Board & Staff
Meet the Board of Directors who guide Little Blue and the staff who run it day to day.
Board of Directors
Colin Peterson, our Producing Artistic Director, also serves as Board Chair. You'll find him under Staff.
Alicia Lark Fuss (she/her)
Treasurer · Community Director
Assistant Professor of Theatre, Middle Tennessee State University
Alicia Lark Fuss is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Middle Tennessee State University where she delights in teaching aspiring theatre educators and exploring the art of storytelling with students from all majors. Alicia gets fired up about all things at the intersection of theatre and youth, and is never happier than when “in-process” facilitating drama experiences with and for young people.
In her previous work, Alicia served as the Director of Arts Education for the Tennessee Arts Commission and worked for more than a decade as the Director of Education for Nashville Children’s Theatre (NCT). Some of her proudest accomplishments include launching NCT’s Sensory Friendly Performance series, increasing training and resources for inclusion, and creating a series of process-based creative drama classes that encourage youth of all ages to step into imagined worlds and play.
Alicia holds an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Central Florida and a BA in Theatre Arts from Florida State University. She is a proud member of the Theatre for Young Audiences/USA and the American Alliance for Theatre Education, and has served as Board Member for both organizations.
Alicia’s professional directing credits include Inside Out and Backwards, The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats, and Afflicted: Daughters of Salem with NCT. Upcoming: It’s a Wonderful Life (Nashville Repertory Theatre). University directing credits include The Giver, Eurydice, Tomato Plant Girl (MTSU) and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Lipscomb University). Favorite youth theatre credits include The Yellow Boat, Songs for a New World, Legally Blonde, and Avenue Q: School Edition.
Jax Komos (she/her)
Secretary · Community Director
Community Achieves Manager and Teaching Artist, Napier Elementary
Jax Komos is a theatre educator, youth champion, and play advocate who believes every child deserves to feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Known to her students as “Agent Jax” and a cheerleader, she creates imaginative and brave spaces where children can explore, play, and discover their full potential. Jax believes play is a radical act of joy and empowerment, and that the drama classroom and stage are cultivators of hope, empathy, and connection.
Originally from Ohio, Jax began her career as a touring actress and has performed with a variety of professional theatre companies. Across her work in the nonprofit sector, she has consistently focused on serving and empowering young people—through the arts and community initiatives supporting youth and families. She currently serves as Community Achieves Manager, and continues as a Teaching Artist, at Napier Elementary, where she has helped direct their annual musical since 2018. Previously, Jax served as Education & Engagement Manager at Nashville Children’s Theatre, helping bring the arts to children in innovative ways. She has also taught in early childhood programs and provides professional development for educators and teaching artists in arts integration. Her approach blends arts education with social-emotional learning to nurture confident, compassionate young people.
Jax is deeply committed to expanding access, representation, and equity in the arts, ensuring every child, family, and community can participate fully and see themselves reflected in the stories they encounter. She works to remove barriers so the arts are accessible to all, regardless of zip code, income, language, or ability, grounded in a belief that community and creativity are inseparable—and that everyone deserves access to the transformative power of the arts. A proud foster momma, Jax carries her belief in hope and possibility into both her professional work and her personal life. She believes the arts are a home for hope: a space where curiosity, creativity, and courage meet, and where every child can discover that possibility lives within them.
Matthew Hayes Hunter (he/him)
DEI Officer · Community Director
Becoming Us Program Specialist, Just Us program at Oasis Center
Matthew Hayes Hunter is an arts professional who calls Nashville home! A proud alum of Middle Tennessee State University, he has over a decade of professional experience as an arts educator and administrator. He is the Becoming Us Program Specialist with the Just Us program at Oasis Center, working in direct service with middle school students who identify as LGBTQIA+. Previously, Matthew has served as Production Manager for Studio Tenn Theatre Company, Drama School Manager for Nashville Children’s Theatre, and Arts Education Director for The Arts Center of Cannon County. He is passionate about creating accessible, inclusive programming for youth and fostering environments where young people feel safe, supported, and empowered to be fully themselves. His deep love for the arts and extensive background in theatre/film, both onstage/onscreen and behind the scenes, have equipped him with creative tools for connection, communication, and self-expression. He strongly believes that theatre skills are life skills. Across all of his work, Matthew brings a collaborative and compassionate approach grounded in creativity, organization, and a genuine commitment to helping young people grow and thrive.
Bob Roberts (he/him)
Community Director
Projectionist, Belcourt Theatre · Grants Manager, Nashville Shakespeare Festival
Bob Roberts is an arts nonprofit administrator with 20 years of professional nonprofit experience and an M.Ed in Nonprofit Leadership from Belmont University. He has also worked, performed, or volunteered with the majority of Nashville’s professional and community theatre groups. He currently works full-time as a projectionist for the Belcourt Theatre and part-time as Grants Manager for Nashville Shakespeare Festival, while independently volunteering as Historian for Nashville Children’s Theatre and is working on a book about its history for their upcoming centennial in 2031. Bob has a devotion to the promotion of Nashville’s rich and expansive theatre ecosystem and strives to inform the public about the many opportunities they regularly have to support local artists. His grant-writing has previously been used as a guiding template for applicants for NEA grants by Arts Midwest, and his history with Theatre for Young Audiences began over 20 years ago when touring the nation as a professional puppeteer with Cincinnati’s Madcap Puppets. Bob is thrilled to serve at Little Blue alongside many of the friends he has made during his theatre/nonprofit path in bringing this company’s distinct perspective to Nashville and the surrounding Middle TN region’s youth and families.
Fernel Valdez (he/him)
Community Director
Founder, Fitness By Fernel
Fernel Valdez is a dedicated fitness trainer, business owner, and family man. Having lived all over the world in the field of customer service, he settled in Nashville and founded Fitness By Fernel, a local training center created to help people honor and appreciate the temple of their physical health. A proud Mexican immigrant who recently celebrated becoming a U.S. citizen, Fernel’s perspective is deeply shaped by his path in active recovery from alcoholism, which fuels his commitment to mindfulness, self-awareness, and empathy for others. Driven by a beyond profound love for his lovely, amazing jet-setting wife, Jennifer, and his magical beautiful daughter, Emilia, he balances his passion for lifting up his community with his devoted family life.
Piper Jones (she/her)
Community Director
Instructor of Commercial Voice, Belmont University
Piper Jones is a Nashville-based vocalist, educator, and all-around lover of the arts! A proud two-time Belmont University alumna, she currently serves as an Instructor of Commercial Voice at Belmont. Her career has taken her from the American Idol stage to regional musical theatre (Waitress, Nashville Rep), recording studios, and classrooms, where she loves helping young artists discover their voices. With a passion for storytelling, creativity, and arts education, Piper is thrilled to join the Board of Little Blue Theatre and help inspire the next generation of performers and theatre lovers!
Meredith Bowen (she/her)
Community Director
Meredith Bowen brings a wealth of legal expertise and a lifelong passion for the performing arts to the board. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Meredith has proudly called Nashville home for the last ten years. While she works as an attorney by day, her connection to the stage runs deep—she has loved theatre all her life and studied it formally in college. Meredith’s proudest role is being a wife and a mom to her three children. Meredith is thrilled to blend her professional skills with her artistic roots to help ensure the Nashville arts scene remains a vibrant, welcoming space for families to experience the magic of storytelling together.
Ted McCoig (he/him)
Community Director
Owner and Creative Director, McCoig Creative
Designer. Tinkerer. Family guy.
“It feels great when my work provides a return for my clients and knowing that I pushed myself to deliver something authentic,” says Creative Director Ted McCoig, who brings more than 25 years of design and branding experience to the business.
Ted launched his career at Murray, Inc., developing identity systems for outdoor power equipment at Home Depot and bicycles for Toys“R”Us. He later spent a decade as senior art director for Powell Creative and Alcott Routon, building results-driven campaigns for prominent brands including HSBC, KinderCare, Regions Financial, NFIB, and Marriott Vacation Club. After cofounding the award-winning agency Ivey McCoig Creative Partners, he reunited with former colleagues as creative director at Alcott Marketing Science in 2009. An artist at heart, Ted blends design and strategy to deliver measurable outcomes. A notable favorite project includes crafting the complete identity, branding, and environmental design for the Washington, DC-based Good Stuff Eatery, created by Top Chef personality Spike Mendelsohn.
Since founding McCoig Creative in 2018, Ted has lent his expertise to numerous nonprofit and pro bono initiatives, including Donald Miller’s The Mentoring Project, Sowing Seeds of Hope, the Nashville Children’s Theatre, and the Centennial Park Conservancy. More recently, he enjoys collaborating with Nashville’s Little Blue Theatre Company to innovate inclusive, imagination-sparking theatrical experiences for young audiences.
Ted firmly believes good design improves the way we live. For him, the true measure of success is the wins his clients experience.
Harper McAlister (they/them)
Youth Advisory Member
Student, Nashville School of the Arts, Literary Conservatory
Harper McAlister is currently a student at Nashville School of the Arts, in the Literary Conservatory. Despite studying literature, they have been acting in theatre for many years, and have recently started exploring working backstage roles. Harper is extremely passionate about equity and is constantly encouraging advocation for others, and themself.
Staff
Colin Peterson (he/him)
Producing Artistic Director · Staff Director and Board Chair
Colin Peterson is an Autistic self-advocate, facilitator, and theatre director who believes that everyone’s voice matters, and, most importantly, that they should know it matters. He is the Producing Artistic Director of Little Blue Theatre Company, a Nashville nonprofit making professional theatre for and with young people.
Colin launched Little Blue in 2025 with no building and a staff of one. A year later it runs a four-show season, Saturday classes, camps, and afterschool programs in schools across Nashville. It has already won a 2026 Best of Nashville award from the Nashville Scene and was named a 2026 Best of Parenting Favorite for Best Performing Arts/Theater by Nashville Parent. Its regional premiere of All Smiles, a sensory-friendly play developed with Alliance Theatre and Marcus Autism Center, was staged by an all-Autistic creative team, earned a Nashville Scene Critic’s Pick, and is now touring libraries, community centers, and classrooms across Middle Tennessee. In its first year Little Blue gave away $13,500 in tuition assistance and free admission, and its publicly posted bylaws require that a majority of the board come from historically marginalized communities and give staff directors a vote.
Originally from Orlando, Florida, Colin earned his degree in Philosophy from the University of Central Florida and moved to Nashville in 2010 (just before the flood). He spent the next 15 years at Nashville Children’s Theatre, ultimately as Education Director, where he doubled opportunities for students, opened the nation’s first inclusive sensory room for theatre audiences, made all extended care free, and expanded financial assistance by 87%. He championed fair pay for teaching artists, started paying interns, and built programs that brought more educators of color and neurodivergent educators onto a roster that looked like the community it served. In October 2025 the Nashville Business Journal named him an Outstanding Community Voice at its Diversity Awards for his advocacy within the Autistic community. He serves on the advisory council of the All Access Inclusion Network and facilitates Teen Connect for Autism TN.
Colin is also a professional projection designer and award-winning sound designer, with more than 35 productions for companies including NCT, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Rep, Studio Tenn, and Vanderbilt University, and a 2019 AudioVerse Award for Best Action Sound Design. He lives in Madison, TN with his neurodivergent wife, two neurodivergent kiddos, and a young, energetic dog, making his household lively, loving, and decidedly challenging for the sensory-sensitive.
Megan Castleberry (she/her)
Touring Manager
Megan Castleberry has been working in educational theater for the last 10 years in all aspects such as directing and choreographing productions for young people, teaching classes and summer camps, and now in an admin role with Little Blue getting shows directly to schools and the greater Nashville community. Outside of her work in theater you can find her attending plenty of music festivals and concerts, watching movies from her extensive DVD collection or at The Belcourt, or finding any excuse to bake a batch of cookies.
Megan Roggendorff (she/her)
Program Administrator
Megan Roggendorff is so happy to be working with Colin and Little Blue! She believes that access to the performing arts is vital, and that every child should have the opportunity to experience theater in an environment that supports their true, full selves. That's why introducing and fostering a love of theater in her students is her passion and her pride.
Megan holds a BA in Theater from Auburn University, and has performed and directed on stages here in Nashville, as well as nationally, including at the Kennedy Center. Two of her original plays have been staged in Nashville. Most recently, Megan was the Drama School Coordinator for the Nashville Children's Theatre, and she served two terms as the Marketing Committee Chair on the Board of Directors for Nashville's Street Theatre Company. Before moving to Nashville in 2009, Megan worked in the marketing department at Washington DC's Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. She has taught performance and technical theater, has served as a camp counselor and high school theater competition adjudicator, and has worked as a script writer and supervisor, as well as an on-site film acting coach for adults and children.
Currently, Megan teaches middle and high school theater and high school literature. When she's not practicing Drama Desk Award speeches in the mirror, Megan is probably cooking or reading, or rewatching The Office while pouring the last of the potato chip crumbs into her mouth. She lives in East Nashville with her husband, her two neuro-spicy teens, and her dog and cat.
Because play is serious work.
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