Our Leadership
The teachers, musicians, and creatives help to bridge to a world of possibilities for students, teachers, and administrators alike.
Steven Herring
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & FOUNDER, BOARD MEMBER EX OFFICIO, TEACHING ARTIST
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Steven Herring is a founding member of Living Arts Collaborative, and is currently the Executive Director. In this role he works closely with superintendents, teachers and school administrators to support and augment their current programs and culture. He also works with the Artistic Director to develop interactive concerts and workshops for public school students in Upstate New York. Prior to the Living Arts Collaborative, Steven was Managing Director/co-founder of Bridge Arts Ensemble, a teaching artist organization that served over 500,000 k-12 students. Steven has developed interactive programs for The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Moments, Lincoln Center Education, The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and The Learning Arts.
In addition to Living Arts Collaborative, Steven maintains a busy performing schedule as an operatic baritone. Among the roles he has performed are Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida, Sacristan in Puccini’s Tosca, Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore. Cross-over performances include Agwe in Once on This Island, Wandering Son in Bubblin’ Brown Sugar, Obatala in God’s Trombones, as well as the baritone love interest in Alicia Hall-Moran’s the motown project. He had the pleasure of performing in Jason and Alicia Hall-Moran’s WORK SONGS, for the 56th Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy. Currently, Steven is the male soloist for Kaoru Watanabe’s Yokihi; a new solo performance by Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Steven is a graduate of The Juilliard School, Teachers College, and The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. He serves on the Boards of New Amsterdam Opera and Living Arts Collaborative.
Justin Jay Hines
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER, TEACHING ARTIST
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Percussionist, composer, and educator Justin Jay Hines has performed with the New York Philharmonic, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, Alarm Will Sound, and the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. Since 1997 he has served as a New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist in classrooms, concerts, workshops, and residencies across New York City and Japan. In May 2018 he made his New York Philharmonic debut hosting the Young People’s Concert Inspirations and Tributes: “The Riddle of Shostakovich,” and has gone on to become an annual host of the series.
As a Broadway musician, he has played many Tony Award–winning shows, including In the Heights, Pippin, Caroline or Change, Disney’s Tarzan, and HalfTime. As an educator, he has collaborated with the Juilliard School, the St. Louis Symphony, New World Symphony, 92nd Street Y, Lincoln Center Education, Carnegie Hall, and the Caramoor Center for the Arts. Currently, Mr. Hines is a senior composition mentor for the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program, is on the teaching faculty of NYU, and is a former musician and educator for the Bridge Arts Ensemble.
Benjamin Steiner
LEGAL COUNCIL, BOARD MEMBER EX OFFICIO, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
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Benjamin Steiner is an attorney in New York City who has been practicing law for over twenty years. He received his JD from Tulane University School of Law. He started out in a not-for-profit called Sanctuary for Families, representing and advocating for victims of domestic violence.
He then transitioned to commercial real estate leasing and development in corporations and law firms, and subsequently to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Office of Legal Affairs. There he negotiated and closed a wide variety of affordable housing projects, ranging from the Nehemiah homeownership project in Spring Creek, Brooklyn, the Arverne-by-the-Sea homeownership project in the Rockaway peninsula, to mixed use projects such as the Essex Crossing development in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, working with large financial institutions, bond underwriters and not-for-profits serving housing-burdened communities in New York City.
Simultaneously, Benjamin worked on a pro-bono basis through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, representing musicians, authors, sculptors and painters, negotiating book contracts, artist management contracts, and intellectual property licenses. Currently, Benjamin represents a wide variety of clients in diverse matters such as real estate development (the Hudson Woods development in the Catskills region of New York), real estate home sales and purchases, intellectual property licensing, wills and trusts, and start-up company formation and financing. Benjamin received his JD from Tulane University School of Law, his BA from Binghamton University, and a Certificat from the Sorbonne in Paris. He has lived and worked in Paris, France and Seoul, South Korea.
Beata Moon
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
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Through her various roles as a teaching artist, performer, composer and activist, Beata Moon has been able to fulfill her wish to work with people of all ages and backgrounds.
A graduate of the Juilliard school, Moon's extensive experience as a teaching artist for Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Education and the New York Philharmonic includes facilitating workshops about social-emotional learning for teachers and administrators and designing curriculum tailored for students of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
She has facilitated conversations about race and restorative justice and believes in the power of music and the arts to heal and work towards social change.
Gregory Bishop
BOARD MEMBER
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With a BA in Economics and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Gregory Bishop has worked in the luxury goods industry for over 30 years.
Celebrating his 21st year with Cartier, Gregory is currently the Heritage Director for Cartier NA, managing Cartier Tradition merchandise, line sourcing vintage items for sale in both Cartier Boutiques as well as for the permanent Cartier Collection. He also oversees the activities of the Cartier NA archive. Gregory is proud to serve on the board of Living Arts Collaborative.
Marissa Izykowski
BOARD MEMBER
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Marissa Izykowski is both a trumpet player and a middle school band director from upstate New York. She has spent 12 years in the classroom working closely with a diverse population of students. She has dedicated her career to finding new opportunities and programs to inspire students to see the many possibilities having an education can provide.
In addition to working with youth both in the classroom and in other volunteer capacities, she has served as music department chairwoman for the Gloversville Enlarged School District for several years. In this role, she works to foster relationships with other districts, people, and organizations who share a similar passion for inspiring youth to become lifelong learners in both music and the outside world. She creates opportunities for her students to expand their involvement in the arts both inside school and their community. One of her proudest accomplishments has been taking her band to Washington D.C. to participate in the Parade of Heroes - a monumental salute that honors those who have bravely served our country.
Marissa studied both at the College of Saint Rose and the Clarie School of Music at the University of Maryland, earning her masters degree in music education. She currently resides in Saratoga Springs, New York with her husband and three children.
Robyn Quinnett
BOARD MEMBER
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Born on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, Robyn Quinnett began playing violin at eight years old. She has won several competitions including the National Mariam Hayes and Ruth Kern Competitions. Robyn earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School studying with Naoko Tanaka and the late Stephen Clapp. In 2019, Robyn completed her DMA from Stony Brook University studying with Hagai Shaham. She has attended the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Colorado College Music Festival, and Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil. She has performed with ensembles such as the American Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Princeton Symphony, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and has recently joined Opera Philadelphia.
Robyn is dedicated to community engagement and pedagogy. She founded The Montserrat Music Festival, a summer teaching and performing festival, bringing music education and live chamber music to Montserrat. Her other teaching includes serving as a Violin Faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy. Robyn also enjoys her position as Violin Teacher at The Chapin School in New York City. She is a former artist with Bridge Arts Ensemble.
Rosie Allen-Herring
BOARD MEMBER
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Rosie Allen-Herring is a national expert on public private partnerships, philanthropy and business strategy. She currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA). Rosie is recognized as a thought leader who demonstrates the ability to convene public private entities to leverage talent and resources and create collective impact in communities across the region and beyond.
Rosie has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of corporate finance, strategic leadership, public and private partnerships, corporate philanthropy and community investment. Rosie has received numerous awards and honors, including Washingtonian of the Year, The Network Journal’s Top 25 Most Influential Business Leaders, and Washington Business Journal's CEO of the Year.
Jonina Skaggs
BOARD MEMBER
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Jonina is a native of Iceland and Skaggs’ Art Director. Upon completing her studies in architecture, Jonina completed a Master’s in branding and design. After working at some of San Francisco’s most notable agencies, Jonina and Bradley established Skaggs Creative, moving it to New York City two years later.
Understanding the specific requirements of effective branding for a diverse range of businesses, including high-tech, hospitality, fashion, beauty, and fragrance, has been the key to her success, and to Skaggs’ numerous awards. Jonina has shaped a design sensibility and an aesthetic that is simultaneously aspirational, beautiful, and effective. On all project elements, she considers both the macro and micro — firmly believing that perspective and proportion are essential to shape and content. A European sensibility and a concise American directness work together to further her vision. Jonina is also a passionate educator, teaching marketing and communications at the University of Iceland, and branding and packaging at the College of Arts and Crafts in Northern Iceland.
Bradley Skaggs
BOARD MEMBER
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After completing his B .A. in architecture, Bradley worked on several urban planning and architectural projects in Germany and Luxembourg and began to embrace two design axioms: “form follows function” and “less is more.”
Then in 1998, he and Jonina created SKAGGS Creative, where he serves as Creative Director. The agency’s ability to offer a wide-ranging branding knowledge and experience has earned them numerous industry awards for excellence and design innovation. By digging into the essence of a brand, Bradley works to develop verbal and visual identities as well as insightful marketing and communication strategies.
Additionally, he is a professional product photographer, employing his skills to further unify and focus a brand’s identity. Working on all aspects of a brand architecture has solidified Bradley’s core belief about memorable branding.