Kim Breden is the founder and executive muse of Be Mused Productions, specializing in educational entertainment. Be Mused Children’s Theatre Company has offered musical theater workshops for children, preschool through teen in Westchester and Dutchess Counties. In addition to directing and producing these workshops, Kim provides music programs celebrating Broadway’s greatest hits, for museums, libraries, and nearly 50 Senior Residences in the tri-state area. Kim is a volunteer teaching artist and facilitator with Rehabilitation through the Arts (RTA). For the past 16 years, she has directed full musical productions and workshops in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State.
Greg Canada is the assistant dean of admissions at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Greg is a lecturer on the philosophy of law for Indian University’s Hutton Honors program. Mr. Canada earned a BA in history and philosophy from Virginia Wesleyan College, summa cum laude, an MA in philosophy from Boston College, and a graduate certificate in higher education administration from Harvard University.
Kathleen Fiorito is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and the Society of American Fight Directors. She has appeared in regional theater, concerts, and various TV shows and films. When she isn't acting, singing, dancing, directing, writing, producing, or pretending to be violent; she loves to teach! Kathleen has taught a wide range of topics to people of all ages. Some of her favorite classes have included: acting, arts and crafts, and home organizing. And she firmly believes, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when they grow up." -Pablo Picasso
Joe George has worked in education, theater, music, television, voice-over, and film for over 25 years. Joe is a founding member of the theater/dance troupe Witness Relocation, which toured in the U.S. and internationally. He has performed in just about everything from Shakespeare, Commedia, Greek tragedy, rock musicals, downtown, and contemporary modern theater. He has been committed to creating new theatrical styles of performance that challenge what’s possible in the theater. He holds an M.F.A. from Harvard University and Moscow Art Theater School.
Jennifer Gilchrist is a veteran New Yorker who now resides in Metro Detroit. She taught literature courses at Hunter College and has published articles in Twentieth-Century Literature and Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. In addition to her instruction at JASA, she is the review editor of Supernatural Studies: A Journal of Art, Culture, and Media. With a specialty in modernist narrative, she received her Ph.D. in twentieth-century American and British literature from Fordham University in the Bronx.
Leora Harpaz is an emeritus professor of constitutional law at Western New England University School of Law as well as founder of the annual Supreme Court Conference where she has been a speaker for over 20 years. Since receiving emeritus status, she has been an instructor in several senior learner programs and taught undergraduate law courses in the political science department at Hunter College. She received her B.A. from Stony Brook University and has law degrees from both Boston University and New York University.
Bill Hughes is an investigative reporter who serves as program director at CUNY York College’s Journalism Program in Jamaica, Queens. Over a career that has spanned nearly 30 years, he has won numerous awards for exposing police and government corruption. His most notable case, which was featured in an episode of Dateline NBC, involved the exoneration of a man who served more than 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He also serves as a volunteer investigator for The Jeffery Deskovic Foundation for Justice.
Mitch Korbey is an accomplished urban planner and land use attorney with more than 30 years of experience in private practice and government service. He has been recognized by Chambers USA and Legal 500 as one of New York City’s leading zoning lawyers for many years. Mitch is an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and an adjunct with Hunter College's graduate program in urban planning.
Pamela Koehler is an adjunct professor of art and art history at Adelphi University. As a teaching artist, she has presented lectures, talks, and workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Morgan Library, the Whitney, and the Dahesh Museum.
Natan Last published his first crossword puzzle in the New York Times when he was 16, then the youngest constructor to appear in the Times. Last wrote a book of crosswords, Titled Word. He has a B.A. with honors in Economics and Literary Arts from Brown University.
Jane Marsh was the first singer to win the Gold Medal in Moscow’s International Tchaikovsky Competition. Among Verdi, Strauss, and Bel Canto, her repertoire includes the signature Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov heroines. She has appeared as a performer and M.C. in international and U.S. radio and television venues and since 2007, has presented Metropolitan Opera Guild lectures and master classes on Bel Canto, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Mozart, Strauss, and the Russian repertoire. She was awarded the New York Handel Medaille for exceptional contribution to the world of music.
Alexander Pichugin Ph.D. is the Director of German languages and literature studies at Rutgers University. Alexander is an assistant teaching professor covering a wide range of topics. Courses include, “Cultural Diversity,” “German Music,” “The Wonderful World of Opera,” “Ecocriticism,” “Knowledge, Language and Cognition,” “Ecocinema,” and “Hitler in Film.” He is the recipient of a 2020 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Education.
Lars Rosager danced on Broadway in the original casts of 42nd Street, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, and the 1987 revival of Cabaret, directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Ron Field. He has taught dance at Circle in the Square, Steps on Broadway, CAP 21, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and is currently on faculty at The American Music and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), where he teaches dance history. Most recently he has staged dances and taught master classes for Nikki Atkin’s The American Dance Machine for the 21st Century. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary’s College of California.
Leo Schaff is an actor, singer, and songwriter. A longtime Bardolator, he also teaches at the 92nd Street Y and was NY1 New Yorker of the Week for his popular Shakespeare classes for seniors throughout the city. He co-wrote “Give Us Hope,” a song performed by the San Francisco Children’s Choir at President Obama’s first Inauguration.
Jasmina Sinanovic is a Director of Development and Finance at CLAGS, the Center for LGBTQ Studies at the Graduate Center CUNY, teaches at the Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies Department at the City College by day and is a performing/theatre artist by night. They hold an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from Stony Brook University and an M.A. in Theatre from CUNY Graduate Center via Brooklyn College. Originally from the Balkans, they call NYC home.