Participant Biographies and Project Descriptions

Ines Amaya
Ines is a talented bilingual musician and music therapist. Her career dates back 31 years when she founded a performing arts group for 25 Spanish speaking children who sang and played musical instruments in Anchorage, Alaska.  More recently, Ines has performed as a vocalist and guitarist for community events in Orange County, worked as a music therapist for several organizations, and designed arts based curriculum for developmentally disabled clients of all ages.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy and a M.A. in Special Studies, Adults with Profound Developmental Disabilities. Ines’ passion for the Hispanic community, as well as her background as a Catholic nun, social worker, and elementary school teacher make her a natural fit to provide therapeutic music groups for low income Spanish speaking Latino families who are struggling with family members experiencing mental health or learning difficulties.

At the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) in Santa Ana, Ines is leading bilingual music therapy groups for inner city Latino parents and children who have family members experiencing emotional and behavioral disabilities. The Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) is dedicated to education, empowerment and therapy of at-risk youth with limited resources, and is well suited to host Ines’ Artist Outreach Project. Her participants regularly face stress and compassion fatigue because of cultural barriers, difficulty accessing social services, and problems negotiating school systems. Ines hopes to improve communication skills, increase coping skills, reduce stress and provide family members with opportunities for therapeutic, creative expression.