September 6, 2011

New Changes to the Academy Staff

Margaret McCann is the new Interim Faculty Chair. Please check back soon for bio. 
 
Denise Armstrong is the new Assistant to the Dean of Academic Affairs. She was born in South Korea and adopted when she was 4 months old. Denise grew up in McLean Virginia and studied art music and dance for all of her life. She graduated from The University of Virginia in 2005 with a BA in English. Denise worked for fashion designer Mara Hoffman for five years as her Production Manager, HR Manager and Internship Coordinator, temped for a year at a non-profit and then a biochem firm before coming to the Academy to pursue her interest in higher education.  Denise speaks French and American Sign Language, loves animals, and spends her free time listening to music, hanging out with her husband and their dog Leeloo, dancing, and snowboarding. She is a Pisces and loves food- especially pickles and southern style home cooking.

Heidi Elbers is the new Exhibitions Registrar & Alumni Coordinator. Heidi grew up right outside New Orleans, and moved to NYC in 2008 to attend graduate school at the New York Academy of Art. During her time at the Academy, Heidi was an intern for the Marketing and Events department as the exhibitions registrar. After receiving her MFA in painting in 2010, Heidi continued to work part-time, which has now transitioned to full time with added alumni responsibilities. When not working on Academy Events and Exhibitions, Heidi maintains her studio practice. Too see some of her artwork, check out her website at www.heidielbers.com.

Katie Albert will be resigning from her full-time position as Director of Marketing and Events.  Ever loyal to the Academy, Katie has graciously offered to stay on through Take Home a Nude and may also continue as a member of our team on a consulting or part-time basis with specific projects.  For nearly five years Katie has made an enormous contribution to the school using her creativity and incredible energy to build and oversee the Academy events and exhibitions department, raise revenues for scholarships, expand our network of artists and patrons, develop systems, and meet all kinds of challenges with humor, resourcefulness and dedication.  We will always be grateful to her for her commitment to our mission. 

Charis J. Carmichael Braun will be leaving the Academy this September as Director of Alumni Relations. Charis worked hard creating opportunities to open the Academy's doors to alumni, and she was proud to have been a part of the Academy's encouraging outreach to the alumni community. Her dedication and enthusiasm for alumni has left an important legacy and solid foundation upon which we are called to build. Looking forward, she will continue to work as a member of the Alumni Association to seek opportunities to strengthen connections. Charis will now be pursuing a more active studio practice as well as teaching. She asks that you please keep in touch with the Academy and with each other.