Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Jackson.
Hi Angelica, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Angelica Jackson is a product of Charles County Public Schools and has a history of being a founder. She was part of the founding class of students at Berry Elementary school, then attended Mattawoman Middle School, and was selected to be on the school naming and branding committee for North Point High School. While at Mattawoman Middle School, she was part of Future Educators of America – now known as Educators Rising, was part of the step team, and participated in many student leadership opportunities. After being the first student in Charles County to be accepted into a scholarship organization called A Better Chance – an organization that places high performing students of African American, Latino, and Asian descent into high-achieving boarding, day, and public schools across the US, Angelica attended an all girls boarding high school in Glencoe, MD. Prior to leaving home at the age of 14 to pursue studies at boarding school, Angelica was an active member of Port Tobacco Players Encore Kids and would return during the summers to work as a living history actor with the Accokeek Foundation. While in middle school at Mattawoman, Angelica earned her first job at California Tortilla as part of their founding employee team and would travel to DC using the Branch Ave. Green Line to participate in the Summer Youth Employment program in theatre with the Friends of Carter Barron. Angelica is no stranger to work, community involvement, and the importance of being active in and with the community. She is a longtime member of Lighthouse Baptist Church and continues to be active in her faith community.
In her professional work and training, Angelica’s career has spanned both the arts sector, education, and tech industry. As a professional theatre artist, Angelica is a member of Actor’s Equity Association – the actor’s union – and is an award winning actor that has performed at professional theatre houses in cities like Charlottesville, Philadelphia, Camden, DC, and New York. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama and Anthropology with a concentration in Global Culture and Commerce from the University of Virginia. In the tech sector, Angelica founded a tech startup incubated in tech accelerator programs such as digitalundivided and techstars where she received funding to startup and pilot a wellbeing mobile and web application for caregivers of children and seniors. In this work, she was trained in starting up and scaling a technology enterprise inclusive of people management, consumer research and business development, technology development, fundraising and investor relations, business origination, and more. In education, Angelica was a theatre and chorus teacher and teaching artist in Philadelphia and its suburbs. She primarily taught intermediate grade levels in schools, but also taught primary ages and adults in theatre programs outside of traditional public schools. Alongside teaching, Angelica completed fellowships with Education Pioneers, The Aspen Institute, and worked for education nonprofits from adult learning in entrepreneurship, to literacy curriculum development and adoption, to youth global citizenship leadership development. Ivy league trained at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education with a Master of Science in Education and currently at Teachers College, Columbia University as a doctoral student in urban education leadership, Angelica was inducted into honor society Kappa Delta Pi for her distinction in education.
All of Angelica’s professional and personal experiences have led her to founding Phoenix International Incorporated – arts, education, and cultural 501(c)(3) charitable organization – in 2020 and subsequently opening Phoenix International School of the Arts (PISOTA), Charles County’s first public charter school, in 2023. As CEO of both entities, Angelica has combined her deep roots in Charles County with her diverse professional expertise to create next generation educational opportunities that serve the community she calls home. Under her leadership, PISOTA has grown to serve over 200 middle school students through a unique model that integrates rigorous academics with comprehensive arts education, adding value to the public education system in Southern Maryland with creative and global learning opportunities. Charles County’s education opportunities has received national notoriety through her participation in prestigious fellowships including Camelback Ventures and 4.0 Schools, and she continues to advocate for educational equity at the state and national levels. Angelica remains committed to ensuring that Charles County’s young people have access to the transformative educational experiences that will prepare them to thrive in a global economy while maintaining strong connections to their home community.
In my hometown of Charles County, I used the arts to heal from exposure to substance use and sexual abuse. The arts and my faith kept me, saved me.
<i>Adapted from Charles County Journal contributor, Annette Gomes:</i>
Born on Andrews Air Force Base’s Malcolm Grow Hospital to military parents; Jackson moved to Charles County in elementary school. Although she calls the area home, she also remembers how much she had to leave it to find herself.
“Charles County was predominantly white when I was growing up, and there weren’t a lot of creative spaces for kids who looked like me. My mom would drive me to D.C. to go to museums, to open mics, to places like Busboys and Poets. I was maybe 10 or 11, riding the Green Line by myself to go perform with Friends of Carter Barron. It was a different time. I’d never let my kids do that now but I was that kid who loved the arts, and loved learning.” She said
This 11-year-old kid also wrote a business plan in middle school for an after-school arts program. She entitled it: The Angelic Arts Academy.
“I didn’t realize it until years later, after I submitted our charter application, but that business plan I wrote back then was the seed for what eventually became Phoenix International.”
That business plan was no idle fantasy. As a young teen, Jackson went to the library and looked up how to register a business through the Small Business Administration. Her mom would drive her to P. D. Brown Library for Saturday morning mentorship meetings with an SBA advisor, an older gentleman who patiently walked her through the startup process.
But Jackson’s journey did not go the traditional education route. She pursued multiple disciplines including anthropology, acting, and finally, found herself teaching while performing professionally.
“I never thought I’d go into traditional education. But I was always pulled back to this idea of creating something for kids like me, especially here, where those spaces didn’t exist.”
After earning her graduate degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania and spending several years in Philadelphia, Jackson returned to Charles County in 2018.
“When I came back, so many of my friends had kids. And people in the community knew my background in arts and education. I kept hearing the same thing over and over: ‘We need an art school. We need something different.’”
She listened and then heeded the call.
“That’s when I started to formalize the process by conducting focus groups, community design sessions, and conversations with the district. And I remember I asked the superintendent at the time, Dr. Kim Hill, ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’ And I shared mine. It became clear that a public charter school would offer the access and flexibility we needed.” She said
From Pandemic to Purpose
In 2020, as the world pivoted due to the pandemic, Jackson went to work. With co-founder Rickkay King by her side, and a group of committed educators, she wrote a nearly 900-page charter application.
“We used all of 2020 to write and refine that thing. It covered every detail — our academic model, our arts pathways, the community need and our community mission. We submitted in December, and in April 2021, we were approved under Dr. Kim Hill as superintendent.”
Phoenix International School of the Arts was approved to open that fall as the first ever approved public charter school in Charles County, but the opening was pushed back a year due to the transition in superintendents. Its core mission: a dual-curricular model for grades 6th through 8th graders that pairs rigorous academics with immersive arts education including vocal and instrumental music, drama, dance, visual arts, and more.
“People always ask, ‘Why middle school?’ Because it matters. Those years are so formative. There’s research that shows how arts education improves emotional intelligence, confidence, communication and everything – so desperately needed during the middle school years.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As someone who views the opening of Phoenix International Incorporated/Phoenix International School of the Arts as a deep way to give back to the community that raised me, I’ve been disheartened by the bureaucracy and systemic barriers that have impeded our ability to realize our aspirations without a fight. Startup operational challenges exasperated by scarce funding has impeded our ability to provide exposure opportunities to the young creatives that we work with daily.
Charles County does not have many facilities options for new businesses – identifying a location close to those communities we want to target has been challenging.
Despite these obstacles, every challenge has reinforced our commitment. We’re not just building a school (which is a feat in itself)—we’re creating an international model of creativity, excellence, and equity for secondary education. The challenges have made us stronger, more focused, and more determined to see our students R.I.S.E. to S.O.A.R.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
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I am a musical theatre artist, teaching artist, and storyteller—and my work has always lived at the intersection of performance and social impact.
As a performer, I specialize in musical theatre with a focus on dramatic storytelling and vocal performance. I trained at the University of Virginia, where I studied both Drama and Anthropology, and went on to an apprenticeship at Walnut Street Theatre—one of the most competitive programs in the region, where I was one of only four selected from 500 auditions. That experience jumpstarted my professional career and taught me the discipline, craft, and rigor that define my work as an artist.
I’ve performed on stages throughout the East Coast, including Theatre Horizon, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Simpatico Theatre Company, and Lincoln Theatre in DC. I’m probably best known in the Philadelphia theatre community for my work in dramatic musicals—I received two prestigious Barrymore Award nominations: one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical for “Black Nativity” at Theatre Horizon, and another for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical for “Ragtime” at Bristol Riverside Theatre. These roles allowed me to embody complex Black women’s stories—stories of resilience, faith, struggle, and joy—and to use my voice to honor their legacies.
What sets me apart is that I’ve never been content to just be a performer – I am a culturekeeper using storytelling as a bridge to humanity. I’m driven by a deep belief that the arts are a tool for social change and equity. My work as an actress taught me empathy, compassion, and the power of storytelling to transform hearts and minds. But I couldn’t separate that from the reality that so many young people—especially Black and brown students in communities like Charles County, where I grew up—don’t have access to the kind of pre-professional arts training that changed my life.
That’s where my work as a teaching artist and education entrepreneur comes in. After experiencing a life-changing study abroad trip to Bangladesh, I founded Journey Beyond, a global education nonprofit that was recognized in *The Huffington Post* and *Black Enterprise*. My mission was—and still is—to provide opportunities for students in vulnerable and isolated communities to experience the world beyond their zip codes. I believe deeply in the correlation between theatre training and global citizenship: both require empathy, cultural competence, creative problem-solving, and the ability to see yourself in someone else’s story.
What I’m most proud of is founding PISOTA—Phoenix International School of the Arts. This school is the culmination of everything I’ve learned as a performer, educator, and advocate. When I was in 6th grade at Mattawoman Middle School, I wrote a business plan in Home Economics class for Charles County’s first fine and performing arts school, which I called “Angelic Arts Academy.” Decades later, I’ve made that middle school dream a reality. PISOTA is my legacy—we aspire to be a place where students who look like me, who come from communities like mine, can receive world-class arts training integrated with rigorous academics and global competence. It’s not just a school; it’s a movement to democratize access to the arts and to prove that every child, regardless of their circumstances, deserves to see themselves as artists, innovators, and global citizens.
What sets me apart is that I refuse to choose between being an artist and being an advocate. I’m both. My artistry informs my educational philosophy, and my commitment to equity drives my creative choices. Whether I’m on stage embodying a character, in a classroom teaching young artists, or in a boardroom fighting for commensurate funding, I bring the same passion, empathy, and belief in the transformative power of the arts. I’m relentless about increasing access to quality arts education, and I use every platform I have—performance, teaching, nonprofit leadership—to make that happen.
My work is about legacy. It’s about making sure that the next generation of artists from Charles County doesn’t have to take the metro alone at 11 years old to get training in DC, the way I did. It’s about creating a world where the arts aren’t a luxury reserved for the privileged few, but a birthright for every child who dreams of telling stories and changing the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pisota.org
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/pisota_ccps
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/pisotaccps
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/angelicajackson
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@phoenixinternationalinc
- Other: https://instagram.com/chatswiththechief
