Leading with Love,
putting people first.
Stephanie Matthews builds spaces where people discover what they're capable of.
For young people, that looks like hands on instruments, engineering builds, VR music-making, and conversations with designers and musicians — learning that is alive, cultural, and joyful. For the audiences she speaks to, it looks like a room gone quiet, people leaning in, seeing the threads of their own lives connect in ways they hadn't before. The through-line is always the same: nothing is wasted.
Everything counts. And yes is always worth the risk.
About
Stephanie Matthews is a builder, a visionary, and a storyteller — someone who has spent over two decades turning unconventional ideas into real, lasting impact.
As Executive Director of A Tribe for Jazz, she leads with the conviction that learning should be hands-on, culturally relevant, and full of possibility. Under her leadership, A Tribe for Jazz has developed groundbreaking programming — including Jazz Lab, an interdisciplinary initiative that fuses jazz and STEAM to ignite curiosity, critical thinking, and confidence in young people. These are spaces where divergent thinking is celebrated, fear is gently challenged, and kids who have been told no finally get to experience yes.
But Stephanie's work is about more than programs. It's about what happens to a person when they realize nothing they've lived through has been wasted — that every passion, every pivot, every risk taken quietly laid the foundation for what came next. That belief lives at the center of everything she does: how she leads, how she mentors, and how she shows up on a stage.
Guided by faith and fueled by purpose, Stephanie speaks to educators, innovators, and leaders who are ready to think differently about what's possible — for young people, for their organizations, and for themselves.
Stephanie's work has been recognized with the Greater Columbus Arts Council Jim Arter Arts Educator Award, the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero Award, and the Paul E. Young Outstanding Achievement in Education Award. She has also been named a 2026 Columbus Monthly Inspiring Women honoree, 2026 Mahogany Magazine Extraordinary Women, 2025 Unstoppable 100 Women in Innovation, and Vision Made Magazine 20 Women Over 40 to Watch.
The Arts Are Not Extra.
They Are the Point.
At A Tribe for Jazz, Stephanie has helped build programming rooted in a simple but radical idea: that every young person deserves access to the transformative power of the arts — regardless of zip code, background, or circumstance.
That commitment shows up in every concert, every masterclass, every school program, every community partnership — creating entry points for young people who might never otherwise be told that their creativity matters, their culture has value, and their curiosity belongs in the room.
The arts aren't a luxury. They are a pathway to identity, confidence, and possibility.
Jazz Lab takes that belief even further. This groundbreaking interdisciplinary initiative, designed at the intersection of jazz and STEAM, gives young people the tools, the experiences, and the creative confidence to see themselves as innovators.
The results are quieter than a test score — and louder than anything a rubric could capture. They live in a child's face the moment fear becomes curiosity, and curiosity becomes joy.
Speaking & Keynotes
Stephanie doesn't just deliver a talk. She shifts something.
Audiences describe her as the kind of speaker who makes a room go quiet — not because the content is heavy, but because it's true. She draws people in through story, and leaves them seeing the connections in their own lives they hadn't noticed before.
She speaks on:
Innovation in education — interdisciplinary learning, STEAM, and what it looks like to build programs that actually reach young people
Career transitions and creative resilience — how nothing you've done is wasted, and how your most unlikely experiences become your greatest assets
Leadership and vision — building something from nothing, leading with faith, and creating cultures where people feel empowered to try
Stephanie is available for keynotes, panels, conference sessions, and leadership events.
Recent Talks
May 2026 — Arts Impact Ohio Conference — "Improvising Impact: Jazz Lab from Enrichment to Engine"
February 2026 — Central Ohio Career Readiness Council — “Jazz Lab: Reimagining Education”
November 2025 — Tri-Village Chamber Keynote — "From Creating Art to Creating Impact"
November 2025 - Battelle 2025 STEM Innovation Forum — “Jazz Lab: Powered by Culture, Aimed at Equity. Built for STEM”
October 2025 — Toastmasters International Emerging Leaders — Keynote "Your Story, Your Brand, Your Success"
February 2025 — Ohio University Artrepreneurship Summit — Closing Keynote "Creative Resilience"
February 2025 — Ohio Afterschool Network — "The Jazz Lab™ Mobile Pilot: Inspiring STEM Learning through Music and Innovation"
July 2024 — Association of Midwest Museums — "The Way Forward: Programmatic Innovation and Strategic Partnerships"
Videos & Podcasts
Broad & High — Kate's Quick Bites Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director, A Tribe for Jazz
Living Columbus with Crystal Mazza Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director, A Tribe for Jazz
Stephanie Matthews Testifies on arts access before the Columbus Funding Review Advisory Committee (FRAC)
Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director, A Tribe for Jazz delivers the closing keynote at the Ohio University Artrepreneurship Conference
Kate’s Quick Bites with Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director, A Tribe for Jazz — Broad & High Episode
