Rebecca Bignell, administrative assistant in the Registrar’s Office, danced professionally throughout the San Francisco Bay area after receiving her B.A. in theater arts from Santa Clara University in 2005. She ventured from California to New York City a year and a half ago, and quickly found a niche with Omega Liturgical Dance Company, based at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the Upper West Side. In her spare time, she enjoys music, theater, reading, and relaxing in the beauty of Central Park. Having experienced the life of a “starving artist” (and enjoyed it), she is excited about joining the Juilliard community.

Jonathan Cobb, carpenter in the Production Department, recently moved to New York from Tuscaloosa, where he received his B.A. in technical theater from the University of Alabama. He is excited to be working at Juilliard as his first full-time job after spending his undergraduate summers at Glimmerglass Opera and Stages St. Louis. Jonathan wishes to thank his family in Alabama and his new family in Astoria for all their support.

Christopher Downes has joined the I.T. staff as the Mac technical support specialist. He is responsible for managing all Juilliard-owned Mac resources, providing music technology support, and overseeing the operation of Juilliard’s Angel course management system. Christopher is a graduate of N.Y.U., where he obtained a B.M. in music technology. Before coming to Juilliard, he was a network administrator at Metropolitan Research Associates. Christopher has provided audio engineering for various jazz and classical ensembles and has also been a sound designer for films.

Concert Office assistant Candace Lynn Feldman earned a B.S. in theater from Kansas State University with an emphasis on directing. She was a member of Ebony Theater for four years and its president for over a year. She has performed in Nathan Jackson’s full-length, original Mancherios (Brittany), Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West (Fannie), and the Charles Smith adaptation of Puddin’ Head Wilson (Roxy). She has directed The Meeting; In Their Own Words, a compilation of slave narratives; The Author’s Voice; and With Labor, Love and Laughter, for Ebony Theater’s 30th anniversary. She also directed two student originals, one of which was performed at the Kennedy Center. Candace was awarded the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Fellowship and spent a week intensive in Washington, D.C.

Dylan Flynn, administrative assistant in the Human Resources Department, is a Chicago native who grew up in a musical family. He began playing the violin at the age of 9, and was simultaneously sparked with an interest in composition. He graduated from Bard College in 2006 with a B.A., with a concentration in music. During his time at school, Dylan held several on-campus job and was an intern at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, where he conducted ethnomusicology research for an upcoming exhibit titled World Brooklyn Project. In his free time, Dylan enjoys music (all aspects), cartography, and walking and exploring the city.

Dance admissions coordinator Katie Friis grew up in Wisconsin and received her B.A. in dance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Following an internship with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, she moved to New York City and worked as an administrator with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company for the past three years. Katie lives in Washington Heights, where she is working on her Spanish skills.

Donald Giordano, director of creative services in the Communications Office, has more than two decades of graphic design experience, with a primary focus on the performing arts as well as the financial services industry. He has created identities for such financial firms as Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, DLJdirect, and the Equitable. Recent branding initiatives include Fairfield Greenwich Group, Ivy Asset Management, Silvercrest Asset Management, and K2 Advisors, to name a few. In addition, Don has provided design services to such prestigious cultural institutions as Carnegie Hall and the 92nd Street Y. A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Don is frequently invited back as a guest speaker.

Dance production assistant Brian Grove is a California native with 20 years’ experience working in dance, theater, opera, circus, children’s theater, and amusement parks. He holds a degree in technical theater from Cal State Hayward and has toured to three countries and 45 states. He expected New York City to be quite a bit more snooty—but was pleasantly surprised.

Barrett Hipes joins the Office of Residence Life as the new residence hall director. Prior to coming to Juilliard, Barrett worked in residence life at St. John’s, Rutgers, and the University of Arkansas. He holds a B.M. in music education and saxophone performance from the University of Arkansas, where he studied with Chalon Ragsdale and Stan Morris, and an M.M. in percussion performance from Rutgers, where he studied with She-e Wu, Chris Deviney, and Bob Becker. Barrett looks forward to getting to know all of the resident students and making sure they all have a great place to call home at the end of their long rehearsals and practice sessions.

Senior investment analyst Kathleen Jacobs comes to Juilliard from Goldman Sachs, where she was a vice president in the firm’s global manager equities group. Prior to that, Kathleen was a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase, where she performed research for a group that managed $13 billion of assets. At Juilliard, Kathleen will be part of the Investment Office team that monitors our endowment performance and our various money managers, performs research and due diligence on prospective managers, and assists the board’s investment committee in making decisions regarding the portfolio. She has a B.S. in business administration from Bucknell University.

Rondel Lashley, H.R. coordinator in the Office of Human Resources, grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. in business management. Since that time she has worked at various nonprofit and social service organizations in an employment services or H.R. capacity. Most recently, she worked in human resources for the past three years at Jazz at Lincoln Center. She is very pleased to be a part of the Juilliard community.

Joey Lico joins the Publications Department as a part-time editorial assistant. A summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University, Joey majored in both philosophy and journalism, with a minor in dance. She is currently the director of Divine Rhythms, a dance studio in Babylon, L.I., where she also teaches several dance classes. Her dance training was supplemented by various programs at Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey in N.Y.C. as well as the Edge and Millennium Dance Complex in L.A. In her free time, Joey can be found teaching dance classes all over the United States, judging dance competitions, and surfing. Before coming to Juilliard, Joey was an assistant editor at Phaidon Press in New York.

Elaine Luttrull joins the Finance Office as a senior financial analyst. Previously, she worked with Ernst & Young L.L.P. in New York in a tax advisory role as part of the transaction advisory services group. Elaine is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned undergraduate degrees in accounting and economics and a master’s degree in accounting. At Juilliard, she will work with department heads and other staff on annual and longer-range budgets and planning, in addition to her responsibilities of investment and endowment accounting and cash management. In her spare time, Elaine enjoys running, wine tasting, and practicing Pilates.

Wesley Mingus, assistant manager in the Box Office, attended Berklee College of Music, where he studied everything from traditional composition to world music, including African and Indian percussion. After graduating, Wes moved to Philadelphia, where he played live or in the studio with Glenn Lewis, the Roots, Vivian Green, Leela James, and No Doubt, to name a few. Now living in Brooklyn, he is busy as a freelance musician performing and/or recording with Bilal, the Pierces, Kangol Kid (U.T.F.O.), the Adam Deitch Project, Matisyahu, Foxy Brown, Full Force, Abby Dobson, Morley, Leni Stern, and Benny Rietveld, among many others. Wes also keeps busy with his own projects: writing, teaching, producing, and playing the guitar, bass, drums, and keys.

Mary Reiser has joined the Juilliard Prop Shop in the position of assistant supervisor. Originally from Rochester, N.Y., she graduated from Boston University with a degree in technical theater. After a few years at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., she moved to New York City to check out the prop scene here. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Seth.

Chamber music manager Luke Rinderknecht is a recent Juilliard graduate (B.M. ’05, M.M. ’07, percussion) and was the recipient of the 2005 Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music. He makes his home in Katonah, N.Y., with his beautiful wife, Annika Sheaff (B.F.A. ’06, dance), who is a member of Pilobolus Dance Theater. Luke continues to play percussion, and will appear this season with Festival Chamber Music at Merkin Hall, as well as with the ensemble Newspeak.

Toni Rosenbaum has joined the Office of Admissions as the admissions assistant/receptionist after recently graduating from the University of Delaware with a B.A. in music management (Go, Blue Hens!). She lives on Long Island and, in her spare time, she enjoys playing the French horn and taking advantage of all New York City has to offer.

Props stock manager/artisan Kevin Scott last worked with the José Limón Dance Company as the production manager and occasional lighting designer. He returns to Juilliard after participating in the Juilliard Professional Intern Program in 2003. When the season allows, he enjoys returning to his home in Green Bay, Wis., where he has collaborated with Working Class Theater and the Minnesota Ballet.

New York city native Edward Sien, director of foundation and corporate relations in the Development Office, joins Juilliard from Dorot, a social service agency for the elderly based on the Upper West Side. He has previously worked at the Center for Jewish History and American Jewish World Service. Ed earned his B.A. in humanities from Wesleyan University, where he could be found perennially in the music library, perusing scores and listening to classical music of all kinds. He is also engaged in helping to create and foster a new chamber orchestra, the Metropolis Ensemble, 95 percent of whose members are Juilliard graduates, and is thrilled to put his development skills to use helping Juilliard students pursue their dreams.

Emily Watson, associate registrar for advisement, attended both Oberlin College and the University of Florida. Following graduation, she traveled around Asia for several months before settling down to teach English in Japan for two years. She subsequently relocated to New York, where she has worked as an administrator in music education for the Kaufman Center and the Diller-Quaile School of Music. During her free time, she enjoys music, travel and film.

Eric Zhou has joined the I.T. Colleague group as a junior programmer/analyst. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from William Paterson University in New Jersey, and recently earned a master’s degree in computer science from Drexel University in Pennsylvania.

The Production Department also welcomes carpenters Nate Hamm, Drew McCollum, and Josh Sturman;  assistant scenic charge artist Meagan Grimley; and costume first-hand Marie Jeanne Dusseck.