Christine Romanell is a visual artist, focused on geometric abstraction, expressed through painting and sculpture. In addition to her studio practice, she serves as board president at Manufacturers Village Artists space in East Orange and is the organizer for Garden State Art Weekend. Her art has been featured on the Smithsonian Channel and discussed in major publications like Hyperallergic, Juxapoz, MIT Technology Review, White Hot Magazine, and Art and Cake.

Romanell has been recognized for her contributions to the arts community with an NEA grant through Chashama in NYC and a 2022 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her work is held in prestigious private collections, including those of Pat Bell, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, and Memorial Sloan Kettering. Romanell holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (NYC) and an MFA from Montclair State University (Montclair NJ).

Alexandra Schoenberg, born in Cali, Colombia, completed her architecture studies at Universidad Javeriana in Bogota in 1986. Her background in technical drafting and architectural rendering significantly shaped her passion for pencil drawing. After relocating to the United States in 1987, she worked as an architect for 23 years for various firms across the US. In 2014, she obtained her MFA from Montclair State University, where she fused architectural drafting techniques into her artwork. Schoenberg has exhibited her work at various venues such as the CoAD gallery at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Index Art Center in Newark, First Street Gallery in NYC, and The Gateway Project in Newark. Her art studio is based in East Orange, New Jersey, where she creates hybrid drawings and sculptural models. Her work combines and deconstructs different architectural representation methods to challenge and question the mechanics of how we observe.

Coalition building has always been at the core of Jennifer Ley’s artistic practice, whether that be building a grass roots children’s environmental arts organization in the early 90’s (Crayon Power), to publishing several pioneering online literary arts magazines (Riding the Meridan and the Astrophysicist’s Tango Partner Speaks), to her earliest forays into curatorial practice at White Columns and Club 57 in New York’s progressively punk, New Wave 80’s. As a current Essex County resident and board member at the Montclair Art Museum, Ley recognizes and supports the important role Manufacturers Village Artists plays to support diversity and inclusion in the arts in New Jersey. Ley’s art practice spans diverse media over 40+ years. Her early film and photography work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. She is currently working on an installation to call attention to the work of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

Kate Dodd creates both temporary and permanent site-specific installations, and has exhibited her artwork nationally in museums, galleries, and colleges. She was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship grant in 2020 from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and has been awarded multiple residencies, including MacDowell and numerous schools in the tri-state area. Kate has commissioned works at five NJ Transit stations, and has created three commissions for Summit Public Arts. She completed a site-specific commission for the Redwood City Public Library Children’s Room in 2021, and a permanent commission for Rowan University in 2023. Her works celebrate the transformation of materials and the hidden patterns of human habits.

Donna Conklin King is a contemporary American artist known for her concrete sculptures. Her public sculptures can be found in the Summit Public Art Program, Wildflower Sculpture Park, and the Turtleback Zoo in Essex County, NJ. Donna and her Installation “Cave Painting” were recently featured on an episode of “Art Nation” on the Smithsonian Channel. She is the recipient of a Fellowship in Sculpture from the NJ State Council on the Arts, a Creative Capital Professional Development Fellowship, a Vermont Studio Residency, and was included in the NJ Arts Annual in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Donna has a B.S. in Studio Art from Skidmore College and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from Rutgers University. Donna’s skillset includes Real Estate sales and marketing. She was an AVP for Douglas Elliman Real Estate in NYC in from 1995-2000, Executive Board member for the Printmaking Center of NJ in 2006, and marketing Coordinator for the Roseland Farmers market from 2010-2012.

As a Development Specialist, Mark's aim is to make a positive impact on the communities he serves, socially, economically, and creatively. He works with others to form innovative collaborations that lead to desired outcomes. His approach is always lean, agile, and fast - He has found that this is what organizations and communities need to survive and thrive.

Tom Nussbaum is known for a variety of work including sculpture, public art, drawings, paper cuts, prints, children’s books, animations, and functional design objects. His sculpture and works on paper have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States, and internationally. He has completed over forty site-specific commissions located in a variety of public settings including public plazas, train stations, schools, hospitals, libraries, environmental centers, and playgrounds. Tom is active in the community, creating murals and working with others to create community art projects in East Orange, NJ. He has been a visiting artist and lecturer at a number of colleges and universities, and has served on many peer review panels and juries. He has been awarded two New Jersey State Individual Artist Fellowships and is a three-time MacDowell Colony Fellow.

Mona Brody, an artist based in the New York Metropolitan area, has showcased her works both nationally and internationally. Her exhibitions, which span solo and group shows, have been featured at venues such as The Painting Center and The President’s Gallery in New York, as well as the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey. Brody's art can be found in public collections including The Museum of Modern Art Library in New York and the Boleslawiec Art Museum in Poland. She has been recognized with various fellowships, such as those from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Zimmerli Art Museum. Brody has received accolades like the 2015 Distinguished Alumna Award from Moore College of Art & Design and was honored as a Professor Emeritus in 2024 by Pratt Institute of Art.

Carl Herman is an attorney at law in New Jersey. Carl recently retired as the Director of the Division of Mental Health Advocacy, Office of the New Jersey Public Defender, where he supervised a staff of 40 staff attorneys and 32 case investigators, as well as clerical and administrative staff. Prior to assuming the position of Division Director, Carl was in private law practice in West Orange, where he specialized in criminal defense. Over the course of his 35-year career defending criminal defendants in state and federal courts Carl tried over 150 jury trials, including eight state death penalty cases and five federal death penalty cases. He was a member of the federal Criminal Justice Act Panel for over 25 years and was appointed as a death penalty expert attorney in 11 federal districts. He has argued appeals in the Second, Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal. He is a former member of the National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers as well as a former trustee of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey.

Carl is a graduate of Brown University, and he obtained his law degree from the George Washington University National Law Center. He served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Raymond W. Young (Hudson County) and served as Assistant Deputy Public Advocate in the Division of Mental Health Advocacy in the 1970’s, where he represented hundreds of clients in civil commitment hearings.

Alison Pirie is an artist, curator, and nonprofit professional based in Montclair. She currently serves as the Development and Communications Manager at Open House New York. With previous experience at Chashama and The Brooklyn Art Library, Alison brings a wealth of expertise in development, communications, special events, programs, operations, and community engagement within the arts and culture nonprofit sector. As a founding board member of Manufacturers Village Artists, she is dedicated to leveraging her experience to shape and support the community's future.