Management/Staff

The Rev. Kimberly Hyatt
Executive Director
khyatt@capkids.org
Rev. Hyatt brought a diverse background to Cathedral Arts when she became Executive Director in 2002. Following divinity studies at Princeton, she moved to Jacksonville in 1996 and served pastorates at South Jacksonville Presbyterian and Peace Presbyterian churches. During this time she also served on the Boards of Directors for Hubbard House, Inc. and Community Connections of Jacksonville.

Prior to divinity school, Kimberly was a business lobbyist in Washington, D.C. from 1987 until 1993. Employed by the Food Marketing Institute, she represented the interests of the nation's food retailers and wholesalers before Congress and ran the political action committee FoodPAC.

During a short stint after college as a reporter for a local newspaper, Kimberly won the South Carolina Press Association's award for Best Feature Story for her coverage of Ku Klux Klan activities in Horry County, SC. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1987 from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, where she was voted Outstanding Senior.

She was one of 20 Jacksonville citizens chosen for the Inaugural Class of the Jessie Ball duPont Community Building Fund's Community Coaches. The Community Coaches program was designed to build a cadre of community experts who can assist local nonprofits in improving their operations and increasing their knowledge of what constitutes good youth development programs. The coaches spent a year being trained by a team of national experts and then provide at least 10 days of pro bono service to local nonprofits.

A member of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2011, Rev. Hyatt is an active member of Jacksonville Rotary, the Jacksonville Women's Network and the Presbytery of St. Augustine.

Holly Hammond
Director of Development
holly@capkids.org
As Director of Development, Holly is responsible for individual and institutional fundraising and serves as the senior officer for grant administration. Holly received a bachelor’s degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Her previous experience includes grant writing and maintaining donor relationships for local non-profit organizations in Jacksonville and service within academic environments.

Sally R. Giles, M. Ed.
Director of Programs
sgiles@capkids.org
A graduate of the University of Florida with both a B.S. and M.Ed. from the College of Education, Ms. Giles has more than 15 years experience in the field of education and supervision. Her teaching experiences range from elementary students to adults. For eight years, Ms. Giles was a teacher with Duval County Public Schools, including four years as department chair. She has been with Cathedral Arts since 2002.

Elyse Card
Business Manager
elyse@capkids.org
A Jacksonville native, Elyse earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida and has over five years experience in business management and accounting. Elyse has responsibility for all bookkeeping and accounting as well as information technology.

Harisa Kapetanovic
Program Associate
harisa@capkids.org
Harisa came to Cathedral Arts in 2005 after working for Lutheran Social Services for eight years. Born and raised in Bosnia Herzegovina, Harisa served as Senior Property Assessment Officer for the City of Ljubuski before coming to the United States. Harisa has responsibility for tracking yearly progress of our 1,200+ students along the seven metrics we measure as well as helping coordinate our yearly Showcase of the Performing Arts and various visual arts exhibitions.

Melanie Garrett Messer
Director of Community Relations
melanie@capkids.org
Prior to coming to Cathedral Arts, Melanie served for six years as Membership Services Manager for Chorus America in Washington, D.C. Melanie earned her Master's in Arts Management from American University and her Bachelor's from Depauw University. Melanie has responsibility for increasing the visibility of and support for Cathedral Arts around the First Coast.

Forrest H. Holland
Director of Special Projects
forrest@capkids.org
As a graduate of Hollins University and most recently as Director of Stellers Gallery, Forrest comes to Cathedral Arts with a diverse background in business management and the visual arts. Forrest is responsible for administering the Angels of the Arts reception, the Spring for the Arts International Wine Affair and other special projects.

Jeff Smith
Associate Director
jsmith@capkids.org
Mr. Smith joined Cathedral Arts in July 2010 and is responsible for overseeing and expanding artistic programming. He brings with him a wealth of experience as a teaching artist and arts leader in public schools. Mr. Smith holds certifications from New York and South Carolina in K-12 Music and School Administration. He earned a Professional Diploma in School District Leadership from the College of New Rochelle, a Master of Science in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Mr. Smith comes to Cathedral Arts from Charleston, South Carolina where he had taught K-5 music for two years in a Title I school and actively participated in the Charleston County School Leadership Program (Aspire Plus).

Previously, he worked as the K-12 Coordinator of Music for the Yorktown Central School District in Yorktown Heights, NY, where he was also an officer in the Westchester County Arts Leadership Association. During that time he spent numerous hours as an intern with school building and district administrators. Mr. Smith taught music for ten years in New York at schools in Suffolk and Westchester Counties. Related artistic experience includes Music Director of KJK Productions, Piano Instructor at Peekskill-Cortlandt Music School, Choral Director of Voices of Outreach in Peekskill, NY and Choral Director of the Nassau BOCES Cultural Arts Center in Syosset, NY. He is an active member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; the American Orff-Schulwerk Association; the International Reading Association; and The National Association for Music Education.