Jennifer Grasso-Moise
ED& I Committee Chair

Jenn Grasso-Moise is a middle school art teacher in the Brentwood Union Free School District. She seeks opportunities for her students to engage in the arts, helping them find their voice and share their vision. She encourages them to showcase their work through contests, galleries, and local community events. Additionally, she runs the NJAHS club after school, further encouraging her students' artistic development and community involvement. Jenn loves to travel and explore the world, bringing a multicultural perspective back to her classroom. She shares her experiences with her students, enriching their understanding of diverse cultures through art.

Recently, Jenn was appointed chair of NYSATA's ED&I committee and elected Vice Chair for NYSATA Region 10. She looks forward to contributing to these important committees and playing a more integral role in fostering positive change and awareness that reaches beyond the arts education community. Additionally, Jenn is involved in the 2024-2025 PEACE Project, which focuses on education, arts, and community empowerment. As a passionate advocate for the arts in education, she actively pursues professional development by attending workshops and conferences. Jenn aims to learn as much as possible to inspire future generations with her commitment and enthusiasm for the arts.

Catilin Chan 

Caitlin Chan (they/them) is an educator, artist, biracial and queer intersectional feminist. As a child, they wondered if their identity belonged in the classroom curriculum and culture. After becoming a teacher, Mx. Chan made it a priority to ensure that students studied a broad array of visual narratives. They strongly believe that through art all individuals can be seen and through art compassion and empathy can be developed. Since 2013, Mx. Chan has taught in public schools in: Ithaca, Binghamton, the Bronx, Bloomfield, NY and Tempe, AZ. Caitlin has repeatedly presented at NYSATA and NAEA. In 2022, they received the NAEA ED&I scholarship. Caitlin aspires for educators to transform their teaching practices through a communal dialogue and sharing of knowledge. 

Diana Leiker

Diana Leiker is a retired art teacher from Lancaster, NY. Diana has an empathetic heart for those who are marginalized, and has spent her career focused on bringing people together. She had residents of an assisted living facility join my students for art class, worked with the social worker to bring art and counseling to at-risk boys, and wrote a grant that brought together students from a city school with students from the suburbs. Students exchanged letters, created art that represented our neighborhood, had an art show with lunch, and met at a newly opened community outreach center.

Since retiring, Diana has served on a committee to dismantle racism and discrimination, looking at ways to introduce people to the hard work of learning about the systems that exist to promote racism and how we are all part of the problem as well as the solution.

Dan Napolitano

Dan Napolitano is Chief of Staff for The New School in Manhattan, New York City.

Rachel Lyons

Rachel Lyons is in her 24th year as an art teacher for the Buffalo Public Schools. She has been at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts for the past 20 years.  During that time, she has worked to help develop art-specific curriculum that integrates the District’s Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives. She also serves as a mentor teacher for new teachers in the district. Lyons integrates Culturally Responsive Initiatives and Social Justice projects into her classroom and frequently engages her students in projects that give back to the community. She believes that one of her most important roles as a teacher is to be an advocate and ally for her students. 

Dr. Nichelle Rivers​​

Dr. Nichelle Rivers is a distinguished K-12 educator and a proven leader, with over twenty-six years of experience working in education; she currently serves as the Division Administrator of Human Resources for Eastern Suffolk BOCES. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Huntington Arts Council, is an active member of Sea of Visibility, is the President of the Nassau County, NY Alliance of Black School Educators, and is an Executive Board member for the NY State Council of Administrators of Music Education.

Dr. Rivers is a well sought-after diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant–she also serves on the equity committee for the Nassau Music Educators Association. Dr. Rivers is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and uses her art to advocate for inclusion and removal of the negative stigma associated with members of the LGBTQ+ community. She launched an initiative entitled the Stolen Lives project in which she chronicles the disproportionate number of homicides of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals. Dr. Rivers paints portraits of these victims in an attempt to keep their memory and raise awareness of the pervasive violence that plagues gender-diverse people. 

All persons eligible for NYSATA membership who have an interest and meet the criteria for serving on this important leadership team are encouraged to apply. ED&I Committee members must demonstrate a commitment to social justice work as it supports NYSATAs mission. We ask for a two year commitment to the committee work.Other qualifications and duties are as follows:

Relevant Experience:

• maintains or is establishing a leadership track record with wide-ranging experience in equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives
• has a personal history of committed struggle against underrepresentation in social and professional contexts, and/or experience teaching/working successfully with underrepresented populations
• advocates for equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (willing to stand up and speak out on behalf of others who are marginalized or disenfranchised)
• participates with other organizations, groups, or institutions who are doing equity, diversity, and inclusion work
• has research experience and/or a strong interest in research

Committee Members are accepted on a rolling basis as needs arise.  

Here's what you will need to apply:  
Online Application—Applicants may wish to prepare the following responses in advance 

• provide an overview of your experience, service, scholarship, and leadership in the work of establishing greater equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility (limit 1500 characters)
• explain how you have you increased your knowledge and awareness of issues surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion (limit 1500 characters)
• describe how your LEADERSHIP background, knowledge, and skills support your ability to contribute to diverse perspectives (limit 1500 characters)
• list questions, challenges and issues you believe need to be addressed in the work of establishing greater equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility (limit 1500 characters)

 2 References—name and contact info for 2 individuals who can provide testimony of your comitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

CLICK HERE to Apply

National Art Education Association (NAEA) 
NYSATA aligns with NAEA in our joint committment to being an inclusive community and to better reflect the students and communities we serve. 

CLICK HERE for NAEA ED&I Resources

New York State Education Department (NYSED)
CLICK HERE for NYSATA ED&I Resources

CLICK HERE for Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework and Resources