THE CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Richard Kessler

Executive Director

Richard Kessler, the Executive Director of The Center for Arts Education(CAE), is also one of the principal authors of the plan that led to the creation of the CAE in 1996, when he was serving as an arts education consultant. As a keynote speaker, conference panelist, and workshop facilitator, Kessler has been engaged by organizations such as the American Symphony Orchestra League, Association of Performing ArtsPresenters and Bank Street College of Education, among others.

From 1997 to 2004, Kessler was executive director of the American Music Center (AMC), the national service and information center for new American music.
During his tenure at AMC, Kessler’s accomplishments include the creation of
award-winning web magazine NewMusicBox.org, a nationwide career development
program for composers and performers, the establishment of the American Music
Center Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,
the establishment of AMC’s first endowment, the creation of the National Music
Coalition, and an increase in AMC grant making programs to more than $7 million
between 2002-2004, including over $3 million in grants to artists and organizations
that suffered losses as a result of 9/11.

From 1993 to 1997, Kessler was vice president of Artsvision, an arts education
consulting company where he created and implemented arts and education programs
throughout the United States and Canada. As a consultant, Kessler designed
programs for school communities, arts organizations, and foundations, including
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, GE Fund, John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, New York Community Trust, Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra and many others. Kessler’s work in arts education encompassed teaching,
artist training, teacher professional development, program design, advocacy,
curriculum development, fundraising and assessment.

Before joining Artsvision, Kessler was a Naumburg-award winning chamber musician,
performing as a trombonist and teaching throughout the world for almost fifteen
years. A champion of new music, Kessler commissioned and premiered works by
composers including Richard Danielpour, Anthony Davis, Arvo Part, John Harbison,
Ned Rorem and many others. Throughout this period, he was also busy as an
teaching artist, conducting residencies, master classes, workshops and arts
education programs for organizations such as Lincoln CenterMeet-The-Artist,
the Kennedy Center and The Juilliard School, among others.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kessler holds two degrees from The Juilliard
School and was a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music from 1988
to 1993. He is a board member of the American Composers Orchestra, a member
of the Music Advisory Committee of the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS,
and a member of the Steering Committee of the New York City Arts Coalition.
In May 2005, Kessler received a Letter of Distinction from the American Music
Center, for his significant contribution to the field of contemporary American
music.

Laurie M. Tisch

Chairman, Board of Directors

Laurie M. Tisch is the Founding Chairperson of The Center for Arts Education

(CAE), which funds exemplary partnerships between public schools and arts
and community organizations to develop and sustain substantial and comprehensive
arts education programs in New York City Public Schools. CAE coordinates an
ongoing effort to raise funds, stimulate public awareness and interest for
arts education, and support school-to-work programs with arts related industries.
Through her leadership, the organization has become a driving force in the
arts education world.

Ms. Tisch is also Board Chair of The Campaign for Educational Equity (CEE)
at Teachers College, Columbia University, which is dedicated to closing the
gap in opportunities and outcomes between the nation’s most advantaged and
disadvantaged students. As a member of the Board of Trustees of Teachers College,
Ms. Tisch helped guide strategic planning of the Campaign. A long-time supporter
of education, she brings to bear a wide range of experience in serving the
cause of educational equity.

Ms. Tisch’s involvement in both CAE and CEE reflect her ongoing interest
in education and the arts. She serves as Honorary Chairperson of the Board
of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM). Throughout her years as Chairperson,
she presided over the Museum’s Board during the institution’s most dramatic
period of growth.

She also currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Trustees and Executive
Committee at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she also chairs The
American Fellows, which she founded with Barbara Haskell.

As President of the Laurie M. Tisch Foundation, Ms. Tisch leads efforts that
support the arts(especially American art), arts-in-education, educational
reform, Jewish life and efforts to improve the quality of life in New York
City. She also serves on the Boards of Lincoln Center, NYSCA, and the Mayor’s
Cultural Advisory Council.

Laurie M. Tisch graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with
a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and has two daughters: Emily, a
student at Cardozo Law School and Carolyn, an undergraduate at Yale University.

Jill E. Braufman

President, Board of Directors

A graduate of Brown University and the Parsons School of Design, Jill Braufman spent several years in merchandising, advertising and the decorative arts industries before opening Morton & Company, a high-end interior design resource on East 60th Street in Manhattan.

After six years in business, Morton & Company closed due to the economic downturn following September 11, 2001. Nevertheless, its closure allowed Ms. Braufman to devote more time to political and philanthropic activities, primarily focusing on candidates running for office, women’s health and the arts.

In the political realm, she developed concepts and co-chaired events for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, United States Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, and for NARAL Pro-Choice America, and provided candidates like New York State Senator Eric Schneiderman with opportunities to speak on issues of concern, such as the need for reform in Albany. Additionally, Ms. Braufman recently served on Governor Spitzer’s transition team.

A lifelong participant and fan of the arts, Ms. Braufman has aided many well-known, large, and less well-known smaller arts organizations that provide performance opportunities for professional, as well as amateur artists. For example, she is a long-time supporter of Dances Patrelle, which produces a Nutcracker ballet set in Gracie Mansion with a mixed cast of amateurs and professionals, as well as the Young People’s Chorus, which provides inner city kids with opportunities to perform at an award-winning level. She also supports organizations that assist artists struggling with personal issues like Career Transitions for Dancers and the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative for women working in the theater.

Ms. Braufman is Board Chairman of The Center for Arts Education and sits on the boards of the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center, a part of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the National Institute of Reproductive Health, the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee, and Citizens Budget Commission.

She is married, with two children, and lives in Manhattan.

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