Jane Weiner (Founder & President)

Jane established Hope Stone, Inc. in 1997 with a dream to unlock the innate creativity of children and adults through the arts. Graduating from Bowling Green State University with a degree in deaf/elementary education and minor in dance, Jane worked with the Doug Elkins Dance Company in New York City for a decade plus of dancing and touring before her move to Houston in 1996. She has set work on the Alley Theater, Houston Ballet II, Stages Repertory Theater, the Houston Children’s Museum, as well as many universities, and has collaborated with the Houston Symphony, the CAMH, and the Asia Society, and was a speaker at the 2012 TEDx Houston and 2013 TEDx TAMU. 

She is the Artistic Director of Hope Stone Dance and directs The Hope Project, Hope Stone’s mindful arts education outreach program.

Amy Pearl (executive Director) 

Amy joined Hope Stone in 2009 and has over twenty years of nonprofit management and event fundraising experience. After graduating from the University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA) with a degree in Modern Dance Performance and a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of Pennsylvania, she worked for the prestigious nonprofit performing arts center New York City Center in both their education and development departments, managing the Young People’s Dance Series program (40 public schools and over 5,000 students across NYC) and transitioning to the Director of Events where she managed the major donor program and achieved the first million-dollar Annual Gala in the organization’s history. Amy then worked for City Parks Foundation as their Special Events Director, managing six diverse annual fundraising benefits throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

Away from Hope Stone, Amy is a writer whose work has been published in print and online.

Gayla Miller (Education Specialist–TheatEr/SEL) 

Gayla joined Hope Stone in 1997 as both a theater teacher and stage manager. Her process is informed by a Master’s degree in counseling education from the University of St. Thomas, a BA in theatre/psychology and over 20 years of working in professional theater, producing, performing and educating. Notable companies Gayla has worked with include Hope Stone Dance, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Dance Salad, The Pink Ribbons Project, Group Acorde, Theater Lab, Main Street Theater, Leadership Houston and MATCH.

Currently Gayla has a small teaching studio where she uses mindfulness, creativity and guidance lessons to support social, behavioral and academic goals in students.

Ashley Horn (Educational Specialist–Dance)

Ashley is a passionate dance educator, teaching since 2000 and specializing in early education. She has served as the Children's Dance Coordinator at the Jewish Community Center and taught since 2013 with Hope Stone. Ashley is dedicated to addressing early childhood developmental needs through the study of the arts.

She is also a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and costume designer. Her choreography and films have been shown at ACDF, The University of Houston, Big Range Dance Festival, The Texas Weekend of Contemporary Dance, Third Coast Dance on Film Festival, The Houston Fringe Festival, and Dance Month at the ERJCC among other venues and events. She has created costumes for FrenetiCore, Frame Dance Productions, Open Dance Project, Sara Draper, Teresa Chapman, The Pilot Dance Project, Hope Stone Dance, and her own works. Ashley is a two-time recipient of an individual artist grant from the Houston Arts Alliance for choreography. She has been an artist in residence at Hope Stone and Rice University and has been a guest choreographer for Rice University, Houston Community College, and The Pilot Dance Project.

Rachel Hansbro (Educational Specialist–Music)

Rachel Hansbro is a native Houstonian who studied Classical and Jazz guitar. She  began teaching as an after school job in 1999. She then spent the majority of the early 2000s performing, recording, touring, and playing festivals with her band The Western Civilization. The band released their album “Letters of Resignation” in 2007 and toured the U.S. and Canada. They played a variety of festivals with the Vans Warped Tour, South by Southwest, Halifax Pop Explosion, and Summer Fest. She continues to write and produce music.

In 2005, Rachel began working at Guitar Center, as a guitar sales associate and, in 2009, was promoted to General Manager for the North Houston location. In 2011, she opened their Stafford, TX store. It was the first in Houston to house a teaching studio and rehearsal program.  In 2014, she left the company to pursue her passion for teaching and opened a studio in Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area, where she currently teaches Piano, Voice, Ukulele, Guitar, Bass, and Drums. Her teaching style is tailored to the needs of her students and she focuses on empowerment through music and creativity.  While getting her studio up and running, she worked as a production manager for Fitzgeralds, and worked in production on the Visual Arts team for Day for Night. She also created music media content for Bayou City Arts Festival. 

In her spare time, she volunteers for Girls Rock Camp of Houston as a Coordinator for the camp. Leading up to the camp, she repurposes unwanted and donated musical gear, making them operational for the campers ranging from the ages of 8-18. She also coaches bands, leads songwriting workshops for the students, and is dedicated to providing a safe space for kids to find their voice while collaborating and creating original music.