Leadership & Staff
SAB Leadership
Jonathan Stafford*
Artistic Director
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.
Kay Mazzo*
Chairman of Faculty
Kay Mazzo hails from Chicago, Il, where she received early training under Bernadine Hayes. Ms. Mazzo first auditioned for SAB at the age of 12 and attended 3 summer courses before enrolling full time in 1959. She joined New York City Ballet in 1961, was promoted to soloist in 1965 and principal dancer in 1968. After retiring from dancing in 1981, Ms. Mazzo was invited by Mr. Balanchine to teach at SAB. She joined the permanent faculty in 1983, served as coordinator of curriculum from 1993-1997, and became co-chair of faculty in 1997. Ms. Mazzo was named chairman of faculty in 2018.
Carrie W. Hinrichs
Executive Director
Carrie W. Hinrichs joined the School of American Ballet (SAB) 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*
Aesha Ash*
Megan Fairchild*
Gonzalo Garcia*
Craig Hall*
Adam Hendrickson*
Arch Higgins*
Anthony Huxley*
Sterling Hyltin*
Megan Johnson*
Katrina Killian*
Lauren King*
Meagan Mann*
Allen Peiffer*
Susan Pilarre*
Suki Schorer
Andrew Scordato*
Abi Stafford*
Sheryl Ware*
Dirk Hartog,
Weight Training
Phoebe Higgins*,
Pilates
Jeffrey Middleton,
Music
Frank Sellito,
Gymnastics
Pianists
Flora Arbitman
Kevin Carpenter
Sophie Chandler
Arkadiy Figlin
Maurizio Najt
Miho Nozawa
Alla Reznik
Matthew Sheridan
Leo Shih
Artistic & Executive Administration
Hannah Federau,
Artistic Manager
Julia Sandke,
Artistic Assistant
Elise Drew León,
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Josh Stansbury,
Manager of Operations, Board & Executive Affairs
Alexis Branagan,
Project Manager, Ballet Connoisseurship
Student Life
Sion Harrington,
Dean of Students
Katy Vedder,
Director of Student Life for Children’s Division and Wellness Programming
Molly Murray,
Assistant Director of Student Life for Academic and Cultural Programs
Nate Guarino
Assistant Director of Student Life for Residential and Transitional Programming
Satchel Henneman,
Residence Life Associate
Cheyenne Ross,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Kristen Spencer,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Lauren Pfisterer,
Assistant Residence Hall Director
Sherrell Bush,
Student Life and Production Assistant
Julia Price
Receptionist and Testing Coordinator
Dr. William Hamilton,
Consulting Orthopedist
Joan Lantz,
Nurse
Dr. Nicole Marcus,
School Psychologist
Marika Molnar,
Physical Therapist
Heidi Skolnik,
Nutritionist
Andrea Zujko,
Physical Therapist
Public Relations, Recruiting & Outreach
Amy Bordy,
Director of Public Relations, Recruiting and Outreach
Molly Baran,
Director of Marketing
Heather Toner,
Digital Producer
Kathleen Woods,
Manager, Database and Information
Amara Dieter,
Registrar
Kevin Dhaniram,
Digital Production Manager
Ellen Duddy,
Manager of Auditions and Outreach
Development
Kristen Barrett,
Director of Development
Barbra Silver,
Senior Director of Special Events and Corporate Sponsorships
Meredith Lee,
Director of Institutional Giving and Development Operations
L. Michelle Palmour,
Director Individual Giving
Kristen McGuire,
Senior Manager, Membership
Iosu Bascaran,
Associate Development Officer
Josephine Chun,
Development Coordinator, Database & Operations
Jacqueline Brown,
Development Assistant, Special Events and Corporate Sponsorships
Julia McColligan,
Development Assistant, Individual Giving
Finance & Information Technology
Naz Kamal,
Director of Finance
Janki Dave,
Senior Manager, Budget & Financial Analysis
Juan Molina-Goni,
Manager, Finance & Benefits Administration
Juan Hernaiz,
Senior Manager of Information Technology
*SAB Alumna/Alumnus