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Elizabeth Reiss, President & CEO
elizabeth@artscenteronline.org
(518) 273-0552
Elizabeth Reiss is a lifelong arts advocate. Her career has been guided by the simple belief that the arts belong in everyone’s life. Raised in LI, Reiss has worked in NYC, Pittsburgh, and the Capital Region, in art museums, children’s museums, arts festivals, and now at The Arts Center.
Reiss has worked as a museum educator, education department director, exhibitions manager and development and public relations director, as well as organizational leader. Her favorite projects have been developing Craft in the Classroom, a K-12 craft education curricula developed with the NYC board of education, renovating an empty storefront to become the Children’s Museum of the Arts in SoHo, and, as part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, presenting public art projects that interacted with the environment, with artists Magdalena Abakanowicz, Patrick Dougherty, Steven Siegel, and Stacey Levy, among others. Reiss continues to also work in Pittsburgh, as the Managing Director of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company.
Reiss has a BA from Bard College and an M.Ed from Bank Street School for Education. She has played an active role in community and professional service organizations and serves as the President of Arts NYS and the Co-Chair of the Troy Cultural Alliance.
Joseph Mastroianni, Vice President of Programs
joseph@artscenteronline.org
(518) 273-0552, x133
Joseph Mastroianni is the Vice President of Programs at The Arts Center of the Capital Region. Joseph leads the Education Department through hiring teaching artists, curriculum/programming development, and contract services with other local organizations or schools.
Joseph received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the State University of Albany in 2010 and his Master of Fine Arts from the State University of New Paltz in 2012. Throughout his academic career, Joseph was a T.A. for foundation art classes at New Paltz as well as the Visiting Artist Coordinator for his master program and later became an instructor at The Arts Center of the Capital Region starting in 2013.
Throughout Joseph’s academic and professional career, he has been a commitee member of the inagrual O+ Music and Arts Festival in Kingston, New York. He also was a recipient of several grants for multiple public art projects in both Kingston and Troy, New York. Most recently he has been an active member of the Troy 100 forum in Troy, New York and assisted with The Arts Center of the Capital Region’s 2019 Public Art programs.
Nicole Seeger, Director of External Relations
nicole@artscenteronline.org
(518) 273-0552, x125
Nicole began her career in the arts in 2005 at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield MA, and has worked in the arts, both in museums and arts centers, ever since. Nicole is now the Director of External Relations at the Arts Center of the Capital Region.
Nicole started her career in the Capital Region at the Albany Institute of History & Art by transcribing letters from the second US Ambassador to Japan. Realizing her comfort with historical research, project management and interpersonal relations, the Institute quickly hired her as a member of the development team. In the matter of a few short years, Nicole rose from Intern to Manager of Corporate Giving and Special Events. After five years at the Institute, she left to become the Director of Development, then Director of External Relations for the Arts Center of the Capital Region. At ACCR, Nicole manages a complex development program, from institutional giving, major grant writing, individual giving programs and special events.
Nicole has a BA in History/Political Science from the College of Saint Rose and an MA in History from the University of St. Andrews. She is part of the Rensselaer County Chamber’s Leadership Academy Class of 2020.
Jamie Dougherty, Director of Finance and Facilities
jamie@artscenteronline.org
(518) 273-0552, x124
Jamie Dougherty, born and raised in Oceanside, CA, graduated from California State University Long Beach with a BA in Dance. After pursuing a modern dance career in New York City, she decided to move into the admin side of the art world. She completed a bookkeeping certificate program at CUNY LaGuardia in Queens and started as an intern at Dance New Amsterdam in lower Manhattan. She left Dance New Amsterdam as the Business Manager to join the finance team at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn. In 2015, a desire to move out of the city led Jamie up the Hudson River to Troy, NY where she joined The Arts Center of the Capital Region as the Business Manager.
Julie Brown, Development Manager
julie@artscenteronline.org
(518) 273-0552, x127
Julie Brown was born and raised in Schenectady, New York, where she developed an early love of art as both a painter and a frequent museum-goer with her father. That early sense of wonder grew into a lifelong devotion to creative spaces and the people who make them possible.
In 2010, she moved to New York City and worked across a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit arts organizations in collections management, curatorial work, business development, and fine-art shipping and logistics. During this time, she also traveled internationally, building relationships and gaining a global perspective that continues to inform her work.
When she returned to the Capital Region in 2020, Julie was immediately drawn to Troy’s vibrant creative pulse and spirit of collaboration. Over the past five years, she has become deeply rooted in the city’s arts community, inspired by its makers, dreamers, and builders. She holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and Art History from Marist College, with additional study in drawing at Pratt Institute.
olivia lockrow, Community Programs Coordinator
(518)273-0552 x128
Olivia Lockrow grew up in New York’s Capital Region, where she spent much of her time immersed in both visual art and dance. These early creative experiences fostered a lasting appreciation for the arts as spaces for expression, connection, and exploration. Her interests evolved into a passion for connecting people with creative experiences and supporting artists within community-centered environments.
She holds an Associate’s degree with honors in Art History and Gallery Studies from Hudson Valley Community College, and plans to continue her studies as she explores pathways within the museum and arts administration fields. Alongside her academic work, Olivia has gained experience in antiques sales, research, and hands-on restoration through her work with historic objects and spaces.
Now working in Troy, Olivia is inspired by the city’s creative energy and strong sense of community. In her role, she is passionate about expanding access to the arts and creating welcoming, engaging programs for participants of all ages and backgrounds.
Gwen Krause, Chair
Brian McCandless, Vice Chair
Dan Centi, Treasurer
Shanelle Carter, Secretary
Edwin C. Anker IV
Julia Arndt
Alexander Bresnick
Gabby Calabrese
Casey Christopher
Rhiannon Gifford, Esq
Kevin Houlihan
James Knox
Mary LaFleur
Jennifer Laflin
Sugi Pickard
Jesse Roberts
Beth Schroeder
Megan Stacy
Erin White
Amy Williams