This prompted Desi to begin Camden Rep. After encouragement from her Executive Director at the Walt Whitman Arts Center, Pamela Bridgeforth, she branched out and launched Camden Rep initially under the umbrella of the Walt Whitman Arts Center. In 2008, the organization stepped out on faith, clipped their wings, and began soaring independently. The main stage season operates from September-June utilizing the summer months to focus on training and developing serious pre-professional young artists. These young artists also prepare for college auditions and receive assistance with the application process. Although the focus is on Camden City youth our success has attracted students from the entire Camden County region. The company also conducts intergenerational arts workshops during the summer where artists range from 8-80. Since 2006 Camden Rep continues to successfully make monumental strides: touring in Panama; creating an alliance with Bridgeton’s Youth to Youth; assisting students in obtaining scholarships to two of the top music programs including Oberlin Conservatory and Berklee College of Music in addition to Florida A&M, Morgan State University, University of the Arts and Temple University. Camden professional and community artists and the citizens are the primary focus of the work of Camden Rep. However the high artistic aesthetic continues to attract people from the Delaware Valley because minority artists can consistently obtain and develop their work at the company.