Darlene Machacon (she/her) is a high school choral director and piano/music theory instructor in Orange County, California. Previously an elementary general and choral music teacher, she has held the position of department chair, honor choir director and mentor to pre-service and early-career teachers. In 2022, Darlene became a national recipient of the Music Teacher of Excellence award from the CMA Foundation. In addition to teaching and training, Darlene is an active presenter and social media content creator (@thedarlingmusicteacher). She is a member of the ArtsEdSEL Practice Advisory Board, F-Flat Books Visionary Board, and the Social and Emotional Learning team for Music for All. She is also one of 15 national teacher leaders working for the National Association of Music Education (NAfME) and Connected Arts Network (CAN) to draw connections between musical social emotional learning (SEL) and diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) for professional learning communities. Darlene focuses her work on challenging the status quo of music education, fusing elements of SEL, culturally responsive teaching and anti-bias/anti-racist approaches. Darlene holds two Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Piano Performance from Biola University and a Master’s degree in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music. When she’s not working, she loves trying out new restaurants in the area and strolling around Disneyland with her husband.