Alumni Profiles
UArts alumni: where are they now?
The UArts Alumni Association brings together more than 17,000 artists, performers, designers, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, lawyers and countless other professionals both within and outside of the arts.
Minna Aaparyti
BFA '90
Printmaking + Book Arts
Born in Finland, Minna has lived in the U.S. for years now and is owner of her own Fishtown shop, the Craft Foundry.
Drew Applegate
BFA '15
Animation
Drew is a storyboard artist at Disney in California.
Mary Bailey
MA '10
Museum Studies (MA, MFA)
Mary, Manager of Public Engagement at the Academy of Natural Sciences, says, "No one has a better job than I do."
Sarah Bolt
BFA '03
Theater - Musical Theater
Sarah is the Broadway originator of Sister Mary Patrick, the joyful, uninhibited and beloved nun from "Sister Act."
Elana Boulos
BFA 2009
Theater - Directing, Playwriting + Production
Elana is a company member and casting director at Jackalope Theatre Company in Chicago.
Allegra Burnette
MFA '95
Museum Studies (MA, MFA)
Allegra is creative director of digital media at the Museum of Modern Art, overseeing design and production for MoMA.org.
Ken Carbone BFA '73/ Leslie Smolan BFA '75
Graphic Design
The creative pair has been partners at the Carbone Smolan Agency for the last 35 years.
Jason Chen
BFA '08
Animation
Jason is co-owner of Paradigm Gallery + Studio, one-third of the film/animation team Juggling Wolf, and a commercial and fine art photographer.
Jennifer Childs
BFA '90
Theater - Acting
Jen is co-founder and artistic director of 1812 Productions, the only professional theater company in the country dedicated to comedy.
Marc Crousillat
BFA '13
Dance
Marc is a dancer based in New York City and a new member of Trisha Brown Dance Company.
Andrew Dahlgren
Industrial Design
Andrew founded ADMK (Andrew Dahlgren Machine Knitting), a project dedicated to exploring new uses for knitting techniques.
Dan Delaney
2008
Dan is quickly becoming the most acclaimed purveyor of authentic Texas barbeque this side of the Rio Grande.
Sue Carrie Drummond
MFA '15
Book Arts + Printmaking (MFA)
Sue Carrie has been awarded a residency, assistantship and the opportunity to participate in several shows since graduating from UArts.
Daniel Fishel
BFA '09
Illustration
Daniel's client list includes NPR, The New York Times, Sundance, Huffington Post, NBC Universal, The Washington Post and Philadelphia magazine.
Frank Hartman
1992
Sculpture
Frank took his fine arts degree a long way after graduating from the University of the Arts—all the way to Mars.
Jim Hinz
MFA '95
Book Arts + Printmaking (MFA)
Jim is currently director of book conservation at the Conservation Center of Art and Historical Artifacts in Philadelphia.
Craig Holden Feinberg
BFA '02
Graphic Design
In the years since he graduated from UArts, Craig has traveled the world creating innovative work for an impressive array of clients.
Rachel Gitlevich
BFA '10
Animation
Rachel is a 2D character animator who lives and works in New York City.
Daniel Joseph
BS '06
Industrial Design
The Disney "Imagineer" spends his days brainstorming and creating models of buildings and designing special effects and illusions for its theme parks.
Veronica Kablan
2006
Film
Veronica is a visual effects coordinator for Sony Pictures Imageworks.
Mohammed Kazem
MFA '12
Studio Art (MFA)
A native of Dubai, Mohammed is an internationally recognized conceptual artist whose work touches on a wide range of changes occurring across the globe.
Erin Kirk
BFA '06
Photography
The former Marine Corp combat photographer is now documenting the daily activity of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
AJ Luca
BM '11, MM '12
Jazz Studies (MM)
AJ received her Bachelor of Music in 2011 from UArts, followed by a Master of Music in 2012, promptly joining the UArts faculty upon graduation.
Michele McKeone
BS '05
Michele developed Autism Expressed, an online platform that allows students with autism to learn basic Internet-literacy skills.
Christine McMonagle
MA '09
Museum Studies (MA, MFA)
Christine is the is the digital marketing manager at the Jewish Museum of New York, responsible for strategic digital marketing and outreach efforts.
Tania is an art teacher at Upper Darby (Pa.) High School, as well as director of programming and a workshop instructor at Red Barn Arts Center.
Ellen Owens
MA '06
Museum Studies (MA, MFA)
Ellen is executive director of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, a folk art environment, gallery space and nonprofit organization.
Sharif Pendleton
BFA '06
As founder of Masters of None, Sharif stays true to his tagline: making "the provocative, the funny and the cool" in the form of housewares and accessories.
Dan Pinto
BFA '07
Animation
Dan is a storyboard artist for Little Airplane Productions, an animation studio in downtown NYC.
tony sanders
1987
Theater - Musical Theater
tony, who stopped capitalizing his name in college, is founder and artistic director of the award-winning youth theater company, Shine!
Jordan Shade
MID '14
Product Design (MDes)
Jordan has taken the user research skills acquired at UArts to lead a design team at IBM Analytic Solutions.
Casey Sharpe
BFA '09
Jewelry / Metals
Casey is an art jeweler who works as a designer at Robert Procop Creative Studio, a high-end jeweler on Rodeo Drive.
Nicole Rae Styer
BFA '05
Fibers and Textile Studies
Nicole owns her own boutique, N.R.S., located on East Passyunk Avenue in the heart of South Philadelphia.
Aaron Weber
MAT '14
Art Education (MAT)
Tired of being a "substitute" (teacher), Aaron returned to school to acquire an MAT in Visual Arts Education from UArts.