Staff
Adam Welch
Executive Director effective 9/1/2020
Adam Welch
Effective September 1, 2020, Adam Welch is the Executive Director for the Arts Council of Princeton. Adam is an artist, critic, and educator. Adam’s art is about making and decoration. His writing examines the artists and activities of contemporary art. As an educator, Adam encourages students to inquire and create, examine worldviews and to awaken their understanding of self and the world and the relationship of the two.
Adam has participated in thirty-seven solo or group exhibitions in the United States over the past ten years, including at the Arts Council of Princeton, MoMA PS1 and White Columns in NYC, and AIR Gallery in Brooklyn, with solo exhibitions at the Hunterdon Art Museum, Kean University, Princeton Day School, and Northwestern College, and several curated, group, and invitational exhibitions throughout the United States. His art has been featured in four books including The Best of 500 Ceramics: Celebrating a Decade in Clay and 500 Ceramic Sculptures: Contemporary Practice, Singular Works, in the NCECA Biennial (Tampa Museum of Art) catalogue and has been reviewed in Ceramics Art and Perception, the Korean magazine Monthly Ceramic Art, and featured in Ceramics Monthly. Additionally, in the last ten years he has published forty-eight scholarly essays, reviews and catalogue essays.
Before joining the team of the Arts Council of Princeton, Adam had worked at Greenwich House Pottery since 2003. In 2007, he was appointed Assistant Director and in 2010 appointed Director. In 2010, Adam was appointed lecturer at Princeton University where he continues to teach. Adam holds a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth and a BFA with a minor in Art Education from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He lives in Hightstown, New Jersey with his wife, Rachel, a fashion designer, and their two daughters.
Jim Levine
Interim Executive Director
Jim Levine
Jim Levine completed a 28 year career in Corporate America in 2016, most recently serving as Vice President of Human Resources at Church & Dwight, an S&P 500 consumer products company. Jim has served on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Princeton for four years, most recently as President of the Board. Jim, and his wife Lisa, have had a long relationship with the Arts Council, including sponsoring chalk drawing at Communiversity for the past 21 years and having children who attended a variety of education programs. Jim and Lisa have been Princeton residents for the past 24 years, and have raised three children, Zeke, Freddie, and Elijah, in Princeton. Jim’s excited to take on the role of Interim Executive Director to continue ACP’s fine tradition of programming and building community through the arts.Erin Armington
Education Coordinator
Erin Armington
earmington@artscouncilofprinceton.org (609) 924-8777 x102
Over the past 20 years, Erin Armington has taken classes with long time instructors Libby Ramage and Bob Jenkins, volunteered for Communiversity, and worked as a counselor at the Summer Camp program. After graduating from Rutgers University, she worked for several years in customer service and administration, and spent a year as an AmeriCorps member at the College of New Jersey, collaborating with local arts organizations. As a lifetime lover of the arts and arts education, she is excited to be the Education Coordinator for such a long running community nonprofit.Caroline Cleaves
Director of Development
Caroline Cleaves
ccleaves@artscouncilofprinceton.org (609) 924-8777 x 109
Caroline considers her background as a trained cultural anthropologist (B.A. Smith College, M.A. University of Chicago) an asset as a fundraising professional. She has held development positions with the Petey Green Program, The Grounds for Sculpture, and Rider University. She has held positions at the Smithsonian, The National Trust (U.K.) and NPR. Caroline’s a Princeton native and is thrilled to be back in her hometown, working to advance the Arts Council’s mission. A favorite childhood memory is taking an arts council class with her father, when the painting studio was located in a barn on Ettl Farm. In her free time, Caroline is a stone carver and amateur blacksmith.Barbara DiLorenzo
Outreach Program Manager
Barbara DiLorenzo
wavepaint@gmail.com
Barbara DiLorenzo began her teaching career with The Creative Center in New York City, where she worked specifically with seniors and cancer survivors. In 2013, she completed their Creative Aging Training program–learning valuable information about how to work with physical and mental challenges present in some of her students. After moving to New Jersey, and teaching all ages and abilities at the Arts Council of Princeton, Barbara is enjoying her role as Outreach Program Manager. In this role, she is searching for populations of people who benefit from art instruction–but may not have the resources necessary to ensure a consistent, quality art experience. Her biggest joy is teaching ArtsExchange, the program with talented young artists from HomeFront in Trenton, NJ. Barbara is also a fine artist and illustrator, with two published picture books: RENATO AND THE LION (Viking Children’s Books, 2017) and QUINCY: The Chameleon Who Couldn’t Blend In (Little Bee Books, 2018). To see more of her work, please visit: barbaradilorenzo.com.Maria Evans
Artistic Director
Maria Evans
mevans@artscouncilofprinceton.org(609) 924-8777 x105 Maria Evans graduated from Humboldt State University with a BA in Art and Design. Maria apprenticed with sculptor Craig Nutt while living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and attending the University of Alabama. She moved to Princeton in 1993 after her husband (a book conservator) was hired at Princeton University. Maria began her work with the Arts Council of Princeton in 1998 teaching children's ceramics classes. Maria served as ACP's Gallery Manager for four years before becoming the Community Arts Manager and now serves as the Artistic Director for the organization.
Mark Germond
Director of Operations
Mark Germond
mgermond@artscouncilofprinceton.org
(609) 924-8777 x107
Melissa Kuscin
Marketing/ Program Manager
Melissa Kuscin
mkuscin@artscouncilofprinceton.org (609) 924-8777 x110
Melissa Kuscin is the Program/Marketing Manager for the Arts Council of Princeton. She holds a BA in Arts Administration from Rider University and is passionate about collaborative art-making and its ability to unite and strengthen communities. Melissa is responsible for designing inclusive and accessible arts and cultural programming for the greater Princeton area’s diverse populations, from our community's Martin Luther King Jr. event to artist talks & panels, as well as booking performing artists for Communiversity ArtsFest and the long-running Summer Courtyard Concert Series. Melissa manages ACP social media, website, and print and digital advertising.Mini Krishnan
Office Administrator
Mini Krishnan
mkrishnan@artscouncilofprinceton.org 609-924-8777 x 108 Before joining the Arts Council of Princeton as the Office Administrator, Mini Krishnan was the Executive Director of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra (GPYO). Mini Krishnan earned her Master’s in Psychology from University of Kerala, India and a Certificate in Interior Design from New York School of Interior Design. She worked as an assistant designer at an NYC design firm before beginning her tenure at GPYO. At the Arts Council, she is responsible for volunteer management and managing the rentals of Council space for community events. Mini’s other passions include Girl Scouts (for whom she has been a troop leader for the last nine years), photography, sewing, and crafting with natural and recycled materials.Stephanie Nazario
Financial Administrator
Stephanie Nazario
snazario@artscouncilofprinceton.org
(609) 924-8777 x111
Kathleen Preziosi
Ceramics Manager
Kathleen Preziosi
(609) 924-8777 x207
Kathleen Preziosi is head of the Ceramics Studio at the Arts Council of Princeton. She received her BA in Liberal Arts, specializing in the Studio Arts, Art History and Arts Management, from Sweet Briar College. Her work includes functional forms and explores the sculptural aspects of clay. She is in a constant state of exploration, stretching the parameters of this medium, currently throwing classic shapes and distorting them with applied assemblage.Betsy Riley
Receptionist
Betsy Riley
Curry Simmel
Administrative Assistant
Curry Simmel
csimmel@artscouncilofprinceton.org (609) 924-8777 Curry Simmel grew up in Princeton, attended Princeton High and graduated from Emerson College, Boston with a BA in Communications. She began her career as a page for NBC Studios in NYC and later moved to Vermont where she worked as an advertising copywriter at WCAX-TV in Burlington. After returning to the Princeton area, Curry managed retail accounts for Lenhart USA and Gillespie Advertising agencies and Lenox China and Crystal. Curry has been an active volunteer in many community organizations, joining the Arts Council of Princeton in 2010.Emma Stephens
Development Associate
Emma Stephens
estephens@artscouncilofprinceton.org
609-924-8777 x 102
Emma Stephens is a graduate of Rider University, where she received her BA in Arts Administration with a concentration on the visual arts. She has always had a love of and appreciation for the arts and theater, which put her on the path to joining the ACP team. Her experience in customer service and administration makes her an ideal fit for our Development department.