OUR TEAM
Oona Gilles-Weil
Oona is the Executive Director at Fiddlehead. She joined the staff in 2019 after moving to Maine from California. Working at Fiddlehead has been a dream come true for her. It brings together her love for Education and Non-Profit Management and allows her to be creative and compassionate. A little known fact about her is that her family loves animals - right now they have 1 dog, 12 chickens, a snake, 3 goats and a turtle named "Buddy." She and her husband are the co-creators of the TinkerBus our mobile classroom and maker space.
Suzanne Drown Trout
Our Program Director, Suzanne taught her first art camp at Fiddlehead in 2009 after meeting our previous director at an art show. Mary Jo was drawn to her art and asked her to come teach, and she has been here ever since. Outside of Fiddlehead, Suzanne is an artist and creates prints, cards, and calendars. While her background is as an art therapist, she discovered her love of teaching while teaching art at a local theater camp that her daughter attended. Suzanne also loves photography and spends many free days taking pictures in nature and of her dog :) She is the talent behind our social media accounts!
Jonathan Downs
Jonathan Downs holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance with a concentration in Jazz Guitar and has taught music at the Peaks Island Elementary School Aftercare Program, Hope House; a home for Asylum Seekers in Portland, ME, Breakwater School, Maine Academy of Modern Music and Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, as well as in private lessons since 2015. He has been writing and performing original music since 2008, and has toured internationally. He enjoys helping his students to engage their creativity and imagination in music, while also teaching the inner workings and fine details of techniques, instruments, music theory and history, the development of skills, and the joys of practice, improvement, and appreciation of music.
Theresa Tillman
Theresa joined our team as an instructor in 2022 after working at Ketcha Outdoors. She splits her time between Fiddlehead and Smiling Hill Farm where she cares for animals.
She graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in Theater Arts from the University of New Haven. She enjoys working with and helping create safe spaces for children to learn. "I think that STEAM is very important for children to learn how to create what inspires them and how to make dreams a reality."
Chel Nico
Our Center Support Assistant & Music Coordinator, Chel, joined our team in 2025. In addition to maintaining the music schedule here at Fiddlehead, she repairs piano finishes at Starbird Piano Gallery. Outside of work, Chel likes to read and snuggle with her two cats, Cooper and Winnie. Music has always been a big part of her life and she is grateful to help kiddos get connected to instruments and teachers that will inspire them to explore the magic of music. You'll often find her at the front desk so feel free to say hello!
Bella daCosta
Bella joined our team in 2023. She is in her last year at the University of Southern Maine finishing up her degree in education. Bella is originally from New Jersey but loves all that Maine has to offer and can't wait to live here full time when she finishes her degree. She has been working with children ages 0-12 for many years now and has plans to work in Montessori education post-graduation. She is an avid knitter and always has a new project she is working on.
MUSIC TEAM
Our team of musicians bring over 85 years of combined musical instruction experience. They value each student's pace and make learning music a fun and challenging experience for all ages and levels. Here are our current instructors and their focus areas:
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Jonathan Downs: Guitar, Beginning Piano
Gail Parker: Underwood: Piano, Voice
Megan Sabine: Violin, Fiddle, Ukulele
Natasha Skala: Piano
Lindz Amer: Ukulele, Beginning Guitar
OUR BOARD
Our Board of Directors is made up of parents, alumna, community stakeholders and partners. Each member brings their own expertise to the table, in order to lead Fiddlehead into the future and ensure that our agency thrives. Meet the board!
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We are still actively recruiting new members and volunteers! Maybe you want to help with event planning or have an idea about corporate giving. Or maybe you just want to come see how a non-profit works.
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We welcome you!