Alumni Profiles

Adriana Arguelles is a 2013 graduate of SUNY Purchase where she majored in Drawing and Painting. Born and raised in Colombia, she is fluent in Spanish and English, and proficient in Italian. Her broad cultural upbringing and passion for travel has inspired her to study and volunteer abroad in Italy and Colombia. As a student in New York she held various internships and worked in both, public and private artistic sectors. These opportunities have given her skills and personal insights in fundraising, private collections, grant-making, arts education, and marketing. Her experiences abroad and visual arts background are her motivation to continue her education and gain new skills to develop a deeper understanding and connection of the visual and performing arts. She is eager to pursue her interests connecting the arts and other industries through communications, education and development. Specifically, communication strategies concerning cultural exchanges, partnerships, and project management. 

Alice Andersen is a Belgian and Danish graduate of the Master’s degree in Arts Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese and History of Art/Archaeology of East Asia from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Prior to joining the Arts Administration program in 2014, she worked in Hong Kong as Project Coordinator for Platform China Contemporary Art Institute. She also spearheaded the development of Chai Wan Mei, a grassroots and community-driven art and design festival, which was granted the Local Heroes Award by Ming Pao newspaper. Simultaneously, she was the first Managing Editor in Hong Kong for My Art Guides. She has long been interested in language as a vehicle for discovering other cultures, and is fluent in French, Danish, English, with intermediate-level Mandarin Chinese and German. She was both the NYC Performances Fellow and a Grantee of the Women’s International Leadership (WIL) Program at International House in 2015–2016, a program which prepares a select group of women from diverse cultures and disciplines for the challenges they will face as future leaders. At the same time as her studies at Columbia, she completed the summer course ITP Innovation Lab: Reimagining Exhibits for Museums and Public Spaces at New York University (NYU), an internship at the New Museum’s artist incubator New Inc, and an internship at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She is curious to explore how museums today can approach the challenge of creating involved citizens, in light of an increasingly diversified international visitor base and the rise of technological innovations.

Mary Angelo  is a graduate of Idyllwild Arts and holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University. She served as Resident Choreographer for the Red House Arts Center in Syracuse, NY and received a Gregory Award Nomination for her work on HAIR! at Arts West Playhouse in Seattle. As an administrator, she has worked with organizations such as New York City Center, Vineyard Theatre, Pam Tanowitz Dance, the Art Directors Club, and Red Bull North America. Mary is currently interning at New York Theatre Workshop.

Audrée Anid graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with honors in painting in 2012.  She majored in Studio Art and French Studies and studied Art History at the Sorbonne in Paris. She has held internships with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, The Frick Collection, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Julie Saul Gallery, Aperture Foundation and Paul Kasmin Gallery. She spent the last four years actively exhibiting her mixed-media artwork in New York and abroad.  After graduating from Wesleyan, Audrée worked for The Art Show at Henry Street Settlement and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.  Audrée enjoys curating and writing about visual art. Her particular interests include contemporary art, archival processes, and achieving greater arts accessibility nation-wide.

Shelissa Aquino is a graduate of CUNY City College where she received a BA in Art focusing on Studio Art and Art History. She also studied Studio Art and French at the Universite de Paris 1 -Pantheon Sorbonne. Shelissa's focus is on visual art and museums with a specific interest in curatorial departments. She has experience in varied cultural institutions such as MoMA, The Noguchi Museum, Christie's Auction House, and The Art Dealers Association of America. While activity pursing her interest in art history and museum administration, Shelissa also continues to explore her love of studio art through painting and ceramics. 

Nadine Baldasare graduated from CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies with a BS in Film in 2003.  She spent fifteen years working in film, television and freelance photography, including as Executive Producer of the PBS LGBT newsmagazine, In the Life.  She is currently interested in developing an innovative model for financing and growing arts education programs that foster critical thinking skills for students to become better consumers of art, media & culture. She leads an arts activism group which amplifies marginalized voices and helps to organize community education in media literacy.

Tia Bangura was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. In 2015 she graduated magna cum laude from Portland State University with a BA in Anthropology and Black Studies. Her background in cultural anthropology sparked an interest in art and art history. Although she was first interested in curating, Tia soon came to learn about arts administration through undergraduate coursework and professional development opportunities. She has interned at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, volunteered with the Cascade Festival of African Films, and most recently worked at the Portland Art Museum as a Membership Associate. She is interested in Black artists, development, museum education, and equity in the arts. Tia is excited to be part of the Arts Administration program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and aspires to use art to engage with diverse communities.

Lisa Berk graduated from Colgate University in 2014 where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and Asian Studies. Lisa has interned in the education department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and worked as a project technician at Studio TKM, a private fine art conservation studio in Boston. Most recently, Lisa worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the Member and Visitor Services department.

Stephanie Bernabei currently works in Institutional Giving at the Jewish Museum. While studying arts administration at Columbia, Stephanie interned in the development and external affairs departments at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Museum of Modern Art. Prior to Columbia, Stephanie was the Collection Assistant for The Drexel Collection, Drexel University’s flagship art collection. She graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University, having studied Economics, Political Science, and Art History.

Erica is a 2011 graduate of The George Washington University (Psychology, Communication Studies). Her interest in the arts and cultural sectors stemmed from a semester spent abroad in Berlin, Germany, where she focused on metropolitan studies. Erica considers herself well traveled with an interest in arts and world cultures. Her breadth of experience began in Public Relations, where she honed valuable communication skills at Edelman and Weber Shandwick. Erica also held roles with Cultural Tourism DC, Time Warner Inc., and WGBH, a PBS affiliate. Her focus in development, community relations, and event organizing comes from involvement in Discover Roxbury and her admiration of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA).

Student Spotlight on blog

Natalie Burrows graduated from Nazareth College of Rochester in 2017 where she studied Music, German, and Music History. After graduating, she served as an English Teaching Assistant in Braunschweig, Germany through the Fulbright Program. Since then, Natalie has been working as the Company Manager for Finger Lakes Opera. She ultimately hopes to promote equality and equity via cultural education and dialogue through the arts.