HSA Staff

Staff - Program Directors

Kakuna Kerina
President and CEO

Tonya Upton - Executive Assistant, President & CEO
tupton@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Ms. Kerina has worked with the International League for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Program and the Committee to Protect Journalists. She also possesses philanthropic expertise as the former Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa. “I am truly honored to be entrusted with the legacy and the future of The Harlem School of the Arts, an institution that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of children and their families,” Ms. Kerina says. “This is an exciting time and I look forward to working with the Board and staff to advance the organization’s mission to enrich children’s lives through the arts; a mission that is as critically important today as it was 43 years ago at HSA’s inception.”

Patricia Neely
Senior Director of Programs

pneely@harlemschoolofthearts.org">pneely@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Krystal Hall–Glass
Director, Dance Department

khall-glass@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Mrs. Hall–Glass is a Performing Arts High School alumna, appeared in both the film and Broadway versions of The Wiz while attending the Juilliard School of Music. Mrs. Hall-Glass toured both nationally and internationally, and has formed artistic collaborations with leading choreographers, actors and musicians. For nine years, Mrs. Hall-Glass worked as a soloist with the Jubilation! Dance Company, garnering a Bessie nomination for her solo, Mama Rose. She has also worked as a guest soloist and choreographer for many well-known dance companies throughout the U.S. She was the 1991 recipient of a choreography grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has served on the faculty of Howard University, City College, SUNY Purchase and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center as well as serving as the dance director for Mind-Builder’s Creative Arts Center and currently for the Harlem School of the Arts.

Menon Dwarka
Director, Music Department

mdwarka@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Menon Dwarka has been working as a Music Industry Consultant for the past year. Prior, he was the Director of the 92nd Street Y School of Music, which offers group and individual instruction to more than 1,000 students. Menon supervised a faculty of 70 professionally trained teaching artists and oversaw the Broadway at the Y Chorus, the Y Symphonic Workshop Orchestra, chamber music ensembles, and jazz combos. Menon began at the 92nd Y as the Director of Music Technology, where he introduced the "Making Music" computer program developed by Morton Subotnick, one of America's pioneers in the field of electronic music. He also worked as a Composer & Administrator for Rocket Music Inc. where he composed, programmed and mixed music and audio for television commercials. Menon has also held such roles as the Artistic Director of Gallery @ 678 and as a Teaching Assistant at SUNY Stony Brook.

Michael Early
Director, Theater Department

mearly@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Michael Early, Director of the Theater Program, has been working as a Guest Faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College since 1998. He is also the founder and producer of Phoenix Rising Productions. His experience in acting, industrial training films, commercials, print advertisements, theater, and directing is extensive. Michael holds an M.F.A. from Yale University's
School of Drama, a B.F.A. from NYU and a British American Drama Academy
Certificate.

Imo Nse Imeh
Director, Visual Arts Department

iimeh@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Mr. Imeh earned his BA from Columbia University and MAs in Art History and Philosophy from Yale University. A Yale John F. Enders Research Fellow for 2007, he is currently completing his doctorate in art history under the supervision of Dr. Robert Farris Thompson. A member of the Yale University Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society and a Yale University Graduate Fellow, Mr. Imeh has been a recipient of numerous honors and fellowships, including repeated departmental honors for his undergraduate work at Columbia, and has been a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar and a One Hundred Black Men Foundation Scholar. Mr. Imeh was a teaching assistant to Doctors Kellie Jones and Robert Farris Thompson at Yale, and was a Curatorial Assistant in African Art at the Yale University Art Gallery. Mr. Imeh’s work has been shown at area galleries and institutions, including the White Space gallery in New Haven, CT and the Rush Arts gallery in NY. Mr. Imeh is a Visiting Professor of Painting at Westfield State College in MA.

Iessa J. Mitchell-Sutton
Director, Opportunities for Learning in the Arts

imsutton@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Iessa Mitchell-Sutton, Director of the School’s Opportunities for Learning in the Arts (OLA), holds an M.A. in Arts and Organizational Management from Clark Atlanta University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Phoenix. Ms. Sutton was most recently with The Hewitt School as Assistant to the Upper School, prior to which she was Assistant Director for Educational Outreach for The Juilliard School. Since 1991, Ms. Mitchell has been Associate Director and an instructor with the Theater of Dance Movement Cultural Arts Center.

Staff - Administration

Oamien Agans-Oliha - IT Director
oamien@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Yedidiah Barker - HR Associate
ybarker@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Alana Benoit - Executive Program Associate
abenoit@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Veronica Bonfante-Luciano – Assistant Site Coordinator,
PS 153 Afterschool Program
vbluciano@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Autumn Bush – Development Assistant
abush@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Jaison Coles - Program Associate, Music Department
jcoles@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Shannon Copeland - Graphic Designer
scopeland@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Christopher Demma – Controller
cdemma@harlemschoolofthearts.org

DeeDee Dickey - Director of Human Resources
ddickey@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Kenrick Garrick – Custodian

Nicholas Genovese – IT Technician
ngenovese@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Al Grant - Senior Security Officer

Melody Gross - Communications and Marketing Associate
mgross@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Junior Guitan - Supervisor of Security

Calandra Hackney - Program Associate, Theater Department
chackney@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Dejuan Hall - Security Officer

Harold James - Custodian

Pam Johnson - Site Coordinator, PS 192 Afterschool Program
pjohnson@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Michelle Kiefel - Development Associate
mkiefel@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Sophia Lucas – Program Associate, Visual Arts Department
slucas@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Danielle Lynch - Site Coordinator, PS 192 Afterschool Program
dlynch@harlemschoolofthearts.org

George Madarasz - IT Technician, Programs
gmadarasz@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Alexandra Mann - Director,
Communications and Marketing Department
amann@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Byron McCray - Program Associate, Corporate & Community Partnerships
bmccray@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Eric (Mesiyah) McGinnis - Director of Corporate & Community Partnerships
mmcginnis@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Brenna McLaughlin – Program Associate, OLA
bmclaughlin@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Cecil Mitchell - Custodian

Nadege Noel – Program Associate, Dance Department
nnoel@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Paola Pared – Assistant Site Coordinator,
PS 192 Afterschool Program
ppared@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Jody Prusan – ARTScape Summer Camp Director
jprusan@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Bremilde (Bremi) Ramos - Administrative Assistant
bramos@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Renee Rijos - Bursar
rrijos@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Llewellyn Smith – Custodian

Niki Spruill - Office Assistant/Special Projects
nspruill@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Karen Taylor - Grant Writer
ktaylor@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Patrice Turner – Registrar
pturner@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Wayne Williams - Director of Facilities
wwilliams@harlemschoolofthearts.org

Ann Yarde - Security Officer

The Harlem School of the Arts is funded, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, The Carnegie Corporation, The After-School Corporation, Altman Foundation, Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation, United Jewish Appeal and other corporate, foundation and individual partners. HSA is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

The Harlem School of the Arts
645 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10030 U.S.
Tel: (212) 926–4100 | info@harlemschoolofthearts.org
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