People

STAFF

Ms. Heather-Marie Montilla

Ms.  Montilla became Executive Director in Fall 2008 to oversee fundraising, marketing, finance, programs, and the strategic growth of Doing Art Together (DAT). Having dedicated her career to the nonprofit sector, she joins DAT from the Neuberger Museum of Art, where she served as the Director of Development for four years. Nearly doubling its fundraising income, Ms. Montilla cultivated, secured, and stewarded major donors; managed numerous special events, wrote government, foundation, and corporate grants; organized international art treks; developed corporate partnerships; and organized and implemented exhibition sponsorship campaigns. Prior to her work at the Neuberger, Ms. Montilla was the first Development Officer for Community Impact at Columbia University through a generous grant from the Pincus Family Foundation. In her role, she successfully worked to diversify Community Impact’s funding during her four year tenure.

Ms. Montilla earned her Master of Public Administration with a focus on Advanced Management Technique and Finance at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University where she double-majored in Public Policy and Art History and also received a Markets and Management Certificate.

Ms. Tiia Richardson

Ms. Richardson became the Director of Strategic Programs and Projects in August 2010 after spending one year as a New York City Civic Corp working at Doing Art Together (DAT).

Prior to coming to DAT, Ms. Richardson worked in fashion design doing fabric research and product development, color and trend forecasting, and the development of finishes on denim. Her career spans 18 years with great American brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger USA, Levi Strauss, and Marc Jacobs LLC.

Ms. Richardson joined DAT looking towards a career change, “I want to be more significant. I believe every child deserves to know and understand that the same options are out there for them. They just need help finding out what and where they are, and how to get there. Education changed my world and can change theirs. I wanted a commitment and considered the Peace Corps … but I thought… I want to serve the people in my community, in my city, right here at home. NYC Civic Corps was perfect.” During her year as a Civic Corp member, Ms. Richardson worked on program management including evaluation, training and strengthening the teaching artist staff, instituting ways to increase and maintain volunteers and to continually enhance our programs’ relevance to the communities served. Ms. Richardson was recognized with the Outstanding Civic Corp Member of the Year Award.

TEACHING ARTISTS

  • Patricia Gaeta
  • Arturo Garcia
  • Caroline McAuliffe
  • Rose Nestler
  • Gladys Riveros
  • Lejka Sievert
  • Nina Tantillo-Elton
  • Sam Tomasello
  • Alexis Williams


GUEST ARTISTS

  • Randy Williams Philemona Williamson
  • Kate Schein Waisman

FOUNDERS

Ms. Muriel Silberstein-Stofer is the founder and Creative Director of Doing Art Together Inc. and author of Doing Art Together (Simon & Schuster 1982 & Harry N. Abrams Inc. revised edition, 1997). She was elected to The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a Community Trustee from Staten Island in 1971. Since 1972 she has been art education consultant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art where she originated and has taught the renowned Parent / Child studio workshops. Prior to that Muriel taught at The Museum of Modern Art for eight years with Victor D’Amico, her teacher and mentor. As a sought-after consultant, she has worked with numerous universities and museums nationally as well as with a multitude of cultural and educational organizations in New York City. Always a community activist, she was appointed by Mayor John Lindsay to the Art Commission of the City of New York in 1971 and served for fifteen years, seven years as president. She is past-president of The Associates of the Art Commission. She is a member of The Board of Governors of Daytop Village and serves on the Trustee Education Committee, the Visiting Committee to the Modern Art Department and the External Relations Committee at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She developed a CD-ROM about her Parent / Child workshops entitled “look what I see” which won the New Media Software Award at the Bologna, Italy Children’s Book Fair. In November 2000, the New York City Art Teachers Association (NYCATA/UFT) presented the Art Educator Award 2000 to Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. She began her career by obtaining a BFA in Theatre Arts from Carnegie Mellon University and was Assistant Technical Director and Co-Scene Designer at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Her own art work, utilizing found materials, has been exhibited in New York City.

Ms. Askitopoulos Friedman is Co-Founder of Doing Art Together, Inc. During her tenure, she oversaw public school and social service agency programs, developed curricula, and also conducted staff development workshops for teachers and administrators. Since 1978 she taught Parent / Child studio classes and Saturday Family programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She studied and received degrees from the University of Fine Arts and has a BFA in Architecture and City Planning from the Polytech in Athens, Greece. She received a certificate from the Royal Academy of Design, London, England and took courses at The New School for Social Research, New York, and Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York. Since 1968 she taught art in shelters for abandoned children, in schools for special audiences and blind children, in the Westchester School System. In November 2002, Electra Askitopoulos Friedman was honored by the New York City Art Teachers Association / UFT with the Art Advocate of the Year Award at their 22nd annual conference at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art & Performing Arts, because, for most of her adult life she has actively promoted the arts in education for all people in numerous ways. In 2007 she received the First Annual Herbert Storfer Service Award from Doing Art Together.

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