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APT Faculty & Staff
Faculty & Staff 2006 - 2007
Ricardo Barreto Portfolio Preparation and Public Art
Peter Caruso II Legal Strategies for Artists
Alisa Cohn Executive Coach & Peer Group Administrator
Stephen Frenkel Negotiation Tactics
James Grace Legal Strategies and Negotiation Tactics
Michele Heist Financial Planning for Artists
Stefanie Muscat The Art of Writing for Artists
Deborah Obalil Marketing, Branding & More
Michael Tucci Tax Strategies for Artists
Ricardo Barreto
Ricardo Barreto is the Director of the UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art which is dedicated to the facilitation of public art projects in the region. Prior to that he worked for the Massachusetts Cultural Council where he was initially the Program Coordinator for Individual Artists and then Program Officer for Organizations. With degrees in art history (BA and MA) from Oberlin College, Mr. Barreto has a long track record of managing art projects, and as a curator of many shows in the United States, Mexico and Europe. He has written numerous exhibition catalogues and has published essays on a variety of arts related topics. Mr. Barreto is also a current board member of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, the Arts Services Coalition and the Friends of Fort Point Channel.
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Peter Caruso II
Peter J. Caruso II, Esq., is a partner in the Andover law firm of Caruso & Caruso, LLP. He is a 1993 cum laude graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and a 1996 cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School. Mr. Caruso advises clients in all phases of art law, intellectual property, copyright and trademark, estate planning, real estate, corporate law and civil litigation. He is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Essex Art Center, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Attorney Caruso also assisted in the drafting of revised legislation for the Massachusetts Art Consignment statute, c. 104A. A frequent lecturer for the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Mr. Caruso lectures on all topics of art law, licensing, copyright and trademark for institutions such as Boston University Law School’s art law society, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth’s Gallery 244, and the Women’s Union in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, he has published several articles and newsletters on the topic of art law and the Visual Artists Rights Act. Currently, Mr. Caruso represents artists, galleries, and collectors and is in the process of completing a practical guide for navigating the legal aspects of the art world. He lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts with his wife Mandy and daughter Saylor.
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Alisa Cohn
Alisa Cohn, CPA, MBA, is an executive coach, facilitator and consultant with a practice in Brookline, MA. Alisa has over fifteen years of professional experience in large and small corporate environments, including The Monitor Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers and 2 high tech start-up companies. She earned her MBA from Cornell University, where she was awarded the Fried Fellowship for Leadership and Academic Excellence.
Alisa was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Coaches in Boston according to Women's Business Journal ; she was noted as "absolutely brilliant, laugh-out-loud hilarious and a superhero." Her work focuses on helping executives and teams set powerful and clear goals and then achieve them.
Her clients include Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups and non-profit organizations. She has an international reach, having worked with executives and teams in India, Ireland, Israel and Canada, as well as all over the United States. Alisa has also coached national leaders from government and the social sector, academics and judges from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Rwanda, Israel, and Colombia.
Alisa teaches at Harvard and Cornell Universities. She is the author of several articles about leadership and resilience, and she is frequently quoted in diverse publications such as the New York Times, Investors Business Daily, the Wall St. Journal, Baton-Rouge Business Journal, and Self Magazine.
Alisa serves on the board of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and is the career coach for their program to help artists turn their art into a business. She is also a member of the New Group Council of the Museum of Contemporary Art. She has been a fundraiser for Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and served as a mentor for fundraisers and runners. A former stand-up comedian, she is also an advisor to The Comedy Studio in Cambridge, MA.
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Stephen Frenkel
Stephen Frenkel, MWI Mediator, Trainer and Staff, is Director of Negotiation Programs at Mediation Works Incorporated. In this role, Stephen oversees MWI's Negotiation Training programs and consulting services in the corporate, institutional and non-profit sectors. Stephen's expertise is in helping clients achieve optimal results through collaborative negotiation. He has worked with global clients including ING Bank, Capital One, Citrix, and the Risk Management Association to diagnose negotiation challenges in the workplace and to create and deliver tailored training modules. Stephen has also worked with several national dispute resolution organizations to redesign their internal processes and build their strategic alliance network of partners and government agencies. Stephen has experience mediating and coordinating contract and civil disputes. In 2005, he completed the design of a conflict resolution system for a technical training organization and he presented on advanced negotiation topics for the Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution at the
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James Grace
James Grace has been the Executive Director of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, Inc. (VLA) since 1998. The VLA provides free and reduced fee legal services and educational programs to Massachusetts artists and cultural organizations. Mr. Grace has experience working with artists and arts organizations in the areas of publishing law, copyright, nonprofit incorporation, budget matters, conflict resolution, artist live/work and nonprofit board issues. Mr. Grace is an adjunct professor for Boston University's Masters in Arts Administration Program where he co-teaches a course on Legal Issues in Arts Administration. In addition, Mr. Grace is a working author and book editor. He is the best selling co-author of The Worst Case Scenario Handbook: Golf. To date he has been involved in the publication of over eight books. Mr. Grace's previous work experience includes in-house counsel for a large low-income housing non-profit organization where he practiced in the areas of landlord/tenant, real estate and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Grace graduated with honors from Suffolk University Law School and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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Michele Heist
Michele Heist is a licensed financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. In addition to her financial planning practice serving individuals and families in the greater Boston area, Michele delivers seminars and workshops for local area employers, non-profits, and community education centers. She actively represents the Northern New England Market Group of Ameriprise on women's financial issues, and assists in forming partnerships with local businesses. Michele has an MBA from Simmons Graduate School of Management in addition to a masters degree from Lesley University in Education. Michele helps her clients with budgeting and savings, retirement planning, college funding, investments and overall financial well-being.
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Stefanie Muscat
Stefanie J.B. Muscat is CEO of Artes Scribendi. Stefanie is a nationally accredited public relations counselor and was named to the Detroit Free Press’s “100 People to Watch This Century” in 1999 and was recognized as one of " Michigan's Most Influential Women" by the Lansing State Journal for her efforts to promote arts and cultural resources. With an advanced degree in Arts Management and a background in art and history, Muscat began work as a curator, developing and producing exhibits of all sizes, many of which traveled across the country. She coordinated one of the largest aquarium traveling exhibits programs in North America at the New England Aquarium in Boston and has also served as Interim Director and Executive Director of a handful of small to medium sized organizations. She remains active on the boards of several organizations and regularly teaches at the university level. Stefanie founded Artes Scribendi, an arts-management consulting firm, with clients including artists, organizations and governments - from across the globe - in late 1990s.
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Deborah Obalil
Deborah is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities, an organization dedicated to the advancement of America’s creative vitality through supporting the field of artist communities, colonies and residency programs. Based in Providence, RI, the Alliance is made up of over 200 non-profit artists’ residency programs, as well as individuals who support creativity. The Alliance acts as the collective voice of the field while providing a variety of educational programs and services.
Previously, Deborah was the Director of the Arts Marketing Center & Research at the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. As Director of the Center, Deborah maintained and developed its programs and services in Chicago. During her tenure at the Center, Deborah authored the report Barriers and Motivations to Increased Arts Usage Among Medium and Light Users, and edited Diversifying Chicago’s Arts Audiences: A Progress Report, both published by the Arts Marketing Center. Deborah often presents seminars across the country on numerous topics including marketing planning, generational marketing, marketing research, public relations, and customer service. She has served on the faculty of Rhode Island School of Design, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Columbia College Chicago.
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Michael Tucci
Michael A. Tucci, CPA, MST, has been a partner in the firm of Ercolini & Company, LLP since 1989. He joined Ercolini & Company LLP in 1983 after working at a national accounting firm as well as in private industry. Mike is instrumental in providing sound business and tax planning advice to clients in a variety of industries.
Mike possesses the financial skills to help entrepreneurs achieve their financial objectives in start-up situations. He has over 20 years’ experience in helping developers, owners and other real estate professionals maximize their wealth through effective income tax planning techniques. Mike personally oversees the audits of various commercial, industrial and subsidized rental housing developments throughout the country. His real estate experience extends to such specialized areas as condominiums, cooperatives and co-housing developments. In addition, Mike is recognized locally for providing tax and business planning advice to the Boston-area artist community and is available to speak to interested groups. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Massachusetts Society of CPAs, as well as a volunteer with several local nonprofit institutions that provide elderly housing and cultural enrichment services to the greater-Boston area. Mike has undergraduate degrees in accounting and management, as well as a Masters degree in taxation from Bentley College.
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