Teaching Artists & Mentors

SELIN BALCI

Selin Balci is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose work bridges the worlds of art and science. Combining traditional art techniques with biological materials, including mold spores, her artistic practice falls under bio-art, a contemporary art form that employs living organisms. By integrating scientific equipment with conventional art materials, Selin creates innovative works that make the unseen world of microscopic organisms visible to the naked eye.

Selin’s educational background includes a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor of Science from Istanbul University. Her dual expertise in science and art allows her to excel in exploring and shaping this innovative field. 

Selin's recent exhibitions include the 2025 Baker Award Exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art; Breakdown: The Promise of Decay at the Staten Island Museum, an interdisciplinary exploration of the processes and implications of decay, decomposition, and environmental change; and Fungal Partners: Connections in the Network of Life at the Museum Sinclair-Haus in Germany, a profound examination of fungi's ecological importance and their symbiotic relationships with other life forms.

GRAIG BRACEY

I like shooting portraits and buildings because both tell a story about the subject matter. Portraits tell you something about who the person is and who they are not. With portraits, you can control how someone looks or immortalize how they are perceived. Focusing on details gives the portrait life. 

When I shoot architecture, I like to focus on the interesting shape of the building itself and how the building works with its surroundings. 

JASMINE CAFFEE

Jasmine Caffee is happy to return to direct the Apex Arts Studio Dance Company for the third season. She started dancing when she was about 2.5 at National Ballet Institute for the Arts and continued her training through college at Davy Dance Academy. Ms. Jasmine has previously done competitive gymnastics for 9 years and currently has two Acrobatic Arts Certifications. Ms. Jasmine has received numerous awards such as All State Dancer and All County Dancer, while in the AACPS Apex Arts (formerly PVA) Dance Program. She has also danced competitively at an International Competition in Germany! She is a graduate of the University of Maryland of College Park, having studied dance. 

FRANCESCA CHILCOTE

Francesca has been an Apex Arts Guest Artist for past six years, teaching devising and physical theatre. She holds a BA in Theatre from the The College of William and Mary and an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia dell'Arte (Arezzo, IT). Now based in Washington, DC, she is the Co-Artistic Director of Faction of Fools Theatre Company, and has worked as an actor with the following companies: The Welders , Nu Sass Productions, Brave Spirits Theatre, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Adventure Theatre MTC, and Discovery Theatre at the Smithsonian Institution. Francesca is a certified teacher of Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS). Her work as an Italian translator is featured in The Routledge Companion to Commedia dell’arte.

LYNNE STREETER CHILDRESS

Lynne Streeter Childress is a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and the founder and artistic director of Building Better People Productions, an organization  based in Annapolis, MD, that uses theatre-based shows, workshops and classes based in themes of empathy,  kindness, respect and the things that make us all better people. This is her 30th year in professional theater, with much of that experience in theater for young audiences.  This includes performing at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage and Adventure Theatre, and teaching for institutions like the Folger Shakespeare Library, Everyman Theatre, and Baltimore School for the Arts. She is currently a Guest Artist for the APEX+ program of Anne Arundel County Schools. Through all those experiences, Lynne has seen firsthand how theater can communicate the most important things in the clearest and most interesting of ways, especially to young people. Lynne is on the Arts In Education roster for the Maryland States Arts Council and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and through Building Better People Productions, has served students served by the Arlington (VA) Humanities Project, Arts Every Day, and the Howard County Arts Council, among others. She also co-hosts the podcast “Fine Beats and Cheeses” with her twin sister, Leslie Gray Streeter. Lynne lives in Annapolis with her husband and her son. 

WILLIAM D'EUGENIO

William K. D’Eugenio is a Helen Hayes Award winning Lighting & Sound Designer based in Washington DC. 

He was involved in the arts magnet  expansion to the Studio 39 campus in 2014. Since then, he has guided all theatrical equipment upgrades, been a mentor to student designers through the production process, and has guest designed for several shows. 

His recent regional lighting credits include:Trying, The Brothers Size (1st Stage); The Explorers Club (Prologue Theatre); Native Son (Mosaic Theater); 12 Angry Men (associate LD, Ford’s Theatre); Diana Ross & the NSO, An Evening with Norm Lewis, RIOT! Women in Comedy Festival, Ava DuVernay: 13TH, The REACH Opening Festival Mainstage, NSO: Apollo 11 - A 50th Anniversary, Long Way Down, August Greene, Tituss Burgess in Concert, Hannah Gadsby - Douglas (The Kennedy Center); Agnes of God, Lela & Co (Factory 449); Cinderella (Imagination Stage); The Events, Mnemonic, Still Life with Rocket, Word Becomes Flesh (Theater Alliance). 

His work as sound designer/composer has been heard for: Souvenir, True West, The Other Place, and Circle Mirror Transformation (Rep Stage), among others. 

He is a proud member of USA829, the designer's union.

MARISA EVANGELISTA

Marisa Sheena Evangelista (b. 1998) was born in Thailand, but for most of her life, she grew up in Maryland, USA. She has a long term goal of exploring implied narratives that exist beyond her paintings and enjoys work that echos a sense of mystery. Marisa explores her ideas through traditional and digital media. In addition to figurative painting, she also enjoys plein air painting. She is represented by Benfield Gallery in Severna Park.

Marisa Evangelista received her Painting BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in the Fall of 2020. She has since exhibited in several spaces, such as a two person exhibition at the American Poetry Museum in 2021 and has received awards such as 2nd Place in the Easton Plein Air Quick Draw Competition in 2024, and People's Choice for Art on the Avenue (Public Artist Category) in Paint Annapolis 2025.  

EMILY KAROL GERBASI

Emily Karol is an actor, director, combatant, and teaching artist in the DC/Baltimore metro area. After graduating in 2001 from South River High School, Emily attended West Virginia Wesleyan College where she obtained a BFA in Musical Theater. She spent many years performing in different parts of the US. In 2009, her focus shifted to classical theater and she immediately fell in love with the complete worlds of William Shakespeare . She would become a company member with Maryland Shakespeare Festival, a resident teaching artist/actor for Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, a company member/director for the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and work with numerous other companies along the way. Emily recently won Best Stage Actor in The Baltimore Sun’s “Best of 2023” competition for her performance as the titular character in Shakespeare’s “Richard III” at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and The Strand Theatre in Baltimore. 

At Studio 39, Emily directed the main stage production of Peter and the Starcatcher, co-directed the devised pieces of Six Clowns Walked Into The Bard, Theatre for Sleepy People, and SAD Clown Cabaret. She also mentored students through the first two Apex+ Original Plays, "Sleepy Hollow" in the Fall of 2022 and this year's "The Mysterious Case of the Red Death".

JULIA HAWKINS

Julia Hawkins received her early dance training as a member of the pre-professional Huntsville Ballet Company in Huntsville, AL. There, she received extensive training in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and musical theatre. She later attended the University of Alabama where she graduated with degrees in Dance and Musical Theatre. Before moving to Annapolis, Julia was located in Birmingham, AL where she was the Director of Dance and Musical Theatre at the Jefferson County Academy for Theatre and Dance for 6 years. For the past 11 years, Julia has directed, choreographed, performed, and won awards for dance and musical theatre workshops and productions across the Southeast. Many of her former students have gone on to work on cruise ships, in regional theatre, in national tours, and on Broadway.

As dance faculty for the AACPS Apex Arts Magnet Program, she trains students in daily Ballet and Modern classes, and is also the Director of the Apex Arts Dance Company. Since joining the Apex Arts Dance program, she has been grateful to help students find their artistic voice as choreographers and technically trained dancers. She is constantly inspired and driven by the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with her dancers and other artists in Apex Arts to create work that is impactful, purposeful, and meaningful to the community.

MAGGIE HEEMSTRA

Maggie Heemstra received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Lycoming College, (Williamsport, PA) in May 2011. There she studied: American Literature, British Literature, African American Literature, Women’s Literature, and Modern and Contemporary Fiction. Heemstra has been with Anne Arundel County Public Schools since 2013 and is currently the lead Creative Writing teacher for their Apex Arts Magnet Program at Annapolis Senior High School. She has a deep love for poetry, and enjoys writing personal (confessional) poetry as well as nature themed poems. For as long as she can remember she has enjoyed filling journals with poems, small pieces of memoir-esque writing, and short stories.

In April of 2021, Maggie (Benshaw) was named Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis and served a two year term. During her time in this position she held public poetry readings, curated poetry nights with local businesses, and installed a semi-permanent poetry installation on the sidewalks of downtown Annapolis. Additionally, she presented original poetry for the Mayoral Inauguration of 2021, as well as other city events. Some of her favorite gatherings she held were her teen poetry readings (Eat This Poem!) at ArtFarm Annapolis, a local art space and venue.

Heemstra recently received her Masters of Education and Reading Specialist Certification through Goucher College (Baltimore, MD) in May 2023. Outside of poetry Heemstra enjoys doting on her houseplants, spending time in her garden, taking walks with her dog, and thrifting funky vintage clothes. She resides in Annapolis with her husband.

ATHENA HIOTIS

Athena Hiotis is a musician, producer, and songwriter from Baltimore, MD. With a penchant for a wide range of music, she studied music throughout high school at the Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts magnet program, and at the University of Maryland at College Park, diving into a wide range of music eras and genres, sparking her professional career in songwriting, composition, and production.

Since 2012, Hiotis has owned and operated PopRiot Music Group, a boutique label and songwriting/production house dedicated to providing songs and compositions to artists and TV/Film projects. The mission is to make sure that artists pursue their dreams with high quality work that not only supports them but distinguishes them from other artists.

Athena is a member of RÊVE (cinematic art-rock band); Steep Steps (dark, electronic production duo); and Circuit Villains (raw, provoking rock band).

EMILY KASULKE

Emily Kasulke is an illustrator, comics artist and printmaker from Annapolis, Maryland. Her body of work is informed by her lived experiences, and relationships with other people and herself. She primarily creates art within the digital realm, but loves to play with the Risograph printer, as well as making linocut prints. When she is not creating, Emily enjoys spending time with friends, shooting film, traveling to see new places and eating delicious food.

Emily graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2025, earning her BFA in illustration with a minor in printmaking. Emily currently runs a small business selling prints and zines online and in person at small art events. Her printmaking work was selected for the 2025 Riso-Rama Paradiso juried exhibition at Texas State University, the Riso-Rama Reading Room exhibition, as well as at MICA's 2024 juried printmaking exhibition.

RACHEL KOMINSKI

Rachel Kominski graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Women and Gender Studies.

In addition to being a theatre practitioner, Kominski has worked with LiveNation as a stagehand and hospitality for House Of Blues North Myrtle Beach. She also works for Control Video, where she has run camera and assisted video operations for Carolina Country Music Festival, along with other private events in DC.  Occasionally, she works audio and lighting for Freestyle Booking & Events.

This is Rachel’s 2nd year with the Apex Arts program. She can be found mentoring Design and Production students and assisting teachers with their Apex+ classes.

SUSAN LENNON

Ms. Lennon has a professional background as an Art Director and Illustrator in both web development and manufacturing. Her experience in manufacturing includes serving as Director and Lead Illustrator for the creative department responsible for developing kites and garden decor. 

Ms. Lennon's artwork involves creating collages from handmade papers chosen for their style, pattern, and texture. She tears these papers into pieces to form images of landscapes, koi, horses, great blue herons, and other nature-inspired subjects.

JAMIE LEVINE

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Levine joined Apex Arts in 2021. She most recently received recognition by both The American Prize in Voice and New York Lyric Opera Theatre Competition for her performance of works by Strauss, Mozart, and Wagner. 

A native of Baltimore, Ms. Levine  earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Alabama under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Houghtaling. 

Jamie B. Levine  maintains a private voice studio in Annapolis, MD, previously having studios in Ellicott City, MD, Tuscaloosa, AL, Springfield, IL, and Miami and Tallahassee, FL.

She is an Applied Vocal Instructor and a Teaching Artist for the Apex Arts Magnet Program at Anne Arundel County Public Schools. At Apex Arts, Mrs. Levine maintains a voice studio and teaches courses in Musical Theatre Performance, Pop/Rock Performance, and Audition Technique.

Ms. Levine  has previously served as an Adjunct Voice Instructor at Carroll Community College, the head of the voice program at The Music Factory in Springfield, IL, and served on the faculty at The Stubbs’ Music Center in Tallahassee, FL.  

Levine ’s students have been accepted to vocal performance programs and musical theatre programs around the country including Berklee College of Music, Peabody Conservatory, University of Maryland, Chicago College of Performing Arts, University of Georgia, Oberlin Conservatory, University of the Arts, and Towson University.

Ms. Levine  has students in various suburbs of Annapolis including Severna Park, Arnold, and Cape St. Claire.

LUKAS MACKINNEY

Lukas MacKinney is an experimental filmmaker and educator based in Los Angeles, California. When they are not busy projecting old movies at CalArts, they can be found capturing the natural beauty of California's many biomes.

EMILY MCCORT

Emily McCort graduated from Towson University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre: Design and Production. 

Emily McCort is a costumer and teaching artist in the DC metropolitan area. Since 2016, she has taught various sewing, costume design, and fashion history classes with AACPS’ Apex Arts Magnet Program. She has served as their costume shop manager and costume design mentor and is now the Design & Production teacher.

 When not teaching, Emily has worked backstage & in costume shops for various regional theatres including Arena Stage and Olney Theatre Center.

CLAY MICHALEC

Mr. Michalec was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He attended Lebanon Valley College for his undergraduate education, where he earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. While in university, his primary performance mediums were voice and trumpet. For graduate school, he attended Messiah University where he earned the Master of Music degree in Conducting. 

He spent the first decade of his career in Anne Arundel County, MD where he taught both middle and high school music. He has been with Wake County Public Schools in Raleigh, North Carolina, since 2022. 

He is passionate about creating vibrant musical communities within the schools he serves. He believes that all students deserve access to a quality music education. One of his favorite things about being a music director is seeing students from across the school unifying for the common goal of making music and sharing their art with the community. 

Mr. Michalec still actively performs in both bands and choirs, most recently with the Triangle Wind Ensemble and the Concert Singers of Cary Symphonic Choir and Chamber Choir. 

EMILY MILLER

 Emily Miller received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on the Studio Arts of sculpture and Metal Casting. She has been with Anne Arundel County Public Schools since 2005 when she started as an elementary visual art teacher before moving to middle school. Her favorite medium to teach and create with is clay. A Nationally Board Certified Teacher, she has earned a master’s degree in secondary education from Towson University and completed a leadership certificate at Goucher College.  Currently she is the Apex Arts Teacher Specialist at Wiley H. Bates Middle School where she enjoys working with teachers and students across multiple arts areas.

As an arts educator, Ms. Miller feels passionately about using the arts to create connections between students and their community and enjoys helping young artists experience how their talents can positively impact the world around them. Her accomplishments include a variety of community based art projects and visual art curriculum writing.

Ms. Miller loves having the opportunity to work in the community where she also resides, Annapolis, MD. Outside of her professional work time, she enjoys spending time outdoors and in the kitchen, entertaining her dog, and experiencing more art.

JOHN OLDENBORG

John has taught and tutored at the university level for six  years, leading classes on rhetoric and composition as well as Creative Writing (Poetry, Fiction, and Non-Fiction).

He specializes in post-1900 poetry with emphasis on surrealism. He is also interested in the intersection of 20th century literature with visual art and music.

JADA REYNOLDS

Jada Reynolds is a multidisciplinary artist, holding a BFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. Alongside oil painting, her practice is rooted in both printmaking and writing as she believes in the value of utilizing various forms of artmaking to further the conceptual understanding of her work, both for herself and others. Her work centers around the embrace and practice of vulnerability, primarily through the lens of self-portraiture.

Based in both Maryland and Philadelphia, she has been part of several group exhibitions and pop-ups with local artists collectives. She strongly believes in the importance of cultivating artistic community and using the arts as a tool for philanthropy.

An alum of Apex Arts (formally known as PVA), Jada is enthusiastic about giving back to the community that once poured so much into her. She is excited to assist in the development of technical skills, as well as encouraging students to think more conceptually about the role that artmaking plays in their lives, and its ability to impact the world around them.

JENNIFER RIVERA

Jennifer Marie has a Bachelor of Arts in classical vocal performance and had an early career singing classical music. After a hiatus to raise her family, Jennifer returned to the local music scene teaching commercial voice and coaching youth rock bands.

Jennifer has directed the Apex Commercial Band since it's inception in 2020. 

MARY ROSOFF

Mary Rosoff has been a visual arts teacher in in AACPS for many years. She is presently on the Board of the Annapolis Arts Alliance where she is on the Community Outreach Committee,  Scholarship Committee and serves as the Annapolis SketchCrawl organizer. 

In the past she has been an instructor at Maryland Therapeutic Horseback Riding. During the pandemic she worked with ArtReach to bring outdoor art classes to Robinwood and Eastport. While away in the winter she is a volunteer/teacher at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL.

ALEXANDER ROTHSCHILD

Drawing on a rich background in theatrical design and technical theatre, Alexander Rothschild is a dedicated teaching artist. They earned a BFA in Design & Production from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, specializing professionally for many years in theatrical props as both a designer and artisan. This experience cultivated a profound appreciation for collaborative storytelling and the significant role objects play within those narratives – a perspective they bring to their students. They have designed and built props for many theatres in the DC region as well as for regional theatre along the east coast, theme parks across the nation, and the ocassional haunted house. From 2016 to 2022, Alexander shared their expertise as the Technical Director at Studio 39. Offstage, their love for stories continues, whether listening to podcasts, reading, watching animation, attending live performances, or engaging in strategic games like Dungeons & Dragons and Between 2 Castles of the Mad King Ludwig.

LIAN ROTHSCHILD

Lian Rothschild holds an MFA in Stage Properties from UNCSA and a BA in Theater Education from UMBC. She is extremely passionate about enabling her students as artists and leaders and believes that teenagers have a truly incredible capacity for creativity and innovation. In addition to over 15 years of arts education experience, she has also worked in the production industry in a variety of capacities; she began freelancing professionally as a carpenter and scenic artist while still in high school, continuing her career full-time throughout college and after. Notable past residencies include Staff Charge Artist and Props Master at UMBC, Production Advisor at the Carver Center for Arts & Technology, Production Manager of Weston Playhouse Theater Company, and Design & Production Instructor for Apex Arts. 

SHOSHANA SCHLAUDERAFF

Shoshana is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and educator. They value cross-disciplinary art making, integrative learning spaces, and accessible classroom content. They have been a Guest Artist for PVA since 2019. Outside of teaching Shoshana is a freelance artist, meditation class facilitator, and painter. They hold a BFA in Animation from The Maryland Institute College of Art. Shoshana’s past works include astrophysics animation for NASA Goddard, social media design work for The Maryland Institute College of Art, teaching experience with Digital Harbor in Baltimore, and Creative Direction for The Queer Futures Collective. 

ROBERT SCHUMACHER

Robert Schumacher is an actor and freelance artist, specializing in portraiture, in the DC area.  He studied drama and philosophy at the Catholic University of America, as well as previously studying acting and studio design at Concord University in WV.  Professionally, Robert taught art classes for Synetic Theater, and has performed with several local theaters in the DC area.  Robert found his joy for teaching while at Synetic Theater, interacting and educating students there for several summers.  He brings his experience in acting, painting, drawing, and writing here to encourage students to create and bring their imagination and stories to form.

LYNN SCHWARTZ

Lynn Auld Schwartz is a writer and story development editor who has ghostwritten five books. Schwartz’s plays and staged readings have been performed in Atlanta and New York City, including at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center. She founded the Temple Bar Literary Reading Series in New York City, which The Village Voice reviewed as “Lively lineups … always smart, never predictable.” Schwartz has received two Individual Artist Awards in Fiction from the Maryland State Arts Council and a 2014 Literary Arts Annie Award from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. Her stories have appeared in literary journals, and she has published numerous nonfiction lifestyle articles. She produced and directed a Page to Stage series in Annapolis, offering adult and teen writers the opportunity to share their stories on stage. A graduate of The City College of New York (M.A., Writing/Literature), Columbia University (B.A., Writing/Literature), and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre (a two-year acting conservatory where she studied the Meisner technique with William Esper and Sanford Meisner), Schwartz has taught writing at St. John’s College, The Writer’s Center, Maryland Hall, and is often a guest speaker at writers’ conferences and literary events. She was the co-founder and co-organizer of the Writing Intensive at St. John’s College. Her business, Writer’s Wordhouse, provides individual coaching and story development for fiction, memoir, and plays. As a guest artist (and parent of a PVA graduate), she has had the privilege of working with Apex Arts students for over a decade.

KARI SHEA

Dr. Kari Shea is a freelance bassoonist and educator in the Maryland, Metro D.C. area.  Currently performing as bassoonist and contra bassoonist with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and as a member of the Gallery Winds Woodwind Quintet, she teaches at Anne Arundel Community College.

Dr. Shea has performed throughout the United States and Europe with such ensembles as the Forest Philharmonic in London, England, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Opera, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Mississippi Symphony and the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.  She has also performed on chamber concert series in France, Sweden and Nova Scotia and has served as a faculty member of Millikin University and Frederick Community College. Dr. Shea holds degrees from the University of Illinois (D.M.A.), the State University of New York at Stony Brook (M.M.), and the University of Southern Mississippi (B.M.ed).

JOHNNY WEISSGERBER

Johnny Weissgerber is an professional actor and union theatrical scenic artist and muralist, who works in the DC area. 

He studied acting and musical theatre at Marymount Manhattan College. 

His professional experience includes, theatrical artist for Signature Theatre, FX make-up artist, puppeteer, screenwriter, and carpenter. 

He brings this experience to classes on painting, make-up, acting, and design and production. 

Johnny is a big believer in the artistic collaborative process and encourages his students to explore their art forms together.

EMILY ZINSKI

Emily Zinski is a professional actress, singer, recording artist, and teacher with international experience.

Emily earned her BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University, and went on to study and perform with Broadway artists in New York City. A dynamic vocalist, Emily has mastered pop, rock, acoustic, musical theatre, and classical singing styles. Her versatile voice can be heard in major theatrical shows, cabarets, cruise line productions, bands, and original albums.

Emily studied Film & Television in Los Angeles with the SU in LA program. There, she learned acting technique as well as casting & production knowledge from leaders in the industry. Emily can be seen in feature films, commercials, indie shorts, and web-series produced around the country.

Emily’s acting and vocal experience led her to Edge Studio, where she studied voiceover technique. She works as professional voiceover artist, and can be heard in radio commercials, audiobooks, and eLearning courses.

Finally, Emily has a passion for teaching. She has worked as a professional ESL teacher since 2017, helping students around the world learn to express themselves in English. Additionally, Emily teaches voice, acting, and audition technique. She coaches privately and in groups. With young students, Emily’s main goal is to develop confidence, not only in their skills, but in their value as artists. She feels so fortunate to share her hard-earned knowledge with the next generation of performers.

This is Emily's fourth season with Apex Arts.