Jess Dilday - Director of Programs and Partnerships

Jess serves as Program Director at Building Beats, where they lead partnership development, oversee our programs and manage teaching artists across workshops and educational initiatives. Over the past eight years at Building Beats, Jess has worn many hats within the organization. First and foremost, Jess began as a teaching artist, facilitating workshops for many years directly with the youth we serve. They have since been involved in leading our curriculum-building, launching our bbForTeachers department and Teachers Pay Teachers storefront, and formerly led our marketing and content department. They also managed a year-long music coding partnership with a global technology company, expanding access to creative coding education through cross-sector collaboration. Jess brings a cross-functional perspective to their leadership, grounded in strategic partnerships, curriculum research and design, educator support and culturally responsive practice.

Prior to joining Building Beats, Jess taught The Art and Culture of the DJ through the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2020, they served as an artist-educator in Peru through the Next Level Hip Hop Diplomacy Program, supporting cross-cultural exchange through music production and performance. Their published scholarship on hip-hop and electronic music cultures further informs their commitment to representation and access within creative technology spaces.

Beyond their leadership role at Building Beats, Jess is a DJ and producer performing under the name PlayPlay. Their music has been featured on BBC Radio 1, NTS Radio, Rinse FM, and The Lot Radio, as well as in publications including DJ Mag, Mixmag, and Untitled 909. PlayPlay held a three-year residency at Flux Factory, where they presented a solo exhibition exploring the queer histories of club music, and later co-curated Pink Flamingo: Clubs in Flux at the cell theatre—a temporary club exhibition and living archive preserving New York nightlife ephemera from venues including Limelight, The Tunnel, The World, Nowadays, Good Room, and Elsewhere.

Through both program leadership and artistic practice, Jess works to preserve cultural histories while building accessible pathways for the next generation of creators.