Jackie Braca is a Certified Personal Trainer and group fitness instructor as well as a cheerleading coach and dance instructor. She also has boxing and kickboxing training and loves to motivate people and help them feel better about themselves. She is the mother of 2 boys, 14 and 19.

Lorella Brocklesby, a Londoner, is a cultural historian and holds a B.A. from Marymount Manhattan College. An adjunct professor of humanities at NYU, she received the Award for Teaching Excellence from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. She is also academic coordinator for NYU’s summer study program at Oxford and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She also teaches at Parsons the New School for Design and has lectured often for the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.

Patrick Downs [Filmmaking Intensive, Directing] is an award winning filmmaker and Columbia University graduate, whose most recent film Broken has received many awards. As the Directing instructor Patrick works with our students one-on-one to make sure they complete their projects in time for the final screenings.

Carol Durst-Wertheim earned her bachelor’s degree from Kirkland (Hamilton) College, her master’s degree from Columbia University, and her doctorate from The Union Institute and University. She has taught and served at several New York metro area colleges and universities as well as culinary and hospitality programs. She was the first director of the New York Restaurant School and also owned a catering business. The author of a cookbook, she has often been quoted by major newspapers and magazines where her recipes have also been published.

Jon Fauer, ASC, [Filmmaking Intensive, Cinematography Seminar] has won many awards for his work, including Best Cinematography at The NY Festival, Gold Camera Award for Best Cinematography at The Us International Film Festival, Cine Gold Eagles, Cindy Golds, Tellies, Boli's, Chris's, and Worldmedals. He is the author of three best-selling books on cinematography: Arriflex 16Sr3: The Book, The 16Sr Book and The Arriflex 35 Book.

Melissa Frazier (SLC 1995 - ) earned her A.B. at Harvard University and her Ph.D. at the University of California-Berkeley. Her special interests include Romanticism and Romantic aesthetics, and Russian Formalism. She is the author of numerous articles and books on Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Senkovskii, and comparative Romanticism. Frazier has received the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Presidential Exchange Scholarship, the Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, the Berkeley Fellowship, and the Hyman H. Kleinman Fellowship in the Humanities.

Marilyn Hacker, B.A., New York University, is the author of several books of poetry, including Winter Numbers, which won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize and a Lambda Literary Award; Selected Poems, 1965-1990, which received the Poets' Prize; Going Back to the River, for which she received a Lambda Literary Award; and Presentation Piece, which was the Lamont Poetry Selection of The Academy of American Poets and a National Book Award winner. Hacker has received numerous honors, including the Bernard F. Conners Prize from the Paris Review, the John Masefield Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Ingram Merrill Foundation.

Elaine Jacobsen holds a degree in dance education from NYU and is certified in Pilates technique. An adjunct professor at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and Marymount College, her training has helped shape her teaching style into a unique fitness class.

Pamela Kallimanis trains yoga teachers in Raja Yoga, the philosophy of Yoga. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Stony Brook University and an M.F.A. in Writing, Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. 

Dara Kane earned a degree in textile surface design cum laude from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She developed print designs for Nautica International and Yatas Home, and designed packaging and retail materials at Tommy Hilfiger Home.

Peter Katz [Filmmaking Intensive, Guest Speaker] has been producing theatrical films and television movies for the past 25 years. His credits as producer or executive producer include such feature films as “Don’t Look Now” (Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie), “The Wrath Of God” (Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth), “One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovitch” (Tom Courtenay), and for television, ten “Perry Mason” movies (Raymond Burr), “Kill Me If You Can” (Alan Alda, Talia Shire), “The Million Dollar Field” (Rob Reiner, Bonnie Bedelia) and “Sophia; My Life and Loves,” (Sophia Loren, Armand Assante). Mr. Katz began his film career with Director Robert Aldrich as a casting director and then dialogue director on “The Dirty Dozen.”

Alexandra Leaf is a culinary historian, lecturer, and president of Chocolate Tours of New York City, Inc. Her publications include the award-winning Van Gogh's Table at the Auberge Ravoux.

Rona Mark [Filmmaking Intensive, Screenwriting] is an award-winning filmmaker and graduate of Columbia University's Graduate Film program. Film awards include finalist at The Student Academy Awards, Filmmaker Magazine Audience Choice Award, Best Comedy at The Polo Ralph Lauren Film Festival, and Recipient of The Milos Forman Fund Award.

Margaret Matsumoto (SLC 2000 -) teaches Tai Chi, emphasizing health and relaxation. After 32 years, she still delights in working with new and advanced students alike.

Carolyn Miles (SLC 2000 - ) works in the aquatics department of the Sarah Lawrence College Department of Physical Education and Athletics.

Fran Pepe attended Boston University on a full scholarship for NCAA Division I swimming where she captained the team, held team and pool records, and earned All-East recognition. During college, Fran coached at summer clubs in Westchester & Fairfield Counties and is currently a World Ranked US Masters Swimmer and a NY State Masters Swimming Records holder.

David Peritz (SLC 2000 - ) holds a B.A. from Occidental College and a D.Phil. from Oxford University. A professor of political philosophy, he has taught at Harvard University and Dartmouth College and has been a visiting scholar at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and the London School of Economics.

Darrell Roberts [New York City Art Weekends] holds a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a B.A. in art history from the University of Northern Iowa. Roberts has participated in the Leon Levy Archaeological Expedition in Ashkelon, Israel, and he is a Vermont Studio Center full fellowship artist. His special interests include ancient and modern art history and abstract oil painting, and he is represented by Thomas McCormick Gallery.

David Schnitzer bio forthcoming.

Francine Segan is a noted food historian and author of several books including Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes and The Philosopher's Kitchen: Recipes of Ancient Greece and Rome. She lectures across the country for museums, historic homes and theater organizations.

Susan Shapiro Barash earned her bachelor’s degree at Sarah Lawrence College. A prolific author, she has written nine books, including her most recent, Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women. A well-recognized gender expert, Barash is a frequent media commentator on women’s issues.

Edward Smith [Filmmaking Intensive, Screenwriting] is a Screenwriter and Graduate of Columbia University’s Film Division. He currently works with The Film Program at Brooklyn Academy of Music In New York City.

Penny CM Stankiewicz is the owner of Realm of the Senses Custom Cakes. A pastry chef and graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, she specializes in unique couture cakes and confections.

Joan Stein [Filmmaking Intensive, Directing] won the 2000 Student Academy Award and The Director's Guild of America Award for her short film One Day Crossing. She has taught the documentary film course at Columbia University where she received her MFA in Film.

Fred Strype (SLC 2003 - ) [Filmmaking Intensive, Works in Progress] is a writer/producer and president of Raindance Pictures, which currently has several projects in development, including a dramatic one-hour television series for the FX Channel.

Rose Anne Thom (SLC 1975 -) earned her B.A. at McGill University. She is a writer and critic for Dance Magazine, Collier’s Encyclopedia, and Society of Dance History Scholars. She has taught at Princeton University, SUNY Purchase, Southern Methodist University, and the American Ballet Theater School.