ILLUSTRATOR, DESIGNER, EDUCATOR AND CHAIR OF BFA ILLUSTRATION & BFA COMICS AT SVA

Viktor Koen is an award winning illustrator, designer and educator. He holds a BFA in Design from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem and an MFA in Illustration with honors from the School of Visual Arts. His client list includes the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, Nature, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Wired, ESPN, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Fortune, Money, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Penguin Random House, Doubleday, Harper Collins, Rizzoli, Houghton Mifflin, Tor Books, Atlantic Records, Virgin, BBC and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. 

He is the Chair of BFA Illustration and BFA Comics Departments at the School of Visual Arts and founded the SVA Illustration Residency in 2007. A TED speaker, Mr. Koen lectures for academic institutions and conferences worldwide while serving among others, on the Adobe Photoshop Advisory Council and the Photoville board of directors.

Distinctions include: American Illustration Awards, Graphis Gold Awards, 3×3 magazine Educator of the Year and the Communication Arts magazine Award of Excellence.

ILLUSTRATOR, ART-DIRECTOR, AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR

Eugenia Mello is a Brooklyn based award-winning illustrator, art director, and author from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Since receiving an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, she has collaborated with leading industry giants such as Apple, Nike, MTV, Patagonia, The New York Times, Etsy, and the Guggenheim Museum.

Eugenia is actively involved as a Board Member at the prestigious Society of Illustrators in NY. In 2022, she had the honor of being appointed Chair of the 65th Annual Competition at the Society of Illustrators, and in 2023 she was distinguished as President of the Jury in the Illustration category at the 103rd Art Director’s Club Awards.

As an educator, Eugenia is a professor at the School of Visual Arts (NYC), teaching narrative illustration in the BFA Illustration Program, and at the BFA Design Program at CUNY Queens College imparting Illustration Principles.

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DIRECTOR FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENS

Sujay Pandit, Ph.D. (he/him), is an experienced technologist, learning designer, and educator. He is the inaugural Director for Learning and Development at The New York Botanical Garden. Previously, he was Director of Teaching and Learning Enhancement in SVA's Humanities and Sciences department. Sujay has an extensive background in higher education, pedagogical design, and multimedia. His teaching experience includes institutions like Harvard University, New York University, Fordham University, Emerson College, The Berklee College of Music, and SVA.

CURRICULUM COORDINATOR ART EDUCATION AT SVA

Linda Eva Kourkoulis is an art educator, artist and researcher. She earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, and an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University. Linda has taught art across grade levels and contributes to the field of art education with conference presentations, articles, book chapters, and as a journal reviewer. She is currently working on an artistic research project in conversation with women across cultures, based in her printmaking studio in New York.

ART ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL AT EDWARD R MURROW HS

Spy Kontarinis is a dedicated educator and passionate advocate for the arts, currently serving as the Assistant Principal of Fine Arts and Career and Technical Education at Edward R. Murrow High School, a role she has embraced for the past 20 years. With 27 years of teaching experience, Spy has nurtured talent and fostered creativity among her students, guiding many of them into prestigious art schools where they can further develop their skills and pursue their passions. Spy's commitment to her students and the arts goes beyond the classroom; she continuously seeks innovative ways to integrate art into education, ensuring that the next generation of artists has the support and resources they need to succeed. Her journey from fashion designer to esteemed educator illustrates not only her versatility but also her unwavering dedication to empowering young minds through the transformative power of art.

ART COORDINATOR BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN

Rachel  Shapiro is a seasoned arts education leader with over two decades of experience in administration, teaching artistry, performance and community engagement. In her position as Manhattan Borough Arts Director for New York City Public Schools, she has played a pivotal role in shaping arts education programming and practice for pre-K through 12th-grade students by providing direct support to District leadership, principals and arts teachers. As the first and only individual to hold this position, she has focused on addressing issues of equity and access in arts education throughout the borough of Manhattan. In this vein, her most recent initiative, the Early Childhood Strings Pathway Pilot, is the first of its kind in NYCPS. This collective impact program draws upon public and private streams of support to provide free, classroom-embedded individual and group violin instruction for three 3k and PreK classrooms. Annually, she produces the Manhattan Borough Arts Festival, showcasing over 1,000 NYC public school students work in visual and performing arts at major venues such as The Shed, Apollo Theater and MoMA.  Her initiatives foster collaboration between public school arts educators and cultural organization teaching artists, enhancing instructional practices across the educational spectrum. Rachel holds a Master of Arts in Administration, Leadership and Technology from New York University, along with a BM and MM in Viola Performance from The Juilliard School. She is certified as a New York State School Building Leader.  

EDUCATOR

Simona Auerbach is a DOE-certified K-12 Visual Arts educator with a Master’s degree in Visual Arts Education from the MAT program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, as well as an MA in Production Design from the prestigious Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC), the National Film School in Rome.

Simona’s certifications for the DOE include edTPA, CST, ALST, and EAS. Beyond her teaching credentials, she brings a rich professional background as a motion picture production designer and art director for feature films and television. A proud member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829 in NYC, Simona combines her industry expertise with her passion for education.

She has had the privilege of instructing diverse groups of students across New York City public schools and teaching at the collegiate level, including at SVA and Brooklyn College. Her multidisciplinary approach integrates art history, visual storytelling, and design, fostering creativity and critical thinking in her students.

AWARD WINNING CONCEPT ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

With nearly a decade of experience, Eliott Lilly takes pride in creating high quality concepts that service the video game and movie industries.

ANIMATOR, TOY DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR AND EDUCATOR

Vincent is an animator, illustrator and toy designer. He has directed and produced projects for Ariana Grande, Chelsea Peretti, Nickelodeon, Disney and more. His animated music video for Chelsea Peretti was nominated for a Reuben Award as well as received a stunning writeup in Rolling Stone. As the creator of the Work Dog brand he continues to create fine art, comics and toys. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY his work is inspired by NYC, Punk Rock, Street Art and Counterculture.

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COMIC CREATOR, AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR

Miss Lasko-Gross is the author and illustrator of Henni (Honored by ALA’s Amelia
Bloomer List and YALSA 2016: Great Graphic Novels for Teens,) Fantagraphics
Books: A Mess Of Everything (named one of Booklist's top 10 graphic novels of the
year) and the YALSA nominated Escape From "Special."  She is the creator/writer of Z2
comics’ scifi series THE SWEETNESS. Her Illustration has also been featured in the New
Yorker’s Daily Shouts.

CHILDREN'S BOOK ILLUSTRATOR, EDUCATOR

Anna Raff is an award-winning illustrator of many books for children including WORLD RAT DAY, IF I WERE A KANGAROO, YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE!, and the forthcoming PARTY ANIMALS—due out in Spring 2025. Her book THE DAY THE UNIVERSE EXPLODED MY HEAD was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year and New York Public Library Best Book. Anna’s science picture book collaboration with author David A. Adler has garnered rave reviews from children and educators alike.

Before her career as an illustrator, she was a designer and art director at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and several children’s book publishers. Anna is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program and Illustration Summer Residency

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