Summer Lall MT-BC
Executive Director of Music Therapy
Summer Jasmine Lall, MT-BC is a Board Certified Music Therapist and obtained her Music Therapy degree from Berklee College of Music in 2008, Summa cum laude. Summer is the founder CradleSong Birthing and Rhythm & Truth Music Therapy specializing in working with adolescents. She developed the Resistance to Resilience online training programs to teach professionals best practices in using music to empower youth. Summer is the U.S. representative for the Rhythm2Recovery therapeutic drumming program and is also a HeartMath Certified Trainer. She is a Sound Birthing Fellow and trained in HealthRHYTHMS, Beat The Odds, RISE/LGBTQ, Pro-ACT de-escalation, C-SEC and Risking Connection trauma informed care. Summer has practiced music therapy in schools, shelters, daycares, foster camps, yoga studios, correctional facilities, group homes, treatment centers, hospice and hospitals. In addition to her broad local outreach, music has taken her to over 20 countries around the globe. When she is not practicing music therapy, Summer is writing, recording or performing with her band PWR CPL, hoping to inspire positive change through music however she can.
Jon Lall, Director of Music Education
Jon Lall is a songwriter, producer , multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and performer from Princeton, NJ and is currently living in Los Angeles, CA. Jon obtained his degree in Music Business from Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2008, with a principal in voice. As a teaching artist, Jon uses a wide variety of music modalities including drumming, piano, guitar, lyric analysis, songwriting, beat-making, singing and recording to teach history, math, science, literature, production and performance. Jon has brought the Rhythm & Truth programming to schools in the greater Los Angeles area in juvenile detention centers, continuation high schools, charter schools, non-public schools and correctional facilities. Jon has also been a private vocal & guitar instructor since 2005. When school is out, Jon is either in cowriting sessions for a wide range of artists, or is creating, recording and performing with his band PWR CPL.
Clinical Music & Art Therapists
Akilah Watts MM MT-BC
Akilah specializes in music therapy for acute psychiatric care, addiction, special needs, trauma and children. Akilah hails from Chicago and has a background in music education. She taught general music at an Illinois public school to grades K-6 for two years before attending Illinois State University in 2012 to pursue her Master’s in Music Therapy. In addition to her work in California, Akilah has practiced music therapy in Kenya, Thailand and Uganda.
Brittany Burns, MT-BC
Brittany Burns reigns from the land of Platte City, Missouri. She obtained her Music Therapy degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 2017. Brittany became a Board Certified Music Therapist in 2020 practicing in Los Angeles, California. She is currently working with adolescents with depression, anxiety and addiction and with adults with Schizophrenia. Brittany also has professional experience working with Hospice patients and children. Brittany's primary instrument is piano, but she is proficient in many others including but not limited to: acoustic guitar, percussion, marimba and voice. In her free time, Brittany enjoys reading and exercising in the beautiful outdoors.
Madeleine Brown, MT-BC
Madeleine is a board certified music therapist in Los Angeles. She received training from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Madeleine provides music therapy to teens and adults with mental health challenges, addiction, and eating disorders, as well as children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and new mothers who are bonding with their newborns. She has extensive experience working in the pediatric hospital setting to provide support with anxiety and pain, as well as bereavement services for families. Madeleine is from Chicago, IL and although she has traveled to many countries, one of her favorite places in the world is still the log cabin in Door County, WI. Madeleine plays piano, guitar, ukulele, djembe, and harp, and has experience with music technology and recording.
Jean-Marc Tardieu, MT-BC
Jean-Marc Tardieu, MT-BC is a Board Certified Music Therapist born and raised in the twin island republic of Trinidad & Tobago in the southern Caribbean. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston where he obtained his Music Therapy degree in 2014, Summa Cum Laude.He currently works with the Children’s Music Fund, Get in Tune Music Therapy, Rhythm & Truth Music Therapy and other various organizations doing sessions at Rehabilitation centers and Hospitals throughout The Greater Los Angeles Area and Orange County. He incorporates mindfulness, culture and the awareness of the mind-body connection into his work and specialises in working with adolescents and adults in Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders. Simultaneously as a vocalist and songwriter, Jean-Marc has worked with various Grammy award winning producers & writers and has been actively writing for his personal projects as well for other artists in various areas of the music industry and his catalogue has garnered millions of plays across streaming platforms.
Gabriela Torres, MT-BC
Gabriela is a Board Certified Music Therapist and a performing musician in Austin, Texas. A Florida native, she obtained her degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, then began practicing in Austin in the spring of 2017. She has experience providing music therapy to a variety of populations, including individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities, adults in alcohol/drug rehabilitation, and mental health. When she isn’t working, Gaby enjoys playing live shows with her bandmates, biking and rock climbing, and dabbling in other creative arts fields.
Marina Maiztegui, MT-BC
Marina Maiztegui, MT-BC is a Brazilian and Argentinean Board-Certified Music Therapist and received her Music Bachelor’s Degree in Music Therapy with a minor in Psychology from Berklee College of Music in 2015, Summa cum laude. Marina is a vocalist, songwriter, performer, and multi instrumentalist who plays guitar, ukulele, percussion, and piano. Marina completed her Music Therapy training at the renowned Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at the Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan, NY. There, she worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Radiation Oncology Unit, and lead the Asthma Initiative in NYC Public Schools. Since moving to Los Angeles, Marina has done significant work in a variety of settings such as nursing homes, schools, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, treatment centers, daycares, and more. She has extensive experience working with individuals diagnosed with Alzheimers/Dementia and with neurodiverse populations. Being born and raised in South America, Marina is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In addition to her joyful and empathetic personality, Marina strives to provide a fun, creative, and encouraging environment for her patients by celebrating and improving their quality of life.
Hope Carter, ATR-BC, LPCC
Hope received her MS in Art Therapy from Eastern Virginia Medical School. She has worked as an Art Therapist and Clinical Counselor for over 20 years. She has enjoyed working in various cities and worked at a well-recognized trauma center in Southern California for almost 10 years.
Specialty work includes working with trauma recovery/DID and eating disorders. She has also enjoyed her career with child/adolescent/family therapy centers, domestic violence/ shelters, sexual addiction and substance recovery programs, Hospice and various inpatient hospitals including the Veterans Administration. Additionally, she is a Certified Havening Practitioner (R) and enjoys using creative approaches such as Cinematherapy, writing, meditation, and Inner Child work.
Hope loves exploring how life, creativity, and healing intersect. In addition to art, other passions include writing and Feng Shui. She studied Reiki 1 & 2 in Hong Kong and is grateful for her experiences living and exploring the arts in unique places such as New York. As a mom, including being an adoptive mother, she enjoys working with fertility, wellness, and postpartum issues.
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Ellie Ikeda, MT-BC
Ellie Ikeda is an LA native pianist, Board-Certified Music Therapist, and music instructor. She is a graduate of Cal State LA, where she received a BA in Music in 2015 with an emphasis in composition and arranging. She also has over 20 years of classical and contemporary piano training and experience. Throughout her undergrad and following her graduation, Ellie continued to teach piano and is currently the co-owner of Radiant Music Studio in South Pasadena, CA.
In May of 2020, she graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana on the Dean’s highest honors list through their distance learning equivalency program for Music Therapy. In October of 2020, she obtained her Board Certification for Music Therapy. While she currently works with adolescents in mental health and adults with intellectual developmental delay, Ellie also has music therapy experience in populations such as hospice, geriatrics and memory care, adults and children with developmental delay, and Special Education settings.
Manuel Ruiz MT-BC
Manuel Ruiz is a drummer, percussionist, music instructor and board-certified music therapist from Lima, Peru. A graduate from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Manuel has toured extensively in the U.S, Canada, Mexico and Peru with distinguished artists such as Amy Allen, Susana Baca, Riz La Vie, Nella Rojas and several others. After living in Boston and New York City (where he worked teaching music to students with special needs at Multi Arts Music Academy and Hand In Hand Family Services), Manuel has relocated to Los Angeles, where he continues to work as a touring musician, music teacher and music therapist.
Nikki Brown, MT-BC
Nikki Brown, is a Board Certified Music Therapist who received her degree from Florida State University. While there, she completed a thesis examining music therapy practice in a variety of settings, cultures, and countries. Nikki has practiced music therapy in multiple locations on both the east and west coast. She has worked with a wide range of ages and populations, including individuals with development delays and eating disorders, and in mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Elissa Gould, ATR-BC, L-CAT
Elissa Gould is a Board-Certified Art Therapist. She received both a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Counseling and a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the College of New Rochelle. Elissa has experience working with neurodiverse children and adolescents as well as with older adults diagnosed with dementia in continuum of care communities. Since relocating to California, Elissa has also been providing art therapy services for adults and adolescents at in-patient mental health rehabilitation programs. She cultivates a down-to-earth and welcoming space for her clients by emphasizing process over product, allowing for freedom of expression without fear of judgment. Her studio art background welcomes a wide variety of art-based mediums to the art therapy experience, from collage and ceramics to printmaking and painting.
Teaching Artists
Gitai Vinshtok
Song Leader: Guitar, Piano, Drums & Bass
Gitai Vinshtok grew up in Reseda, California and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 2017. Studying composition in college, Gitai knows the power music has to communicate feelings and connect people across boundaries. After years as a private teacher, in 2019 he began working as the Music Specialist at OurSpace LA, a program in Encino, California for children and adults with special needs and unique abilities. He is also currently a song-leader at ETTA, a program for adults with special needs. In addition to singing Gitai plays guitar, piano, drums, and bass, and hopes to spread the light of music to enrich every corner of his expanding community.
Louis Alexander
Concert Band, Production, Film Scoring
Louis's passion for music and education has been lifelong. In high school he was the leader of his school's drumline. In 2015 he graduated from Berklee College of Music with a major in Electronic Production Design and Film Scoring with a bass principle. After graduation, he began teaching bass, guitar, ukelele, piano and audio production at his local Guitar Center along with being the musical co-director for the Boys & Girls Club's Jazz and Showband "Heatwave". He has worked with Gerard Marino, (God of War,) Alex Wurman, (March of the Penguins, Anchorman) and Record Plant Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA.
Satarra Troutman
Vocals, Production, Bass, Choir
Satarra is a singer songwriter, bassist and producer, from Cleveland Ohio. Steeped in the soul and funk music of the 60's and 70s, Satarra has taken the rhythms of the era, the acoustic sounds of the neo-soul scene that blossomed in Atlanta in the early 2000's and her own fresh innovative lyric style and and arrangements and combined them to create something organic, authentic, and undeniably soulful. Satarra has been described as having the innate ability to move people, to move them to think, feel, act, and dance.