PRESIDENT Tabitha Whitley, MFA 2011
Tabitha Whitley is a Brooklyn based artist with a focus in oil painting and relief printmaking. Tabitha received her BFA in Painting from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2009. She is the current President of the Alumni Association of the New York Academy of Art and a serving member of the Academy's Board of Trustees. Tabitha has had her work shown in galleries throughout the United States, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.
VICE PRESIDENT Carlos Bautista, MFA 2018
SECRETARY Lisa Lebofsky, MFA 2006
Lisa is a nomadic plein air painter. She paints the susceptibility of nature, correlating it with human vulnerabilities. Lisa travels to areas around the globe that are subject to the impacts of climate change, to learn from the landscape and its inhabitants. In addition to solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, she is the recipient of several awards and residencies. She is currently based in New York City as Director of DFN Projects while continuing to explore and paint.
TREASURER Zachary Lank, MFA 2018
Zachary is an artist living and working in NYC. He received his undergraduate degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Zachary has exhibited across the US, from NY to Chicago to Hawaii.
2021-2022 CABINET OFFICERS
Elections for AANYAA Cabinet Officers are held in June; the Cabinet votes in the Advisors at any time throughout the year. Are you interested in becoming an Advisor or an Officer? Let us know!
ADVISORY BOARD
Charis J Carmichael Braun, MFA 2008
Charis grew up in New Ulm, MN. In 2020, she received grant from the Huntington Arts Council for her Beekeeper Portrait Project. She was chosen as a Sing For Hope Piano Artist in 2016. As an arts administrator, Charis has managed two galleries in New York City, worked for the New York Academy of Art, The League Residency at Vyt (Art Students League of New York), and Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center. Charis currently lives on Long Island, NY.
Lauren Amalia Redding, MFA 2011
Lauren studied liberal arts at Northwestern University before she was introduced to her now primary medium of silverpoint at the Academy. She and her husband Brett Harvey (MFA 2011) lived in Queens, NY after graduate school. In 2018, Lauren and Brett moved to Naples, Florida, where they both produce artwork, lead programs, and teach privately. Lauren writes as an Arts & Culture Contributor for Gulfshore Life magazine and for the Blue Review.
Eric Price, MFA 2019
Eric is a Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation, Inc. board member and served on the Advisory Board of the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA. Prior to receiving his MFA, Eric held numerous executive management and marketing positions in trade book publishing.
Elena Rodz, MFA 2011
Elena Rodriguez was born in Texas in the 1980s, and lived most of her life in Dallas. She attended Washington University in St. Louis and received a BFA in Painting with a minor in Film and Media Studies. After graduating from the Academy, she moved to Corpus Christi, TX, where she currently lives since 2013. She is the Curator of Exhibitions at the Rockport Center for the Arts and the Director of the Rockport Film Festival. She also paints tiny landscapes.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ELENA: ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Robert Dale Williams, MFA 2004
Robert is an American classical realist painter and instructor. He has drawn from his extensive studio experience to instruct intensive courses and workshops on drawing, painting, and human anatomy. Inspired by current and past masters of oil painting, Robert paints worlds that are dramatic, serene, and spiritual. He has exhibited widely and in 2019 was selected as a Living Artist by the Art Renewal Center.
ALUMNI LIAISON @ NYAA
Michael Smith, MFA 2006
Michael is the Director of Operations at NYAA. He graduated cum laude from the Academy, and his work is in the collection of HRH The Prince of Wales.