Alumnae Success Stories
What are they doing now? read on to find out!
Liz Ashline
BS Art Therapy (Major) Psychology (minor) 1999
MA Pratt Institute (Manhattan campus) Communication Design 2001
Design Director - Liz Ashline Designs
Previously: LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet & Hennessy) Beauty
Parfums Givenchy, Guerlain Paris, Emilio Pucci: Senior Designer - November 06 - Feb 09
Most of my experience as a design professional has taken place in luxury beauty. My experiences have taught me that design translates to all areas in the real world. A product launches and a designer has to be prepared to visualize and represent everything from email blast announcements, invites, mailers, store design, window design, beauty counter presentation, billboards, taxi tops, etc. The most successful designer I have seen knows and understands that there are a few steps ahead of her role and a few steps behind her role...and they understand a bit of all of these steps. Knowing where you fall in the process is as important as the design. Do you understand marketing and who your targeting? Do you know where your file goes after its approved? Production skills are always a plus. Knowing all of these steps leads one to be able to work independently in the future should one chose to.
As a self employed designer, I've worked on mostly luxury beauty/hair clients in NYC. I was lucky enough to keep many vendors and marketing contacts in my immediate circle when leaving LVMH. They all had a need for a design contact, but couldn't (or wouldn't) hire a creative department in-house for budget reasons. When the economy goes bad, a designer has the unique ability to become self sufficient if he/she knows the right places to look for work. If you put out a good "end-result" the work will come to you. You become the "in" every marketing professional needs in their arsenal.
The professors at CNR are more like friends, in my opinion, as class sizes are small, they take interest in one's career by proving themselves available and experts at their individual specialties.
Carmen Hernandez
BFA Art 2005
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Coordinator of Education Programs
Free Arts NYC PACT (Parents And Children Making Art Together) Program Manager
A couple of months after graduating, she became a full time art and science teacher in the South Bronx which inspired her to work with her community in a larger scale.After two years of teaching, she began her candidature for a Master Art Teacher at the School of Visual Arts in 2007. As Coordinator of Education Programs at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, she manages an education team, designs, helps implement and evaluates programs in addition to founding new program initiatives. Ms. Hernandez has represented the mission of the museum nation-wide; In March 2009, she traveled to Cuba for the Havana Biennial and delivered art supplies and medicine to schools.
In the past two years she has worked with Change For Kids through her museum position; the non-profit organization has provided funding for a partnership in between the museum and three of the neighboring elementary schools.
In 2008 Hernandez was able to extend the Partnership with Schools Program to the only visual arts high school in the borough, Bronx High School for Visual Arts and helped the museum allocate a five year grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. In addition to designing the museum’s curriculums, she conceived and launched the program, Bronx Artists Give Back which encourages artists to volunteer their time to make direct contact with the student population.
In September 2009 she began working as a teaching artist with Free Arts NYC, a non-profit organization with the mission of providing free art workshops for children through after-school programming, community center events and the Parent and Children Together with Art program. In January 2010, she was recruited as the PACT Manager which gives her the opportunity to create eight-week curriculums and programming for over ninety families in NYC.
Her art-work was last exhibited this past September in a group exhibition at Fashion Moda and she recently founded the performance art group Same.(,) Difference. Inc.
Karrieann L Kolinek
BS Art Education/ Art Therapy 1999
MS Special Education, Hunter College
Art Director/ Co-Founder: Studio all in 1
Art Director/ Co-Founder: New Friends Day Camp
Her credits in art direction range from education, theater, film and television. Ms. Kolinek founded the Arts Centered Program (ACP) at Teachers Preparatory School. As Art Director of the ACP she created partnerships with non-for-profit organizations to provide a broader arts education to her students. She managed the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Dance and Theater Programs, as well as, taught Visual Arts including: Studio, Advanced 2D & 3D Design, Art History and Cinema to grades 6 – 12. Most recently her work can be found on ABC’s Ugly Betty Season 5.
As founder of Studio all in 1, Ms. Kolinek created an innovative program, delivering a comprehensive education centered on the arts as a whole. Students experience the written, visual, musical, and editorial aspects of theater or film and are provided new sources of learning about history and culture. The program encourages students to read and write, to appraise visual compositions of shape and color, to interpret qualities of sound and score, and to combine these elements in a meaningful way, imbuing them with the skills, knowledge, and appreciations required of their art.
New Friends Day Camp’s goal is to create a community where children and adolescents with an Asberger's style can develop social skills while building on their inherent strengths in a safe and supportive environment, as well as offering helpful resources to the immediate family members of our community.
CNR afforded me the strength and the tools to branch out in Art Education. I was taught that Art Education is not confined to the classroom. The personal attention given is something that is rarely found in higher education, which imbedded a sense of power that opportunities are limitless.
Joanna Marchetti Loftus
BA Studio Art and BA Communication Art 2005
MS Studio Art CNR 2007
Production Designer, FAI Design Group (Irvington, NY)Previously: Graphic Designer, Shoreline Publishing (Pelham, NY)
I am a Production Designer for FAI Design Group. I work in both the Design Department and the Production Department. I work a lot with packaging and product design as well as company identities. One of my favorite things is being able to go on some of the photo-shoots for packaging we are working on. It has helped me realize where it is that I want to go in my career. Eventually I would like to branch out and direct photo-shoots exclusively. (for magazines, etc). This job has also given me the opportunity to work along side individuals who have been in the field for a while and and pass down their knowledge. I have learned a lot from being here.
Studying at CNR was a great experience for me. It allowed me to develop into the woman I am today and really focus on what it was i wanted to pursue in my career.
Tara Pasciucco, LCAT
BFA in Art Therapy/Art Education; Minor in Psychology 1999
MA Art Therapy NYU 2004
Recreation Activity Therapist, St. John's Riverside Hospital at the Smither's Center (2006-present)
My past jobs have included doing art therapy with emotionally and behaviorally disturbed adolescents at Four Winds Hospital in Katonah NY and also with women with eating disorders at the Renfrew Center, an outpatient program in NYC.
Currently I am employed at St. John's Riverside Hospital at the Smither's Center, a chemical dependency inpatient rehab. program.While working there I completed my requirements for a license in Creative Arts Therapy (LCAT) . I am in the process of becoming a registered art therapist and will also receive my board certification (ATR-BC) probably by the summer. I am also working on my credentials as an alcohol and substance abuse counselor (CASAC) and will be done in June.
I work on 2 different units treating men and women. I am responsible for both art therapy and recreation therapy. I am also responsible for the care of tropical fish and train the patients to assist me as part of their treatment. I still make art in my living room whenever I have the time.
From my experience at CNR, I cherish the connections I made with both my peers and Professors. CNR also provided me with the guidance and support I needed in order to find my own process as an artist and to further challenge my self in my career as an art therapist.
Katrina Rhein
BFA Studio Art, summa cum laude, 2002
MFA Studio Art, summa cum laude, 2004, Queens College, City University of New York
Director of Castle Gallery, Gordon Parks Gallery and Mooney
Center Gallery, The College of New Rochelle
While a student at CNR, I enjoyed working with Wennie Huang, the former Gallery Director, as a student assistant. She had a lot of confidence in her staff and gave us responsibilities that most galleries would not place in hands of their undergraduate employees. I also worked for the Art Department, often with Sue Canning in the slide library. I can't say I didn't take mini breaks to flip through the art books she had stashed there, or flip through the department's art magazines while reorganizing them. These employment positions allowed me to stay continually immersed in my study/interests. I was also interning at Momenta Art in Williamsburg,Brooklyn, when 9/11 happened. I was able to witness the impact such a disturbing event could have on the arts in N.Y.C., not only in how funds were lost for non-profit spaces who rely on them heavily to operate, but the way arts organizations find ways to strive, often through outreach and collaborative efforts.
While obtaining my MFA at Queens College, I remained at Castle
Gallery as the Coordinator. I was working closely with Jennifer Zazo, the next Director, on projects like the Westchester Biennial and assisting her with her own curatorial projects. Once I received my graduate degree I was promoted to full-time Manager, and eventually Director. Throughout my studies at Queens College I was continually pushing to exhibit my work in group shows and small galleries.
As Director, I find myself with less time to create and less interest in exhibiting, but I highly enjoy organizing shows and watching
all three CNR galleries transform with each exhibition. I learned a
great deal from organizing "Beyond Bio: Clay Bodies" and have my hands
full again with my next organizational project, "Mapping Memories".
Overseeing CNR's three art spaces is a task and a half. I am genuinely
dedicated to the mission of each space in my on-going goal to exhibit
quality contemporary work that serves the students, staff/faculty and
surrounding communities alike.
The guidance and overwhelming support I received from faculty and students/friends during my four years of study at CNR have a considerable amount to do with both my confidence and my level of
commitment to the responsibilities I undertake. Everyone has to learn
thoughtfulness and responsibility, sometimes even appreciation. My
experience at CNR, as a whole, even to this day as a CNR employee,
continues to hold valuable lessons.
Tricia C. Riebesehl
BFA Studio Art, 2000
MFA Painting, City College of NY, 2008
Visual Artist
Art Teacher, DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx NY
(2002-present)
I began teaching High School Art after graduating from CNR in 2000; teaching one year in a private school, then transferring to the NYC Public School System. I had not planned on teaching, but after one year of doing so, I was hooked. I began taking the required education courses while working and obtained permanent certification. I have taught fine art classes on foundation and advanced level; including drawing, painting, black and white photography and ceramics, as well as starting an after school Art Club. I find great satisfaction in being part of my student’s creative experience and have learned and have learned a great deal from them.
I continue my own separate art career by generating new bodies of work in painting. Having a teacher’s schedule allows me time to find new inspirations and create.
The College of New Rochelle is structured on having students succeed, and is demonstrated by the faculty’s sincere interest in each individual. The art faculty gave me the tools and resources needed in order to progress and advance creatively as both artist and teacherAlana Carmella Ruptak
BFA Art Therapy 2005
Pratt Institute, MPS Creative Arts Therapy, 2007
Activities Specialist, Creative Arts Therapy Department, The Hudson Guild, NYC
Directly after graduation, I was hired as a case manager at an innovative probation program, Project Can Do!, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. The program worked with teenagers from the Bronx and Manhattan who attended our programming for the duration of their probation and community service hours. Project Can Do!’s main goal was the redevelopment of an empty, abandoned lot on the waterfront into a community garden and park. While my responsibilities at the program did not fit squarely into the general definitions of art therapy, I was able to learn the necessity of flexibility as well as the importance of being able to imbue all that I was doing with a therapeutic and creative presence. My experience at this program and with those teenagers truly taught me how I could expand and shape my skills as an art therapist to fit the needs of those I was working with while still meeting the objectives of my employer. I facilitated the creation of a mural for the park and many of the teenagers who were on probation for graffiti helped design and spray paint the mural, which still stands in the park today. I stayed with the program until it closed due to budget cuts. However, the Garrison Park was completed and opened to the public.
After leaving Project Can Do!, I began work at the Hudson Guild in early 2007 as an activities specialist within the Creative Arts Therapy Department in the department of Children and Youth Services. The Hudson Guild, located in Chelsea, was founded over a hundred years ago as a settlement house and today offers a plethora of programs to the NYC community. When first starting at the Guild, my main focus was work with teenagers. Over the years, my work has grown to include children as young as 5 years old. I facilitate a variety of art groups including pottery, photography, and Open Art Studios. Many of our art groups partner with outside organizations such as Slideluck Potshow, the Noguchi Museum, and the Cue Art Foundation. At the Guild, I also provide individual work for many of our children. The mix of both group and individual work continually offers me fulfilling lessons on how to be both a better therapist and better person.
The CNR art department truly taught me what it is to be an artist, both in mind and in spirit. The department cultivated my talents as an artist and strongly encouraged the artist within me to remain alive and active both while still a student and today as I continue to embark on other journeys in my life.
Amy Sinclair
BFA Art Therapy / Psychology 1999
MFA Sculpture/Installation Queens College City University of New York, 2002
Independent Artist and Senior Lead Instructor at The Art Institute of New York City(2002-present)
My full time teaching position at the Art Institute of NYC involves teaching foundation classes to a diverse population of students pursuing degrees in various design fields. Since the school was new when I was hired I had the opportunity to be instrumental in designing the curriculum. Both my peers and my students have consistently nourished and inspired my teaching and art making practice. The best moments are those when an intersection between the two occurs. In fact I'm currently working on a collaborative Installation for the Art Institute's Gallery which is about the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary art and design. These are themes and methods that I first became interested in during my time at CNR. I also strive to maintain a personal studio practice.
There are many great things about CNR but the best was how closely faculty members are able and willing to work with students. The guidance is nurturing on all levels. I am more aware of and confident in myself from my experiences at CNR.
Jen Young Spath
BFA Art Therapy/Art Education 2001
MA Community Psychology Sage Graduate School 2008
Elementary Art Teacher, Queensbury Union Free School District, Queensbury, NY
Previously: Art Teacher, Mohonasen CSD, Rotterdam, NY- HS/Grades 3-5, 2001-2006
I currently teach Kindergarten-2nd Grade art classes. Our school district is extremely supportive of the arts, and so I am fortunate to be able to work with students on challenging and imaginative lessons, covering a broad variety of media, art history and genres. We have a district gallery where we put up several shows annually, as well as a huge, community supported show including the work of all students.
I was hired for my first teaching position directly out of CNR- Rose Tavernia and Sr. Mildred Haipt prepared me well for all of the challenges of the classroom. I was also able to bring some new and interesting ideas to my art department, inspired by the experiences and dialogues of the classes of Cristina deGennaro and William Maxwell. See Jen Spath's website.
My CNR education taught me how to find answers for myself, making learning an active and memorable experience; as well as, how to facilitate that same learning in my own classroom.