Meet Our Staff
As Clay Art Center has grown, so has our full-time and part-time staff. Meet a few of the people who keep Clay Art Center thriving.
Emily Peck
Executive Director
Emily Peck joined CAC as Executive Director in 2019. Previously, Emily was the Vice President of Private Sector Initiatives at Americans for the Arts where she was responsible for providing business and foundation leaders with research, resources and, strategies to support the arts. She joined the staff of Americans for the Arts in 2008 as part of the merger with the Business Committee for the Arts. Prior to joining the Business Committee for the Arts in 2006, she was at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Education Department where she worked on the museum’s internship program and programs for people with disabilities and in the Jewelry Reproduction Department. Emily graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in art history and has a master’s degree in visual arts administration from New York University. She served on the board of Community-Word Project which provides arts education to NYC public schools. Outside of work, she is a marathon runner and a potter.
emily@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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Wendy Weinstein
Development Director
Wendy came to Clay Art Center as a student and quickly became a volunteer and then a staff member. Starting as Development Associate in 2014, Wendy rose to become Development Manager the next year, and Director in 2019. She has a BA in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MBA in Marketing from DePaul University, and is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Westchester. Her professional career has been in sales, marketing, business management and consulting, and she has been actively involved with volunteer efforts in many community and non-profit organizations over the years. Wendy is on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Association of Development Officers. She has been actively dabbling in clay in her spare time for over 20 years, and currently lives with her husband and their Portuguese Water Dog in White Plains.
wendy@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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Sydney Charles
Administrative Assistant
Sydney Charles is a recent graduate of Georgetown University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics, with a double minor in Sociology and Spanish. She extensively studied the relationship between language, culture, and society during her time in undergraduate, which resulted in her studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain. Prior to joining Clay Art Center, Sydney interned for Congressman Mondaire Jones and was a supervisor at summer camps in the Hudson Valley. As a lifelong resident of Westchester County, she has been deeply involved with various local nonprofit organizations. Sydney is looking forward to her time at Clay Art Center and immersing herself in the CAC community.
sydney@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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Regina Farrell-Fagan
Exhibitions and Marketing Director
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Regina graduated from GMIT in 1995 with a National Diploma in Art and Design, studying painting and printmaking. Soon after she began her teaching career and also worked as a freelance illustrator and designer. She moved to the United States in 2002, and won a work/study scholarship at the Art Students League of New York, in 2005. There she started working in clay. At Lehman College (CUNY) she earned a BA in Studio Art, and majored in ceramics. She was awarded the Women’s Forum Fellowship in 2010, and the Brohmer Twins Award in 2011, and began exhibiting her handbuilt works.
Throughout her career she has taught for several non-profit organizations, including Clay Art Center, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Penn South Co-Op, and the Aisling Irish Community Center. She also worked for Tapir Editions Gallery in Tribeca for several years, and founded and operated Cara Art Studio until 2015. She lives in Hawthorne with her husband, son, and two dogs.
gallery@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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Lucy McGrath
Program Manager
Lucy McGrath comes to Clay Art Center with experience as an Assistant Manager at Cara Art Studio. Her responsibilities included planning ceramic and arts programs for youth and adults. Lucy spent many years as a teacher developing curriculum as well as overseeing logistics for summer camps and after school programs. Lucy studied ceramics at Lehman College. Lucy, her husband and daughter spend their spare time hiking with and training their German Shepard, Axel.
lucy@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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August Brosnahan
Studio Manager
August started at Clay Art Center as a Community Arts Assistant in 2019 after earning his BFA with a concentration in ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. August went on to teach classes at Clay Art Center along with working for New York State Parks. There, August worked in maintaining the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, including coordination and management of pollinator-friendly gardens. In his artistic practice, August’s work involves figurative forms that personify and reflect the natural environment around us.
August is excited to be working at Clay Art Center with the focus of making the Studios a safe and enjoyable environment for all students and faculty.
august@clayartcenter.org
he/him
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Jessica Zeng
Program & Sales Coordinator
Jessica graduated from Bennington College in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in how art and writing can further the environmental narrative, with concentrations in ceramics, writing, public action, and anthropology. She has worked as a teaching assistant, organizer, and workshop instructor for a community collaboration (Social Kitchen: Ceramics, Food, and Community) between her college and the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. Through this, she learned to value the community the ceramics world fosters.
Jessica has worked in a variety of other jobs, including Blick Art Materials, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Green Writers Press, and for a New York State Assembly Assistant Speaker’s office. In Westchester, Jessica likes to spend her spare time managing a stray cat colony by Clay Art Center and volunteering at a nature center.
jessica@clayartcenter.org
she/they
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Brian Barry
Community Arts & Offsite Programs Manager
Originally from White Plains, Brian Barry comes to Clay Art Center with experience in program development and coordination at Star Learning Center, a non-profit learning center in New York City. Brian’s responsibilities there included creating and maintaining a welcoming and supportive environment for families from diverse backgrounds as well as communicating with parents, tutors, and students. Brian graduated from Bennington College with a BA in Spanish and French. Brian is a lover of languages and can speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French fluently. He is always interested in learning another language, as well. Brian is looking forward to learning more about clay and ceramics. As a resident of Port Chester, Brian is excited to foster deeper engagement with the local arts community.
brian@clayartcenter.org
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Jani Morales
Program Assistant
Jani is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on ceramics. She started her clay art journey in the winter of 2023, learning wheel throwing. Jani slowly realized that her passion was hand-building, taking pieces from her sketchbook and implementing them into her ceramic pieces. She enjoys creating whimsical pieces that she hopes bring smiles to the faces of individuals.
Jani is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at SUNY Purchase with a focus on sculpture.
jani@clayartcenter.org
she/her
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Kelsie Dalton
Exhibitions & Marketing Assistant
Originally from Sutton, New Hampshire, Kelsie comes to Clay Art Center with experience in exhibition development and collection care, most recently at Greenwich Historical Society. Kelsie graduated from Williams College in 2019 with a BA in History and Comparative Literature, and is now pursuing her Master's degree in Library and Information Science, with a focus in Archives management. She loves finding new ways to highlight the humanity in history, and making that history feel relevant and accessible to our community today. Kelsie is looking forward to learning a lot more about ceramics and the Katherine Choy collection at Clay Art Center.
kelsie@clayartcenter.org
she/her
Sarah Harlan
Studio Technician
Sarah Harlan comes to Clay Art Center with a background in ceramic studio maintenance. Most recently she has worked as a kiln technician for a handcrafted home decor line specializing in ceramics. She earned her BFA with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Hartford in 2021. Her true passion for supporting community studios stems from her experience as a student and teaching assistant at the Hartford Art School. Sarah is enthusiastic about the welfare of animals exemplified by her time working in veterinary offices and for the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. In her personal studio practice, she aims to take her relationships with animals and translate them into visual fables.
Sarah is looking forward to joining the thriving community here at Clay Art Center.
sarah@clayartcenter.org
she/her