Who We Are
Chloe Napoletano
Art Medium: Dance
"Teaching with Adaptation, Integration, and the Arts is important to me because it affords me the opportunity to offer dance education and experiences for all students."
About Chloe:
Chloe Napoletano is a Columbus, Ohio-based dancer. She holds many roles within the dance field, including choreographer, performer, community dance practitioner, and art administrator. Chloe co-directs Perennial Movement Group (PMG), a Columbus-based program that provides dance opportunities for adults over 50. The program includes classes, rehearsals, and performances with participants. Chloe is engaged in a rigorous research and rehearsal process with an ensemble of 11 PMG dancing artists, and their work has been performed in numerous venues Ohio.
She is the Advanced Teams Coordinator and a Lead Teacher for Momentum-Excellence, a dance outreach organization that empowers children through dance, music, and performance. Chloe collaborates and performs with SeaBus Dance Collective, a group who researched improvisation as performance. Chloe performed with SeaBus in many venues and settings including the Columbus Arts Festival and the Columbus Museum of Art.
Chloe received her BFA in dance from The Ohio State University.
Cynthia Amoah
Art Mediums: Creative Writing and Spoken Word Poetry
"Teaching serves as a space for creative exploration and exchange - a space that allows me to learn from my students as much as I bring to the classroom. Through the AIA Residency, I get to learn more, to experience accessibility and power in writing, and to work with students who are so gentle, so carefully created, so wildly kind."
About Cynthia:
Cynthia Amoah is a Ghanaian-American poet, national speaker, and teaching artist. She received her MFA from The New School where she was cited for Excellence in Poetry and has been featured on three TEDx stages, The Lincoln Theatre, as well as the United Nations Information Center in Accra, among many. Her writing and performances often concern the foraging questions that have to do with identity and belonging, with displacement, migration and uprootedness. Cynthia’s chapbook 'Handrails' was published by Akashic Books in Fall 2021. She currently resides in Columbus, OH with her family where she facilitates workshops in poetry, positive-thinking, confidence-building, and using our voice as an instrument for strength and social change. For more information and inquiries, please visit
www.cynthiaamoah.com.
In Harmony Therapeutic Services
Art Medium: Music
"In Harmony Therapeutic Services is proud to work with the AIA Residency program. We enjoy providing experiences that are both responsive and supportive to students of all abilities and cultivating connection with students and staff alike."
About In Harmony:
In Harmony Therapeutic Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts therapy practice staffed by board certified music therapists. Our team offers music therapy and music enrichment programs to support individuals of all ages in achieving personalized, non-musical goals that may include learning academic concepts, improving communication, and building social and emotional skills. In Harmony also consults with teachers, artists, and other professionals as well as parents and caregivers and provides professional development on how the arts can be used to connect with and promote an individual’s overall well-being. It is our hope that our work helps each individual we serve live in harmony with themselves and the world around them.
Marsha Japutra
Art Medium: Music
"I found connecting with the students and learning about them personally meaningful as it gave me an insight on how they are working through challenges they are experiencing in school and their personal lives."
About Marsha:
Marsha Japutra is a board-certified music therapist who has been providing services in the Northeast Ohio area for the past four years. She graduated from the University of Dayton in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy and a minor in Psychology. She completed her music therapy internship at Bridgeway Academy in Columbus, Ohio.Marsha’s passion for music and helping others led her to music therapy and became the basis of her work. She believes that having a strong relationship and trust with her clients is conducive for growth. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and exploring nature with her husband and her dog.
Joanie Calem
Art Mediums: Music, Storytelling, and Songwriting
"It is so deeply important to me to bring music and music making to everyone who is interested. Making sure that everyone has access to music making, regardless of possible challenges or differing abilities is what keeps me working throughout the week!"
About Joanie:
Joanie Calem has been a performing musician, music teacher, and storyteller since 1983. She graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Israel, with a major in piano, studied music education at the Levinsky Teaching Seminar in Ramat Aviv, Israel, and then completed a degree in Music in Community Building at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. After living overseas for 22 years, Joanie moved to the Columbus, Ohio area in 1998 where she has continued teaching and performing. With her background in music, special education, and community building, Joanie teaches and performs using multiple learning styles to facilitate inclusive settings and make sure that everyone can access the material being shared. She is deeply aware of the many non-academic factors that can impede learning: Sensory Processing Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, ACES, etc. and Joanie strives to adapt her presentation to successfully reach the people who are in front of her in any particular moment.
Michelle Boreo
Art Mediums: Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, and bookbinding
"As an independent teaching artist, many of my classes are short-term. The AIA Residency program has allowed me to work and grow with a group of students over longer periods of time, which really lets me follow their growth as artists and individuals."
About Michelle:
Michelle Boerio is an artist and educator from Columbus, Ohio. She loves to make art that combines multiple mediums to highlight what is weird and wonderful in the natural world. In 2012, she earned a BFA in Fine Arts with a focus in Painting and Drawing from the Ohio State University, and later, a MA in Museum Education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She loves working with people of all ages, backgrounds, and needs, especially when the group gets to learn something new about themselves through making art.
Lyn Mulcahy
Art Mediums: Dance
"I enjoy working with the AIA Residency Program, as I have the chance to work with and learn from special need and all ability children in my community. The dancers in the program have the opportunity use the skills and experiences that Dance gives them as a way to enhance their social, cognitive, physical, and creative development."
About Lyn:
Lyn Mulcahy is a Dance Educator, Dance Studio Owner, and Community Arts Advocate.
Lyn received a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Education and minor in Physical Education from Bowling Green State University and twice attended the Harvard Summer Dance Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is now the owner and director and an instructor at Lyn’s Academy in Dance in Elida, Ohio which is in its 30th season.
Miss Lyn has also worked with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Youth Dance Program at Lima City Schools, which is a national project designed to educate students about drug prevention and healthy coping skills through dance, and also currently works as Artist in Residence at Marimor School through the Art Possible Ohio program.
Vicki Boatright (BZTAT)
Art Mediums: Acrylic Painting on canvas and wood; murals with various media; mixed media collage and assemblage; Pencil Drawing
"I spent 20 years as a mental health therapist, and in that work, I recognized that there were unique creative abilities and insights among people of difference. It became second nature to me to find ways to encourage those talents. To me, adaptation and integration are methods for helping each individual channel their unique gifts into important works to share with others."
About Vicki/BZTAT:
Artist Vicki Boatright, known as “BZTAT” (pronounced bee-zee-tat), is a contemporary art painter who is most known for her colorful paintings of animals. Animal loving art collectors worldwide have commissioned artworks by BZTAT to celebrate their relationships with their beloved pets. Vicki also creates murals and other artworks that address a variety of themes.
Vicki holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in the visual arts from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. She also holds a Master of Arts Degree in counseling from Marshall University. She worked as a mental health therapist for 20 years, and more recently she led an arts studio and gallery for individuals with developmental disabilities. Currently she runs her own studio/gallery, offering classes and individual arts mentoring for artists of all abilities, prioritizing artists with developmental and mental health disabilities.
Heartstring Melodies, LLC
Art Mediums: Music Therapy
"We appreciate the opportunity to bring music therapy into a local school to work with their children in special education classrooms."
About Heartstring Melodies:
Heartstring Melodies, LLC specializes in providing quality music therapy services to children and adults in the area. We believe that creating a musical environment that is both fun and engaging will allow for individuals to be creative and reach their maximum potential.
Kay Cee Berkey
Art Mediums: 2D, watercolor, acrylic 3D, macramé
"I love bringing out the sparks in the kids I teach. Many times they will argue they cannot do it, then to their surprise they are. And I get excited when they bring pieces to show me that they have done at home or doing school. It is wonderful watching them grow."
About Kay Cee:
Her career as a Teaching Artist began in 2018
when the principal of the school she was working at recommended her for this opportunity. It was the perfect fit.
Her drawings and paintings have been featured
in many shows since high school. From these
shows, she has been able to network with other artists, be contracted for work, and sell some of her pieces. She continued to study art in college before she became a mom. A new passion evolved, working with children. She currently teaches art classes at two different behavioral schools (K-12 level), teach Sunday school (Pre-K), a leader for Girl Scouts (troop and special events), and teaches Yearbook at the high school level. She has been honored to mentor children at different stages of their development.
It is rewarding to see the students grow and
expand their knowledge of science, math, and
language while producing unique art. Her goal is to guide them to find a voice, express an idea, or learn something new
Hyacinth Paul
Art Mediums: Oils, acrylics, mixed media, alcohol inks
" I work tirelessly with Adaptation, Integration, and the Arts program in my community because it has helped me realize that Art has a huge role to play in alleviating the mental health problems we face as a society in the USA. The current mental health burden in the United States - which is one of the most developed countries in the world, and it stands at 1 in 3 people have a mental health issue. Given this alarming statistic, we still cut out art programs for our impressionable children who are in schools right now. Given the clear and present danger we face regarding the alarming statistics, I work toward alerting my community through speaking engagements, exhibitions and being vocal about the state of affairs with a goal to help change policy of our government to increase the availability of art programs within our schools which serve over 54 million students today."
About Hyacinth:
Dr. Hyacinth Paul worked as an Artist in Residence at the Trotwood School District awarded by the OAC. She is studying the role Arts in mental health and well-being. She is retired scientist and Professor. Her paintings are very colorful because she believes color sparks synesthesia and involuntarily evokes feelings of joy. Her mixed media work is done in fiber and textiles from India. She started her artistic career in the 58th year of her life. She has over forty-five solo/group exhibitions. She showcases her work in Dayton, has a gallery representation and a significant online presence. She was awarded a grant to study Plein Aire painting at Provence and Barcelona by the MCACD. She curates art for sale. She has served on several boards in her community. She is a strong advocate for the Arts and Mental Health through her extensive reach of speaking engagements and educates every chance she gets.
Jessica Held
Art Mediums: Painting, Photography
"I enjoy the Adaptation, Integration and the Arts residency because I have the opportunity to engage with students of all abilities, encouraging their creativity and helping them embrace challenges. Watching them learn from their successes and express self-pride is incredibly rewarding."
About Jessica:
A Cincinnati native, Jessica Held earned her BFA in Painting and Photography from Ohio University. Jessica has taught art to all ages in schools, museums, libraries, and community art centers in Ohio, Texas, Indiana, and Michigan, and is on the Ohio Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster. In addition to Arts Possible Ohio’s AIA residency in Wellston, she currently teaches K–12 art enrichment classes through Ohio University’s Kids on Campus after-school program around southeastern Ohio, leads summer art camps and teen after-school classes at The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, and teaches Creative Aging classes for adults 55+ in Athens County Public Libraries.
Ballet Met
Art Medium: Dance
“I enjoy teaching with Art Possible Ohio because it allows BalletMet to share the joy of dance and self-expression with students who might not otherwise have access to it. Through these residencies, we watch students of all abilities grow in confidence, connect with our teaching artists, and experience the freedom of moving their bodies with joy.”
About BalletMet:
BalletMet, based in Columbus, is dedicated to inspiring and educating Central Ohio youth through the power of dance. Through its Dance For All programs, BalletMet invites K–12 students and teachers to experience movement in meaningful and culturally relevant ways, supporting growth in academics, health, wellness, and life skills. The organization designs and tailors residency experiences to meet the unique needs of each school or community partner, guided by the belief that all students should have access to the joys of dance.
Partnering with Art Possible Ohio extends BalletMet’s impact beyond Columbus and helps ensure its programming is truly accessible and inclusive. Residencies—such as those at Clark Early Learning Center in Springfield, Ohio, are especially rewarding as BalletMet sees students light up, engage deeply, and move with joy and confidence.
Risa Beth Cohen, MSEd
Art Mediums: Music, Performing Arts
“I enjoy teaching with Art Possible Ohio because it allows me to bring arts-integrated learning to students of all abilities alongside a community of like-minded educators and artists. Together, we create joyful spaces where music, movement, and literacy come alive, and where every learner is encouraged to grow, express themselves, and feel seen.”
About Risa:
Risa Beth Cohen, MSEd, is a music and performing arts educator, speaker, and founder of Sing into Reading LLC, based in Toledo, Ohio. With a BFA in Acting from NYU and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street College, Risa has spent 30 years inviting children, families, and educators to build joyful connections through singing, dancing, reading, and learning together.
Passionate about arts-integrated education, Risa created Sing into Reading to teach literacy through music and movement, making learning engaging and inclusive for students of all ages and abilities. Her debut album, Oh Friends We Love You, is available on Bandcamp and CD. She has presented nationally and internationally and has been featured on WTOL 11, NBC 24, and 13abc. Through her work with Art Possible Ohio, Risa is grateful to be part of a community that believes the arts are essential to helping every learner flourish.
Megan Bee
Art medium: Music
"I love working with the AIA program because it challenges me as a musician to expand my techniques and ideas around how music can be taught. Working with unique students and finding creative ways to include students of all abilities is very satisfying. I love to watch students grow, try new things, and improve their skills over the course of the year."
About Megan:
Megan Bee is an award-winning singer-songwriter with a background in environmental education. Her most recent album Cottonwood has been called "as real as it gets" and was listed in the best of 2022 by Americana UK and No Depression Magazine. She bases in the rolling hills of Athens, Ohio and draws influence from the collision of Appalachian folk and modern songwriting. Between tours she works with a variety of children’s summer camps, environmental education programs, library programs, and artist in residency positions bringing her love of music and the region to children of all ages.
The Dancing Wheels Company & School
Art Mediums: Dance, Movement, Physically Integrated Dance
“We love teaching with Art Possible Ohio because it allows us to share physically integrated dance with students and teachers across Northeast Ohio. The residencies create space for dancers of all abilities to explore movement, expression, and connection. At Dancing Wheels, we believe that if dance is an expression of the human experience, it is best expressed by people of all abilities, and Art Possible Ohio helps make that vision real.”
About The Dancing Wheels Company & School:
The Dancing Wheels Company & School, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980 by Mary Verdi-Fletcher, is America’s first and foremost physically integrated dance company. The company tours nationally and internationally with a roster of professional stand-up and sit-down dancers, entertaining and educating audiences with innovative works by nationally acclaimed choreographers. The School of Dancing Wheels provides inclusive arts programming to more than a thousand children and adults with disabilities and economic challenges each year.
This Could Be You!
