New Rochelle Council on the Arts Welcomes New Board Members

The New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA) is pleased to welcome two new Board members: Mercy Tullis-Bukhari and Andi Stix have been elected to NRCA’s Board of Directors.

“The NRCA is an all-volunteer organization, so we are always on the lookout for talented, hardworking people whose passion is the arts, and Mercy and Andi certainly fit that profile,” says Theresa Kump Leghorn, President of NRCA. “Although they have both built careers as educators and artists, each of them brings unique skills and talents to the Board.”

The New Rochelle Council on the Arts was created by the New Rochelle City Council in 1975 to stimulate and encourage the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts; for nearly 50 years NRCA has worked to fulfill that mission by sponsoring art exhibitions, theatrical productions, dance recitals, film screenings, lectures, and concert series. In addition, NRCA has sponsored public art -- like the popular NRNY Murals -- and created annual events like the Summer Sounds Concert Series at Hudson Park and ArtsFest, while helping to build relationships between the arts, the business community and city government. The NRCA website www.newrochellearts.org has become major resource for artists and art lovers – the "go-to" place for information about the arts.

NRCA's programs are made possible, in part, by the City of New Rochelle and grants from ArtsWestchester (with funds from Westchester County Government) as well as private foundations; additional support comes from event sponsorships and individual donations. For more information visit NRCA on the web at www.newrochellearts.org.

NRCA's officers include Theresa Kump Leghorn, President; Lynn Moloshok Green, Vice President; Karen Keller Selman, Treasurer; Margaret Chadwick, Recording Secretary; and Maddali Paci Atallah, Corresponding Secretary.

In addition to the Executive committee, NRCA's Board of Directors includes Marisa Boan, Nick Carter, Barbara Davis, Leslie Demus, Monica Deane, Selena Evans, Dave Fabris, Charles Fazzino, Ximena Francella, Zahra Jlayer, Janine Jones, Anthony Paolercio, Christine Ramage and Catherine White, and Youth Advisory Board members Isaac Evans and Harmony Hopwood. NRCA's Board of Advisors includes Terry Prettyman Bowles, Michael Dandry, Angela Derecas Taylor, Linda Kelly Fauci, Dianne Flagello, Lynne Honeysett, Jesse Sanchez, Leah Sills, Eric Woodlin and Ex Officio Member Vin Parise, Commissioner of New Rochelle’s Department of Parks & Recreation.

Biographies of the New Board Members

Mercy Tullis-Bukhari is an ELA teacher in the Bronx (11th grade AP English) who recently bought her own home here in New Rochelle, where she lives with her two teenaged children.

A graduate of NYU and Lehman College, Mercy also earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the College of New Rochelle. A Bronx-born Afro-Latina American writer with Honduran and Jamaican Roots, Mercy has authored two poetry books, "Smoke" and "Mango," and recently published her third, "The Little Deaths."

Andi Stix graduated from Washington University with a BA in Art & Education; she received Dual Masters degrees from New York University and an Ed.D. in Gifted Education from Columbia University.

Dr. Stix is the founder and director of G-tec Kids, an after-school program in the creative arts and sciences for gifted youngsters. She received the Educator of the Year award from AGATE: The Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education for the State of New York in 2000.

Dr. Stix has written and co-authored books including the series Active History and Exploring History, which is a simulation, debate, discussion, and interactive learning program on American and global history for grades 5 through 12. (An updated version was published with the title Walking Through History.) Dr. Stix also authored the book Teachers as Classroom Coaches, which brings the world of life coaching strategies into the classroom. She also designed a multi-modal approach to learning mathematics called Pic-Jour Math and had many of her manipulative designs produced by Cuisenaire Company, ETA, Hands2Learn, and more.

Andi Stix is also an intarsia woodworking artist; her work was recently featured at the Vanda Gallery and can also be seen on Instagram @Andi.Stix. She was the docent for this year’s ArtsFest Trolley Tour of the NRNY Murals and chaired the first ArtsFest Film Festival Committee, working with young filmmakers to create a daylong program of short films at The Picture House in October.