The Global Leaders Institute

Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Creative Arts Research Institute, Griffith University (Australia). She is a dynamic research leader, award-winning educator, and arts sector advocate. Over the past 20 years, her work has advanced our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and educational benefits of music and the arts in First Nations’ Communities, prisons, war affected cities, educational and industry contexts. Her research is known for its innovation, interdisciplinarity, and commitment to cross-sector partnerships, and has connected music research and practice with areas as diverse as social inequality, regional development, criminology and corrections, health equity, and human rights. She has worked on seven nationally competitive grants, seven research consultancies with leading arts and social sector organisations, and five prestigious fellowships (from the Australian Research Council, Fulbright Commission, Singapore International Foundation, University of Cambridge and Australian Academy of the Humanities) totalling well over $3 million. Professor Bartleet actively contributes to many sector initiatives and organisations in Australia and overseas. She is currently the President of the Social Impact of Music Making (SIMM) international research platform, a Belgium-based NGO (2021-2024), Associate Editor of the International Journal of Community Music, a Senior Research Fellow with the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community (LCMC) in Canada (2021-2024), and External Examiner for the MA Community Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (2021-2025). In 2014 she was awarded the Australian University Teacher of the Year, and in 2022 she was a Fulbright Scholar at New York University Steinhardt (awarded 2020).

José Luis Falconi is the President of Cultural Agents, Inc. an NGO which promotes civic engagement and creativity through artistic education and an Assistant Professor of Art and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. Prof. Falconi received his doctorate from Harvard University in 2010.



His latest academic publications include Portraits of an Invisible Country: The Photographs of Jorge Mario Múnera (2010), A Singular Plurality: The Works of Darío Escobar (2013), The Great Swindle: A project by Santiago Montoya (2014) and Ad Usum / To be used: The works of Pedro Reyes (2017) and Pre-texts International (2022).



Besides UCONN he has taught at Boston University and Bradeis University in the United States, and has been appointed Visiting Professor in the Department of Art History and Architecture of the University of Boston in the spring of 2016. In Latin America he has been “Bicentennial” Visiting Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Chile ( Santiago de Chile, 2012 and 2019), "International Professor" at the National University of Colombia (Bogotá, 2013) and Visiting Professor at the Universidad de Costa Rica (2018) and Universidad San Carlos in Guatemala.

Stanford Thompson is a musician and educator who serves as the Founder and Executive Director of Play On Philly and Founding Board Chairman of El Sistema USA and the National Instrumentalist Mentoring and Advancement Network. Recognized as a TED Fellow, Stanford believes that music education is a powerful tool for positive personal and community change. Mr. Thompson serves on the faculty of the Global Leaders Program and regularly presents at major universities and music conservatories about leadership, entrepreneurship and social justice. As a consultant, he has guided the development of dozens of music programs across the United States and collaborated with major orchestras, higher education institutions, and arts organizations to develop new strategies and initiatives that help provide equitable access to the arts. As a professional trumpeter, Stanford has performed as a soloist and member with major orchestras around the world and continues to perform throughout the Philadelphia region. Stanford is a native of Atlanta, GA, a graduate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory’s Sistema Fellows Program.

Chosen among Chile's 100-Young Leaders of 2012 (El Mercurio), Raul Vergara Montoya is an experienced program incubator and manager of cultural organizations. He is the Founder of arts & culture consulting firm Uniquepiece SpA, Co-founder and Director of International Programs at The Global Leaders Program (USA) and Advisor to the Cultural Corporation of Peñalolén in Chile. Prior to his interests in cultural management, Raul developed a career in orchestral music serving as the Associate Principal Percussionist of the Seoul Philharmonic in Korea, the Associate Principal Timpanist with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, member of The Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA and Substitute Percussionist with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Other engagements included performances with professional orchestras in the USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Mexico and Chile, performing at the world's most distinguished concert halls with renowned artists. With studies at the Curtis Institute of Music (BM) and Temple University (MMus) in Philadelphia, and postgraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, Raul is particularly interested in developing a sustainable and collaborative business model that allows arts organizations and cultural agents to deliver projects that bring greater value and social impact resolving issues of social engagement, equity, accessibility and sustainability.