Our Faculty & Staff

Lauren Brandt Schloss joined Usdan in 2015. With her appointment, she became Usdan’s third leader in a half century and the first woman to hold the position. Bringing 20+ years experience in arts education, at the Queens Museum, MoMA, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Lauren is committed to ensuring that Usdan is at the forefront of educational and artistic practices. 

Kerry Barnhart is a proud alum of Usdan. Here is where she discovered her passion for music and theater as a child, going on to study vocal performance at The George Washington University. After several summers spent in the Usdan administrative office during college, she became part of the year round staff in 2005 as Registrar. Following her work as Registrar, Kerry oversaw student admissions as Director of Admissions, and has now added student affairs and operations as Senior Director of Student Affairs. She is happy to share the magic of Usdan with her son who attends as a student.  

Olivia joined Usdan’s full time staff in 2017. Formerly Usdan's Admissions Counselor and then Enrollment Coordinator, she now brings her knowledge of Usdan's program and enrollment process to her role of Manager of Marketing & Communications. Raised by a professional muralist and actor, Olivia was exposed to the life-changing power of art making and creativity at a young age. While her expertise lies in administration, Olivia’s personal art making practice includes mixed media collage and cooking. Olivia holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from The New School and has worked for arts and culture organizations in the New York City region since 2011.

Motaz Elzalata joined Usdan in 2017 and has more than 10 years of experience in Accounting and Finance. He began his career as an Internal Revenue Service Agent in in Alexandria, Egypt. After immigrating to the United States in 2013, he became a tax preparer with the Food Bank of New York and then worked as a Staff Accountant at a payroll consulting company in Midtown Manhattan. Motaz earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance from Alexandria University, Egypt where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Motaz holds a CPA license. He resides in Brooklyn with his loving wife, where they are devoted parents to their 3-year-old daughter Nadia and newborn son Zain. 

Stella Shepherd is originally from London, United Kingdom. She moved to New York to study Musical Theater and graduated from The New School with a BFA in Musical Theater and Liberal Arts. Prior to working at Usdan, Stella worked at a few non-profit Off-Broadway Theater Companies in their Fundraising departments. At Usdan she is the Donor Relations Coordinator and loves visiting the studios in the summer whenever possible. 

Joe Levy joined Usdan’s team in 2021 bringing with him 30 years experience managing, building, and renovating cultural arts organizations, overseeing multi-million dollar operating budgets, extensive physical plant operations, multi-phased construction projects, and safety and security.

Joe’s professional experience includes leading operations and facilities at The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater, Kaufman Center, Jack Morton Worldwide, The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Levy was also owner and operator of Radiant Construction; a contracting, construction management, and capital project consultancy committed to green-building practices.

Levy is the current chair of the Venue Safety and Security Committee for IAVM, which serves over 7,000 members worldwide. He received the Chair’s Citation at the 2017 annual IAVM conference and his Certified Venue Executive designation in 2018.

Stephen joined the year-round Usdan staff in April of 2021. He has 30 years experience in construction and maintenance; from the Rebirth of lower Harlem, as a project manager, to a classically trained "chippie" (carpenter) in London England. Stephen is the father of two young men, the eldest of which is a Usdan alum.

Kyra Leeds is an actor and arts administrator from Queens, NY. Kyra was a student at Usdan for ten glorious summers, a Discovery Counselor for three summers, and has worked in Usdan’s administrative offices for the past five years. Kyra has also done some development and fundraising work for DCM, Inc. and, most recently, for the Off-Broadway MCC Theater in NYC. As an actor Kyra has been a part of Royal Caribbean’s CATS (Jennyanydots), Argyle Theatre’s FULL MONTY (Vicki), Hangar Theatre’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Christmas Past), and the REV Theatre Company’s PARADE (Ensemble/Dance Captain).  Kyra holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College. 

This will be Krista's fifth year with Usdan, first serving as an assistant in the Art department in 2012, then returning as a lead teacher in 2016. Krista's current work involves large scale, mixed media paintings of abstracted, figurative imagery. In addition to spending summers at USDAN and creating work in her studio, Krista is currently a high school art teacher. Krista holds a MA in Art and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and BA Degrees in Art History and Studio Art from Stony Brook University. She looks forward to the upcoming fall when she will continue her studies within the Doctoral program, Art and Art Education, back at Teachers College. Besides everything art, Krista enjoys relaxing with her two small dogs, Patrick and Lily.

Amalia Drewes is a Mixed Media Artist, a lover of nature, and a spiritual explorer. Amalia graduated from Parsons School of Design, The New School in 2015 with a BFA in Illustration. Over the last few years Amalia has continued to add new creations to her portfolio, operating as a freelancer and graphic designer and one of her biggest joys was becoming a teacher of Reggio and nature-based learning at Spark Elementary. Amalia started online teaching Mixed Media Exploration at Usdan in 2020 and also had the pleasure of attending camp as a young girl, starting when she was in 3rd grade. Her summers at Usdan were some of the best memories of her life. She is very excited to be on the campgrounds this year and can't wait to see what magic awaits us!

Anna started at Usdan as a Photography teaching assistant and 2021 will mark her first season as a lead teacher in the Art Department. She considers herself an "art nerd" and loves creating things using many different mediums including painting, printmaking, bookmaking, and more. Anna is currently an art teacher at Bay Shore Middle School and has four cats at home. She cannot wait to meet her students this summer. 

Annie has an MFA from Hunter College, and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She has participated in solo and group shows at spaces including Elijah Wheat Showroom, NADA FAIR, Orgy Park, Underdonk, GP Presents, AIR Gallery, and Temporary Agency (New York), Zolla/Lieberman (Chicago), Boehm Gallery (San Diego), Current Space, Metro Gallery (Baltimore), The Institute Library (New Haven), Miami University (Oxford), Texas Christian University (Fort Worth), Moncton University (Canada), and Salamanca Arts Centre (Australia). Her oil paintings investigate strange happenings in a supernatural Arctic land of past, present and future, so she has done research in Alaska and Svalbard, Norway. She started teaching at Usdan in 2018, and helped create Usdan’s online programming during the pandemic. She is excited to get back to the woods of Usdan!

Sonya Korder has been a member of the Usdan community since 2004, where she spent three summers as a student before returning as an assistant teacher in 2010. In 2014, she founded Usdan’s Sewing & Fashion Design program, and has been teaching ever since. Sonya enjoys taking a sustainable and interdisciplinary approach to design. When she is not in the classroom, Sonya works as a freelance designer with a focus on footwear and product design, and runs an Etsy shop creating custom accessories. Sonya graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Born and raised in New York, Sonya is a lifelong vegetarian, and loves spending time with her rescue dog, Bella.

Dana Neger-Lagos has been a working artist since 1989. Upon graduating from Parsons in 1989 from the School of Design in New York City, she started her own Design Company. For 30 years she has been an Educator, Metalsmith, Jeweler, and Manufacturer. She has designed and manufactured for Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Wathne Limited and many more throughout her career. Throughout the past 10 years, she has found a home teaching at the Art League of Long Island beginning in 2011 and Usdan Camp for the Arts since 2013. Metal and Silversmithing, 3-D sculpture and Mix Media Arts are the classes offered at the Art League. She has now broadened her spectrum to include large steel sculptures, plasma cutting and Mig and tig welding. My favorite things are cats, chocolate and using torches to create art.

Hawley Hussey is an artist who is working between the visual, the written word, and the performing arts. Throughout her career she has engaged in diverse mediums including painting, printmaking, small press publications, artists books, sculpture and installation. Hawley got her BFA from The University of Massachusetts in Amherst and her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Art where she has presented as Workshop Faculty for the Masters Program in Art and Design Education. Hawley served as Education Coordinator and Director of Contemporary Art Education at BRIC Arts Media and as an Art Education Mentor for the New York State Council on the Arts. Hawley is proudly a co-founder of the arts integrated high school, Bronx Envision Academy and she is also a founding member of the Park Avenue Armory Artists Corps where she remains active as a Teaching Artist. Hawley is a contemporary art education activist engaging recent immigrants and special needs students in immersive art laboratories that she builds and calls the HH:ArtLab. 

Hawley has been working as Usdan's Curriculum Specialist since the beginning 2020 and played an integral role in the development of Usdan Online. 

Jordan has been a member of Usdan’s seasonal staff since 2014 – and this year is the Lead Instructor for Comic Art & Design. From an early age, his love of performing and digital arts fueled his creative passions. With an initial focus on music, Jordan’s talent as a trumpet player qualified for three consecutive scholarships, while he also worked as a Counselor-in-training. After starting college, Jordan’s digital creativity ignited and his personal art making practice redirected toward art, interactive programming and design. He has used his newfound talents and skills to serve twice as Usdan’s Assistant Instructor – for Drawing & Painting, for Video Game Design, then elevated to Lead Instructor for Video Game Design. In May, Jordan earned a B.S. in Digital Media and Animation from the State University of New York at Alfred State College. He is a nature lover, avid traveler, and enjoys playing the piano and ukulele.

Kelly Schulte-Smith has been with USDAN since 2017 as a lead teacher in the Art Department. She is fluent in metal work, stained glass art, warm glass, mosaic art and cement sculpture. She believes the best moment in teaching is when you have lit the fire of imagination and you can see how the student utilizes the materials to create their own work of art. She has taught at the LI School for the Gifted doing STEM push-in programs and taught art classes at local libraries.  She also is an instructor at Plainview Old Bethpage and Syosset High School teaching Adult ED Programs in Stained Glass, Mosaic Art, and Wire Weaving Techniques. She has participated in Fine Art Craft Fairs on Long Island such as Gallery North OAS, East End Holiday Shop, Sag Harbor, Art in the Park and more.  She is a member of the LI Craft Guild and SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artist. She is a graduate of Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) NY.

Brian is ranked within the top 3% of tournament chess players by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and Federation Internationale Des Échecs (FIDE). Brian has been awarded the Candidate Master Title. Brian has directed the Usdan Chess program since 1997. Brian founded and conducts chess programs across Long Island as a full time chess teacher, tournament director and organizer. Brian founded and administrates chess groups on social media encompassing over 100,000 members and was hired by IBM to give web commentary during the famous Deeper Blue – Kasparov match.  

Brian was elected by chess instructors from across the United States to the USCF Scholastic Council. This is a five-person body that manages National Scholastic events and regulations involving thousands of children across the United States. 

Brian Received a Masters in Social Work from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University.

Javan joined Usdan’s full time staff in 2017. Year round hip hop and poetry are his modes of survival and inspiration. A Bronx born creative that hails from the same high school as James Baldwin, he spreads love one word at a time. He truly believes that the lived experience is the ultimate teaching tool and uses poetry as a social forum to foster discourse about love, culture, and identity. He also suffers from severe milk chocolate withdrawals and has been diagnosed with a case of the New York Knicks.

I am a dancer, choreographer and educator currently living on the land of the Munsee Lenape and Canarsie peoples, known today as Brooklyn. I graduated with honors from Vassar College in 2009, where I studied Geography-Anthropology and was a member of the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre for four years. I dance, I sing, I make things, I teach. My choreographic work is a collaging of movement, sound and light- sourcing intuition, imagination and our very real world. My dances call for transformation and an undoing of ourselves, inviting us to feel, ask questions, and radically consider what else both imaginatively and constructively. I teach adults and young dancers in the New York area. I have recently been on faculty at Freeskewl, Dancewave, Gibney and Greenwich Country Day Middle and High School. Originally from Riverside, Connecticut, a white Latina with a mother from Caracas and a father born and raised in Ancón (formerly in the US-occupied Panama Canal Zone), I was partly raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, where my parents (both Mesoamerican Archaeologists) do their excavations. I began at Usdan in 2019.

This will be Skye’s first year teaching at Usdan. Skye Montante began studying ballet at Petaluma School of Ballet at the age of 8. In later years as she was introduced to other forms of dance; she found her true calling with Hip-Hop and Contemporary styles. She continued her dance through college and graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Dance. While in school in San Francisco, she taught youth and adult classes at ODC School of Dance, City Dance Studios and after school programs and summer camps. Since moving to New York she has taught both youth and adult classes in multiple studios including Brooklyn Arts Exchange, SassClass and Peridance. She continues to work as a freelance choreographer and looks forward to growing with the dance community in New York City.

Jessica Blair is a performer and dance teacher based in New York City. This will be her 4th summer at Usdan teaching Broadway Jazz. Originally from Chicago, she received her B.F.A. in musical theatre from the University of Michigan. She has performed in musicals across the country and was last seen in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Pioneer Theatre Company in SLC, Utah. Jessica has served as choreographer for Young People’s Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI and Plymouth State University’s Educational Theatre Collaborative. She currently teaches at Shuffles NYC in Manhattan.

Aaron Korn has been teaching at Usdan since 2009. Aaron is an active New York freelancer, playing on Broadway shows and as a member of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra. Aaron has previously held positions with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, in Israel, as well as the Allentown and Princeton Symphony Orchestras. Aaron has performed with artists of all different genres including Carrie Underwood, Kanye West, MGMT, Frank Sinatra Junior, and many others. He can be heard on many movie soundtracks including the recent releases of “The Joker” and “Gemini Man”. Mr. Korn is on faculty at The Juilliard School Music Advancement Program. Aaron received his BM from the Manhattan School of Music and his MM from the Yale  School of Music. Aaron was a student at Usdan many years ago!

Michelle LaPorte happily joined Usdan as the Flute Lead Teacher in 2019 – her love of nature, animals, and the arts, makes Usdan her perfect artistic  home! She enjoys a global career as a performer, educator, and chamber music  advocate. Michelle is a Miyazawa Flutes Performing Artist, Centaur Records  Artist, and flutist of the international award-winning flute and guitar ensemble,  Serenade Duo. She is passionate about sharing the beauty and diversity of flute  and guitar music by composers from around the world.  

In addition to maintaining an active private teaching studio, she is also an  Assistant Adjunct Music Professor at Suffolk County Community College.  Michelle earned a Master of Arts Degree in Music from Long Island University  and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Performance from the State  University of New York at Stony Brook. 

www.serenadeduo.com

Sam joined the USDAN faculty as Jazz Conductor in 2018.  Previously Sam was a camper at USDAN in the late nineties while he was in high school.  Sam’s soloist and sideman work includes over 20 studio recordings, performances on a global level and international critical acclaim garnering him recognition as one of the defining voices on the tenor saxophone today.  In 2016, Sam received his Artist Diploma from the prestigious Juilliard School as the saxophonist in the A.D. Jazz Program.  Now Sam enjoys bringing his experiences back to students at USDAN while creating a fun environment to learn and explore Jazz.

Mark Bligh is the director of the Denton Ave Elementary Band (Herricks UFSD, New Hyde Park, NY) where he teaches winds, brass and percussion for grades 3-5.  The Denton Ave Band regularly attends NYSSMA Majors and consistently earns Gold and Gold with Distinction honors.  

Mark Bligh is a graduate of the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University where he received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with Honors. He received a Master of Arts from Stony Brook University.  Mr. Bligh was published in Scholastic for his contributions in an article entitled, “10 Best Musical Apps for Kids”. Mark has been honored to conduct the Winds, Brass and Percussion sectional for the NYSSMA All-State Symphonic Orchestra.  Mark was privileged to conduct the 2018 SCMEA Division 1 Central All-County Band and the 2019 WCSMA All-County Elementary Band.  Mr. Bligh has performed with the Long Island Wind Ensemble, Atlantic Wind Symphony, Northwinds Symphonic Band as well as various chamber ensembles.  Mark is the current Music Department Chair at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts where he has worked since 2005.

Chelsea is very excited to make 2021 her first year in the garden with Usdan! She loves all things at the intersection of plants and people, especially farming, public park horticulture, and botanic natural history. Previously, Chelsea worked in horticulture at the High Line and Riverside Park Conservancy, and with scientific plant collections at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum and Harvard University Herbaria. Chelsea’s favorite form of art practice is drawing plant doodles, which utilizes active close looking to counteract “plant green blindness.” When not gardening, she is pursuing a master’s degree in geography investigating how urban forests reflect their neighborhoods, creating site-specific “novel ecosystems.” Fun facts about Chelsea: her work with botany collections includes a 100-year-old tortilla, mushrooms that turn caterpillars into zombies, and Henry David Thoreau’s plants from Walden Pond!

Gráinne A.K.A “G” joined Usdan as a staff member in 2014, first as Swim Coordinator and has now been Usdan's Aquatics Director since 2016.  Raised in Ireland, and an avid lover of fitness and the outdoors, she brings her passion to the pool. G shares her enthusiasm for life and learning as a former youth leader and now full time in the Long Island school district. She is also an accomplished athlete, wellness educator and certified life coach. G holds a Physics and Theology degree along with multiple certifications with the American Red Cross.

Carl taught at Usdan from 2003 to 2004, and returned to the Theater Department in 2019. A songwriter and composer, he has written two musicals, several songs and choral works. He has been Music Director for theatrical productions and cabarets across Long Island and NYC; including CAP, Broadhollow, Kids 4 Kids and South Shore Theatre Experience.

Carl has been a music educator for close to 30 years. He is an alumnus of the Crane School of Music and SUNY Stony Brook, with degrees in Music Education. He is a member of NYSSMA, SCMEA, and NAfME. Currently, he is teaching in the Amityville School District

Carl has been conductor of the Silver Chords, a community chorus in Smithtown since 2014. This year, they will celebrate their 40th anniversary season. He is also the Music Director for Setauket United Methodist Church, served as Associate Music Director for L.I. Voices, and has sung with the Brookhaven Choral Festival.

Carl loves to grill outdoors during the summer, and is looking forward to relaxing outside in nature.

Spencer Glass began his Usdan journey as a camper in 2002 where he was Harold Hill in THE MUSIC MAN. 2021 will be his first summer coming to camp as a teacher! Spencer is thrilled to be directing a musical in the theatre department this summer at his favorite place in the entire world.  When he's not at Usdan, Spencer is a full time Middle School Theatre Teacher, as well as a news correspondent for BroadwayWorld.com where he has his own series, TEN MINUTE TIDBITS, where he interviews Broadway stars. Spencer also has his own coaching business for actors.  He has a BFA in Musical Theatre from THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Theatre Education at Adelphi University. Fun fact- Spencer puts hot sauce on basically everything

Dan has been at Usdan since the summer of 2003. During this time he dedicated his time to the Theater department building sets and props, running lighting and sound, working stage crew, and teaching students. Dan has been working as an Actor, Director, and Performer for the past 35 years. His philosophy in performing is based on a combination of Stanislavski and Meisner methods of approaching characters and performance. Dan holds A.A. in Acting from NCC and a B.F.A in Acting, Directing, and Technical theater from Binghamton University. During the school year Dan works as a teacher in the Sachem Central School District. His 3 biggest comic influences are Buster Keaton, Gene Wilder, and Andy Kaufman.

Liz started at USDAN in the summer of 2014. A professional children’s theater actor at Long Island Children’s Museum during the year, she also performs in community theaters and live radio all over Long Island. With a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Five Towns College she teaches voice and piano to local students as well as voice coaching signed artists at Columbia Records. Liz was never shy about telling people her parents imported her from Chile. This past Christmas, she was contacted by biological siblings telling her that she is, in fact, one of ten. Oddly enough they all work in the arts!  

James joined Usdan’s theater staff in 2017, but in total this will be his 16th collective summer. As an actor James has appeared off-Broadway in Unknown Soldier at Playwrights Horizons & Jasper in Deadland with the Prospect Theater Company. He played Prentiss on the National Tour of Peter and the Starcatcher, and has appeared regionally in Botticelli in the Fire (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Last Ship (Pioneer Theatre Company), and Sweeney Todd (The Rev Theater Company). He is the host and creator of the podcast, Actors: On Process, and is on the faculty of LIU Post’s Musical Theater program. He received his BFA in Theater Arts – Performance from Hofstra University. Fun Fact: his favorite musicals are The Band’s Visit and Fiddler on the Roof!

Jeffrey Hoffman has been a member of the theater faculty at USDAN since the summer of 2011. A composer and conductor based in New York City, he works year-round as the organist and director of music at Christ Church, the Episcopal parish of Pelham, New York, where he leads a children’s choir, an adult volunteer parish choir and the parish’s professional choral artists; he also administers Concerts at Christ Church, a mostly classical concert series, as artistic director. Positions he previously held include founding artistic director of the acclaimed Music at Saint Alban’s concert series on Staten Island and organist for the Rossmoor Jewish Congregation in New Jersey. He is an alumnus of Manhattan School of Music and the BMI Lehman Engel theater workshop. In addition to his full time career as a liturgical musician and choral conductor, he has served as musical director for several musical theater productions in New York City and with Barrington Stage Company’s youth theater program, and for several high schools around suburban New York and New Jersey.