We are committed to helping students develop visual and digital literacy from an early age.

Executive Director

Nelle Stokes is Founding Executive Director of Magic Box. She is a member of the Media Arts Writing Team for the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), and a contributor and Steering Committee member for the NYC DOE’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Moving Image: Grades K–12—the first sequential and comprehensive guide to media education programs. 

Nelle has designed curricula for schools and partnerships throughout New York City, and presents regularly on media arts issues at local and national conferences. She is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Patrick Lovejoy
Deputy Director

Patrick Lovejoy began his career as a performing artist with Stomp and Cirque du Soleil. He is the founder and creative director of Elastic Shore: a unique multimedia company that integrates art, design, and live performance using cutting-edge technologies. His various multimedia dance projects have been featured at Lincoln Center, The New Museum, Joyce SoHo, and Galapagos Arts Space. He has a BFA in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of The Arts where he studied at The Experimental Theater Wing. He strongly believes in the power of arts education and has served as a teaching artist for various organizations throughout his career. He is excited to join the Magic Box Productions team.

Alicia Benedetto
Operations Director

Alicia has dedicated her professional and volunteer careers to the betterment of human health and strengthening communities. She brings over 10 years of experience in marketing and advertising with one of the largest healthcare agencies in the world, where she worked to enhance disease awareness and treatment education of both physicians and patients worldwide. 

She's an active member of the Junior League of Northern Westchester where she serves as chair of new member recruitment and leads local philanthropic efforts. 

After a brief sabbatical to be home with her 2 young children, she's thrilled to be joining the Magic Box Productions team. 
 

Danielle Barry-Gass
Communications and Events Director

Danielle began her professional life in the fast paced world of advertising (IRIS Advertising). Moving then to the equally fast paced but way more zany world of animation with Janimation (where she just so happened to meet her other half). It was from there that she jumped into the world of film festivals with AFI DALLAS, an arm of the American Film Institute and their AFI FEST, and the Dallas Film Society.

Upon moving to NYC, she shifted into independent consulting with festivals including the Lone Start Film Festival, the Dallas International Film Festival, and production studio and post house Post FactoryNY. She’s worked with independent filmmakers, producers, films and documentaries.

She is the former chair of PleasantvilleRecycles focusing on recycling, sustainability, and all things green in the Village of Pleasantville and Creative Director for Films On Purpose, a community-run series showing films on social issues. She is currently focusing on her multimedia and fiber art and loves being a part of such incredible organization.

Kathy Perrine
Marketing & Events Manager

Kathy began her career in advertising and marketing, first in New York and then in Los Angeles and San Francisco. While staying home to raise her children she went back to school to get degrees in social work and holistic nutrition. She worked in both the middle and high schools as a substitute teacher and social work intern. During this time she also served on the board of the International Education Exchange, an organization that works with the Government of Rwanda to support public education by designing programs to train teachers, starting businesses in schools and improving infrastructure.

Currently she volunteers with multiple local organizations that provide support in education, the arts and mental health. She is thrilled to be a part of the Magic Box Production team in promoting arts in education.

Sheetal Matani
Development Officer

Sheetal Matani began her career at the Urban Institute where she helped investigate pre- and post-welfare reform trends in childcare and immigrant health. She later joined Equal Measure, where she contributed to several evaluations in the fields of media advocacy, education, human services and community development. Her work in the media advocacy field inspired her to continue on with the Center for International Media Action, where she helped build alliances between a wide range of advocacy groups to advance more democratic media policies. After receiving her MA in Public Administration at NYU, she helped run the Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation Challenge Competitions, a multidisciplinary, fast-paced global grant-making program to source innovations at the intersection of technology, markets and human rights. 

More recently, she started consulting for the Berest Dance Center in support of its program, “Dance for Joy,” a free dance outreach program serving underrepresented youth in the Port Washington Community. Her work at Berest sparked her passion for youth development and arts education. She is now excited to join Magic Box Productions in empowering youth with media and technology skills that promote creative expression and career readiness.

Hilina Kidane
Program Coordinator

Hilina Kidane studied at the University of Washington before moving to New York City. She has extensive experience in film festival organizing and continues to work as a film programmer. She is passionate about film and arts education, and is excited to continue her work supporting youth-enrichment programming at Magic Box Productions.

Danilo Randjic-Coleman  
Principal Teaching Artist

Danilo is a director whose work has been selected for multiple film festivals. He has been with Magic Box since 2009, and is a licensed teaching assistant and substitute teacher. Danilo graduated from Hampshire College with a Bachelor’s degree in Film, Video and Music Production. 

Barthelemy Atsin is originally from Philadelphia and currently lives in Harlem. He is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College in 2002. Since he was a child he was always fascinated by many artists. Some of his favorites are Paul Cezzane’, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. He felt that these and many others were not only amazing painters but also great storytellers who channeled their emotions into every ounce of their work. This is what he wants to accomplish with his own work.

Throughout his journey as an artist he's been commissioned by Nicole Kidman to paint a portrait of her with her son. He's collaborated with Elizabeth Swados on creating a children’s book and backdrops for the La Mama theater. While studying abroad in Oxford, England Bart collaborated with musicians and created a live painting to music while slides of his images were projected on stage in the Balliol College dining hall. He then performed at the Bowery Poetry Café painting to Hip Hop and House music.

Rich Garr is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. Broad interests in art and cultural history surface in his work as traditional collage, walking tours, and site-specific memorials he calls "street art history plaques." He worked as a teaching artist at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum before freelancing around New York City at places like the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Lefferts Historic House, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He has always enjoyed working with kids, and for a long time taught children photography and darkroom techniques on the Lower East Side. Neighborhood photo walks with kids branched into gallery and art studio visits for adults. He now presents walks as collage art, and enjoys inspiring others to find their own creative platforms and voices.

Andrea Goldman in an interdisciplinary artist and educator who makes video, photographs, and music. She is currently working on several projects, including me and ooooo, a collaborative music/video project about books, song, and the possibility of dialogue.

Rachael Guma is a filmmaker, animator educator, and sound artist whose work has been shown internationally. Since graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute, her films have screened at the San Francisco Cinematheque, RX Gallery, Mono No Aware, Northern Flickers, UnionDocs, AXWFF, Black Maria, Echo Park Film Center, and Microscope Gallery where she was invited to present her first solo show in 2013. In 2016-2017, she participated in Blueprint: Moving Image workshops and photography workshops for Magic Box Productions. She has been invited as a visiting artist at Brooklyn College, University of Colorado, Boulder, Pratt Institute and Sarah Lawrence, as well as taught animation, sound for film, and theremin workshops at the Children's Museum of the Arts, stop motion animation workshops at BRIC, and analog film workshops for Mono No Aware..

Kostas Kiritsis is a practicing artist. He uses photography as a tool to create Artist Books. His work is exhibited in galleries in New York and Europe. As Teaching Artist he uses his unique approach to teach, among other things, Visual Literacy, Digital Media, Film and Video and of course Photography. He is a PhD candidate at University of Arts in Poznan, Poland.

Lisa LaBracio is an award-winning animation director who specializes in conveying human stories and elevating educational experiences with the magic of handmade animation. As an Animation Director at TED-Ed, Lisa directed dozens of animated, educational shorts, and as an educator, has taught 100+ animation workshops to communities all over the world. Her short film, The Opposites Game, co-directed with Anna Samo, screened at dozens of festivals worldwide, including Zagreb Animafest, Anima Mundi, and Raindance Film Festival, where it qualified for the Oscars. Most recently, she's directed stop motion montages for Michael Showalter’s feature films, Spoiler Alert and The Idea of You, and is the Animation Director of #MetKids Microscope, an educational series for The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2022, Lisa co-founded the Brooklyn-based screening + discussion series, Animation Speak/Easy, and currently serves as an event director with the Ink Well Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.

Sarah Nakhost-Karimi, a photography teaching artist, and specializes in showing the youngest of our students how to explore and create images with digital cameras for the first time. 

Alexis Raskin  is an award-winning video artist whose work has been exhibited at such venues as MASS MoCA, Platform China, the Rotterdam Film Festival, and Gallery Korea. Alexis received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Fluent in Mandarin, she was a teacher at Gong Yang University in Taiwan and has taught ESL for over 10 years. 

Karen Ann Sullivan is a Westchester-based Teaching Artist and Photographer specializing in wildlife and other natural subjects. Through the experience of teaching adults and school-aged children, she has seen firsthand how much using images of the natural world helps students of all ages connect with photography. She has exhibited her work extensively, including in solo exhibits at several Audubon centers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well in a group exhibit at the New York Hall of Science Museum.

Additionally, Karen gives workshops in the areas of travel, nature, and bird photography. She leases her image artwork to business clients and has created a line of handmade, environmentally conscious photo note cards available in both retail stores and customized large orders for corporate clients. She is excited to join the Magic Box Productions team as their first Teaching Artist working with Westchester-specific programs.

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CHARU AGARWAL

Charu Agarwal is currently Director, Markets & Localization team in the TECHNOLOGY Division of Mastercard.  In this role she is the leading the localization efforts of Mastercard in Mexico.

She joined Mastercard 3 years ago to launch and lead the PM-T Guild as part of Mastercard’s global transformation effort. Over the last three years she has been involved with various BRGs such as WLN, ADAPT and the Guilds at Mastercard.

Prior to Mastercard, she has extensive experience across leading organizations in financial and fin tech sectors including Bloomberg, Lehman Brothers, Neuberger Berman, Citibank and Barclays.

Prior to the US, Charu has worked at Citibank in India a Product Manager. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons. She loves to gives back to the society in many ways including being on the board of Women’s Leadership Network at Mastercard, mentoring young college girls and organizing various educational programs for young boys and girls. Outside work she loves to travel and explore new places. She is always up for an adventure!

NANCY BARRY
Nancy has served on the Board of Magic Box Productions since 2016. She is currently a Vice President at Neuberger Berman, where she is a Senior RFP Writer who covers Equity and Options strategies as well as the Trust Company. Nancy joined Neuberger Berman in 2000 and has held various positions at the firm and its former parent company, Lehman Brothers. Previously she was a Vice President of Marketing Communications at Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management (now UBS Asset Management) and a Designer/Production Coordinator at Kidder Peabody Asset Management. She began her career in Boston at The Design Management Institute. Passionate about the fine arts, Nancy has served as a Docent for the extensive Neuberger Berman Art Collection since 2000. She frequently volunteers for the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility events and has been a Team Leader for numerous ‘Celebration with Service’ events.  From 2003 – 2005, Nancy was a Board Member for PAICR – the Asset Management Marketing Association. Nancy holds a BA in Art History from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and Series 7 and 63 licenses. Outside of work she enjoys visiting NYC galleries and museums and traveling the world.

Suji Kang Baak

Suji is an attorney with 20+ years of experience in investment advisory and asset management, most recently focused on all elements of international and cross-border matters. As Associate General Counsel, she oversees international advisory activities of New York Life Investments. Previously, she was Associate General Counsel of Neuberger Berman and Associate at Sidley Austin. In previous life, she was a radio reporter with WDCT, serving DC metropolitan area.

Suji’s active with the Money Management Institute, the Women in Securities Finance, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Associate. She’s an avid supporter of the arts and the local community. She served on the Board of Trustees of ThistleWaithe prior to joining the Board in 2023.

Suji holds a BA from the University of Virginia and a JD from Duke University School of Law.

SARA VILLAGOMEZ
Sara Villagomez has been working as a fixed income research assistant for American Century Investments in New York since 2017. She holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration from Purdue University Global.

Prior to transitioning into asset management, Sara studied studio acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. As an avid lover of the arts, Sara enjoys seeing live theatre and attending concerts with her partner and two children.

MELANIE DE PAULA SANTOS
Melanie is the inaugural member of the newly formed Advisory Council, joining the Magic Box team in September 2019.  A Data Analyst, Melanie works at Neuberger Berman on the Client Data Strategy team since 2017.  Prior to joining Neuberger she was an Assistant Account Executive at Edelman, a Public Relations firm specifically working within the Financial Services department. Melanie earned a B.A. in Business Management with a concentration in International Management and a Minor in Creative & Professional Writing from Manhattanville College.

PASHMEENA HILAL
Joined the Board in 2017 Pashmeena  serves as a Research Manager for Google, where she manages custom research and insights across 7 verticals understanding consumer behaviors and digital journeys.  Prior to Google,  Pashmeena  was a market research manager at MAC Cosmetics and has spent several years at both research firms and agencies.   Pashmeena  earned a degree in Advertising from Penn State University and holds a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Emerson College in Boston.   While she feels like a native to NYC after 7 years, she grew up south of Buffalo, New York, and spent several years in Boston, MA where she met her husband.   Pashmeena  enjoys reading, a great food and nightlife scene, traveling and spending time with her husband, three sisters and friends

JULIANNA ORGEL-EATON
Joined the Board in 2020. Julianna is an accomplished in-house attorney and business advisor. She oversees the digital media legal team of Ziff Davis, LLC, a subsidiary of the publicly traded company J2 Global (JCOM).  As Assistant General Counsel, Julianna leads the legal strategy for Ziff Media Group, J2’s tech and commerce business. She serves on the division’s steering committee, which provides management oversight over e-commerce, sales and marketing and licensing as well as editorial direction. 

She is a member of the New York City Bar Association, an appointed member of the Entertainment Law Committee of the NYCBA and a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. A graduate of the Horace Mann School in New York City, she holds a B.A. from Skidmore College and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law.

PRATIK PATEL
Born and raised in Queens, Pratik has worked in the asset management industry since 1998.

Pratik holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Business from New York University.

Photography is a passion and hobby of his with stocks and sports being the others. 

He lives in Westchester with his wife and three children (9-yr old boy/girl twins and 4 yr old daughter….if he’s not running in the neighborhood, he’s busy racing after them).

Currently he is a portfolio manager at American Century Investments specializing in international small/mid cap companies.