Brian is an accomplished animator, two-time Telly award-winner and Grammy-nominee, a published animation author and teacher, and a visual artist (group exhibitions at Exit Art, MoMA PS1 and Nexus Contemporary Art Center, GA; art work in the collection of MoMA’s PAD/D Archive and C.W. Post L.I.U., Art Therapy Collection). He has presented internationally and nationally, including the plenary speech at the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) conference in 2009. Brian was the inaugural chair of AATA’s Technology Committee.

After getting his BFA in Painting, Brian Austin spent two decades animating, co-creating (and trying to sell) an original cartoon series, building furniture, skateboarding, playing Capoeira Angola, and of course, painting. Brian returned to the School of Visual Arts for his Masters in Art Therapy. The idea for TAP came to life during his thesis work with adolescents in foster care. More accurately, it was the youth coming to life in the room while making their first animation that lit Brian’s fire.

Brian has always liked Krazy Kat. He loves the drawing style and the character Ignatz who likes to throw bricks. Plus it's a love story!

Meredith Dean, MA, LCAT, RDT/BCT, ICADC is an experienced therapist, educator, director, clinical supervisor, trainer and community-builder who has worked with young creatives for over fifteen years. Meredith has also worked extensively with substance-dependent adults, survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence and incarcerated/system-impacted people. She is the co-founder and serves on the Advisory Board of Drama Therapy Review and in her free time, enjoys music, traveling and experimental baking. TAP’s mission and work combines Meredith’s passion for storytelling, social justice reform, the arts and creative group process. In her behind-the-scenes role, she marvels at the brilliance and resilience of TAP’s participants, the care and humor TAP staff brings to their work and the potential for TAP’s therapeutic workforce development model to deeply transform lives, communities and the animation industry.

Kora Gozdziak is an enthusiastic animator and artist with a passion for connecting with others through storytelling, and a strong belief in the power of creative outlets to foster growth, hope, and change. He brings his experience with animation and various crafty art forms to the team, hoping to expand participants' knowledge of not only the technical elements of animation and story, but also broadening their understanding of themselves as artmaking individuals and what that can look like. The work that TAP does to connect with those young people who may be lacking support for their development in whatever aspirations they have, artistic or otherwise, speaks to his enthusiasm for mutual aid and community building.

His favorite (non-traditional) superhero is Nancy Thompson, the final girl of a Nightmare on Elm Street. The defiant and creative attitude Nancy takes in the face of a bizarre danger, as well as her care for her friends and other survivors, is inspiring.

Ukari Bakosi is currently attending New York University for a Master's in Art Therapy and Counseling. Raised in the Bronx, Ukari grew up (and still is!) obsessed with animation, video games, and comics and their potential as storytelling mediums. As a firm believer in the creative arts serving as a valuable gateway for introspection and growth, he is ecstatic to join TAP in its mission to help teens and young adults across the five boroughs tell their personal stories. When he isn't helping out at TAP, Ukari also assists in running the education program at the Bronx River Art Center.

"With great power comes great responsibility" is a beautiful creed that reminds us all to use the gifts that we have to help others, and is a big reason why Spider-Man -- be it Peter Parker, Miles Morales, or any others that populate the Spider-Verse -- is among Ukari's favorite comic book characters.

Lisa Clementi, MS, BC-DMT, LCAT is a professional dancer and a dance/movement psychotherapist. At a very young age, Lisa fell in love with the incredible freedom of artistic and emotional expression she realized through dance. Shaping her life with dance as both an art and healing practice, Lisa most loves guiding others to tell their stories through movement, especially when words are not enough. In her role as a creative arts therapist at TAP, Lisa most enjoys bridging a connection between the participants in the space and empowering their inner stories to come forward. The ultimate reward of being part of the TAP community is witnessing the power, creativity, and wisdom of the participants and the stories they tell. When not partaking in dance related activities, Lisa enjoys watching thriller movies and vacuuming her husky’s voluminous fur left all over her apartment.

A superhero can come in many forms. A characteristic Lisa is drawn to in a superhero is humility, because although a superhero has a standout ability, treating it with a sense of gratefulness is magic. She loves that one can look back on their journey and honor all that led them to where they are now in their power.

Kristina Olegario Loy is a Filipino-American theater artist and current student at NYU. She is excited to join the TAP team as a Drama Therapy intern. Kristina centers the collective in care and storytelling and has experience supporting various settings and populations. She refills her well with spontaneous sing-alongs, her partner on guitar and her dog as the audience.

Kristina's favorite superhero is Steven Universe. He echoes her beliefs in the power of love, community, and embracing yourself for all that you are.

Stef Syfert, MPS, ATR-BC, LCAT, believes that creative expression and storytelling is the gateway to growth, healing, self-love, and community building. Stef first connected with TAP in 2008 when Brian Austin guest lectured one of her graduate courses at SVA and spoke about the power of tech-based art making with adolescents. 10 years later, Stef joined the TAP team and has loved connecting with, supporting, and learning from the talented young people of the TAP collective ever since. Their stories hold unique power and meaning.

Stef's favorite superhero is Leeloo from The Fifth Element because she is a wonderful blend of vulnerability and strength, innocence and badassery, and at her core, she just wants to love and be loved.

Araliam Vázquez Santana is currently a Dance/Movement Therapy intern studying at Pratt Institute. She is a playful, curious, and empathetic young woman with a wide dance background looking to learn and provide a nurturing space for all participants. Movement is Araliam’s main form of artistic expression, which means she can open a space for people who can relate to this form to become comfortable in sessions. Araliam loves to keep herself engaged in groups to influence creativity and participation. She also loves to involve play to enjoy the process of storytelling.

Her favorite superhero is Captain Underpants. This lighthearted and kind character is created based on a grumpy and mean school principal. Captain Underpants helps learn to not take things so seriously when it comes to brainstorming and creativity, to be able to have fun in the process of developing a story. The superhero seems so simple, but inspires Araliam everyday to just be herself.

Art Jens has held many high-pressure jobs during his life, but his career in Cybersecurity presents him with new challenges every day. Getting the chance to address new sophisticated digital and social engineering threats that attackers use is both fulfilling on a professional and personal level. Art formed Atticus Cybersecurity in 2021 and has specialized in helping small to medium firms and non-profits negotiate today’s digital environment. He prides myself on giving hands-on professional service that is tailored to fit his client's budget, operating procedures, and security needs.

Art’s favorite superhero is his wife. She possesses the following qualities that he values in a superhero:

Integrity: A person who has integrity and uses that as their North Star is rare. It is something Art aspires to have and work at it every day. He might fall short, but striving toward that goal makes him a better person

Loyalty: Loyalty, and he’s not talking about blind loyalty, is a wonderful quality to give and receive from the people in your life.

Courage: Not the boastful type, but the quiet courage that enables people to deal with life and its day-to-day struggles and turbulence. Like Sylvester Stallone said in Rocky 3 "Nothing will beat you down as hard as life". The power of people to keep moving forward and attempt to do everything a little better each day.

Ramona leads the global marketing strategy for Bloomberg's Employer Brand, Diversity & Inclusion, HR and Technology & Innovation efforts. She is responsible for creating programs, developing platforms and managing partners that help communicate and strengthen the Bloomberg brand, drive commercial impact, recruit top talent and engage employees.  Prior to joining Bloomberg L.P., Ramona was the Vice President of Marketing for NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York.

Ramona holds a B.S. in Marketing and Management & Organizational Behavior from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business. Ramona is the Board Chair of The Animation Project. She also serves on the board of NYC & Company.

Ramona has always been and continues to be fascinated by Winnie the Pooh -- bringing innocence, simplicity, a happy place to escape and a reminder to dream.

Frank is President and CEO of TradeMas Inc.

In addition to being the Founder and Executive Director of The Animation Project, Brian is an accomplished animator, two-time Telly award-winner and Grammy-nominee, a published animation author and teacher, and a visual artist (group exhibitions at Exit Art, MoMA PS1 and Nexus Contemporary Art Center, GA; art work in the collection of MoMA’s PAD/D Archive and C.W. Post L.I.U., Art Therapy Collection). He has presented internationally and nationally, including the plenary speech at the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) conference in 2009. Brian was the inaugural chair of AATA’s Technology Committee.

After getting his BFA in Painting, Brian Austin spent two decades animating, co-creating (and trying to sell) an original cartoon series, building furniture, skateboarding, playing Capoeira Angola, and of course, painting. Brian returned to the School of Visual Arts for his Masters in Art Therapy. The idea for TAP came to life during his thesis work with adolescents in foster care. More accurately, it was the youth coming to life in the room while making their first animation that lit Brian’s fire.

Brian has always liked Krazy Kat. He loves the drawing style and the character Ignatz who likes to throw bricks. Plus it's a love story!

Larry is Endeavour Capital Advisors Co-Founder, Chairman & Portfolio Manager. He co-founded Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. in 1994. From 1987 to 1993, Larry was a senior institutional research salesman at Adams, Cohen Securities Inc., a boutique investment banking firm focused on the U.S. banking and thrift industries. Prior to Adams Cohen, Larry was at Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. from 1981 to 1986. He received a BA from the State University of New York at Albany. Larry is a founding board member of The Animation Project and a member of The Economic Club of New York.

As a Commercial Relationship / Lending Manager II at TD Bank, Jose is responsible for managing account portfolios consisting of deposits, loans, fees and expenses for Small Business and Commercial Clients. He is a Money Out Champion for Downtown Manhattan, focusing on mentoring his employees and colleagues on how to provide lending needs for the customers that they service. Aside from his expertise in lending, he is a part of Manhattan's BNI, chapter 52, in which he consistently networks with individuals in various professions and provides solutions for any and all banking needs.

José holds a B.S. in Business and Administration from New York Saint Joseph’s College.

Before joining the TD bank team, Jose held the position of Branch Manager, VP for Citibank.

José is inspired by his favorite superhero, Iron Man, and his perseverance, ability to overcome adversity and his willingness to put those who he loves and believes in above all else. Despite the world's havoc, Mr. Tony Stark has stood true to his beliefs even when the world didn’t comprehend his vision for the world.

Lauren is an attorney at Dentons US LLP and is a member of the firm’s Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice group. She represents clients in and out of court in stressed, distressed, workout, insolvency and bankruptcy situations. Lauren has experience representing debtors, creditors, creditors' committees and other parties in interest in chapter 11 reorganizations and chapter 7 liquidations.

Lauren served as a law clerk to the Honorable Novalyn L. Winfield, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey. She is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law and Boston University.

Lauren loves Shrek - She loves how it flips the traditional Disney love story on its head. A good reminder that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge people simply by what we see. 

Matt has worked as an animator in the feature film industry for over 17 years. After studying Computer Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design, he went on to work for a number of studios including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Dreamworks, and Blue Sky Studios. Some of the films on which he's animated include Open Season, Surf's Up, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, I Am Legend, Puss In Boots, Ice Age 4 and 5, Rio 2, Peanuts, Ferdinand, and Spies in Disguise. In addition to his animation work, Matt has served as a voice actor on Open Season 3 and Spies in Disguise. Most recently, Matt has directed a short film with Blue Sky Studios set to be released on Disney+ early 2022.

Matt's all time favorite animated character is Shere Khan from the Jungle Book. In his opinion, no villain in animation history is as intimidating and charming. Not to mention, the animation is master level.

Rose is a Marketing Consultant in NYC.