Liz Hopfan, MSEd/ Executive Director

Liz Hopfan began her career in service to children and families in the early 1990s as an elementary school teacher in South Central Los Angeles, where she also first encountered Free Arts. As volunteer in both the PACT and Free Arts Day programs there, Liz saw first hand the positive impact of art in the lives of children. In 1997, Liz returned to the East Coast, where she saw the need for arts programming for at-risk youth in New York City. In 1998, with a budget of $100,000 and a staff of one, Free Arts NYC began bringing its programs to children and families throughout the city.

Today, under Ms. Hopfan’s continued leadership, Free Arts NYC employs a staff of thirteen committed professionals and has an annual operating budget of over $1,400,000. Liz remains actively involved in all areas of the organization’s operations, from program development to fundraising to volunteering. She is also a member of the National Society for Fundraising Executives, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Art Table, a national nonprofit organization for professional women in the visual arts.

Jill Ziccardi, MFA/ Deputy Director of Programs and Operations
(jill@freeartsnyc.org)

Jill Ziccardi holds a BFA in Art (with honors) from Carnegie Mellon University and a MFA in Painting from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she was awarded a full-tuition merit scholarship. She has been a painter for 30 years and has been working in arts education and program development for 20 years and is passionate about the relationship of art to the social world.

Although she is a native New Yorker, Jill began her career in Chicago in academia as a Professor of Drawing and Painting at various higher education institutions (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Valparaiso University, ACM Chicago Arts Program, Columbia College, University of Illinois, among others.) After eight years of working with college students, Jill made an intentional decision to shift her work environment to a community-based setting with grade school kids and teens. Before leaving Chicago, she worked as a Teaching Artist for the Department of Cultural Affairs, Gallery 37 in the Parks and Urban Gateways and spent two years designing and implementing Park Voyagers, a collaborative and award-winning outreach program for kids and families through The Art Institute of Chicago.

Since moving back to NYC in 2001, Jill has worked as an Education Manager for the Police Athletic League, as a Teaching Artist for the Guggenheim Museum and as a Program Director for after-school and camp programs for Oasis. Before coming to Free Arts NYC, Jill was employed for three years with the 1199SEIU Employer Child Care Corporation, where she created summer day camp and teen programs.

In addition to her daily life as an artist and educator (www.redhooktomato.com), Jill believes in the power of art, ethics, hard work, critical thinking, community service, having fun, bike-riding, freedom and giving kids a future.

Kai Fierle-Hedrick/ Weekly Mentor Program Manager
(kai@freeartsnyc.org)

Kai holds an Honors BA in Art History & English Literature from McGill University (Canada), an MPhil in Architecture & the Moving Image from Cambridge University (UK) and a post-graduate certificate in Teaching to Inspire Learning from Royal Holloway, University of London (UK).

Since 2003, Kai has worked to promote collaborative creative practices and their capacity to support positive youth and community development. Before joining Free Arts NYC in August of 2007 she worked for 4 years in the UK. First as a Project Assistant supporting public art, regeneration and educational programs at the interdisciplinary consultancy General Public Agency; and later as a freelance Project Coordinator and Teaching Artist developing/facilitating community-based visual art, digital media and writing workshops for organizations including the East-Side Educational Trust, Creative Partnerships, and Royal Holloway University of London. Highlights include consulting on the pilot year of Creative Partnerships’ Associate Schools Programme – hosted by the British Museum – and co-coordinating the interdisciplinary conference Power & Space: Transforming the Contemporary City held at the University of Cambridge in December of 2007.

Kai is also a mixed-media writer and the Managing Editor of the online journal How2. She has published/exhibited extensively in the US, Canada and the UK, and documentation of her work is available on her website www.orium.org.

Amy Appleton/ Weekly Mentor Program Coordinator
(amy@freeartsnyc.org)

Amy received her BA from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA with a double major in Studio Art and Spanish. She received her MA in Community Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and considers herself a community artist, educator, and organizer. Her written and visual thesis at MICA was on the challenges and rewards of intergenerational art activities. She has served a year in AmeriCorps’ Community Art Corps branch and believes wholeheartedly that visual art can be used to create positive change in communities.

Although a trained painter, Amy has benefitted from a mentor in the art of mosaics and a liberal arts education that allowed her access to art practices such as printmaking, photography, drawing, clay, sculpture, and animation. With this mixed-media foundation, she has taught art summer camps, after-school art programs, and family workshops in NJ, NY, PA, MD, and Juarez, Mexico. Amy’s experience working with students in Juarez to create murals on the grounds of their school led to a love of collaborative art-making with underserved youth who lead tough lives, but express their spirit and optimism through their art.

Before joining Free Arts NYC, Amy worked in education and program coordination at arts non-profits such as Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA, Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD and CITYarts in NYC. Other public art projects she worked with youth to create can be located at Reformation Lutheran Church in NJ and the Playground at Stadium Place and Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Baltimore. To view Amy’s personal and community-based artwork, visit www.amappleton.com.

Sarah Sabourin/ Manager of Corporate Programming
(sarah@freeartsnyc.org)

Sarah Sabourin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts and Education from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. She also received a BFA in ceramics from Alfred School for Ceramic Art in Alfred, NY.

Sarah has managed and taught in community centers focusing on arts education in Plattsburgh, NY at the Plattsburgh Housing Authority Community Center and at the Brookline Adult Education Program in Brookline, MA. Sarah ran the Clay Studio at Bucks Rock Arts Camp where she also taught classes for children and teens. Currently, Sarah teaches Adult Beginning Wheel Throwing at La Mano Pottery in NYC.

Prior to joining Free Arts NYC, Sarah worked at The 92nd Street Y’s Art Center, which offers classes for children and adults in ceramics, jewelry and fine art mediums. She assisted in the overall administration of this large community center in programming and exhibitions.

Meghan Bulfin/ Free Arts Day Program Coordinator
(meghan@freeartsnyc.org)

Meghan graduated from the University of Vermont in May 2008 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Studio Art. As an undergraduate student, Meghan worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Psychology Department, as well as a Research Assistant for a study on children with ADHD. She was also involved in a service-learning course at UVM where she tutored “at-risk” youth at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington, VT. During the summer of 2008, Meghan volunteered with Burlington City Art’s Art from the Heart program at Fletcher Allen Hospital, where she administered arts and crafts for the children in the pediatric unit. Meghan is also very involved in art and has spent time studying Jewelry Making in Florence.

Meghan joined Free Arts NYC as a volunteer in the Weekly Mentor Program in 2009. Shortly after, she began as a Program Intern before becoming a staff member.

Carmen Hernandez/ PACT Program Manager
(carmen@freeartsnyc.org)

Carmen J. Hernandez received her B.F.A. in painting and sculpture with an art history minor at the College of New Rochelle in May 2005 and received a multi-subject teacher certification with bilingual and visual arts specialty in NYC shortly after graduating. Her experience of immigrating to NYC at the age of 5 as a non-English speaker shaped her passion for servicing the immigrant community through the visual arts. She taught art at Maritime Academy Elementary School and a pilot Bilingual Science through the Arts curriculum at the Roberto Clemente School in the South Bronx.

Inspired to motivate our youth at a larger scale, she took the position of Coordinator of Education Programs at The Bronx Museum of the Arts where she has gained experience as a leader in art education. Carmen is currently the author of the museum’s resource guide for teachers- an exhibition based publication and manages the museum’s instructors in conjunction with designing and leading workshops for educators.

Carmen joined Free Arts NYC in 2009 as a PACT program facilitator. In January 2010, Carmen was recruited as the PACT Program Manager and continues to work as a visual artist, museum administrator and educator. Carmen has been featured in New York’s Time Out magazine, The Bronx Herald and recently founded and launched the art performance group, Same. (,) Difference.

Lauren Heagerty/ PACT Program Coordinator
(lauren@freeartsnyc.org)

Lauren received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English Literature and a minor in History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley. She has since taken painting and graphic design courses from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Parsons, and the School of Visual Arts.

During college and after graduation, Lauren volunteered for several art education programs in local elementary schools, where she assisted in an after-school art room and helped teach an in-classroom Art Literacy curriculum. Upon moving to New York City, she started work as a Grants Coordinator at EdisonLearning, an education management organization, overseeing a large federal grant program on behalf of over sixty under-served public schools across the country. Seeking to return to art education service, she found Free Arts NYC and began volunteering in the Weekly Mentor Program in early 2008. In September 2010 she joined the staff as Program Associate and Materials Coordinator for the PACT and Weekly Mentor Programs. She continues to volunteer as a Weekly Mentor, remaining dedicated to sharing the joy of art-making with young people.

Vicki Raines/ Intern and Volunteer Manager
(vicki@freeartsnyc.org)

Vicki Raines’s passion for community service and civic engagement began as a student at Wellesley College. Inspired by her alma mater’s motto, “Not to be served, but to serve,” she undertook a Public Policy Internship with the Feminist Majority Foundation in Los Angeles during the summer of her junior year. Gearing up for a massive march in Washington, she helped the organization to provide information and training to area students and interns interested in amplifying their voices in Washington, D.C. Witnessing the commitment and selflessness of committed citizens to bettering the lives of others, their communities, and country spurred her to seek a career in service. Upon graduation she helped to launch a campaign fundraising office in Philadelphia, PA for the 2004 Presidential Election, an opportunity that introduced her to the world of field organizing and volunteer management.

Between 2004 and 2008, Vicki worked in the fields of volunteer management and outreach for progressive political campaigns and candidates, overseeing volunteer recruitment, training, and leadership development. Whether organizing a network of local chapters for MoveOn.org or training hundreds of activists to speak to their neighbors and communities about voting, a continuing joy in her work has been working in partnership with volunteers to provide services and solutions to our common challenges.

Bernadette DeAngelis/ Marketing Manager
(bernadette@freeartsnyc.org)

Bernadette DeAngelis received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business from NYU’s Stern School of Business in May 2006. She also studied Art History, spending time living abroad in Florence. Additionally, Bernadette has pursued several different styles of dance throughout her life.

Originally, Bernadette joined Free Arts as a Special Events and Development intern during her last year of school, before eventually assuming a full-time position. She taught dance and movement classes for several years and was very active in student-run community service organizations. She has been a volunteer with the Weekly Mentor Program for 6 years.

Allison Burns/ Special Events Associate
(allison@freeartsnyc.org)

Allison graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. As a student at the Colleges, Allison worked as a Teaching Assistant in an Economic Development seminar for first year students, where she ran review sessions, as well as taught classes. In addition, she also volunteered at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Geneva, tutoring Middle and High School students in the fields of Mathematics and English.

Utilizing her skills and knowledge obtained as an undergraduate, Allison worked as an Associate for the Director of a private foundation in New York City. Prior to joining Free Arts, she worked within the Investor Relations Department of a hedge fund in mid-town Manhattan.