Circus Up Team
Circus Up Team

Abbi
General Manager
Abbi Wilson, LCSW, is excited to be working with Circus Up! She grew up in social circus and is happiest when coaching, practicing, and performing. She holds an MSW from Boston College School of Social Work, upon graduation receiving a Certificate for Equity and Justice in the Workplace and the Dean's Award for Equity, Justice, and Inclusion...

Aidan
Team Member
Aidan Weinberg is a student at Northeastern University studying Computer Science and Math. In first grade after being called the class clown, his mom’s logical next step was to sign Aidan up for “clown school” with a local Chicago social circus called CircEsteem. Little did she know he would stay in the organization for 12 years practicing, performing, and teaching circus arts all around Chicago...

Alissa
Team Member
Alissa Feller has experience in modern dance, Ashtanga yoga, and capoiera. Alissa moved to Boston in 2018 after living in Konstanz, Germany for 4 years. She is excited to join the exuberant circus community here in Boston. When Alissa is not teaching or preforming she is hiding in the woods or being a mama to her baby boy!

Leah
Founder, Executive Director, Co-Chair of the Board
Leah Abel is Founder, Executive Director, and Head Instructor of Circus Up, a Boston-based social circus program. She holds a Masters degree in Social Work from Simmons College and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Leah also (surprisingly) completed her Masters in Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School...

Lucia
Team Member
Lucia Cassan has always been active. She began with sports and dance, yet discovered in high school that circus was her true passion. Aerial rope, silks, wire and partner acro are her most loved circus disciplines. Lucia is a recent college graduate from Umass Boston where she studied sociology and criminal justice...

Nicole
Team Member
Nicole Gilmore grew up in California and found circus as an outlet during veterinary school. While Nicole enjoys all aspects of circus, her favorite disciplines are aerial silks and straps. After graduating and moving to Rhode Island, Nicole’s passion for circus arts led her to co-found New England Black Circus, ...

Olivia
Communications and Engagement Manager
Olivia is a performing artist, dancer, model, actress, meditation guide and yoga instructor born, raised, and practicing on Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, Massachusett, Pawtucket land. Trained in traditional indigenous Afro-Brazilian, Ayisyen, and Guinean rhythms and movements by Kera Washington, Isaura Oliveira, Peniel Guerrier, and Toussaint the Liberator, has been trained in contemporary indigenous, intuition and environment led movement on Apache and Tewa land by Dancing Earth’s Rulan Tangen, gratefully…

Sarah
Team Member
Sarah Liu is a graphic designer and journalism student at Northeastern University. As a kid, she obsessed over the graphic design in the magazines her parents got in the mail. After years of being an admirer of great design, she decided to teach herself the basics in high school and ended up having a lot of fun…

Stephen
Team Member
Stephen Spencer grew up in Boston and has engaged in a variety of sports growing up such as karate, swimming, and track. He is an actor, visual and performing artist who graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Youth-Centric, community-based, and non-profit work is no stranger to him!