Meet the participants in this year's Teaching Artist Institute!

Joanne Grasso is a special education teacher at P141K. Currently Joanne is an energy cluster blending visual arts, movement and social emotional development. Joanne’s students participated in the 2024 Basquiat Project and two works of art were accepted in the exhibit held at the Barclays Center in June. Most recently Joanne was invited to speak at the Basquiat kick off to share the adaptations she made for her students.

Ariana Swei is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn. With a background in both visual art and theater, they are excited by interdisciplinary modes of artmaking and arts education. They are committed to practicing culturally-responsive teaching strategies, facilitating brave spaces, and using art for self and community empowerment.

Catalina Gutierrez (she/her) is a New York-based media-maker, painter, and educator whose work explores themes of nature, identity, and representation. She is the founder of The Art of Mindfulness Center, where she integrates mindfulness into her artistic and teaching practices. Katalina holds a BA in Film and Media Studies from Hunter College and a BA in Fine Arts and Photography from the UNA, Universidad Nacional. Over the past six years, she has taught documentary production, mixed media, and storytelling in both English and Spanish at NYC public schools.

Hi!! My name is Jameka Collins. I am self taught painter. I mainly use acrylic paints. I often recreate nostalgia pieces of cartoons from my childhood using mixed media materials. I'm also a professionally trained makeup artist , which means I have studied the color wheel in two different capacities. I have participated in some art contests and sold some of my original work. I've also been commissioned to do artwork for clients. As a Parent Coordinator in a District 75 program, one of the ways I engage with students but also their parents is through art. When creating with others it let's put your guard down and you foster a genuine experience together.

Darielle Fernandez (she/they) is an Afro-LatinX Trans-Femme. She is a sexuality educator, an artist, an inclusion advocate and facilitator, and a graduate from Columbia University with a degree in African Diasporic Studies and Education. She currently works as the LGBTQIA+, Equity and Community Specialist at the Fresh Youth Initiatives organization. Her heart work is to bring healing justice spaces to the hood and its most marginalized communities while also being a kink-positive trailblazer in Gender/Sexuality theory.

Megan “Mae” Raab (she/they) is a Brooklyn based artist and educator. During the day, they work as the CAPP Coordinator of Project SAFE, a sexual health program serving high school students in central Brooklyn. Here, she facilitates sex positive, queer-centered sex education classes and a sex-ed theatre group. Mae is a graduate of the Masters of Arts in Applied Theatre program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Their artistic interests are theatrical directing, devising, and playwrighting, dance and movement, and multidisciplinary visual art.

Samantha Greenlund is a professional dancer and teaching artist for all styles of dance. She is a choreographer and helps students devise their own productions and full musicals as well. She has also been involved in directing and creating student performances for many galas and fundraisers to raise money for kids in need and arts education.

Nina Mascheroni is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Harlem and current graduate student at City College studying Art Education. She has worked in the fashion industry for nearly a decade in technical design and product development and is excited to transition to being a public school art teacher upon graduation. Originally from Colorado, she received her bachelor's degree in Apparel Design and Fiber Arts at Colorado State University.

Hello, my name is Margaret Costello, you can also call me Marge! My art practice mostly includes collage and mixed media works but I love exploring all mediums in order to push myself outside of my creative comfort zones. I currently work as a Teaching Assistant at Marquis Studios where I am placed in classrooms of all different levels working with a range of mediums. This experience allows me to gain more insight into what it is like to be a Teaching Artist. I am also a Studio Assistant at Happy Medium, an arts club for casual artists!

Lisa di Liberto is a visual artist born in Queens, NY and attended the High School of Art & Design, The Art Students League, and holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase. As a substitute teacher and teaching artist at both public and private schools, and community centers, di Liberto works with diverse student bodies of all ages. In order to develop their individual ideas through art making, she encourages her students to interact with artwork and share their observations. As a visual storyteller with a passion for human centered design, di Liberto participates in the online platform OpenIDEO where she collaborates with students and non-profit organizations on a global scale that are interested in design challenges to create solutions for social good. She participated in Lincoln Center Summer Forum’s Teaching Artist Development Lab and is a member of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable through which she continues her professional development in arts education. In her own art practice di Liberto is currently working on two ongoing series: Tapestry weavings using repurposed materials that examine her carbon footprint, and a mixed media series employing collage, photography and weaving that investigates the emotional and physical repercussions of isolation.

‍Noah Huber is from Madison, WI and is currently an artist and educator in Brooklyn. He is a teaching artist with Marquis Studios and the Guggenheim Museum and also holds an MFA in painting from the Tyler School of Art. He is excited to have recently learned how to make drawing robots with his students.

Greg Mytelka (he/him) is an arts educator, administrator, and yoga instructor based in Brooklyn. As Education Programs Manager at the New Victory Theater, he oversees the programmatic operations of the 50-member New Victory Teaching Artist Ensemble and manages the theater’s Pre- and Post-Show Classroom Workshop program. Greg has worked with organizations such as Seattle Children’s Theatre and Syracuse Stage to create accessible theater experiences for audiences ranging from birth through college-aged, and he is a Supporting Artist with CO/LAB Theater Group. As a yoga instructor, Greg leads meditation, vinyasa, and restorative style classes with studios throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Greg holds a BS in Drama from Syracuse University and his 200-Hour RYT Certification from Kalā Yoga.

Amanda Ryan is a New York City based theatrical designer, technician, and educator, and she is so excited to be a part of the TATI 2025 Cohort! She works as a Teaching Artist with Roundabout Theatre Company, teaching lighting & electrics in the public schools and as part of the Theatrical Workforce Development Program. When Amanda is not in the classroom, she can be found behind the lighting console at Live Nation and The Bowery Presents venues across the city. BFA: Emerson College. MFA: Brooklyn College

Mika Simoncelli (they/them) is an artist working in photography and an educator. They have taught art and writing to students K-12 at a number of after-school programs and summer camps, including the school of the International Center of Photography, Deerfield Academy Summer Arts Camp, Letterly Academy, and Willie Mae Rock Camp, among others. In their art practice, Mika is interested in relationships between image-making, touch, and attention.

Emma Griffone (she/her) currently serves as Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA)'s Education Manager. Previous to her work with TFANA, she has worked with students K-10 in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Emma brings her life-long passion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility work into her practice, particularly within theatre where she has experience in most fields ranging from performance to admin to dramaturgy. She is a recent graduate from Northwestern University as a Theatre and English Literature major. Outside of her work at Theatre for a New Audience, Emma does work as a dramaturg/editor and performer.

Stephanie Germosen Salazar (born New York, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose teaching practice emphasizes innovative approaches to sculpture, material exploration, and cultural narratives. She received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University where she taught Sculpture as an adjunct professor. She has been an artist in residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts and Smack Mellon Studio Program. Germosen-Salazar was named a 2023-24 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellow and a 2019-20 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow.

Parker Whitehead-Bust is a choreographer, dancer, and educator based in New York City. Parker currently teaches dance for Marquis Studios, EM Arts, and Brooklyn Ballet. Parker has choreographed for Uptown Rising, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and CoLab Performing Arts Collective. She holds a BA in Dance and American Studies from Barnard College. During her time at Barnard, she performed works by Diego Tortelli, Norbert De La Cruz III, Dual Rivet, Roderick George, and Antonio Carmena and danced with the Columbia Repertory Ballet, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and Colab Performing Arts Collective. Originally from Denver, Parker trained at Colorado Ballet and Denver School of the Arts.

Jess Mount is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist, educator, and choreographer who believes the arts are essential to the emotional and cognitive growth of all people. She works with several arts education and access organizations throughout NYC including CO/LAB Theater Group, Actionplay, Museum, Arts and Culture Access Consortium, New York City Children's Theatre, and Roundabout. Jess is drawn to creating in non-traditional theatre spaces and passionate about work that cultivates limitless, neuro-inclusive, accessible arts opportunities. Jess holds a BA in Theatre and Psychology with a minor in Social Justice from Bucknell University and is currently working towards an MA in Applied Theatre at CUNY.

Charles Stobbs is a Manhattan-based artist, educator, and arts worker. Charles has previously lectured on photographic methods and book arts in the photography department at the University of Washington. Additionally he has worked with grade school students throughout New York as substitute teacher and as a volunteer tennis coach. He is invested in institutional and counter-institutional methods of publishing and is currently researching the development of curriculum around children’s books and early education. 

Jess Poplawski is a multidisciplinary artist, musician and arts educator. As a teaching artist, she currently works with BRIC, Marquis Studios, and Mark Morris Dance Center bringing visual arts programming to K-12 students across NYC. In the past, she has also worked with Groundswell, NYU Prison Education Program, Voices Unbroken, and Free Arts NYC leading visual arts, poetry, creative writing, songwriting, and mural making residencies. She is the owner-operator of custom screenprinting shop Empress Printing, based in Brooklyn, and she is a bassist and vocalist in addition to her visual arts practice.