Cichele Fields

Cichele Fields has been involved in the FFCC and the marching arts for over 25 years as a director, board member, judge, contest staff member, and more.

A former brass and visual instructor, Cichele started her FFCC career at Port St. Lucie High School, her alma mater. She served as the colorguard director from 2000 to 2002. She moved to Orlando and later became the colorguard director at Apopka High School, a role she served in from 2003-2012, and again from 2014-2017. Beginning in B Class with a small group of performers, Apopka grew to become a three-time WGI World Championships Scholastic A Finalist, two-time semi-finalist, and earned nine FFCC medals during her tenure. Along with her students, she started the “Apopka High School Guard Buddies” program that pairs students with special needs with guard members to perform and learn from each other once a week in class and in performances. This program has been successfully replicated in other states.

Cichele also served as the director of the Seabreeze High School guard program in the 2021-22 season. Seabreeze was a 2022 AA class bronze medalist. She has served on the design and instructional staff at Lyman High School since 2014, and has worked with many other programs throughout the circuit and the country as a show, soundtrack, and graphic designer.

Cichele has served on the FFCC Board of Directors in various roles throughout the years. She represented the Cadet, B, and AAA classes in 2006, and served as Secretary from 2007 to 2010. Since 2016 she has served as the Vice President for Marketing and Development, overseeing the branding, media, and marketing presence of the circuit on both a local and national level.

Professionally, Cichele worked as a National Board Certified ESOL, reading, and social studies teacher for ten years before authoring and administering a national grant program at Apopka High School for five years. Upon the close of the grant, she explored a range of opportunities including marketing, proposal writing, branding, and development in a variety of industries, including time with the Orlando Ballet. She also started a social media consulting and content creation firm and worked with a number of companies and organizations. She began working for one of those companies, Digital Performance Gear, in 2018 and spent five years there building their presence and reputation as a leader in the marching arts as their Marketing Manager.

In September of 2023, Cichele became the Marketing Director for Ensemble Innovations and StylePlus Band, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to build a new marching arts company and support one of the industry’s most trusted brands. She was honored to be inducted into the FFCC Hall of Fame in April of 2023. She is most proud to count among her accomplishments the many former students who have continued in the marching arts as performers and teachers, along with those who have found success in other fields and in life.

Cichele holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Florida Atlantic University, a Master’s of Public Administration from Troy State University, and has completed work towards a PhD at the University of South Florida in Career and Workforce Education. She lives in Daytona Beach with her husband Karl and her (almost) internet famous dog, Lola the Adventure Chihuahua.