February 6, 2012

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Board

Photo of Board Members

From L to R: Kirk Imamura, John Hollwitz, Dena Engelhardt, Eli Yamin, Jim Anderson

Dena Engelhardt

Dena Engelhardt is a Visiting Artist who has been working with students of all ages since the 1990s. She is a founding member of the board of The Jazz Drama Program. The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts, in Hartford, CT, has included her on it’s roster of Teaching Artists since 1998. Dena specializes in Arts Integration projects which promote interactive learning and creative expression. In addition to a BFA in Sculpture, she has received training in the Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education, and Aesthetic Education at Lincoln Center Institute. Prior to discovering her passion for arts integration, she worked in non-profit and for profit galleries in both NYC and Hartford, CT.

Kirk Imamura

Kirk Imamura has over 18 years experience in the consumer electronics industry working for Sony Corporation. Kirk has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from San Diego State University. He has engineering and management experience in equipment design, software development, large-scale manufacturing operations, product development and strategic & business planning. Since leaving Sony, Kirk has spent 10 years in the music industry successfully running and guiding the operations of Avatar Studios in New York as President. During his tenure, the studio has been awarded five TEC Awards for Outstanding Creative Achievement. Kirk’s well-rounded management experience, people skills, technical background and marketing abilities are well-suited for leading an organization to the next level.

Jim Anderson

Jim Anderson is an internationally recognized recording engineer and producer of acoustic music for the recording, radio, television, and film industries. He is the recipient of numerous awards and nominations in the recording industry: his recordings have received nine Grammy awards and 25 Grammy nominations; his radio recordings have received two George Foster Peabody Awards and there have been two Emmy nominations for television programs.

A graduate of the Duquesne University School of Music in Pittsburgh PA, Jim has studied audio engineering at the Eastman School of Music and Sender Freies Berlin. During the 1970s, he was employed by National Public Radio and engineered and produced many award-winning classical, jazz, documentary, and news programs. Since 1980 Jim has had a career as an independent audio engineer and producer, living in New York City. He has been a frequent lecturer and master-class guest faculty member at leading international institutes, including the Berklee College of Music, The New England Institute of Art, McGill University, The Banff Centre, Universitaet der Kuenste Berlin, University of Luleå in Sweden, the New School University, University of Georgia, and Penn State University. He is a professor of recorded music with the Clive Davis Department of Recorded music in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and was the department’s Chair from 2004 – 2008.

He has served as Vice President for Eastern Sections of the Audio Engineering society (AES), chaired the New York Section of the AES and was Chair of the 119th and 123rd AES Conventions. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the AES and has received two AES’ Board of Governors Awards. He was also the President of the Audio Engineering Society, 2008-2009.

John Hollwitz

John Hollwitz was born in New York City. He is a Professor of Psychology and Rhetoric and teaches Management Systems at Fordham University’s School of Business. He joined the faculty there in 2000. Prior to joining Fordham, he was an A. F. Jacobson Professor of Communications at Creighton University; Dean of A&S at Loyola College in Maryland; and VPAA at Fordham. His teaching interests include: management; experimental/quasi-experimental design; statistics; item response theory; structural equation modeling; team-building, especially in high pressure teams; lifespan career development; religion & work. Avocations include: martial arts, esp. classical taichi sword; blues music; jazz history, esp. Columbus Circle area 1920-1935.

Kristy Nguyen

Kristy Nguyen is the Executive Director of APEX, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of Asian American urban youth through one-to-one mentoring and educational programs. Kristy is responsible for raising awareness of the critical need for educational programs and services for the highly under-served population of inner-city Asian American youth. Kristy has been a long-standing advocate for providing rigorous academic opportunity and training for young people. Prior to joining APEX, she was Executive Vice President at Working in Support of Education (W!SE), where she was responsible for the development and oversight of the highly successful services division, which designed, implemented and managed educational programs for prominent clients. Additionally, over her 13-year tenure at W!SE, Kristy directed a number of programs that prepare students for college and the global workplace, including the Global Business Challenge and the award-winning Sanford I. Weill Institute for Lifelong Learning. Kristy earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. She has been a volunteer with the Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education (IVCE) and the Long March Foundation in Beijing, China.