Our Team

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Staff

ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ
DIRECTOR OF PARTNER SCHOOLS
GERLIN BALL
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
WYNTA CARTER
FACULTY
SAVANNAH CHAPMAN
FACULTY
DANIEL CHRISTIE
FACULTY
VANESSA COLE
ARTS & TECH INTEGRATION EDUCATOR
BRYANT DIAZ
PROGRAM ASSISTANT, PS132 JUAN PABLO DUARTE
DOMINGO ESTEVEZ
COMMUNITY SCHOOL DIRECTOR, PS132 JUAN PABLO DUARTE
DARCELIS GUTIERREZ
FACULTY
MIKE JONES
COMMUNITY SCHOOL DIRECTOR, FACING HISTORY SCHOOL
STEPHANIE KELLY
FACULTY
KATHRYNE MCCANN
STORY STUDIO COORDINATOR, PS132 JUAN PABLO DUARTE
ALFREDO MARRERO
FACULTY
JENNIFER MIRANDA
STAFF ACCOUNTANT
RICHARD MORIN
DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS
MARGARET PLONG
OPERATIONS MANAGER
JOEL RODRIGUEZ
COMMUNITY SCHOOL DIRECTOR, BEA FULLER RODGERS
MEREDITH SUMMS
DIRECTOR OF MASTERY PROGRAMS
MATTHEW TAYLOR
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SPECIALIST
CHARLES THEONIA
PROGRAM MANAGER
JEN WALTER
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Senior Advisors

Gordon Bellamy
University of Southern California

Sinjin Bain
Tencent America

Game Changers Network

Heena Shah

Nelson Chu

Ilda Rastoder

Keelin Berman
Artist

Leila Baadarani
The Rockefeller University

Creative Tech Shop

Jennifer Ashiru
Take-Two Interactive

Leah Oppenheimer
Meta

Rico Moorer
Kickstarter

Renee Gittens
International Game Developers Association

Sarah Ticho
Hatsumi

Chad Rocco
Amazon Games

Kat Bodey
Rockstar

Scott Starrett
Composer

FIND WHAT’S RARE

Rachel Aschalew is a luxury real estate broker, brand ambassador, and social media presence. Based in DUMBO, Rachel is the Founder of Find What’s Rare, a boutique real estate and lifestyle firm, as well as a co-founder of NY Casa Group. A veritable “real estate socialite,” Rachel has helped countless residents and businesses find a home in Brooklyn. She thrives on building personal connections and trust with her clients—a passion that fuels her tireless work ethic and defines her success.

HEARST

Nominating Committee

Carlton J. Charles, of Hearst, is on the Urban Arts Board of Directors.

Originally from Trinidad, Carlton moved to New York at the age of 7. From East Flatbush, Carlton made his way to near the top of the business world. He remains deeply committed to providing opportunities for Black and brown youth to develop both entrepreneurial and STEM skills to ensure a diverse and equitable future economy. 

Carlton is SVP, Treasury and Risk Management at Hearst, as well as a member of the Hearst Board of Directors. In addition to his duties as corporate treasurer, Carlton oversees the company’s risk management and insurance activities. Carlton also leads the company’s supplier diversity activities, which is Hearst’s effort to further diversify its roster of vendor partners.  Carlton also serves as chairman of Level Up Ventures, a venture capital unit he founded within Hearst focused on Black and Latino entrepreneurs, and has been an advisor to HearstLab, Hearst’s platform for nurturing early-stage, women-led companies.

Carlton is also on the M&T Board of Directors.

Carlton holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and a Master’s in Public Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from SUNY at Stony Brook.

He and his wife live in Harlem and he has three kids and a grandson.

Urban Arts

Chief Executive Officer

Philip has led Urban Arts since 2003. Six years ago Philip transformed Urban Arts into an arts and technology organization teaching underrepresented students digital game design through computer science, coding, animation, music, and storytelling. With this new focus,  Urban Arts has seen unprecedented growth in its student outcomes and has attracted powerful new partnerships with leading corporations and government agencies. Philip is an experienced and compelling public
speaker and has presented on the topics of Arts Education, Game Design, Educational Equity, Innovation, Program Development, and Public/Private Partnerships. Philip has presented nationally at TEDx, SXSW, Game Developers Conference, Games for Change, EDGames Expo, and Beyond School Hours. Additionally, Philip has been interviewed by the NY TimesForbes, and Education Week, and appeared on camera with NBC, CBS, NY1, Ronan Farrow, KTLA, and AOL Live to name a few.  Philip is a member of NYC’s Mayors Industry Council for Digital Games, The Made In NY Animation Project Industry Council, The Advisory Board of The Westchester Flames soccer club, and a founding Board member of Young Presidents’ organization Atlantic 13 Chapter. Connect here.

SENIOR LEGAL COUNSEL

Katrina Dibbini is a long-term Senior Legal Counsel, previously at Grey Group, a global advertising and marketing agency. Prior to attending law school, Katrina worked in the music and fashion industries, where she developed a fascination with brand protection and intellectual property issues that affect luxury brands and media companies. With a love for creative writing, Katrina created a music blog, TheMusicChik.com, which landed her a spot on the CBS-aired singing competition show “Lucky Break” as the show’s resident judge for 2 seasons. Coming from a musical theater background, Katrina has a passion for the arts, which she hopes to pass on to her sons Sebastian and Gabriel.

COMPLIANCE COUNSEL

BOARD CHAIR

Elyse Dreyer is a senior lawyer with wide-ranging experience spanning 15+ years in various fields. Elyse is currently the Compliance Consultant for DailyPay, an on demand pay company. She served as the first Chief Legal Officer at MYX, a new alternative in higher education. Previously, she spent over 11 years as in-house counsel at Sotheby’s, a global auction house,, where she counseled colleagues on a variety of risks, including anti-money laundering, anticorruption, antitrust, data privacy, conflicts of interest, art law, and cultural heritage law. In addition, Elyse established and ran Sotheby’s first Corporate Social Responsibility program, “BID for Better” which helped provide underserved students in New York City opportunities to view and learn about art, learn from art experts, and explore careers in the arts.

Outside of work, Elyse has a long-standing passion for mission-driven work and believes that opportunity should not be dictated by the zip code into which you were born.

RADIANCE PRIVATE WEALTH

FINANCE COMMITTE

Randi Engelbrecht is a Founding Partner and Private Wealth Advisor at Radiance Private Wealth. 

Randi brings over 20 years of industry experience working with complex high net­worth individuals and families providing tailored comprehensive solutions, generational wealth education and financial planning. She takes a highly personal approach with clients to understand what is most important to them and to provide a customized plan so they can confidently pursue their life’s passions. Her commitment to doing what is in the best interests of the clients is evidenced by the deep long-term relationships she has built with her clients and their family members. 

Prior to founding Radiance Private Wealth, Randi was a partner and private client relationship advisor at Brown Advisory having joined the firm in 2015 following the partnership between Brown Advisory and Highmount Capital. At Highmount, Randi was a client service manager in the New York office. Prior to Highmount, she worked as vice president of client services at Spruce Private Investors where she worked with high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and family offices. Randi also has experience working with institutional clients at Columbus Circle Investors. 

Randi is an active member of her community, serving as a Board Member of Urban Arts, the premier nonprofit teaching game design as a pathway to college and careers for underrepresented students from low-income communities. 

Randi graduated magna cum laude from Sacred Heart University with a degree in business administration. 

Randi and her husband Jonathan reside in Connecticut with their four children and a very large Bernese Mountain dog. When not working with clients or her nonprofits, Randi can be found on the tennis courts for a competitive game of family doubles. 

UNITY TECHNOLOGIES

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Ellen Flaherty leads the Learning team for Unity Technologies, the world’s leading platform for real-time content creation. In this role she, and her team of learning experience designers, create learning pathways empowering creators to bring their visions to life and break into real-time careers. Previously she ran ELF Learning, a consultancy firm, helping clients leverage interactive technologies to design and create learning experiences.

XONAR TECHNOLOGIES INC.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Greg Freiberg is President and Chief Development Officer at Xonar Technology Inc. Prior to joining Xonar, Mr. Freiberg was Managing Director at Island Capital Group, a $5 billion private equity and special situations firm. Before Island Capital Group, Mr. Freiberg worked at Coatue Management, a $60+ billion technology focused hedge fund and private equity platform. Greg also worked at Perry Capital, a hedge fund, and at The Blackstone Group on their Park Hill Private Equity team. Mr. Freiberg has a passion for performing arts and has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 2009. Mr. Freiberg graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences and a minor in Consumer Psychology from the Wharton School.

CEO, COMIC RELIEF

Recently, Michele Ganeless was named CEO of Comic Relief, a global organization dedicated to eradicating poverty. She is best known for her tenure as President of Comedy Central, a position she held from 2004-2016. Under her leadership, the network grew to be the number one brand in comedy across all platforms. Prior to her role as President at Comedy Central, Michele held programming and leadership roles at USA Network, Comedy Central and MTV. During her multiple terms at Comedy Central, Michele oversaw the growth of the Comedy Central brand as franchises including the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Colbert Report,” “South Park,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” and “Key & Peele,” dominated the cultural landscape.


Since leaving Comedy Central, Ganeless has focused her energy and expertise on producing and consulting. She is a sought after advisor on all areas of content strategy—most recently working in FAST and streaming. Currently working on content programming and strategy as a consultant for Lionsgate, Ganeless was also a key architect of the original content strategy at Peacock, having built the content operations, editorial and scheduling teams in 2019. Her first feature film, Egg, starring Christina Hendricks, Alysia Reiner and Anna Camp, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. She is also a co-producer on Irreplaceable You, which can be seen on Netflix. Both films were written and directed by women, and were produced with a clear mandate: hire more women behind the camera, thus helping to level the playing field for women in entertainment, an issue at the heart of Ganeless’ decision to continue creating content as an independent producer. Ganeless sits on the Board of Directors for Comic Relief, Inc, dedicated to ending intergenerational poverty around the world, and on the advisory board of Northwestern University’s School of Communications, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.

Steve Geismar is President and CEO of PACOA, Paint Applicator Corporation of America. Steve joined his grandpa’s company in 1979, growing the company exponentially. In the span of 40 years, PACOA has developed from a small assembly line in the basement of his grandpa’s home to a 92,000 sq, ft, distribution center in Port Washington, NY. Today, PACOA is the leading wholesale distributor of paint, hardware, lumber, janitorial, and building supplies serving independent retail dealers throughout the New York Tri-State area. Steve is also on the Board of Governors for CancerCare, a leading national organization providing free, professional support services and information to help people manage the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer.

NBCUNIVERSAL

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Kimberly King is Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at NBCUniversal and a champion of inclusive business practices fostering continuous learning, collaboration and diversity of thought. Her career spans the entertainment, publishing, television and digital media industries. Prior to NBCUniversal, Kimberly excelled in advertising sales marketing roles with Discovery and BET Networks. She also founded and led a boutique brand marketing agency for music, media and content creators for ten years. Kimberly is a member of the Board of Trustees for Wesleyan University, and is a She Runs It 2024 Working Mothers of the Year award recipient.

NAGLER PRODUCTIONS INC

ENGAGEMENT CHAIR

Originally from Sweden, Niclas Nagler has been living and working in New York City since 1984. 

He spent several seasons in various artistic and management positions at institutional and commercial theaters. Niclas has produced Murder Ballad, Standing On Ceremony, Betty Rules, The Donkey Show and Birth Rite. 

He has served on the Board of Directors for Urban Arts since 1997 and in 2007 founded The Nagler Scholarship to help fund one NYC high school graduate a year through 4 years of college.

PWC

Urban Arts is thrilled to welcome Elsie Pan to the Board of Directors. Starting her career in China, Elsie worked with US and European business leaders to solve market entry and localization problems so clients could gain a competitive position in a new market. Since then, from a base in the US, she has served firms of all sizes in addressing market-based/regulatory changes and complex enforcement remediation actions.

As a principal (non-CPA partner)at PwC US, Elsie uses her problem solving capacity to help her clients take on complex challenges in fast-evolving areas such as anti-money laundering, sanctions, enterprise risk management and US market entry. She leads teams of former industry executives and former regulators, technologists, statisticians and data scientists to deliver sustained outcomes to clients.

She also serves the role of Asian Financial Services Consulting Leader and China Business Network leader in PwC US delivering human/culture-centered solutions allowing non-US headquartered companies to compete more effectively in the US market.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR

Dan Pelson is an American media executive and a co-founder of several companies. He is the Chief Operating Consultant of Outside The Box Amusements, a theatrical production company specializing in creating, managing and producing unique experiences by combining world-class entertainment, bespoke hospitality and innovative design.

Previously, Dan was the Chief Operating Officer of Area15, an immersive entertainment and events complex in Las Vegas. In 2006, Dan was named the Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing of Warner Music Group, and also served as the chief architect and executor of Warner’s strategic consumer initiatives. At Sony Music, he oversaw the Direct to Consumer global operations and was the CEO of MyPlay, Sony’s music video platform from 2008-2013.

MICROSOFT

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Josh Reynolds is the Director of Modern Workplace for Microsoft Education with nearly 20 years of experience within education, business development, & leadership. He spent the last 7 years with Microsoft—the first 5-years leading the relationship with major K12/higher education customers in New York State and the last 2 years leading the software business for East US Education, where his team empowers customers to achieve more with custom solutions. During his tenure at Microsoft, he has led growth across solution areas with a deep focus on compliance and data privacy. Additionally, he has led some of the largest game-based learning activations worldwide with Minecraft, led creation of emerging content for education, and helped deliver Excel Esports to the masses. Josh also regularly works on cross vertical projects aligning priorities and driving meaningful progress with partners across education, government, healthcare & industry. Before his time at Microsoft, Josh led the NYS & NYC business for McGraw-Hill Education (delivering custom NYS curricula for K12 Math, Science, & Social Studies) & spent time as a high school science teacher and varsity cross country/track coach. Josh lives outside Rochester with his wife Marissa and daughters Ella (currently at SUNY Oneonta), Faye & Ruby.

APPLE

GALA COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR

Taneka Stevenson is a Senior Events Manager at Apple and creative consultant who uses her global network to connect brands with innovators. For the past 5 years, she has led diverse teams for the New York membership team at Soho House, as well as cities such as San Francisco, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Boston. Taneka’s experience includes curating and building creative communities for prospective members. She has since transitioned to Apple as a Senior Event Manager. It is her constant mission to highlight Black voices within traditional spaces using contemporary culture as the catalyst. Outside of consulting, Taneka is an advocate for public education in New York City’s underserved neighborhoods.

GENERAL ATLANTIC

TREASURER

Justin Sunshine is a Managing Director at General Atlantic and focuses on the firm’s Healthcare sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2019, Justin was a Managing Director at The Blackstone Group where he focused on investments across the healthcare industry and worked in both the New York and London offices. He began his career at Accenture as a Consultant in the firm’s Strategy Practice. Justin is currently a board member of several healthcare companies, and outside of his work with Urban Arts, also works with the Partnership Fund for New York (Healthcare Advisory Board) and the Alzheimer’s Drug Development Foundation (Business Review Board).

Bianca Tennyson has been at the forefront of the digital marketing industry with a proven track record of generating and accelerating strategic business activities, processes, and relationships to successfully deliver positive impact to clients and partners since 2011. Serving as an Account Executive focused on large customer sales based in New York, her ability to foster strong relationships and effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels is instrumental in driving successful and sustainable revenue streams. Previously, Bianca was responsible for helping top brands and advertisers streamline operations and improve efficiency through software, data, and insights as Senior Account Director. Her experience spans across startups and large corporations. Bianca is dedicated to helping others and the community she represents in the ever-evolving digital landscape. She received her degree from Florida State University and a native of Atlanta, Georgia currently residing in Brooklyn, NY.

Arienne Thompson Plourde has helped shape some of the most iconic and innovative brands in the world as a career strategist and storyteller with 20 years of tech, diversity leadership, media, public relations and higher education experience. She is the Sr. Program Manager for Google Data Centers’ Community Development & Impact program, leading the team’s strategic planning and operations.


Previously, Arienne was Director of PR at a boutique public relations firm, and before that, was a nationally recognized entertainment journalist at USA Today for a decade. Arienne spent her newsroom career covering Hollywood, fashion and the intersection of race & pop culture, reporting from the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, People’s Choice Awards, New York Fashion Week and dozens more premier red carpet events where she interviewed A-list stars like Prince, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Reese Witherspoon and Venus Williams, to name a few. She was also a regular on-air contributor for NBC’s Today show for two years and appeared as a pop culture expert on CBS, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, TV One, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and more.

Arienne is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied history and Japanese, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from American University. She is an active volunteer leader in the Notre Dame alumni network, serving on the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council since 2012 and having served on both the ND Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Black Alumni of ND Board of Directors. Other board and council appointments include Urban Arts, The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, homeless youth nonprofit Mobile Hope and The College of Charleston School of Communications. Arienne is also an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, where she has taught journalism since 2018.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Arienne has lived in the Washington, D.C. metro area since 2004 and currently resides in northern Virginia with her husband and son.

DIRECTOR, POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS

Joelle hails from Queens, NY and received her Bachelors in both Film and African American Studies from Temple University, as well as her Master’s degree in Africana Studies from New York University. What once started out as a love for movies and storytelling, quickly transformed into a desire to service, educate, and help people craft their own stories. In her role as Director of Post-Secondary Success, she helps students navigate the full application process to college, introduces them to mentors and professional development opportunities, and finds pathways for them to connect with each other and Urban Arts as alumni ambassadors.

CHIEF FINANCIAL & OPERATIONS OFFICER

Born and raised in Queens, Kathleen Elie leads the fiscal, operational and cultural functions of the organization. With a passion for empowering youth, Kathleen has focused her career on serving organizations that open pathways for BIPOC students. With a strong educational background in finance, Kathleen has honed her skills at various education-based nonprofits, such as Prep for Prep, where she was the Assistant Director of Finance, and Bronx Community Charter School as the Founding Director of Finance.

Building on her expertise, Kathleen has held several key leadership roles and successfully steered organizations through diverse financial challenges, such as rebuilding finance departments after prolonged deficits and implementing internal controls and processes.

When Kathleen isn’t crunching numbers, you can find her exploring new cuisines because this COO has an unapologetic love for good food! Kathleen holds a BA in Sociology from the SUNY at Stony Brook and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College. She’s a member of Vistage Worldwide and the inaugural cohort of the Pinkerton Senior Leadership Network.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL PROGRAMS

Shannon Moran is an adaptive nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience in education and youth development. Since 2009, she has worked within the arts as an artist, educator, and administrator. Graduating with a degree in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, Shannon began her career in public art as a muralist and teaching artist. Transitioning from artist and educator to leader, she became active in managing and implementing arts programs in schools and community centers across NYC. Currently serving as the Director of National Programs at Urban Arts, Shannon drives program innovation, strategic planning, and fiscal management, focusing on arts and technology education. 

CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER

Dr. Amy Patterson (she/her) is Chief Program Officer at Urban Arts. Amy’s work focuses on educational arts and technology programs, and she oversees U.S. DOE grants that bring Urban Arts’ computer science and game design programs to schools in NYC and beyond. An award-winning Career & Technical Education (CTE) educator passionate about building college and career pathways through game design, Amy has worked in education for more than 15 years with a focus on student access, student success, and digital pedagogy. She holds a PhD in Information Design from Clemson University, an MA from Northwestern University, a BA from Missouri Univ. of Science & Technology, and certificates in Sound, Haptics, & Wearable Technology. Connect here.

CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Julie Wolpov has passionately dedicated her career, with extensive fundraising and development experience, to nonprofit institutional advancement. Most recently, Julie was Vice President of Advancement at the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), where she oversaw fundraising, development, marketing, and communications efforts.

Prior to FJC, Julie held a senior philanthropy role at Year Up for over 8 years, helping provide opportunities for young adults to successfully launch their careers through transformative skill building, training, and education. She also served as the Chief Development Officer at JCC Manhattan, leading its comprehensive advancement initiatives.

Deeply rooted in her commitment to enriching lives through formative experiences, Julie earned a BS in Child Development and Family Relations from the University of Arizona, and a MSW from Hunter College.   

A longtime New York City resident, Julie resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband and teenage daughter.