Department Heads

Program development at Sessions College for Professional Design is led by a team of Department Heads working with Sessions Education Department staff.

Innovative teachers as well as professional designers, Department Heads provide the vision for each program, providing guidance on curriculum development and helping to define the standards that students are expected to meet in each program. Class learning outcomes are correlated to professional standards, to help students acquire the skills and practices for creating entry-level work.

Joss Parsey, Head of Graphic Design

Joss Parsey is a graphic designer and art director whose clients have ranged from Liz Claiborne, to Copco, Serengetti Sunglasses, and Kepner Tregoe. In the past two decades Joss has designed fabrics for Liz Claiborne, worked in-house at Adobe Illustrator, and coordinated programs at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Joss holds an MFA from Royal College of Art in London.

Too many graphic designers today are engaged in creating work that looks pretty but says nothing. Good graphic design concepts make a statement. They are eye-catching, timeless, memorable, and unique. …a personal message from Joss

Piper Nilsson, Head of Web Design

Piper Nilsson is a freelance graphic designer/information architect who during her agency career blueprinted sites for MetLife, Pepsi, ETS, and Citibank. As a freelancer Piper has designed sites for a wide range of business clients as well as building an e-learning prototype for children with learning disabilities and teaching technology in New York City public schools.  Piper received an AOS degree in Graphic Design from Pratt Institute.

Nothing feels better than hearing that someone got a new client from a Web site you designed. Each Web site is a persona. Just as the ancient Greeks used theatrical masks on stage to depict different characters and emotions, we use color, typography, and imagery to represent ourselves online. …a personal message from Piper

Margaret Penney, Head of Multimedia Arts

Margaret Penney is a teacher, designer, writer and media artist who has lectured on new media art at Purchase College, the SVA Annual Conference for Educators, and the Pratt Institute. Margaret has taught design and technology and designed Computer Science curriculum at the high school level. As a Web designer and developer, Margaret has created a multi-channel community portal for Hong Kong teenagers; ecommerce for Delias.com girls' clothing; a flash promotional for Nike; and a site for artist Sol Lewitt. Margaret has an MFA from Columbia University.

Let's face it, multimedia is all around us. Everyday, in cities and towns around the world, monitors and screens large and small are loading up rich interactive motion graphic experiences to entice customers or just draw in a million eyeballs. …a personal message from Margaret

Andrew Shalat, Head of Digital Arts

Andrew Shalat is an author, designer/illustrator, educator, and Mac expert. Since 1985 he has been designing and writing articles for Macintosh, Mac software, and publishing technologies that have appeared in Macworld, maccentral.com and macweek.com. Andrew’s design work includes books, CD and DVD covers, brochures, catalogs, outdoor signage, print ads, logos, and Flash Web design and he has taught literature, writing, Web design, and print design.  Andrew has a MA from Brandeis University.

We are designers and artists to the extent that we can recognize and decipher the world around us. Design, it’s been said, is the process of taking something from an existing state to a preferred one. That something could be an idea, a message, a color, or a shape. …a personal message from Andrew

John Feld, Head of Marketing Design

John Feld is a print designer and editor of The Graphics Report, a resource for designers and digital photographers. John has lectured at design and technology conferences AIGA, Comdex, Seybold, MacWord and E3. John co-founded the Adobe User Group in LA and the Digital Prepress Committee for the PIA and co-authored the first industry standards for digital graphics for the printing industry. At UCLA, he created and taught the Digital Prepress curricula. John holds a B.Ed., from University of Lancaster in England.

If we are to be successful designers we must understand the marketing perspective of our clients, even if the client is ourselves (as designers or small business owners). The audience is paramount: each client appeals to a different audience, whether the client is a realtor, a local furniture store, or a multinational corporation. ...a personal message from John

Todd Gantzler, Head of Game Art

Todd Gantzler is a game artist, educator, and writer. Todd has worked as a 3D artist on such games such as Gex 3D, Cyberia, and Akuji the Heartless and specialized in game design work and character animation. Todd has served as Program Leader for game development degree programs at the Media Design School in New Zealand and at the University of Salford in England. He has been designing and teaching game art and design classes since 2000. Todd's first book Game Development Essentials: Video Game Art was published by Thomson Delmar Learning in July 2004. Todd has an M.A. in Computer Graphics from Ohio State University.

The attractions of a career in game development are obvious: a job in a creative field, in a fast-growing industry, creating something as fun as computer games. Nowadays an artist can prepare for a career with formal training, earning a professional certificate or even a college degree as they develop the skills game developers are looking for. ...a personal message from Todd

Jordon Schranz, Head of Fine Arts

Jordon Schranz is a visual artist, musician, curator, and educator whose work focuses on the idea of social and political interaction and their underlying cultural structures. Jordon is an active member of the New York experimental music scene, regularly curating, performing, recording, and promoting avant-rock, free jazz, noise, and experimental music performances. Currently he is working in Las Cruces, New Mexico on an extensive project based on security camera footage and themed around issues of privacy and surveillance. Jordon is an instructor at the Las Cruces Museum of Art and the Preston Contemporary Art Center. Jordon earned a BFA in Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

The language of art has evolved over thousands of years, since the early days of our human species. To become artists, we must learn this language, its basic elements, syntax, and grammar, and how to use it effectively to communicate and express ourselves to others. ...a personal message from Jordon