the White House when the program was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for excellence in after-school programs by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Before founding RTKids Ms. Klinger was Artistic Associate for Jacques d’Amboise at National Dance Institute. During her 15-year tenure there, she developed dance curriculums for a range of special needs students. Ms. Klinger has also served as the Artistic Consultant for Richmond Ballet’s outreach program “Minds In Motion.” She founded and still serves as advisor for the outreach program for Ballet Excel Ohio, “Reach Out and Dance” (ROAD). In 2015, Ms. Klinger was invited by the Harvard Business School Club of New York to participate in coursework at Harvard Business School, receiving a certificate in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.

Ms. Klinger has been on the faculty of many New York City dance studios including The Melissa Hayden Studio, STEPS Studio, and Broadway Dance Center and has been a guest teacher at studios and schools across Europe and Asia. Prior to her work in education, she was a ballet dancer with the Eglevsky Ballet, worked in film and theater, and was a member of Actor’s Equity and the Screen Actors Guild. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from University of North Carolina School of the Arts.