Faculty

Josie Abbenante, ATR-BC, LPAT, has taught and practiced art therapy for the past 30 years.  She directed art therapy graduate programs at the University of New Mexico and Seton Hill College, and has taught at Eastern Virginia Medical School.  She has been a visiting faculty member with Vermont College, Mount Mary College, and Naropa University and currently coordinates and teaches in the summer graduate art therapy program at Pratt Institute.  Josie presents nationally and internationally on topics including archetypal art therapy, transition, art therapy with Deaf culture, art therapy and feminist theory, sandplay and art therapy, work across cultures, and the language of aesthetics and metaphor. 

Jodi Aker, MAT, ATR-BC, is an art therapist and art educator with eighteen years of experience. She began her career as an art therapist in a residential school for multiply handicapped students. Jodi pursued a degree in art education in order to take her work into the public school system. She is currently facilitating expressive and creative opportunities for urban teens. As a result of this work, Jodi was recognized as the North Carolina Special Needs Art Educator of the year for 2009.

Frances Anderson, EdD, ATR-BC, HLM, began her career teaching K-12 art in the 1970s, when she pioneered the adaptive approach to working with children with disabilities under the mentorship of Larry Barnfield. She is the author of numerous publications, including two seminal books on this subject, Art for All the Children (1978/1992) and Art-Centered Education and Therapy (1994). Both are currently in revision. As a Fulbright recipient over the years, Frances has taught in Argentina, Taiwan, and Thailand. She is currently a Visiting Professor in the School of the Arts and the School of Education at the College of Charleston, SC.

Brian Austin, MPS, has over 20 years experience as a professional computer animator in broadcast production, as well as a teacher of digital animation. Mr. Austin holds a Masters degree in Art Therapy. He is a pioneering practitioner of integrating art therapy practice with technology. Brian lectures and leads workshops on this subject for masters level students at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, as well as at national art therapy conferences. He is the founder and executive director of THE ANIMATION PROJECT, which promotes adolescent mental health by pioneering the use of technology-based art therapy.

Rachel Brandoff, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT is founder and co-director of the Creative Arts Therapies Center in New York City.  She is adjunct faculty at Marymount Manhattan College and the College of New Rochelle, and serves on the conference committee of the American Art Therapy Association. Rachel is also the Ethics Chair of the New York Art Therapy Association. She has taught arts and language classes and led after-school programs for children ages four and older in a variety of settings, including public, charter, and religious schools, as well as mental health centers, and social service agencies.  Rachel has written arts-based curriculum for children, teens and multi-family groups.

Susan D. Loesl, MA, ATR-BC, WATR, has worked as an Adaptive Art Specialist/Art Therapist for the Milwaukee Public Schools in Milwaukee, WI, for the past two decades. She is an Art Therapy and Graduate Education adjunct faculty at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. Susan has presented papers and led workshops at conferences and in-service trainings throughout the Unite States and China on topics related to art education, art therapy, persons with disabilities, and assistive technology. She is a national consultant regarding adaptive art strategies and low-tech adaptive art tools to schools, universities, and organizations. Susan also collaborates with the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design students to design and develop new adaptive tools for persons with special needs. She is author of three chapters on adaptive art strategies.

Barbara Mandel, MA, ATR-BC is both an experienced art teacher and a Board Certified art therapist. She has worked in a wide variety of settings, including elementary and middle schools, hospitals, day treatment centers, and community centers. She is currently the middle school art teacher at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. Barbara is also a Mentor Teacher for the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. and a painter.

Sangeeta Prasad, MA, ATR-BC, is a fine arts graduate of Stella Maris College, Chennai, and has a Masters Degree in art therapy from George Washington University, in Washington, DC. She has over 20 years of experience working with children and adults with serious mental illnesses and other disabilities. Sangeeta has used her experience as an educator and as an art therapist to lay a foundation for a holistic approach to teaching and using art. Her goal is to bring art education to every school in India and to introduce art as therapy for children with special needs. To these ends, she has recently completed and published her book, Creative Expressions: Say it with Art.

Judith A. Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, received her MEd and PhD from the Graduate Schools of Education at Harvard and the University of Pittsburgh respectively. She began her career as an art teacher in the public schools of Cambridge, MA and Pittsburgh, PA. An art therapist since 1963, she has taught courses in Therapeutic Aspects of Art Education at local colleges and universities, and began art programs in schools for exceptional children. Judy was the Art Lady for the first 3 years of the popular television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and is the author of 6 books and hundreds of articles and book chapters, many of them on topics in art education. The 3rd edition of Child Art Therapy (2005) includes chapters for art teachers and a DVD. An NAEA member from 1967-1980, she co-founded the Pittsburgh Association for the Arts in Education & Therapy in 1973, which continues to be a vibrant organization of educators and clinicians.

Stella A. Stepney, MS, ATR-BC, LCAT is licensed by New York State as a Creative Arts Therapist and holds a New York State Teacher Certification in Art Education. Ms. Stepney obtained a B.A. degree in Art Therapy from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY and a M.S. degree in Art Therapy from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY. She is a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Art Therapy from Nazareth College.
Ms. Stepney is on the adjunct faculty of Nazareth College of Rochester. She teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Creative Arts Therapy Department, School of Health and Human Services. Stella is the author of Art Therapy With Students At Risk: Fostering Resilience and Growth Through Self-Expression, published by Charles C Thomas.

Linney Wix, PhD, ATR-BC is an Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of New Mexico. She currently teaches Research in Art Education, Art for At-Risk Students, Image and Imagination in Art Education, Bookmaking, and Bookmaking II.  She has taught and lectured in Russia, the Czech Republic, and Cyprus, and is a regular presenter at American Art Therapy Association conferences in the areas of educating the imagination and bookmaking. She practices bookmaking in her private studio, and has exhibited in local and national juried exhibitions. Linney is the author of the upcoming book, Bauhaus in Terezin: The Art and Teaching of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis

Barry M. Cohen, MA, ATR-BC exhibited his paintings professionally as a teenager, and began his career in the helping professions as a Child Life Specialist in 1979. Co-founder of an inpatient program for the treatment of severe posttraumatic disorders, he has pioneered an award-winning international research project on art and diagnosis, published numerous articles and chapters, and co-authored/co-edited three books. He has taught extensively in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. Also a professional meeting planner and consumer fair producer, he is currently Executive Director of Expressive Media, Inc.