Hadley Yates, Interim Executive Director
Hadley has more than a decade of experience in nonprofit management and is drawn to roles that make a meaningful impact. Her diverse background spans positions in arts administration, urban design, and international community development.
As the former executive director of Whitemarsh Art Center near Philadelphia, Hadley navigated the center through the pandemic while spearheading its online education programming. She previously served as the founder and director of the Mano y Mente artist-in-residence program in New Mexico, and as an associate project director for the AMIGOS community development and health organization in Paraguay.
From the outset of Hadley’s career, she has utilized art as a vehicle for social change. As an urban designer, she advocated for stakeholder involvement in public art and the creative reuse of historic properties. Via the arts, Hadley has worked to stimulate economic activity, neighborhood revitalization, and community engagement.
Hadley holds a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a specialization in urban design and a Bachelor of Art degree in anthropology from Wellesley College. She is a graduate of the Support Center’s Interim Executive Director Institute in NYC. In Hadley’s free time, she is an avid painter who in a “past life” exhibited oil paintings in New England and in the Southwest.
EMAIL: hadley@frontlinearts.org
Hugo Gatica, Assistant Grant Writer and Content Editor
Hugo is our Assistant Grant Writer and Content Editor who organizes, proofreads and publishes posts to our website, specifically our Blog, along with other web media. He also assists our Executive Director in writing and researching grants for the organization.
Hugo is a graduate from Rutgers University with a Bachelor's degree in Art. His primary focus is in printmaking and photography. He also has a strong attachment to literature as he recently received his MA in English Writing Studies at Kean University and is also working in grantwriting.
EMAIL: hugo@frontlinearts.org
Kath Yarkosky, Production Printer and Studio Tech
Kath is the Production Printer and Studio Tech at Frontline Arts, along with being a Per Diem Instructor. She is responsible for various tasks including general maintenance, inventory management, and contract printing.
Kath's educational background includes an Associate of Arts from Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming with a focus on Printmaking and Drawing, and a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Ohio in Athens. With her extensive academic training, Kath is well-equipped to teach and inspire others in the art of printmaking.
Beyond her work with Frontline Arts, Kath is an active teacher, maker, and printer. She brings a wealth of experience to her craft and is dedicated to promoting the art of printmaking and papermaking.
EMAIL: kath@frontlinearts.org
Ron Erickson, Frontline Paper Program Manager & Assistant Instructor
Ron Erickson is the Program Manager for the Frontline Paper Program, coordinating scheduling and logistics for all mobile workshops, talks, festivals, exhibitions and outreach activities.
A carpenter and a fine art painter who has volunteered and worked for Frontline Paper since 2016, Ron has spent his working career in the Display Industry. He first painted the faces of mannequins then as a carpenter and shop foreman, began building scenery, exhibits and props for showrooms, museums, fashion shows, events and photo shoots.
He’s been an assistant instructor in workshops and installer on Frontline Arts Gallery exhibits for several years.
Ron is a veteran of the Marine Corps.
EMAIL: ron@frontlinearts.org
Walt Nygard, Frontline Paper Studio Manager & Lead Instructor
Walt is a Lead Instructor and the Studio Manager for our Frontline Paper program. He manages the in-house production of all handmade paper from military uniforms and handles Frontline Paper supplies, equipment, and archives. As a Lead Instructor, he assists running the mobile workshops, talks, press requests, festivals, and outreach activities.
He is an artist, curator, and writer, and is a Marine Corps veteran.
EMAIL: walt@frontlinearts.org
Giannina Seaman, Board President
Giannina Seaman, is currently the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) for Advantage Solutions: Sales Marketing Technology organization. A seasoned Human Resources professional, Giannina has worked in several industries from non-profit, retail, professional services and consumer goods, and has been a champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts throughout her twenty plus year career. After attending the first Women’s March in 2017, she came away feeling a greater need to dive deeper into her DE&I journey. While at Ketchum Communications, Giannina leaned into their DE&I efforts, playing a key role in driving their efforts to create a culture of inclusion through education in the programming she developed. She was instrumental in leading and expanding their diversity councils across North America and developing a ‘Real Talk’ series globally.
Giannina is a proud immigrant, originally from Peru and attributes her success and drive to her mother, who pushed her to do her best, even when faced with adversity. She is a mother of two amazing daughters, Autumn and Serena, wife to Rick and loving fur mom to her constant companion, Sandy, her adorable Labrador. When she’s not working she loves being the “Honeydo” in her home and enjoys gardening, writing poetry, and going to music festivals and Broadway shows (when possible).
Giannina is proud to be a board member for Frontline Arts and is committed to continuing the organization’s mission to providing transformational experiences through printmaking to Veterans, Migrant communities, and Frontline Medical providers.
Jeff Pasquerella, Treasurer
Jeff joined DriveWealth in 2019 and has an extensive professional background in the securities industry. He spent 17 years with FINRA where he was the Senior Vice President and Regional Director of the South Region of FINRA from 2013-2016. During the period of 2013-2016, Jeff also oversaw FINRA’s National AML Investigative Unit and the creation of FINRA’s Helpline for Seniors.
In 2017, Jeff took on the role of Managing Director and Head of Financial Crime Compliance for the Americas at UBS. After UBS, he served as the General Counsel of Benchmark Investments Inc. and American Global Wealth management, Inc. He is a graduate of Villanova University with a degree in accounting and an alum of Pace University as a Doctor of Law (JD). He is NY and CT bar licensed and was licensed as a CPA.
Angela Pilgrim, Board Secretary
Angela Pilgrim is a Data and IT Manager for a Newark NJ non profit that provides emergency services to individuals, families and children. She applied to be on the Frontline Arts board to serve the community and provide impactful contributions that can make a difference in it. The more that she can provide the best of her abilities and knowledge, it will garner development for herself as well as the community. Angela also wanted to be intentional about which organizations she could be a part of and spoke to her. In the past, Angela has taught under Frontline Arts and learned their incredible work aligned with her core ethics of providing equitable opportunities for the expansion of artists and the community at large.
Daniel Drennan ElAwar, Board Trustee
Daniel Drennan ElAwar received a BFA in illustration from Parsons School of Design, and a Masters degree from Tisch School of the Arts’ Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. He is an illustrator, printmaker, and educator currently working as an associate professor of Illustration in the Faculty of Art at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, Canada. His work, based in a documentary genre and the relief printmaking medium, focuses primarily on issues of displacement, dispossession, and disinheritance. His research interests are based on radical archives and the history of artist collectives, with frameworks sourcing primarily from the Global South.
This research and practice led to the founding in 2009 of a Beirut-based artists' collective, جمع اليد (Jamaa Al-Yad, meaning “Clenched Fist”). The collective's work has been seen everywhere from the Palestinian camps and streets of Lebanon to the Queens Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
In 2017 he was named a resident artist at the Newark Print Shop. His residency project, entitled “Mothers’ Voices”, explored the topic of women in the Southwest Asian region fighting for their children. Two of his prints were featured in the “ELECTION 2016” exhibition at Frontline Arts. After 6 years in Vancouver, Daniel will be returning to New Jersey in the summer of 2023. He looks forward to returning home to New Jersey, and to finding home at Frontline Arts.
Jennifer Friedel, Board Trustee
Jennifer Friedel honed her communications and community engagement skills for two decades in Manhattan with agencies, nonprofits and organizations like CBS Interactive, Hyatt and the United Nations. With a background in the refugee and immigration space, and the military, veteran and first responder community, Jennifer is currently director, communications and government relations at Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA), an immigration and refugee human services agency in the D.C. metro area that provided resettlement services to the largest number of Afghan Allies on the East Coast. She also sits on the Blue Star Families Baltimore and Chesapeake Region Advisory Board.
Moved by art’s ability to heal, disrupt, and bridge differences, as well as to make one dream, Jennifer was moved to join Frontline Arts to ensure these experiences are made available to a broad-audience and to ensure those whose voices and expressions of their narratives are oft overlooked have a place in the spotlight if so desired.
Jennifer holds a Master of Science in Global Affairs from New York University, with a concentration in human rights/humanitarian assistance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Andrea Kalus, Board Trustee
Dr. Andrea Kalus (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Washington. Her clinical practice focuses on autoimmune diseases and complex medical dermatology. Andrea earned her M.D. at the University of Washington. She completed residency training in both internal medicine and dermatology.
She is the Pathway Director for the Humanities and the Arts Pathway, a 4-year elective for medical students exploring the intersection of the humanities disciplines and medicine. In collaboration with a museum educator, she teaches observation skills using the visual exploration of original art objects. She has developed printmaking workshops for students and healthcare teams to facilitate reflection, engagement, and stress recovery. She teaches medical students at all levels of training and supervises residents throughout their three years of dermatology training.
Andrea is using Scrub Paper in printmaking work with healthcare teams. She has experienced the power of artmaking to create conversation and to allow participants to process the impact of working in healthcare. She is committed to helping Frontline Arts further the importance of their work in all areas and especially with healthcare workers. For healthcare workers, Andrea sees artmaking as a space where people experience novelty, surprise, and persistence through mistakes.
David Keefe, Advisor to the Board
Dave is the Advisor to the Board, Co-founder of Frontline Arts, and the Co-founder of Frontline Paper, formerly known as Combat Paper NJ.
Dave has been on staff for Frontline Arts and PCNJ since 2011, directing mobile programming, Frontline Paper and Paper Connects. These projects travel across the state, larger region, and further into the Eastern United States. With this experience, Dave is central to our development, outreach, partnerships, and strategic planning of the organization.
From 2001-2009, he served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, and from 2006-2007 he completed a tour of combat duty in Iraq as a riverine infantry scout.
He holds an MS in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University, a Master of Fine Arts degree from Montclair State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Delaware.
He is an artist, educator, and activist. Dave is also the Senior Assistant Dean of Students for Veteran Initiatives at Columbia University and teaches as an adjunct professor of art at Montclair State University.
EMAIL: david@frontlinearts.org
Eli Wright, Co-founder of Frontline Paper & Lead Instructor
Eli is Co-founder and Lead Instructor of Frontline Paper.
He was an instructor for the original Combat Paper for over nine years and has since led Frontline Paper (formerly known as Combat Paper NJ) workshops for veterans and service members all over the country. He directs the marketing and coordination of Frontline Paper workshops.
Eli served as an Army Combat Medic in Iraq.
He is an artist and activist.
EMAIL: eli@combatpaper.org
Nathan Lewis, Frontline Paper Lead Instructor
Nathan is a Lead Instructor for Frontline Paper mobile workshops.
Kevin Basl, Frontline Paper Lead Instructor & Praxis in Color Editor
Kevin was a lead facilitator with Frontline Paper for 4 years and now the Founder and Editor of the blog, Praxis in Color. He works with guest writers, guides the writing components of social arts workshops, and is a Lead Instructor for Frontline Paper mobile workshops.
Kevin holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Temple University.
He is a writer, activist, and musician. He is also a workshop facilitator and steering committee member for Warrior Writers, a collaborating veteran-focused arts organization.
He served in the army from 2003-2008, twice deploying to Iraq.
Assistant Instructors
Other Frontline Paper Instructors: Jan Barry, Jim Fallon, Joe Merritt, Ashy Palliparambil, Leslie Renn, Seema Reza, Valerie Stemac, and James Yee
Rotating Adult Education Workshop Instructors: Keith Garubba Lindsey Knipe, Maria Pisano, Ron Pokrasso, Len Merlo and many more!