Staff Bios
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Douglas Back
Web Designer & Digital Media Producer
Originally from Chicago and now a Brooklynite, Douglas graduated with a B.F.A. in Lighting Design from The Theatre School, DePaul University. Douglas has worked in several off-Broadway and regional theatres, including Hartford Stage, Ford's Theatre, and the Goodman Theatre. After a multi-year stint with Apple, he merged his background in the arts with his experience in technology and joined LMCC. When he's not busy ♥ing web standards, he enjoys politics, typography, the ’85 Chicago Bears, and Oxford commas.
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Sean Carroll
Program Manager, Artist Residencies
Sean grew up on Boston’s North Shore and spent many years living Washington, DC before moving to Brooklyn in 2004. He moonlights as a bike tour guide and his varied occupations have included executive assistant, teacher, black-and-white film processor, caterer, science lab photographer, lifeguard, and paper boy. In his spare time he likes to take pictures, ride trains, read maps, and drive his bicycle in and around the city, and currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Camera Club of New York. He is a fan of the scenic route and the Boston Red Sox. Sean went to college at American University in Washington, DC and received an MFA in Photography from Pratt Institute.
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Anne Dennin
Director of Development
Anne comes to LMCC from Alliance for Resident Theatres (ART/NY), the service organization for New York’s vibrant not-for-profit theatre community, where she was Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Previously she was Executive Director of Performance Space 122, the distinguished East Village performing arts venue dedicated to presenting experimental theatre, dance, and performance art. She was a founding producer of the successful Jim Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater and ran her own arts consulting firm, Anne Dennin Arts Management, for 12 years working with many of New York City’s most distinguished performing arts institutions. Anne is a passionate arts consumer and enjoys working on behalf of all artists who make New York City the vibrant and exciting place that it is.
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Erin Donnelly
Special Projects Consultant
Erin Donnelly is an arts manager and curator. She recently moved into a role as Special Projects Consultant after five years as Director, Artist Residencies, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) where she has worked since 2001. She is also Exhibition Coordinator and Curator for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) Art & Law Residency Program. Curated exhibitions have been held at the Abrons Art Center at Henry Street Settlement, Gigantic ArtSpace, Rotunda Gallery and Kunsthalle Exnergasse in Vienna, Austria and she co-curated Art in Odd Places in 2009. She has given lectures at Bennington College, Cleveland Art Institute, and Columbia University as well as taught at New York University. She received an MA from Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Certificate in Museum Studies, and BA in Fine Arts, all from New York University and was a Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow, Whitney Independent Study Program.
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Lauren Faria
Development Manager
Lauren brings several years of fundraising experience to her work as Development Manager with LMCC, having spent the better part of a decade working with arts and culture organizations in New York City. She previously held positions with The MacDowell Colony, Creative Capital, the Prospect Park Alliance, and Rooftop Films, and holds a BA in English from Wellesley College and a MA in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. Originally from the suburbs of Boston, Lauren remains a die-hard Red Sox fan and otherwise loves to eat, scour thrift stores, take day trips, read good fiction, and sing, which she does as an alto with the Dessoff Choirs.
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Paulie Heenan
Systems Administrator
Prior to relocating to NYC in July 2004, Paulie was a professional musician and audio engineer in Madison, WI. Working in recording studios for many years, he honed his technical skills on a variety of platforms - Macintosh, PC, and 2” tape machines. For five years, Paulie has been a professional computer consultant / systems administrator- working on projects ranging in size from the individual level up to medium sized enterprise environments. Since joining LMCC in April 2008, he has kept the office systems running smoothly and efficiently. He likes dogs, guitars, and Brooklyn.
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Andrew Horwitz
Curator
Andrew Horwitz is a curator and producer based in NYC. He has worked as producer at Performance Space 122 and as curator of PRELUDE, a festival of contemporary theater and performance at the Martin E. Segal Theater Center of the Graduate Center at CUNY. He has served on many panels and taught career development workshops at artist service organization The Field. He is the founder and editor of Culturebot.org, a website devoted to arts, culture and ideas. Andy comes to LMCC from the Foundation for Jewish Culture where he was Director of Strategic Partnerships.
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Melissa Levin
Director of Artist Residencies
Melissa Levin is currently Director in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Artist Residencies Department. Melissa received her BA with honors in Visual Art and Art History from Barnard College. Previously, she worked at Artforum International Magazine, Andrea Rosen Gallery, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. She has participated in panels at Dumbo Arts Center, Lower East Side Print Shop, Center for Book Arts, and Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts; and lectured at Parsons, The New School for Design, and The Cleveland Institute of Art. Melissa has also curated exhibitions at Cuchifritos Gallery, ISE Cultural Foundation, Andrea Rosen Gallery, LMCC, and Taylor De Cordoba Gallery.
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Maureen McMahon
Development Coordinator, Individual Giving & Special Events
Maureen joined LMCC in January 2008 after two years as Development Assistant for The MacDowell Colony. As LMCC's Development Coordinator, Maureen helps organize special events, from The Downtown Dinner, LMCC's annual benefit which raises upwards of $1 million each year, to VIP and cultivation events for prospective donors, current funders, and other friends of LMCC. She also produces the annual appeal, manages gift processing, and supports the Development team. Maureen graduated from Wellesley College in 2005 with a French major and an Art History minor. Since 2006, she has served on the New York Committee for the Wellesley College Friends of Art, an alumnae fundraising organization that supports the college's campus art museum. In addition to attending art and theatre events around the city, Maureen enjoys cooking (or at least attempting to), exploring the city's restaurants, and reading and writing about food.
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Sam Miller
President
A devoted advocate for the arts, Sam Miller brings a nationally recognized profile to the organization. Most recently, he spent five years as President of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), developing efforts centered on increasing direct support for artists. Prior to his work at LINC, Miller was Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) for ten years. Prior to NEFA, Miller was at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival where he served as President and Executive Director. He serves as President of the Board of LINC, as Director of the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance m(ICPP) at Wesleyan University, and on the Advisory Board of ODC/San Francisco and on the Board of Amrita Performing Arts in Phnom Penh.
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Marisa Olsen
External Affairs Coordinator
Marisa considers herself a native New Yorker. She spent her first 10 years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and then made a brief detour to New Jersey. Marisa graduated from Connecticut College in 2006 with a BA in Art History. At Conn, she studied with Barbara Zabel, Joseph Alchermes, and Arnold Chang, and also curated a Contemporary Chinese Art exhibit from the Charles Chu collection. During a semester abroad, she studied with Libby Sheldon, famous art authenticator at University College London. During summers, she enjoyed working at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, the domogallery, and teaching ballet. She also had an internship in the Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art department. Upon graduating, Marisa worked at Sotheby's as an Editorial Assistant for Preview Magazine. After Sotheby's, Marisa spent a year in a Boston boutique staffing firm, where she honed her business and sales skills. Marisa is now thrilled to be back in New York City, where she enjoys visiting galleries, cooking gourmet meals, and working on her food blog, Les Foodités.
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Prachi Patankar
Program Manager, Grants & Services
Prachi Patankar joined the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council to cooordinate LMCC's regranting and professional development programs. Prior to joining LMCC, Prachi worked at the Tenement Museum as their Education Associate, where she curated the Tenement Windows Arts program bringing contemporary artists in dialogue with new immigrants through the Shared Journeys (ESOL) program. She also managed Kitchen Conversations, a daily public dialogue Program and the monthly immigration film series at the Museum. Prachi has a MA from New York University in International Education and Communications. She was born and brought up in India and moved to the United States at the age of sixteen. After receiving her BA from Swarthmore College in 2000, she went back to India where she established a school for children of people displaced by dams. She is a founding member of the 3rd I New York collective, a monthly film and music salon that showcases the works of South Asian independent filmmakers. In addition, she has worked in various capacities with media-focused nonprofits like POV and Youth Channel, as well as those focusing on social justice issues such as WITNESS, CHHAYA, and DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving).
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Diego Segalini
Vice President
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Diego is a first generation Italian-American artist and businessman living in New York City. Prior to joining LMCC in May 2007, Diego spent three years as Managing Director of 3-Legged Dog Media and Theater Group where he played a pivotal role in fundraising, financial planning and project management to establish a new multi-million dollar Art & Technology Center in Lower Manhattan. Most recently he worked for Nonprofit Finance Fund where he was responsible for performing financial and organizational analyses for clients nationwide. Diego has designed dozens of shows in his career from Shakespeare to Sartre to musical standards and continues to pursue his artistic endeavors as an independent producer and production designer for stage, film and special events. He holds a double B.A. in Drama and Mathematics from Vassar College and is a proud alum of Stuyvesant High School.
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Deborah Sprzeuzkouski
Associate Director of Operations
Born and raised in Viroflay, France, Deborah moved to New York after spending many years in Northern California. In the last 10 years she has become quite Americanized, but her friends take pleasure in mocking some of her lingering Frenchisms. She holds a BS in Business with a minor in Art Administration. She has worked at the Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz, where she did not surf, but did assist in upgrading the museum's administrative department. She last worked at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco, managing the gallery space and producing exhibits for the Capp Street Residency Program. Deborah enjoys making things happen, and has been fortunate to assist a wide variety of artists in accomplishing their vision.
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Kay Takeda
Director of Grants & Services
Kay joined the Council in March 2005 to develop and oversee the Council’s downtown-focused cultural grants, borough-wide grant programs and artist services. Prior to joining the staff, she served for five years as Program Manager of the Advised Funds and Regranting Programs division at Arts International, where she oversaw a roster of national-level grant programs providing support for visual and performing artists working internationally. Her background includes three years with Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, New York as Assistant Director of Visual Arts, where she managed contemporary art exhibitions and public programs as well as a studio program that provided workspace and professional development opportunities for visual artists. She serves on the Board of Directors of Goliath Visual Space in Brooklyn.
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Haowen Wang
Program Manager, Grants & Services
Haowen Wang is a Taiwan native, a New Zealand citizen and a bogus New Yorker living in New Jersey. Prior to joining LMCC, Haowen worked as the General Manager for Ping Chong & Company, the internationally recognized experimental theatre company that supports the works of avant-garde theatre director, Ping Chong. Other experiences include working at the Asian American Arts Alliance where he implemented a two-year regrants program serving the artists and arts groups of the Manhattan Chinatown area, as well as administering several other programs that serve Asian American artists and arts groups in New York City, many of whom he still works with in different capacities. His most memorable experience was when he toured nationally in Taiwan as an actor in a children’s theatre company during college years; he had to quit so he can finish his degree. Haowen holds a MA in Performance Studies at NYU. He is a Christian and enjoys traveling everywhere with his wife.
