Leadership & Staff
SAB Leadership
Jonathan Stafford*
Artistic Director and Chair of Faculty
Jonathan Stafford began his ballet training at age 8 with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. After attending two summer courses at SAB, he enrolled full time in 1997. He joined New York City Ballet in 1999, was promoted to soloist in 2006 and principal dancer in 2007. Mr. Stafford joined SAB’s permanent faculty in 2007 and was named the School’s first Professional Placement Manager in 2015.
After retiring from dancing in 2014, Mr. Stafford served as Ballet Master for New York City Ballet. In 2017, he led New York City Ballet’s four-person interim artistic leadership team and was named Artistic Director of both New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet in February 2019.
Aesha Ash*
Associate Chair of Faculty
Aesha Ash was appointed Associate Chair of Faculty at SAB in June 2022. Ms. Ash hails from Rochester, NY, and began dancing at age five at the Joyce Winters School of Dance. She began her pursuit of classical ballet at age 10 at the Draper Dance Theatre. Ms. Ash attended three Summer Courses at SAB before enrolling as a full-time student. She was the recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 1996 and joined New York City Ballet later that year. After 7 years with NYCB, Ms. Ash joined Béjart Ballet Lausanne as a soloist. She subsequently danced with Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses before retiring from performing in 2009. Ms. Ash served as a guest teacher at SAB’s 2016 and 2017 California Workshop for Young Dancers and during the 2017-2018 Winter Term. She was SAB’s Visiting Faculty Chair from September 2018 to July 2020, and joined the permanent faculty in September 2020. Ms. Ash is a founding member of SAB’s Alumni Advisory Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, and she continues to head The Swan Dreams Project, a not-for-profit she founded in 2009 whose mission is to dismantle stereotypes surrounding race, beauty and talent through imagery and programming.
Carrie W. Hinrichs
Executive Director
Carrie W. Hinrichs joined the School of American Ballet as Executive Director in September 2017. She brings to SAB more than 20 years of experience in school administration and nonprofit fundraising, as well as a lifelong passion for ballet. Under her leadership, SAB has significantly strengthened its financial sustainability, increased it support of its talented students and dedicated faculty and staff, and continued to deepen SAB’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Hinrichs returned to SAB following five years as Director of Advancement at The Spence School, where she oversaw fundraising, alumnae relations, and school communications. Previously in her career, she served as SAB’s Director of Development and Planning, Director of Development for Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, and held fundraising positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Museum of Natural History. Ms. Hinrichs graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Politics, magna cum laude.
Permanent Faculty
Dena Abergel*
Marika Anderson*
Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara*
Megan Fairchild*
Gonzalo Garcia*
Craig Hall*
Adam Hendrickson*
Arch Higgins*
Anthony Huxley*
Sterling Hyltin*
Katrina Killian*
Lauren King*
Meagan Mann*
Kay Mazzo*
Christopher Charles McDaniel
Allen Peiffer*
Suki Schorer
Andrew Scordato*
Marimba Gold-Watts
Pilates
Dirk Hartog,
Weight Training/Conditioning
Madison Hicks,
Contemporary/Choreography Composition
Phoebe Higgins*,
Pilates
Caroline Krumm,
Conditioning
Taylor LaBruzzo,
Contemporary/Choreography Composition
Aaron Severini*,
Music
Pianists
Flora Arbitman
Kevin Carpenter
Sophie Chandler
Arkadiy Figlin
Sorin Frisan
Alice Hargrove
Bradley Harris
Maurizio Najt
Leo Shih
Artistic & Executive Administration
Hannah Federau,
Artistic Manager
Kristen Spencer,
Manager of Operations, Executive & Board Affairs
Elise Drew León,
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Juan Hernaiz,
Senior Manager of Information Technology
Alexis Branagan,
Project Manager, Ballet Connoisseurship
Student Life
Sion Harrington,
Dean of Student and Alumni Affairs
Katy Vedder,
Director of Student Life for Children’s Division and Wellness Programming
Nate Guarino,
Assistant Director of Student Life for Residential and Transitional Programming
Roslyn Ruiz,
Assistant Director of Student Life for Academic and Cultural Programming
Lindsey Gainey,
Senior Manager of Student Life for Community and Programming Development
Katharine Rygiel,
Residence Life Associate
Hope Sanders,
Residence Life Associate
Cameron Hancock,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Allie Johnston,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Paulina Rusinek,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Sherrell Bush,
Special Programs and Production Coordinator
Joan Lantz,
Nurse
Dr. Nicole Marcus,
School Psychologist
Heidi Skolnik,
Nutritionist
Rebecca Alcosser,
Nutritionist
Acanthus Fairley,
Counselor
Adrienne Gregorek,
Physical Therapist
Public Relations, Recruiting & Outreach
Amy Bordy,
Director of Public Relations, Recruiting and Outreach
Molly Baran,
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
Heather Toner,
Director of Digital Content
Kathleen Woods,
Manager, Database and Information
Ellen Duddy,
Manager of Auditions and Outreach
Annalise Boese,
Marketing Coordinator, Website & Media Management
Julia Price,
Registrar
Development
Kristen Barrett,
Director of Development
Barbra Silver,
Senior Director of Special Events and Corporate Sponsorships
Meredith Lee,
Senior Director of Institutional Relations and Gift Operations
L. Michelle Palmour,
Director Individual Giving
Alexandria Arbeitel,
Manager of Individual Giving
Maddi Bitter,
Coordinator, Special Events & Corporate Sponsorship
Gabrielle Bohrman,
Coordinator, Institutional Giving
Emma Rishel,
Coordinator, Database & Operations
Nigel Finley,
Assistant, Individual Giving and Events
Finance & Information Technology
Naz Kamal,
Director of Finance
Janki Dave,
Associate Director of Finance
Sara Holmes,
Finance Associate
*SAB Alumna/Alumnus