Include Everyone Project SCV
Include Everyone Project SCV, 23734 Valencia Boulevard, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
About
Include Everyone Project SCV offers performing arts classes that include music, dance, acting, and performing art classes for all abilities. The program also offers family-focused activities such as family dance party nights, family drum circles and jam sessions, creation nights for visual arts, picnics, movie nights, inclusive events, an annual summer camp, performance opportunities, and special fundraising events. It also offers self-care workshops and classes for caregivers and has begun bringing sensory friendly spaces to community events.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Sessions are now 12 weeks of classes
Include Everyone Project SCV offers performing arts classes for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Prader-Will Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, physical disabilities, 2E, and all differently abled artists and their families in the Santa Clarita community and Santa Clarita Valley. It offers an annual summer camp for artists and performance opportunities and has begun an outreach program by bringing sensory friendly spaces to community events. The program states that no apologies are necessary at events and that the community sees the world differently and communicates in their own ways. Masking at indoor events is strongly encouraged if a student is coughing or sneezing when covid, cold, and flu season are at a peak due to a large population of higher risk participants. A long-term goal is to have a community center and performance space where all members of the disabled community have a place to express themselves, explore their creativity, practice their social skills, and grow, and it aims to encourage caregivers to focus on their own self-care by offering wellness classes and having resources available in one central location.
The mission of Include Everyone Project SCV is to provide creative spaces that encourage all members of the community to come together while embracing those with disabilities. It states that it supports disabled artists’ social and emotional growth while encouraging them to explore and learn all aspects of the arts in a supportive, positive, and inclusive environment, and that it strives to provide a respite of support, self-care, and socialization for the people who love them. Include Everyone Project SCV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and special thanks are given to benefactor sponsor ReMo Inc., who have helped to subsidize the program.
Founder and Executive Director Kristen De Benedetto is a dance instructor who began formal dance training at age five with a focus on classical ballet, received summer intensive grants for the Homer Bryant School of Ballet in Chicago, and a scholarship to The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Education with a focus on Dance and Movement Therapy. Her postgraduate studies are in dance and movement therapy, and she obtained Autism Movement Therapy Certification in Spring 2017 and is a certified provider in the Santa Clarita Valley. Founder and Board President Rodney Dong is a Board Certified Music Therapist and Music Director who has worked extensively with children and youth with special needs for over 20 years, received his Bachelor’s of Music Therapy Degree at Capilano College in Vancouver, Canada, is a professional member of the American Music Therapy Association, has served as Music Therapy Program Coordinator for two pediatric clinics in the Los Angeles area, and now works primarily within Santa Clarita’s school districts with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Founder and Vice President Kathleen “Kate” White is a drama instructor who received her B.F.A. in Theatre from Pace University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with a focus on mild/moderate special education from the University of Southern California. The leadership team also includes Treasurer (Interim) Christine Mugnolo, Secretary (Interim) Natalie Medvedev, and board members Diane Ortega, Christine Mugnolo, Karen Preciado, Bob Erio, Shauna Criner, Flo Loring (Adjunct), and Connie Vanderakis (Adjunct).
One parent, Ariana Lapierre, states that Include Everyone Project has provided her 8-year-old daughter with meaningful opportunities to participate in performing arts classes and that the instructors are patient, kind, and well versed in handling behaviors and helping children of all abilities thrive in their classes. Another parent states that they are grateful the program exists and that their son, who is very outgoing and loves to perform, has a place where he is accepted and allowed to be himself on stage.
Last updated June 11, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Sessions are now 12 weeks of classes
Include Everyone Project SCV offers performing arts classes for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Prader-Will Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, physical disabilities, 2E, and all differently abled artists and their families in the Santa Clarita community and Santa Clarita Valley. It offers an annual summer camp for artists and performance opportunities and has begun an outreach program by bringing sensory friendly spaces to community events. The program states that no apologies are necessary at events and that the community sees the world differently and communicates in their own ways. Masking at indoor events is strongly encouraged if a student is coughing or sneezing when covid, cold, and flu season are at a peak due to a large population of higher risk participants. A long-term goal is to have a community center and performance space where all members of the disabled community have a place to express themselves, explore their creativity, practice their social skills, and grow, and it aims to encourage caregivers to focus on their own self-care by offering wellness classes and having resources available in one central location.
The mission of Include Everyone Project SCV is to provide creative spaces that encourage all members of the community to come together while embracing those with disabilities. It states that it supports disabled artists’ social and emotional growth while encouraging them to explore and learn all aspects of the arts in a supportive, positive, and inclusive environment, and that it strives to provide a respite of support, self-care, and socialization for the people who love them. Include Everyone Project SCV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and special thanks are given to benefactor sponsor ReMo Inc., who have helped to subsidize the program.
Founder and Executive Director Kristen De Benedetto is a dance instructor who began formal dance training at age five with a focus on classical ballet, received summer intensive grants for the Homer Bryant School of Ballet in Chicago, and a scholarship to The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Education with a focus on Dance and Movement Therapy. Her postgraduate studies are in dance and movement therapy, and she obtained Autism Movement Therapy Certification in Spring 2017 and is a certified provider in the Santa Clarita Valley. Founder and Board President Rodney Dong is a Board Certified Music Therapist and Music Director who has worked extensively with children and youth with special needs for over 20 years, received his Bachelor’s of Music Therapy Degree at Capilano College in Vancouver, Canada, is a professional member of the American Music Therapy Association, has served as Music Therapy Program Coordinator for two pediatric clinics in the Los Angeles area, and now works primarily within Santa Clarita’s school districts with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Founder and Vice President Kathleen “Kate” White is a drama instructor who received her B.F.A. in Theatre from Pace University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with a focus on mild/moderate special education from the University of Southern California. The leadership team also includes Treasurer (Interim) Christine Mugnolo, Secretary (Interim) Natalie Medvedev, and board members Diane Ortega, Christine Mugnolo, Karen Preciado, Bob Erio, Shauna Criner, Flo Loring (Adjunct), and Connie Vanderakis (Adjunct).
One parent, Ariana Lapierre, states that Include Everyone Project has provided her 8-year-old daughter with meaningful opportunities to participate in performing arts classes and that the instructors are patient, kind, and well versed in handling behaviors and helping children of all abilities thrive in their classes. Another parent states that they are grateful the program exists and that their son, who is very outgoing and loves to perform, has a place where he is accepted and allowed to be himself on stage.
Last updated June 11, 2026.
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