Ready to change hearts and minds?

Meet your new favorite Composer / Speaker.

Why Anna?

You should connect with Anna if your organization is looking for a creative way to discuss mental health and social justice. She is a composer/consultant who runs unique arts-integrated training events. Her contemporary jazz/folk musical Isabel & The Runaway Train teaches people to support survivors of sexual maltreatment. Her official Public Benefit Corporation Reimagine Normal helps people learn to bring that support to their own communities in live training environments.

Short Bio:

Anna Westbrook is a Composer, Playwright, and Activism Consultant working out of Austin, TX. Her organization, Isabel & The Runaway Train runs online trainings, musical theater events, and professional development programs to teach people to support survivors of sexual maltreatment. And they do it all while pretending to be on a train. Anna has a unique ability to combine music theory and social theory, which fuels her knack for addressing emotionally charged topics without fear, guilt, or shame.

Speaking / Media History:

• Austin Start Up Week (2020)

• South Austin Small Business Association (2020)

• NSA Austin Writer’s Sig (2020)

• University Area Rotary Club (2020)

• Collegehood Advice Podcast (2019 & 2020)

• Texas Association Against Sexual Assault Annual Conference (2019)

• University of Texas at Austin, Sigma Delta Lambda beta Chapter (2019)

• St. Edward’s University (2019)

• Top Sarge Business Solutions (2019)

• Armstrong Community Music School (2019)

• Hillcrest Baptist Church (2019)

• KXAN Austin (2018 & 2019)

• KSAT San Antonio (2019)

• Social Media Week Austin (2018)

• Bastrop Rotary Club (2018)

• YWCA Austin (2018)

• Connecticut College (2015)

• YMCA of Greater Massachusetts (2013)

• Connecticut Afterschool Network Annual Conference (2013, 2014, 2015)

• The Williams School (2011)

• Yale University (2011)

For samples of media footage, check out the Isabel media page.

Background / Awards / Credentials

• City of Austin Artist Access Program (2021)

• City of Austin, Community Initiatives Grant (2018 and 2019)

• City of Austin, Capacity Building Grant (2019)

• The Creative Fund, Q Rental Subsidy Grant (2018)

• Stress Management Trainer & Curriculum Writer for the Connecticut After School Network (2012 - 2014)

• Thrice - published author and curriculum writer in association with Frost Hollow Publishers, the Council for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Yale (2011 - 2014)

• 15+ years of bilingual teaching experience throughout New England, Texas & The Caribbean.

• Graduated Magna Cum Laude and in the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society at Connecticut College (B.A. in music with a concentration in Composition, graduated ~ 2016).

Long Biography

CEO & Founder Anna Westbrook is a high-energy composer and consultant with a unique knack for addressing emotionally charged topics without fear, guilt or shame.

She started in education…

Anna started teaching in 2001 at the age of 11 (yes, really!). Her “official” (meaning paid) career in student programming began at the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Connecticut, where she was quickly promoted to a Site Coordinator position. By 2011, Westbrook had written curriculum for high school students that was published by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at NYU. From 2013-2015, the Connecticut Afterschool Network featured her original stress management program as part of their annual conference and touring professional development programs. Throughout her educational career, she has published two books and managed multiple large-scale artistic and educational programs in Texas, New England and the Caribbean. She has also been a featured speaker at communities such as Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, The Rotary Club, and both the YMCA and  YWCA.

Then chose to study music…

She has a B. A. in Music with a specialization in Composition from Connecticut College, which she pursued specifically so that she could integrate music into her educational programming. She graduated magna cum laude with several awards, including the Connor Donahue Community Development award and the Jack Niblack Grant & Scholarship for Music.

Then moved to Austin to launch her music career….

She has been the recipient of both public and private grants, including several Community Initiatives Grants and a Capacity Building Grant from the City of Austin,, and a Q-Rental Subsidy Grant from Austin-based non-profit The Creative Fund. In 2018, Westbrook self-produced her original musical Isabel & The Runaway Train in Austin, Texas; drawing a crowd of 300 audience members and collaborating with over 10 local businesses & organizations. In 2019, she launched an associated public benefit corporation called Anna Westbrook Community Leadership, with the goal of leveraging her professional development curriculum writing skills to increase the impact of her successful musical theater production. In 2019. Westbrook sold her first professional development workshop (the Isabel Sexual Maltreatment Response Training) within three separate industries, with clients including The University of Texas at Austin and Topsarge Business Solutions in Killeen, TX. In 2020, Anna successfully pivoted the Isabel training programs to be entirely virtual by pivoting around her unique brand and using that brand to re-frame her understanding of mental health and community engagement. 

All the while continuing her advocacy work…

Westbrook is an open survivor of sexual maltreatment and respected advocate who has been chosen to represent organizations such as Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) at various live and televised events. Westbrook’s top skill is community development, and she has curated a team of professionals to help support her goals of creating a more mental health friendly and social justice-oriented world. She’s excited about the opportunity to connect with you and help create cultural change in your community.