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.
Maggie Kersten
Art Medium: Dance
"Working with this community has opened my eyes to how accessible dance truly can be. It provides students with joy, creativity, problem solving, and challenges them in new ways each day."
About Maggie:
Maggie grew up dancing in Northwest Indiana before attending Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan for High School. She trained in ballet, pointe, modern, and jazz. She then moved to Athens to attend Ohio University, and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s of Specialized Studies in Dance and Music. After graduation, Maggie went on to teach dance in Columbus. She has worked with children of all ages in dance and non-dance settings since 2014. Maggie is currently pursuing a Masters of Community Dance and a Masters of Arts Administration at Ohio University. Her goal is to make dance more accessible throughout Early Childhood Education.
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 and Storytelling
"To me, the words Adaptation, Integration and the Arts are exactly how everything should be taught and presented in every situation! We always have to be using our creativity as teaching artists to adapt the material that we want to present so that it can be heard and understood by whoever is in front of us - and that will change from class to class, show to show, residency to residency. Integrating what we are presenting with material that the students already know makes the lesson much more meaningful for them, and allows them to understand how an art medium can connect to any aspect of their life."
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 continued teaching and performing. With a 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 adapts her presentation to reach the people before 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
This Could Be You!
