Instructors | Sessions College

Andre Robert Lee

André Robert Lee is a filmmaker, keynote speaker, consultant, writer, and educator. André has committed his entire career to building an army of change agents. His process includes Many Things; New York City Public Schools, The Ford Foundation, Miramax Films, Urbanworld, Film Movement, Diana Ross, BET, Paramount TV, Universal, PBS, HBO, Sundance, Picturehouse, NPR, WNYC, WHYY, CNN, Wharton, and Dreamworks. André directed and produced The Prep School Negro. André Robert André is the namesake of the André Robert Lee Fellowship, a multi-million dollar program dedicated to providing financial grants, mentorship, and leadership opportunities for high school students.

Andrew Shalat

Andrew Shalat is an author, designer/illustrator, educator, and Mac expert. Since 1985 he has been designing and writing articles about Macintosh, Mac software, and publishing technologies that have appeared in Macworld, maccentral.com and macweek.com (for which he was a columnist writing "Shalat's Web"). He has been a regular speaker/faculty member at Macworld Expo since 2001 and has written three books: How to Do Everything with Online Video (McGraw-Hill, Osborne), Do It Yourself Mac Projects (McGraw-Hill), and MacDesign Out of the Box (Peachpit). Andrew is a regular contributor to design and Macintosh related sites including Inside Mac Radio, InDesign Magazine, and Creativepro.com. His design work covers a large range of media including book, CD and DVD covers, brochures, catalogs, outdoor signage, print ads, artwork, logos, Flash and Web design, and grocery lists. Over the past two decades, Andrew has taught literature, writing, Web design, and print design.

Anne Catharine Blake

Anne Catharine Blake has over fourteen years of teaching illustration and design online, including curriculum development and mentoring faculty. In addition to teaching, she continues to work as a freelance author/illustrator/designer and exhibits her work regularly. Her work has been published in the US, UK, Europe, and translated into Spanish and Chinese. Her illustrations and sketchbooks have been exhibited in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Canada, England, and France. Some of her papers are housed at the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Bill Drastal

Bill Drastal is an artist and animator who works for Bento Box Entertainment, an Emmy award-winning animation studio that produces network programs, such as "Bob's Burgers." He is currently working on a project that is unnamed and under wraps so stay tuned. Bill has animated comic characters for social and mobile games, created storyboards for online animated videos, and designed character actions and rigs for video games. Bill has a Bachelor's Degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of California - San Diego.

Boris Margolin

Boris Margolin is a veteran graphic designer who has worked as an in-house designer for several major international corporations including CIGNA, MetLife, and Nypro. While living in New Zealand, Boris worked at a brand development studio and at Victoria University. His design work has ranged from advertising design, to identity design, brand development, Web design and administration to application development. In his spare time Boris runs his own niche design company catering to unconventional companies and emerging markets. Boris earned a BS in Graphic Design at Mount Ida College in Massachussetts.

Brent Studer

Brent Studer is a science educator and popularizer who has taught Introduction to Astronomy to college students for over 30 years. He is passionate about helping students understand fundamental scientific principles and explore the history of scientific discovery. While in college he discovered an aptitude for explaining complex material in easily understood terms and today enjoys sharing his knowledge and insights at public presentations and mentoring middle-school students competing in the Science Olympiad. In other work, Brent has been a STEM specialist working with students participating in the TRiO Upward Bound Project and a director of science assessment development for the SAT Suite of Assessments at the College Board.

Bruce Bicknell

Bruce Bicknell is a writer, instructor, illustrator, animator, Web designer, video editor, marketing pro, and graphic designer based in Tampa, Florida. In his career he has worked on projects for Adobe Systems, ATI, Photoshop Elements Techniques, MacTribe, Yellow Machine, and Mac Design, to name a few. Bruce has Associate degrees in Computer Animation and Web Development from The International Academy of Design and Technology.

Carolyn Zaikowski

Carolyn Zaikowski is the author of the hybrid novel In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, Dusie, DIAGRAM, Everyday Feminism, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. You can find her online at www.carolynzaikowski.com.

Felicia Kieselhorst

Felicia Kieselhorst specializes in wedding and product photography but is always willing to take on a photographic adventure of a different subject. Felicia’s freelance photography business FotosByFlee is based in Oakland, CA, a locale whose personality continually provides inspiration, both photographic and personal. Felicia, known as Flee to most, works in digital and film photography, using primarily Nikon, Hasselblad, and an array of toy cameras. She teaches small classes and offers one-on-one tutoring sessions in many different photographic subjects, in addition to hanging personal work in the occasional gallery show. When not busy with all the tasks of small business ownership, the California native can be found hanging out with her hairless pup Qispi, hiking, gardening, kayaking, or just sipping on a cup of tea. You can see her work at FotosByFlee.com. Felicia received her MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco CA and her BA in Visual Arts from Chatham University in Pittsburgh PA.

Fiorella Shalat

Fiorella Shalat is an artist and educator with expertise in commercial still life, microscope photography, and creative darkroom techniques. Born in Florence, Italy, Fiorella studied ceramics and textile design at Parsons School of Design, studied Illustration and typeface design with designer Ed Benguiat at the School of Visual Arts, and earned a certificate in Fine Art Sculpture from the Art Students League, where she studied with Nathaniel Kaz. Fiorella’s work has appeared in various group shows including the National Academy of Design, winning the J. Sanford Saltus Gold Medal, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, winning the Hanna Hyatt Huntington Medal, the National Sculpture Society, and the gallery of the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center. Fiorella earned her Bachelor of Science in Art Education from CUNY and Master's degree in Architecture from the City College of New York.

Jill Mott

Jill Mott is a photographer, journalist, and passionate instructor dedicated to encouraging life-long learning, developing social and professional skills as well as a mastery of technical skills. Jill brings to her classes 10 + years experience in journalism, both nationally and abroad, and an interactive teaching style that promotes discussion and awareness of current topics and opportunities to think out of the box. Jill enjoys applying a wide variety of presentation techniques based on current professional practices and hands-on exploration, including cooperative and active learning strategies as well as lecture. She was commissioned to develop workshops supporting the objective of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and other governmental agencies such as UNESCO.

Jordon Schranz

Jordon Schranz is an audio/visual artist and designer whose work has been exhibited internationally in New York, Chicago, El Paso, Berlin, Bogotá, and Ciudad Juárez. In addition he has performed hundreds of shows across the United States as part of the free jazz trio, "The Eastern Seaboard" and in the avant-rock group "Quivers" with Ninni Morgia, including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Detroit.

Jose Ramos

Jose Ramos is a publishing solutions specialist and Adobe consultant for the Caribbean region. He's an Adobe certified Design Master, which includes certifications in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, InCopy, Acrobat Pro, and Dreamweaver. He's used Adobe software since 1991, and in 2007 founded the Puerto Rico chapter of the Worldwide InDesign User Group. His success opened the door for many other Latin American chapters. He also co-authored InDesign CS5 Learn by Video, published by Peachpit Press and Adobe Press. Editorial design has always been his passion. In 2010, he art-directed and designed the award-winning La Justicia En Sus Manos, a book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. In 2012, he worked for Adobe as a Creative Suite and DPS Evangelist, focusing on the Caribbean and Latin American markets. His relationship with Adobe continues as a consultant, community professional, and influencer. He currently owns his own design and consulting studio in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Kevin Hedgpeth

Kevin Hedgpeth is an Arizona native who makes his home in Phoenix, where he actively writes and illustrates in addition to teaching college-level visual arts courses. He is co-author of “Exploring Drawing for Animation” and “Exploring Character Design” for Cengage Learning and illustrated the book, "Raising Unicorns: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Running a Successful - and Magical! - Unicorn Farm" for Adams Media.

Kristen Becker

Kristen Becker is an educator and a graphic and business designer specializing in e-commerce. She has developed and marketed a niche e-commerce boutique featured in Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and In Style magazines. With over 12 years of experience as an award winning educator, she has developed curriculum and taught courses in graphic design, multimedia, and e-commerce/marketing. Kristen has an Master's degree in Digital Arts From Maryland Institute College of Art.

Lorie Marshall

Lorie Marshall is a life-long learning explorer. She started her journey working in the wholesale mortgage industry. After being told she had a talent for teaching; which was her favorite part of her job, she made the move into education. Lorie has taught a variety of high school and community college courses in accounting, economics, finance and marketing; both in the classroom and online. After 17 years of teaching, she took early retirement so she could explore possibilities for her next adventure. She is currently on an escapade in the world of corporate accounting and loving it.

Melanie Fiander

Melanie Fiander is a professional photographer and passionate educator focused on student success. She currently runs her wedding and event company from the island of Bermuda. Her work has been featured in Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Abroad, New York Weddings, PDN, The Vendor Report, Scotland Wedding, Tie the Knot Scotland, Ländle Wedding's "Seasons of Yes", Whimsically Wed, Bermuda Weddings and Honeymoons, Bermudian Weddings, How They Asked by The Knot, The Gray Collective, Wedding Wire, United With Love, National Geographic, It Started With Yes, Glittery Bride, 100 Layer Cake, Lets Bee Together, The Newport Bride, and Wedding Chicks.

Meryl Epstein

Dr. Meryl P. Epstein is the Dean of Academic Affairs for Sessions College. In her role, Dr Epstein strives to inspire excellence and is consistently focused on supporting the creative and positive environment of Sessions College. Prior to joining Sessions College, Meryl has extensive experience in design, education, and leading academic teams and has served as Dean of Academic Affairs, Program Chair, Doctoral Development Faculty, Art Director, Graphic Design Manager, Faculty member (online and on-ground), and Exhibiting Artist/Photographer. Highlights from her career include implementing and leading the graphic design of three different museums (Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona Science Center, and Arizona Historical Museum) and receiving the first Arizona AIGA fellow award.

Michael Hamm

Michael Hamm is a Senior UX Designer for Oracle Corporation, Web developer, and Adobe Illustrator expert with over 20 years of experience in the creative field. Michael's technical writing on design has been published in various design books and magazines and Michael co-authored the Glencoe/McGraw-Hill book Introduction to Web Design Using Dreamweaver. Michael is an Adobe Certified Instructor in Adobe Illustrator and holds a Diploma in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Houston. Michael has a passion for illustration software and all things vector.

Natalie La Scala

Natalie La Scala is a Denver-based media artist with 20 years of work experience in creative direction, project management, and higher education. Natalie's passion is to create dynamic content that people can put to use. Some recent clients include Z1CareerZone, Engage, LLC, and the Performing Arts Academy. As an educator she has provided innovative organizations consultancy on instructional design, curriculum development, and software training.

Piper Nilsson

Piper Nilsson is a graphic designer and educator. Piper was greatly influenced by studying art history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and learned to apply principles of fine art to graphic design. She has over 10 years of experience teaching at Sessions. Piper has been working with the Web since 1997, when she began her career at a leading Web design agency. Working in various roles as a designer, programmer, and information architect, she blueprinted sites for such global clients as MetLife, Pepsi, ETS, and Citibank. Piper is currently working as a freelancer, based in Valencia, Spain. Her recent projects include a Spanish language podcast and travel app. Piper received a Sessions College outstanding instructor award in December 2011 and won a USDLA Platinum Award Best Practices Awards for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching in April 2012. Piper holds an Associate's degree in Graphic Design from the Pratt Institute.

Robin Masi Carlson

Dr. Robin Masi Carlson is an exhibiting artist and educator with extensive expertise in course facilitation and development for multiple colleges including the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Regis College, and Boston University. Prior to working with Sessions College, Dr. Masi Carlson has developed courses in these areas: Fundamentals of Drawing, Perspective, Color Theory, Painting, Life Drawing, Dynamic Figure Drawing. Art Appreciation, Women’s Art History, Ethics, Aesthetics. Curriculum Dev. She has designed Online Coursework for Anatomy and Figure Drawing, Painting, Perspective, Color Theory, and other face-to-face classes. Her art exhibits and related creative work include The Beautiful Soul, 2021 at University Lutheran Church, Harvard University; Vanishing Point: The Life of Baroque Artist Artemisia Gentileschi; and exhibits in Rome, Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Atlanta, San Francisco in over 100 regional museums, galleriies, and alternative spaces.

Sara Wade

Sara Wade is a motion designer, animator, illustrator, and educator who has worked for clients across the globe for over two decades. She is particularly fond of work that straddles the divide between the visual and the technical like drone shows, digital dome shows, and other non-traditional animated experiences. She has developed curriculum, created courses and taught for universities and schools for over 15 years.

Tamara Pavlock

Dr. Tamara Pavlock is dedicated to inspiring learning, art and creative thinking, and student success. Having earned a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership – Higher Education, a Master’s degree in Instructional Education – Special Education focus, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication (Graphic Design), she is currently pursuing a Certificate in Special Education, focusing on autism. Tamara has over 20 years of experience as an Art, Graphic Design and Education Instructor, Higher Education Department Director and Associate Dean, Creative Director, Print and Production Specialist. Her experience includes consulting, event planning, sponsorship, capital fundraising, instructional and curriculum design and online curriculum development.

Taz Tally

Dr. Taz Tally is the president of Taz Tally Seminars, a computer publishing consulting and training company, and Taz Tally Photography. Taz is the author of numerous graphics and print production books including Photoshop Before and After Makeovers, Acrobat and PDF Solutions, Avoiding the Output Blues, and Avoiding the Scanning Blues, and he is a contributing author to The Photoshop World Dream Team Book. Taz has produced numerous instructional videos, CDs, DVDs and online training courses on scanning, prepress and printing, Photoshop, color correction, and font management, including an extensive library on Lynda.com. Taz is a frequent presenter at seminars and trade shows throughout the U.S, including the GraphExpo, the annual Chicago Print show, and is a member of the Photoshop Dream Team at the biannual Photoshop World convention. Taz writes for graphics art publications including Printing Industry of America, The Magazine, Layers Magazine, and Photoshop User. Taz is an adventure author who specializes in black and white landscape photography and whose latest book is 50 Hikes in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

Valeriya Golovina

Valeriya Golovina is a Ukrainian cinematographer, documentary filmmaker, and educator. Valeriya gained her initial experience in journalism working for Ukraine’s only English language newspaper KyivPost and acquired hands-on experience in filmmaking during her studies at New York University Abu Dhabi where she majored in Film & New Media and History. Valeriya has directed short documentaries and video installations, and worked as a cinematographer on more than a dozen narrative and documentary shorts. Her creative interest lies in the intersection of photography, writing and documentary based projects that reveal personal narratives and complicate official stories with fixed perspectives. Her work has been screened in over 30 countries from Japan to Argentina, and awarded Grand Jury Award for Best Doc in Guam, Best Short Doc in Reykjavik, Asian Cinematography Award Best Short Doc (Our Love), Best Short Doc at NFFTY in Seattle.

Vivian Spiegelman

Vivian Spiegelman has over 40 years professional experience in photography and education. She has taught both college and high school students photography and other creative work related courses. In addition, she has exhibited her creative work and earned prestigious honors.

Walt Dombrowski

Walt Dombrowski is a web developer and trainer with 20 years of professional experience. Walt has extensive experience in PHP, WordPress, CSS, jQuery, and HTML, and has worked in both front-end and back-end operations with clients from 23 different countries. As the founder of Red Turtle Studios, he has produced multiple MOOCs teaching students globally how to use Wordpress.

Academic Team

Faculty