Photo by Ri Lindegren
Team
Chris Bloom, Team Member — A contemporary dancer currently living in NYC and working full-time with Ballet Hispánico, Chris is passionate about being on the forefront of the contemporary dance world. As an artist, Chris hopes to create and be a part of work that is bravely truthful and revealing. Since graduating from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Dance Program in 2012, Chris has worked and toured with Parsons Dance, The Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, and Ballet Hispánico (among others) and has grown a deep appreciation for the quite spaces in life. Dance Magazine featured Chris in an August 2017 article, where he discussed finding balance in his artistic life. He is so proud to be an active participant at Aunt Karen’s Farm.
Ralph Bloom, Co-founder
Ralph has been a theatre technician since high school. He had pink contracts on two touring productions before graduating with his BFA, Carnegie-Mellon University. Since graduation, Ralph has served as: Scene Shop Supervisor and Production Director, McCarter Theater, Princeton University, working with Marcel Marceau, The Beach Boys, Kris Kristofferson, Ballet Folklorico of Mexico, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Jenkins, John Conklin, and Michael Kahn. Subsequent roles include: Citywide Technical Director, US Bicentennial, Philadelphia, and Technical Director, The Juilliard School. Ralph then joined Sander Gossard & Associates, a major New York scene shop. As Director of the Technical Division, Ralph led a project to develop an automation system for stage rigging and scenic movement. With SGA, Ralph was rigging consultant to Radio City Music Hall, SUNY Purchase, Dartmouth College, Boston University, City Center 55th Street Theater, New York State Theater, Williams College, Beacon Theater, Joyce Theater, Apollo Theater. Turning in a new direction, Ralph designed highway lighting systems, managed the development of an ocean shipping container for liquefied helium, was a construction project manager for an electric generating station in Maritime Canada and established the purchasing department for Morrow Equipment, where he currently serves as Purchasing Manager. Ralph has taught part-time at Shenandoah University and provided technical direction and set designs for community theater projects. Ralph and his family have been associated with Aunt Karen's Farm for many years and he has been a member of the Board of Directors since its founding.
Ralph has been a theatre technician since high school. He had pink contracts on two touring productions before graduating with his BFA, Carnegie-Mellon University. Since graduation, Ralph has served as: Scene Shop Supervisor and Production Director, McCarter Theater, Princeton University, working with Marcel Marceau, The Beach Boys, Kris Kristofferson, Ballet Folklorico of Mexico, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Jenkins, John Conklin, and Michael Kahn. Subsequent roles include: Citywide Technical Director, US Bicentennial, Philadelphia, and Technical Director, The Juilliard School. Ralph then joined Sander Gossard & Associates, a major New York scene shop. As Director of the Technical Division, Ralph led a project to develop an automation system for stage rigging and scenic movement. With SGA, Ralph was rigging consultant to Radio City Music Hall, SUNY Purchase, Dartmouth College, Boston University, City Center 55th Street Theater, New York State Theater, Williams College, Beacon Theater, Joyce Theater, Apollo Theater. Turning in a new direction, Ralph designed highway lighting systems, managed the development of an ocean shipping container for liquefied helium, was a construction project manager for an electric generating station in Maritime Canada and established the purchasing department for Morrow Equipment, where he currently serves as Purchasing Manager. Ralph has taught part-time at Shenandoah University and provided technical direction and set designs for community theater projects. Ralph and his family have been associated with Aunt Karen's Farm for many years and he has been a member of the Board of Directors since its founding.
Seth Bauer, Team Member (Playwright) was named one of the “People of the Year” for making a significant impact on the New York theatre scene. His plays have been performed throughout the US and in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. They are published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, and Smith & Krause. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from University of Texas at Austin where he was a James A. Michener fellow. He lives in New York City with his partner, Elysa Marden. And when he can get away to rejuvenate and re-charge his creative spirit, he does so at Aunt Karen’s Farm.
Gerald Fierst, Programming Consultant - Gerald is a performer, writer, and teacher who has appeared throughout the US, England, and Asia telling original stories, stories from his own Jewish tradition, and stories from world folklore as well as leading workshops for teachers and students in writing and performance. He has been featured at numerous festivals around the world including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, TN. He has served as Artistic Director of the Jewish Storytelling Center at the 92nd Street Y in NYC and as a member of the board of The New York Storytelling Center. He received the JustStories Fellowship to create an original performance piece on the stories of the Abrahamic Tradition for national touring. His book The Heart of the Wedding was released in May, 2011. His audio recordings Monstrous Mischief and Tikun Olam: Stories to Heal the World are Parents Choice Award winners. He is online with scholastic.com inaugurating their storytelling web page Meet the Storyteller. His children's books Imagine the Moon and Bye, Bye, Big will be released by Plum Street Press in spring and fall, 2017, respectively.
Mark Golden, Advisory Council, CEO and Co-founder of Golden Artist Colors, began the company in 1980 with 4 employees, in a cow barn in rural Columbus, NY, the company made and delivered custom paint colors for artists in Manhattan. GOLDEN’s staff of full-time Employee/Owners is now 220, with facilities in Columbus as well as Norwich, NY. GOLDEN sells its products in over 60 countries.
Mark has been selected for an number of awards including Small Business Person of the Year for NY (1996), NYFA 2005 Inspiration Award, American Institute for Conservation (2006), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Art Materials Association (NAMTA) (2018) and Center for Arts Education Champion of Arts Education Award (2019).
In 1997, Mark and his family began The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts to honor their parents. Its mission is to be a significant resource for visual artists. Over the next 14 years, the Foundation donated to numerous artists and art organizations. In 2010, the Foundation began constructing the Golden Residence, a 10,000-square-foot living and work space for invited artists which opened in 2012.
Mark has been selected for an number of awards including Small Business Person of the Year for NY (1996), NYFA 2005 Inspiration Award, American Institute for Conservation (2006), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Art Materials Association (NAMTA) (2018) and Center for Arts Education Champion of Arts Education Award (2019).
In 1997, Mark and his family began The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts to honor their parents. Its mission is to be a significant resource for visual artists. Over the next 14 years, the Foundation donated to numerous artists and art organizations. In 2010, the Foundation began constructing the Golden Residence, a 10,000-square-foot living and work space for invited artists which opened in 2012.
Dr. Judith C. Hochman, Advisory Council, Ed.D., Founder of The Writing Revolution
Dr. Judith C. Hochman is the creator of the Hochman Method and founder of The Writing Revolution. Dr. Hochman served as the Head of Windward School in White Plains, New York, a nationally renowned independent school focused on teaching students with learning disabilities. She is the founder and senior faculty member of the Windward Teacher Training Institute and a former Superintendent of the Greenburgh Graham Union Free School District in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, a day and residential NYS public school district serving students five to twenty-one years of age with behavioral, emotional and learning disabilities. Dr. Hochman is the author of numerous books and articles. Dr. Hochman is the author of numerous books and articles, and has been featured in The Atlantic and The Hechinger Report.
Dr. Judith C. Hochman is the creator of the Hochman Method and founder of The Writing Revolution. Dr. Hochman served as the Head of Windward School in White Plains, New York, a nationally renowned independent school focused on teaching students with learning disabilities. She is the founder and senior faculty member of the Windward Teacher Training Institute and a former Superintendent of the Greenburgh Graham Union Free School District in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, a day and residential NYS public school district serving students five to twenty-one years of age with behavioral, emotional and learning disabilities. Dr. Hochman is the author of numerous books and articles. Dr. Hochman is the author of numerous books and articles, and has been featured in The Atlantic and The Hechinger Report.
Sara Jensen, Tech Support
Sara has been helping Aunt Karen with various technical endeavors since they worked together at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the early 2000's. Sara is currently based in Minneapolis, MN and works in product development for a medical device company that supports patients with Parkinson's Disease. As a longtime lover of the arts in all its forms and environmental causes, she is happy to support Aunt Karen's Farm with technical administrative tasks and help with the website.
Sara has been helping Aunt Karen with various technical endeavors since they worked together at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the early 2000's. Sara is currently based in Minneapolis, MN and works in product development for a medical device company that supports patients with Parkinson's Disease. As a longtime lover of the arts in all its forms and environmental causes, she is happy to support Aunt Karen's Farm with technical administrative tasks and help with the website.
Ruby Lerner, Board of Directors, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Ruby Lerner ran Creative Capital, an arts foundation, from 1999 to 2016. Under her leadership, Creative Capital committed $40 million in financial and advisory support to 511 projects representing 642 artists. In 2017, Lerner will be the inaugural Herberger Institute Policy Fellow at Arizona State University and Senior Fellow to the Patty Disney Center for Life and Work at CalArts. She serves on numerous national advisory boards including the exhibition committee for the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Ruby Lerner ran Creative Capital, an arts foundation, from 1999 to 2016. Under her leadership, Creative Capital committed $40 million in financial and advisory support to 511 projects representing 642 artists. In 2017, Lerner will be the inaugural Herberger Institute Policy Fellow at Arizona State University and Senior Fellow to the Patty Disney Center for Life and Work at CalArts. She serves on numerous national advisory boards including the exhibition committee for the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Glenn McClure, Eco-musician, McClure Productions
Glenn McClure is a composer and scholar. He has served on the faculties of Paul Smiths College, the Eastman School of Music and SUNY Geneseo. He recently received the Chancellor’s Award for Adjunct Teaching from SUNY.
Mr. McClure received Kennedy Center/VSA National Teaching Artist Fellowship and the National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Fellowship in which he traveled to Antarctica to compose music that dramatizes climate science. He recently composed a work for the European Space Agency Choir that transformed orbital data from the Rosetta Mission into melodies and harmonies. His music has been featured on several national broadcasts including the 2005 broadcast of Enter the Light, the CBS Christmas Special and a 2006 edition of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He is currently working a new voting rights opera entitled “Promised Land: An Adirondack Folk Opera with award-winning soloists Jorell Williams and J’nai Bridges.
Glenn McClure is a composer and scholar. He has served on the faculties of Paul Smiths College, the Eastman School of Music and SUNY Geneseo. He recently received the Chancellor’s Award for Adjunct Teaching from SUNY.
Mr. McClure received Kennedy Center/VSA National Teaching Artist Fellowship and the National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Fellowship in which he traveled to Antarctica to compose music that dramatizes climate science. He recently composed a work for the European Space Agency Choir that transformed orbital data from the Rosetta Mission into melodies and harmonies. His music has been featured on several national broadcasts including the 2005 broadcast of Enter the Light, the CBS Christmas Special and a 2006 edition of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He is currently working a new voting rights opera entitled “Promised Land: An Adirondack Folk Opera with award-winning soloists Jorell Williams and J’nai Bridges.
David McNamara serves as Treasurer of Aunt Karen’s Farm and is the founder of its Artists with Families Program, an initiative created to make residency time more accessible to artists raising children. His interest in design was first fostered at the Farm itself, while practicing cabinetmaking in the old wood shop, an experience that shaped his appreciation for craft, materiality, and the creative possibilities of working with one’s hands. Professionally, David has built a career at the intersection of design, culture, and commerce, working with leading furniture and lifestyle brands to shape spaces, build communities, and bring thoughtful design to a wider audience. Through his work with Aunt Karen’s Farm, David supports the Farm’s mission as a place where artists, families, and creative communities can step away from the pace of daily life, reconnect with the land, explore nature, and pursue meaningful creative work. He remains committed to helping the Farm grow as a space for reflection, experimentation, and connection across generations.
Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
At BAM, Joe Melillo has fostered the work of emerging and established artists and forged dynamic artistic partnerships by developing programs like The Bridge Project—a three-year series of international theater engagements featuring a trans-Atlantic company of actors directed by Sam Mendes and produced by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street—and most recently DanceMotion USAsm, a cultural diplomacy program in partnership with the US Department of State. He is on the US Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association. He was a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts Dance Program and the New York State Council on the Arts, and served as Multidisciplinary Panel Chair of the Pew Fellowships in the Arts.
At BAM, Joe Melillo has fostered the work of emerging and established artists and forged dynamic artistic partnerships by developing programs like The Bridge Project—a three-year series of international theater engagements featuring a trans-Atlantic company of actors directed by Sam Mendes and produced by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street—and most recently DanceMotion USAsm, a cultural diplomacy program in partnership with the US Department of State. He is on the US Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association. He was a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts Dance Program and the New York State Council on the Arts, and served as Multidisciplinary Panel Chair of the Pew Fellowships in the Arts.
Michael Naumann, Managing Director, Theater Development Fund (TDF)
Michael Naumann is the Managing Director for Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the largest not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts in the country. Prior to joining TDF, Michael was the Finance Director for Frankel Green Theatrical Management/Richard Frankel Productions Prior and the Director of Finance & Administration for Manhattan Theatre Club. Additionally, since 1995 he has taught workshops for the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (ART/NY).
Michael Naumann is the Managing Director for Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the largest not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts in the country. Prior to joining TDF, Michael was the Finance Director for Frankel Green Theatrical Management/Richard Frankel Productions Prior and the Director of Finance & Administration for Manhattan Theatre Club. Additionally, since 1995 he has taught workshops for the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (ART/NY).
G. Neri, Team Member is the Coretta Scott King honor-winning author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty and the recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award for his free-verse novella, Chess Rumble. His books have been translated into multiple languages in over 25 countries. They include the novels Tru & Nelle, Knockout Games, Grand Theft Horse, and Ghetto Cowboy, which was made into a movie starring Idris Elba. In 2017, he was awarded a National Science Foundation grant that sent him to Antarctica to research several upcoming projects. He is a founding member of the Antarctic Artists and Writers Collective. Prior to becoming a writer, Neri was a filmmaker, an animator/illustrator, a digital media producer. Neri currently writes full-time and lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife and daughter. You can find him online at www.gneri.com.
Karen Shafer, Founder and President
Karen Shafer's career spans nearly 50 years as a not-for-profit arts and education administrator where she worked on over 100 productions with regional and off-Broadway theaters. Her work in education brought her to the Collegiate School, Windward School and Columbia University. She also spent two seasons on the ICE with a project sponsored by the US Antarctica Program. Now retired from Lincoln Center, where she worked for a decade, Karen remembers the transformative influence programs at the O’Neill Center had on her early years. She is placing her efforts on developing her Farm into a Cultural + Environment Residency Center.
Karen Shafer's career spans nearly 50 years as a not-for-profit arts and education administrator where she worked on over 100 productions with regional and off-Broadway theaters. Her work in education brought her to the Collegiate School, Windward School and Columbia University. She also spent two seasons on the ICE with a project sponsored by the US Antarctica Program. Now retired from Lincoln Center, where she worked for a decade, Karen remembers the transformative influence programs at the O’Neill Center had on her early years. She is placing her efforts on developing her Farm into a Cultural + Environment Residency Center.
Charles Tooley, Chairman of the Board of the Burton K. Wheeler Center for Public Policy
Chuck retired undefeated as the longest-serving Mayor in the history of Billings, Montana. He served as President of the Montana League of Cities and Towns and in the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. His company, Tooley Communications, offers consulting services in marketing, strategic communications, and public policy. He speaks widely on citizenship and leadership. Chuck is a U.S. Army veteran of the Cold War in Europe and the war in Vietnam. Returning home after military duty, Chuck resumed his career in performing arts and began his involvement in cultural programming. He has served on the National Endowment for the Arts Theater and Musical Theater panel, as Vice-Chair of the Montana Arts Council and for 9 years was Chair of its Dance and Drama grants panel. He has been a board member of The Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts, Billings Studio Theater, Starfire Productions, and continues his long service on the Advisory Board of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Chuck also serves as a Trustee of Rocky Mountain College and as an Aviation and Transit Commissioner for the City of Billings.
Chuck retired undefeated as the longest-serving Mayor in the history of Billings, Montana. He served as President of the Montana League of Cities and Towns and in the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. His company, Tooley Communications, offers consulting services in marketing, strategic communications, and public policy. He speaks widely on citizenship and leadership. Chuck is a U.S. Army veteran of the Cold War in Europe and the war in Vietnam. Returning home after military duty, Chuck resumed his career in performing arts and began his involvement in cultural programming. He has served on the National Endowment for the Arts Theater and Musical Theater panel, as Vice-Chair of the Montana Arts Council and for 9 years was Chair of its Dance and Drama grants panel. He has been a board member of The Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts, Billings Studio Theater, Starfire Productions, and continues his long service on the Advisory Board of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Chuck also serves as a Trustee of Rocky Mountain College and as an Aviation and Transit Commissioner for the City of Billings.
John Wyszniewski, Trustee and Director of External Affairs
John is proud to have over 20+ years of experience working directly with artists in multiple capacities. Following a brief career as a performance artist and curator, he focused his attention on marketing and communication in the arts with senior positions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, School of Visual Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, and Blake Zidell & Associates. In 2017, he founded Everyman Agency, a communications firm promoting complex ideas, mostly in the arts. Their work builds awareness and provokes action for cultural organizations and individual artists by putting impactful storytelling, strategic thinking, and meaningful relationships at the heart of their work. They believe in the power of the media to shine a spotlight on new and underrepresented voices. Everyman Agency specializes in dance, theater, music, visual art, and the compelling work in between.
John is proud to have over 20+ years of experience working directly with artists in multiple capacities. Following a brief career as a performance artist and curator, he focused his attention on marketing and communication in the arts with senior positions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, School of Visual Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, and Blake Zidell & Associates. In 2017, he founded Everyman Agency, a communications firm promoting complex ideas, mostly in the arts. Their work builds awareness and provokes action for cultural organizations and individual artists by putting impactful storytelling, strategic thinking, and meaningful relationships at the heart of their work. They believe in the power of the media to shine a spotlight on new and underrepresented voices. Everyman Agency specializes in dance, theater, music, visual art, and the compelling work in between.
