About Us – Keys 2 Success

OUR MISSION

Keys 2 Success brings quality music education to students starting in Pre-K in the most underserved areas of Newark. Our free, daily piano lessons are delivered in a group setting in the students' own environment, where teachers and volunteers work to remove barriers and support students as they develop into future leaders.

OUR VALUES

Equity Focused - We commit to equity in all levels and aspects of our organization; to provide support proportional to the barriers each individual faces to quality resources

Community Aligned - We commit to learn about the communities we serve, adapting our approach and allowing ourselves to be transformed in the process.

Longevity Driven - We commit to sustained investment in the individuals and communities we serve.

Partnership Centered - We commit to partnering with diverse stakeholders to effect lasting systemic change; we believe healthy communication and conflict resolution is the foundation for developing trusting and loyal relationships.

Individual Empowerment - We commit to creating an environment where individuals have agency over their success and feel safe to be their authentic self with self-advocacy ultimately paving the way for community leadership.

OUR PEOPLE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Onieka Sutton - Board President

Onieka Sutton is a social work professional at the State of New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency with thirteen plus years of experience providing dynamic case management to adolescents, children and families impacted by the child welfare system. Ms. Sutton emigrated to the United states from Guyana, South America and grew up in California. Later her family settled in New Jersey. She’s lived in Essex county since 1991, and has worked in Newark since 2007. A bicoastal upbringing shaped her childhood while her family instilled within her the importance of education, curiosity, and exploration. Onieka is passionate about youth advocacy and literacy. She is driven to promote the Keys 2 Success mission and bring equity and accessibility to music education for underserved young people.

Ms. Sutton has two teenage daughters who are learning violin and cello. Since 2019, she has volunteered with the Annual Fund fundraising effort at her daughter's school. She also volunteered as Secretary for the Parent Teacher board for two years. Onieka earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Dartmouth College and holds a Certificate in Adolescent Advocacy from Montclair State University and Violence Against Women Certificate from Rutgers University School of Social Work.

Marcia Heard - Board Vice President

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Heard received the Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Master of Arts, and a Doctorate of Philosophy from New York University. She’s also the recipient of several grants, awards, certificates, and fellowships. Her resume comprises a plethora of training and productions such as a dance program at Schurz High School in Chicago that grew to fill two full time teaching positions. She has studied and performed with notable teachers and choreographers inclusive of Darlene Blackburn (Nigerian and Ghanaian); Bentley Stone and Walter Camryn (Ballet-Cecchetti); Joel Hall and Pepsi Bethel (Jazz); Wali and Andara Rahman (Sabar African Dance). Not only has Dr. Heard studied Dunham, Humphrey-Weidman, Katherine Dunham (Dunham Technique), and Limon techniques, she was a scholarship student at the Ailey School. Dr. Heard served on the Core Course Proficiencies and Standards Panel for the Arts in New Jersey and the panel that drafted guidelines for licensing dance and theater for the State of New Jersey. Today she is married, the mother of two children and continues living and giving her passion to the arts.

Renée Simms Frank - Treasurer

Renee is a community partner and volunteer, committed to helping others through the spirit of service. She is the current co-Vice President of the Junior League of Summit’s community Thrift Shop and is the Secretary of the Fortnightly Club. She is a core volunteer at Bridges Outreach, focused on their Newark outreach runs. She also leads Bridges’ Teens Tackle Homelessness program and is a Meals on Wheels volunteer through Sage Eldercare. Prior to dedicating her time to community-based organizations, Renee spent her career in the financial industry. Renee hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and studied literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Outside of volunteerism, Renee is passionate about family, travel, reading and making art.

Phil Bingham - Board Member

Phil is the Vice-President of the Barry Harris Institute of Jazz. He is also a Minister of Music Emeritus for Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, NY. Mr. Bingham is a music consultant with the New York City vicinity School Districts, and the cover conductor of the The Barry Harris 50-Year Concert Retrospective Concert Band, Orchestra and Choir. He is a composer, arranger, and conference leader. He has conducted professional development workshops for both the secular and sacred music communities. Some examples of his presentations are “Worship Intentionally”, “Worship Intonationally”, “Worship Contoured”, and “Worship with a discernible bridge to the various music traditions.” In addition to his board responsibilities, Phil works directly with the students and is a valuable mentor for them.

STAFF

Jee-Hoon Krska • STAFF FEATURE VIDEO •

Jee-Hoon Krska is the founder of Keys 2 Success, a program that seeks to improve the lives of children growing up in the most underserved areas in Newark through music education. She studied piano in the Juilliard pre-college program and at MIT (Ph.D. EECS). She has performed in concerts including at Boston Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center, and with Yo-Yo Ma. Dr. Krska spent twenty years in the semiconductor industry. During that time, she was actively involved in a series of projects aimed at serving Newark youths. Through this experience, she saw firsthand the effects of generational poverty. She developed a passion for investing in youth's lives, which ultimately led to her decision in 2016 to work full time with the children of Newark by founding Keys 2 Success.

Patricio Apaez • STAFF FEATURE VIDEO •

Patricio Apaez, Piano Faculty and Director of Student Services. Born in Mexico City, Patricio displayed a deep interest in classical music. He began taking lessons at age 7, experimenting with different instruments, eventually beginning serious musical training with the piano at 12. The need to seek out an intensive training as a pianist became evident, and he was accepted at the Interlochen Arts Academy, a renowned music program for high school students in the U.S.

Following high school, Patricio attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana for his B.A in piano performance. His study with Dr. Robert Palmer provided him opportunities to attend European summer festivals. There, he would take lessons with prominent teachers such as Dina Yoffe & Erin Nakagawa, as well as performing for European audiences. Following his graduation, Patricio transitioned to NYC, studying under Dr. Ronn Yedidia at the NY Piano Academy, earning a position as Assistant Faculty. Recent awards include 1st prizes at the NJMTAR, MAMTG & Golden Classical Music Awards competitions, and a performance at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. He holds a Master's degree in Piano Performance from Brooklyn College.

Madeline Carnesi

Starting as a volunteer in November 2022, Madeline joined the Keys 2 Success staff in August 2023. Maddie’s journey with the piano began at age 5, on the very same piano that her great-grandfather, a Jewish immigrant and Broadway pianist, had purchased upon arriving in the U.S. pre-WWII. The piano was passed down to her grandmother who passed from cancer before reaching the age of 50, and eventually her uncle, a pianist and drummer who was heavily involved in the New York City music scene. Having been born blind, her uncle found community and purpose through music - a door opened to him through access to music education. Her mission is to ensure that no one, regardless of their identities or disadvantages, is shut out from access to quality music education. In addition to being an educator herself, Maddie will be pursuing a career in law to push for equity in educational opportunities. She is currently a freshman at Emory University and plans to pursue a double major in Public Policy and Piano Performance.

Anita Horton

Anita Horton started at Keys 2 Success as a volunteer after speaking with the founder, Jee-Hoon Krska, and wanting to support her work in helping underserved kids in Newark. As a child growing up she had classical piano training for 10 years. She also has a diverse background with degrees in Economics and Plant Science as well as a certificate in Massage Therapy. Currently she is a Real Estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty in Warren. Wanting to contribute to her community and help organizations she liked, she has done volunteer work for many years at such places as The NY Open Center and NJPAC. Now she gladly joined the Keys 2 Success staff where she enjoys helping out.

April Montgomery

April Montgomery joyfully joined the Keys 2 Success family as a volunteer in 2021 and joined the board with gratitude in 2023 as part of her lifelong passion for giving back. A graduate of The French Culinary Institute, April has sought to find balance between her busy career in Operations at growing food startups with her love of building community and connections through direct service. April is President-Elect of the Junior League of Summit, NJ, an active member of her church, and a community volunteer with many other organizations. April has a love for creative problem solving in her professional and non-profit work, and a love for vintage Pyrex bowls, cookbooks, and traveling in her personal life.

Susanna Newman-Baddiel

Susanna is an actor, director and voice over artist with 16 years of experience teaching public speaking, personal impact, presentation skills, leadership development and executive coaching. She works in both the UK and in New York City with several different organizations. In New York, she has worked for NYU Langone Health and ran her acclaimed Confident Communicators of Science courses and workshops for leaders in biomedical science including Senior and Postdoctoral Research Fellows. In the UK, she’s worked with The NHS Leadership Academy, The Kings Fund, Macmillan Cancer Support, Korn Ferry and Ashridge.

Elizabeth Krska - Keys 2 Success teacher

Elizabeth Krska • STAFF FEATURE VIDEO •

Elizabeth Krska, Piano Teacher. Elizabeth started piano when she was nine, scored the highest score in New Jersey for her level in the Royal Conservatory of Music level tests, and played at Carnegie Hall for the first time when she was ten, and again in 2019 as a Grand Prize winner at the International Music and Arts Society Competition. She is currently an architecture student at Washington University at St. Louis where she continues to study piano and teaching Keys students on Zoom.

Rex Parry

Rex Parry, Piano Teacher and Media Specialist. Rex is a Boston-based musician and teacher who has been playing piano for nearly 15 years. Rex has also been involved in music in other areas such as dance, musical theater, production, and playing the trumpet during this time, and is currently pursuing a degree in Professional Music with concentrations in performance and music production at Berklee College of Music. Though they started with classical styles on the piano, during middle school they became more interested in jazz and contemporary styles, which they studied all the way through auditioning for and entering college. Rex is passionate about sharing their love for music and learning in general with students of all ages and skill levels.

Allison Russo

Allison Russo, Grant Writer. Allison is an educator, consultant, and writer focused on creating ethical and effective learning spaces in the arts with her consulting company, The Critical Good. Her areas of interest include social-emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Allison has a BM from Ithaca College and an MM from Boston University, both in Music Education. A former public school music teacher and non-profit arts administrator, Allison envisions a world where arts education is boundless, universally accessible, and joyful for all. She lives in West Orange, NJ, with her husband and two children.

Elijah Jahaz Souels • STAFF FEATURE VIDEO •

Elijah Souels, Composer-in-Residence, is a native Newarker and a rare musical talent. He started playing drums at church as a young child. When the need arose for a pianist at his church, he switched instruments and taught himself how to play the piano. Elijah's musical talent earned him entrance to Newark Arts High School as a piano major. He further pursued his music education at Essex County College, where he majored in Classical Piano Performance and Music Theory. He performs regularly in the tri-state area, including at NJPAC Jazz Festival. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Souels is the creative force behind the piano ensemble arrangements performed by Keys 2 Success students.

Taylor Souels

Taylor Souels, Teaching Artist and Newark-native. Growing up as a quiet child, no one knew there was a big voice hiding behind that silence. It wasn't until her first year at the University of Hartford, where she was urged to join a talent show, that she finally unleashed her voice and sang in front of a packed room. From this experience, she was motivated to transfer schools to Essex County College, where she received a degree in Music Education with a focus in Voice. Since then, she has used her voice to sing in community theater, for events, and with various local bands.

Seraphina Taylor

Seraphina began playing the piano on her own at an early age on her grandmother’s antique upright, which had remained completely untouched since her aunt had stopped taking lessons as a child. Her mother recalls hearing a young Seraphina picking out the Moonlight Sonata theme by ear one morning after hearing it on Goosebumps and very quickly recognized the itch for learning and music that her daughter had developed. She quickly enrolled Seraphina in private piano lessons for classical music with a neighbor. As she continued to develop her ear on her own, it became a crutch, and she struggled greatly for years in the classical realm as a result of her inability to read sheet music. Though this stunted her learning, it enabled her in the future to be able to recognize and nurture the unique strengths of her students instead of using the same one-size-fits-all approach that had nearly extinguished her love of music. At the age of 12, her passion for jazz was ignited when she discovered the music of Los Angeles-based pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, who would later become one of her mentors. While Black-American music of all genres had been an integral part of her childhood and daily life, the study of jazz, funk, and jazz fusion opened a new world of piano to her - a world that would eventually become her home. She joined the teaching staff of Keys 2 Success in 2021 and plans to continue pursuing her musical career by attending college for music performance and education in 2024.

URBAN FELLOWS