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Vol. XX No. 8 May 2005 |
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23 Staff Members Welcomed to Juilliard Danielle Ben-Jehuda, director of annual giving, has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School. After working as a staff attorney at NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund, she spent 10 years fund-raising for legal defense funds and social change organizations (and almost five of those years studying voice, as well). Between college and law school Danielle studied textile design at F.I.T. and worked as a weaver. Raised in Israel, France, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., she has been in New York since 1979, and is very pleased to be working for one of New York's greatest institutions. She intends to take an evening class every semester, join the Choral Union (if Judy Clurman will have her), and attend as many performances as possible.Medical receptionist Todd Collar is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.A. degree in theater. He also attended Slippery Rock University, where he majored in secondary education. Todd was the cofounder of the former Olde Bank Theater in Pittsburgh. During his tenure with the O.B.T., Todd directed more than a dozen plays and served as the assistant artistic director. An avid antique collector, Todd has owned and operated his own antiques business for 17 years.Diane Deluca, I.T.'s Colleague system administrator, relocated to New York from Victoria, B.C., Canada. She holds two undergraduate degrees, one in computer science and the other in English literature. Diane has been working with various enterprise application software packages for more than 17 years, and with the Datatel Colleague system for the past six years. Outside of work she enjoys reading, traveling, and outdoor physical activities.House manager Caroline Domack grew up in Hamlet, N.C. and graduated from Peace College in 2001 with a communications major and theater minor. After graduation, she moved to New York City to be an intern in stage management at Juilliard. Before returning as a staff member, she freelanced as a stage manager (including at N.Y.U. and Juilliard) and as an assistant stage manager with the New Jersey Opera Festival. She recently married Tim Domack, who works in the props department.Bill Eddy joins I.T. as an administrative assistant on the Help Desk. After graduating from the Boston Conservatory, Bill spent 11 years in a vocal group before growing weary of living out of a suitcase. For the past three years he and his wife Sandra, an opera singer, have lived in Brooklyn. Bill is thankful for the warm welcome from the I.T. staff and is looking forward to learning from them.Bookstore sales assistant Yin-Ling Lin is a native of Chang-Hua, Taiwan, where she began her Chinese folk-dance training and won a series of competitions. She earned a diploma in dance with honor from Juilliard in 2004, and was invited to join the Buglisi/Forman Dance Company and Aszure & Artists. Yin-Ling's choreography has been seen in Alice Tully Hall, the Clark Theater, and the Juilliard Theater.Jazz studies manager Karen Lowery last worked at a pharmaceutical company, and has also been an English teacher in an arts and humanities school in Maryland. She is thoroughly enjoying learning more about jazz and being back in a creative atmosphere.Christopher Madsen, performance coordinator in jazz studies, was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. He attended DePaul University and graduated in 2003 with a B.M. in jazz studies. He moved to New York that year to attend Juilliard's Institute for Jazz Studies and currently resides in Queens with his wife, Melanie.Allyson McGrath, administrative assistant in human resources, attended Walnut Hill School during her high school years and likes seeing the familiar faces of "walnuts" here at Juilliard. After high school, she spent a year training and performing at the Atlanta Ballet before deciding to head back north to attend Columbia University (where she continued to dance and was in numerous performances). Since completing her B.A. in psychology a year ago, Allyson has been enjoying having guilt-free time to explore her interests (which include anything French, traveling, beaches, good books, and warm weather).Jocelyn Melechinsky holds the new position of wardrobe assistant in the costume shop, where she was an intern in the 2002-03 school year. Also a freelance costume and wedding-dress designer, she worked on costumes for a dance piece in this year's Senior Production. Jocelyn attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Savannah College of Art and Design.Dorien Moon, the recording department's office manager, is a business administration major at Borough of Manhattan Community College. After graduation, she plans to get her bachelor's degree from Baruch College. She spends her free time studying (or reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar over and over to her two young children). Financial aid counselor Abdul Muhammad last worked as an assistant director of financial aid at the New York Institute of Technology in Central Islip. He is a graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. He and his wife enjoy attending the productions at Juilliard.Publicity administrator Jody Mullen graduated last May from Barnard College, where she majored in music and minored in dance. During her college years, Jody studied voice with soprano and Juilliard alumna Elizabeth Weigle and completed a summer intensive at CAP21, the musical theater conservatory at N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts. She has appeared as a singer and featured dancer in three Off-Off-Broadway productions with the Village Light Opera Group.Noah Opitz joins the library staff as administrative assistant and acquisitions assistant. He received his B.A. from Skidmore College in music and theater. Currently Noah sings with the Young New Yorkers' Chorus and City Blend and has a part-time dream job with major league baseball. He looks forward to being a part of the Juilliard family.Wendy Palczynski, assistant director of international advisement, attended Chester College (in England) and the State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh. She received her B.A. in 2001 studying criminal justice and political science. Wendy also interned and worked as a legislative aide at the New York State Assembly in Albany. Upon graduation, she traveled as often as possible and also worked as the international admissions counselor and international advisor at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica.Ashley Pollard, the Vocal Arts Department's production stage manager, was an intern at Juilliard during the 2002-03 school year. She has worked for several opera companies across the country, including Glimmerglass Opera, New Orleans Opera Association, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Illinois, Civic Opera of Kansas City, and Aspen Opera Theater Center. Ashley holds a B.F.A. in theater from the University of Utah and an M.F.A. in stage management from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.Joining the Business Office as accounting manager is Amy Roman, who comes to Juilliard from Girls Incorporated on Wall Street. She and her husband and two twin daughters have just bought a house in the Gerritson Beach area of Brooklyn. During her free time, she enjoys walking on the beach with her dog, reading, and playing the piano.Tod Severance, the Development Office's manager of membership programs, grew up in Minnesota and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a degree in art history. Since moving to New York seven years ago, he has worked for Teach for America, a failed Internet retailer, and (most recently) at the National Academy School of Fine Arts as an administrator for scholarship and finance. His interest in development and fund-raising grew out of auction and alumni activities while at the Academy.Born in the Dominican Republic in Santiago, mail clerk Rafael Tapia came to New York City in 1976 with his parents and siblings. He attended George Washington High School and earned an A.A. degree from Hostos Community College in 1984. Rafael worked as a quality control technician at Northfield Food Inc. from 1988-93, and joined the Juilliard staff at the beginning of the school year.Development associate/contributions coordinator Jessica Tartell is a graduate of Regis College in Weston, Mass., where she earned a B.A. in history and Spanish in 2004. She spent six months in 2003 studying economic development and the public health care system in Chile. After graduation, Jessica moved to New York and started selling jewelry that she designed and crafted. She is currently learning all she can about fund-raising, and hopes one day to direct a nonprofit development organization. Jessica's favorite pastime is traveling in all forms, and she enjoys sharing her travel stories with others.Jazz assistant and orchestra librarian Ivan Taylor, a Chicago native, comes from a family of musicians and started playing the bass at age 9. In high school he performed with the Illinois All-State Jazz Band and the Grammy Band, as well as with Orbert Davis, Von Freeman, and many others. As a participant in the Essentially Ellington contest, he met Wynton Marsalis, which led him to New York City. He has studied at Juilliard with Ben Wolfe and performed with the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra. Currently, he is a student of Lonnie Plaxico, performs with drummer Rashied Ali and pianist Mulgrew Miller, and is pursuing a career as a music producer.Centennial tour manager Joanna K. Trebelhorn joined the Juilliard staff after having been a tour consultant for the School for the past two years. She owns and operates her own tour consulting business. Joanna has managed tours for various orchestras in Asia, Europe, South America, and the U.S. for the past five years. She has also been employed by the New York Philharmonic and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Joanna holds a degree in music history from Dickinson College and is a string bass player. She enjoys bicycling and knitting.Jaimie Van Dyke is pleased to join the Juilliard Bookstore as a sales assistant. She is currently working toward a B.A. in English and theater at Hunter College, where she has been spending her free time stage-managing a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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