Cheryl Todmann, Founder & Executive Producer

Cheryl Todmann is a Brooklyn-based cultural leader, nonprofit founder, and advocate for racial and social equity through the arts. She began her career in marketing at Essence Magazine, The New York Times, and MTV Networks, where she honed her skills in storytelling and audience engagement. Her true calling, however, emerged at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in East New York. Despite having knee issues, Cheryl joined the dance ministry—an experience that transformed her life, building her confidence, creativity, and sense of purpose. She realized that if dance could elevate her personally and professionally, it could also help children reach their full potential.

Answering that calling, Cheryl took a leap of faith—leaving corporate America to pursue movement, healing, and community impact. She founded Jewel & Rock Fitness, an intergenerational community dance and wellness program, and joined Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn to lead its marketing and fundraising, where she expanded its visibility and access while also training as a dancer.

Her own artistic journey includes performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, dancing for Tony Award–winning choreographer George Faison, Isaac Hayes, and performing at the McDonald’s Gospelfest. In a defining moment, she and her Jewel dancers performed for Michael Jackson’s 30 Years of Magic celebration at Webster Hall, where he exclaimed, “I like the Jewels!”

In 2010, Cheryl founded The Stars of New York Dance, a first-of-its-kind dance-off uniting civic, corporate, and community leaders to perform in support of children and youth from under-resourced communities in Brooklyn and New York City. Among the inaugural stars were Letitia James (then a New York City Council Member), Colvin Grannum (then President of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation), and WNBA legend Kym Hampton. Rev. Al Sharpton, Bill de Blasio, and Chirlane McCray were special guest dancers, and Cheryl’s mentors, Susan L. Taylor, Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, and Terrie M. Williams were among the hundreds of guests who joined this unique initiative.

For 15 years, she has volunteered as Executive Producer, building a sustainable model that has raised nearly $1 million, partnered with nearly 40 organizations, and provided over 400 children with more than 23,000 days of free, high-quality dance education.

Cheryl’s work addresses inequities in arts access across Brooklyn and beyond by combining cultural innovation with community engagement—creating pathways for children to build confidence, discipline, and self-expression while mobilizing leaders to invest in their success.