New York City Museum Educators Roundtable

The purpose of NYCMER is to provide a forum for museum education professionals to address issues of museum and educational interest, exchange and disseminate relevant information, and to explore and implement cooperative programming opportunities through roundtable discussions, workshops, seminars, symposia, professional development series and conferences.

NYCMER was founded in 1979 and continues to grow with 300 members.

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Want to learn more about NYCMER? Got suggestions for us? Please respond using the comments form on our home page, or you can Email us!

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If you'd like to send written correspondence about other matters, please address it to:

NYCMER
c/o Jennifer Rothman
Director of Public Programs
The New York Botanical Garden
200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10458
Fax: 718.817.8954

or email Jennifer Rothman.

2007-08 Board Members

President

Jennifer Rothman is the Director of Public Programs at the New York Botanical Garden. Prior to this position Jennifer was the Manager of Public and School Programs at the Botanical Garden, the Education Director and Interim Director of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo in California, and the Education Coordinator at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. She holds a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Science from Colby College and an M.A. in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University.

Vice President

Sandra Huber has worked with the Historic House Trust of New York City since March 2004. She holds an MA in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. As Curator for the Trust, Sandra works with 22 individual house museums to provide technical assistance on collections management and interpretation to the directors and curators. She also works to create collaborative partnerships with local colleges, universities and other cultural institutions. Sandra has volunteered with NYCMER since fall, 2005. She first began as a member of the Conference Committee and is currently serving as Vice Chair, with the responsibility of organizing the annual conference.

Secretary

Cristina Scorza is Cultural and Community Programs at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, and also consults for the education department of the New Museum of Contemporary Art and participates as freelance educator at the MoMA. Cristina was a contemporary artist in her hometown, Mexico City. She has a BFA from the National School of Visual Arts in Mexico and a BA in Arts Administration and Art History from Baruch College, CUNY. Currently she is working towards her Masters in Leadership in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education.

Treasurer

Hilary Eddy Stipelman recently joined The Anne Frank Center USA as the School Programs Manager. She develops and implements educational programs for all audiences, focusing on themes of self reflection, literacy, young women’s empowerment, and tolerance. Previously she worked for six years at South Street Seaport Museum. She has also worked at the Brooklyn Historical Society, The Morgan Library, and the New Jersey Historical Society. She holds a B.A. in Art History from Smith College and an M.S.Ed. in Museum Education from Bank Street College.

Archivist

Mayrav S. Fisher is the Education Manager for School programs at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. As such, Mayrav oversees the On Site School Program including training and management of a team of 20 freelancers, professional development for teachers as well as overseeing the museum’s family programs. Prior to the Guggenheim, Mayrav had been the coordinator of family programs at the Whitney Museum where she conceived and oversaw all family programs including regular weekend and weekday programs, the annual family day, community outreach and training of all family freelance educators. Prior to that position Mayrav was a freelance educator working with school children and educators at the Whitney, Cooper Hewitt and The American Folk Art Museum. Mayrav has an MS. Ed from Bank Street College of Education and a BA from Hunter College of the City University in Art History and Hebrew Literature.

Resources Editor

Erin McCluskey is the Director of Education at the Center for Architecture Foundation. She both manages and teaches all programs at the Center including Family Days, Student Days, Studio programs, Summer Design Camp, and the annual Career Day. She has also worked and taught at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, where she was the Greenhouse & Garden manager, the South Street Seaport Museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art and for the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment. Before joining the museum and outreach education world, Erin was the Preservation Associate and Education Assistant at Landmark West!, a preservation advocacy group on the Upper West Side. She was also a classroom teacher in Alameda, California at a project based charter school where she designed and taught classes in creative writing, studio art, and architecture focusing on utopian and experimental design. She received a Master of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts in Creative Writing, and a Bachelors degree in Studio Art, Art History, and Asian Studies from Beloit College.

Membership Coordinator

Greer Kudon is the Senior Manager of School Programs and Outreach. Prior to this, Greer was Head of School Programs at the Whitney Museum of American Art overseeing all programming for students, and teachers. She was also a classroom teacher in the New York City public schools—teaching 5th grade bilingual at P.S. 28 in Washington Heights and 3rd grade at John A. Reisenbach Charter School in Harlem. Greer has an M.A in Arts Administration from New York University and a B.A. in Art History from Washington University in St. Louis.

Web Site Coordinator

Nathan P. Sensel is Associate Educator at the Museum of Modern Art. He recently served as coordinator of middle and high school programs at the Brooklyn Museum and works for Artime, an arts and education organization offering school, family, and adult programs with a focus on contemporary art. He is a graduate of Kent State University, Ohio with a B.A. in Art Education and is a painter.

Trustees

Gonzalo Casals has been the Public Programs Coordinator at El Museo del Barrio for the last two years where he is responsible for developing programs for the museum’s diverse audiences in different disciplines such as: Visual Arts, Film & Video, Literary Arts, and Architecture + Design. In addition, he has implemented Cielo Abierto, a series of summer programs presenting films and concerts at El Museo’s rooftop. Starting July 08, he will be also responsible for the programming of El Café, a new multidiscipline programming space at the museum offering and eclectic selection of cutting edge emerging Latino/a talent. During 2005, Casals founded and directed Queens Media Arts Development (QMAD), a Queens based organization that presents programs featuring the talent of the borough. QMAD’s flagship program is CINEMAROSA, a queer film series hosted at the Queens Museum of Art. He holds an MA in Architecture (Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina) and a MA in Art History and Museum Studies (City College of New York, CUNY).

Elyssa Arnone is the BASE Program Manager at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She the liaison with the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE), a small high school partnered with Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As part of her work, Elyssa collaborates with BASE teachers to develop lessons to be used in both the classroom and the Garden. In addition, she has coordinated and developed internship and science research programs for high school students at Brooklyn Botanic Garden since 1999. She is a graduate of Ohio University, with a BS in Plant Biology.

Sara Guerrero-Rippberger is the Project Manager for Literacy and the Arts: Art Programming with New New Yorkers. A summa cum laude graduate of Barnard College, she has an M.A. in Education from Arizona State University and vast experience with immigrant communities as both an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and developer of arts-based ESL curricula. She also has worked extensively with both education and immigrant communities in the greater NYC area and has strong ties to community organizations. Ms. Guerrero-Rippberger has overseen the organization and implementation of the Literacy and the Arts project at QMA, including managing all aspects of programs; supervising museum and library educators and teaching artists; acting as a liaison for museum and library staffs; implementing assessment tools; and fostering communication between the QMA, library, and their surrounding communities.

Alexa Fairchild is the School Programs Manager at the Brooklyn Museum. Responsible for programs and services provided to approximately 50,000 students and 3,000 teachers annually, Alexa is dedicated to providing K-12 students and teachers with valuable, accessible and creative programs that are grounded in object-based learning and reflect the core values of the Brooklyn Museum Education Division. Committed to public education which fosters respect and understanding across communities, histories and traditions, Alexa has worked at the following cultural institutions: Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, National Museum of the American Indian and Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Alexa holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Bank Street College of Education and Master of Arts degree in Art History from the University of British Columbia.

Dolores DeStefano

Virgil Talaid is the Education Coordinator for the New York Transit Museum, supervising and training Museum Interpreters, volunteers and interns; liasing with school, government and community partners; developing programs, curriculum, literature and learning materials for an intergenerational Museum audience and managing records and financial accounts for all educational programs. Virgil holds a B.A. in Developmental Linguistics from Boston University and an M. S. Ed. in Arts and Educational Leadership from the Bank Street College of Education. Prior to his work at the Transit Museum, Virgil has developed his vision and commitment to urban education and family learning through work at the Staten Island Botanical Garden, the Children's Museum of Manhattan, the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.