Email: dlabelle@lvpa.org
Phone: (610) 868-2971 Ext.108
With more than 20 years experience in the field, LaBelle has become one of the premier arts education administrators in the country. Originally hired as a consultant to design and oversee construction of the GoggleWorks, LaBelle was named Executive Director in 2005 after successfully working with the board of directors to raise $15 million through a capital campaign to renovate the former Willson Goggle Factory.
Over the seven years of her involvement, the GoggleWorks became a national model for community revitalization. Her background as an architect allowed LaBelle to spearhead the facility’s renovation, which was honored with a Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award. As Executive Director, LaBelle administered the six-building campus with a $1.5 million operating budget, attracting international attention for the caliber of art and community development that occurred within its walls.
LaBelle was the inaugural Director of the Banana Factory, a dynamic cultural arts and education center located in Bethlehem, Pa., from 1998-2003. Prior to that, she was the CEO of the nonprofit FreeHand, Bethlehem, PA, which worked with children in the community, university students and design professional to take a hands-on approach to neighborhood revitalization. Her career in arts education began in Pittsburgh, Pa., in the 1980s, where her award-winning ArchiKids program worked with at-risk children.