Judith S Schwartz, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus from New York University where she taught for more than 30 years. She is the author of “Confrontational Ceramics” and has written numerous artist reviews, catalog essays, and articles in international journals. She serves as juror and consultant to various international competitions and is Vice president of the International Academy of Ceramics. She is an honorary member of the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts and was awarded their teaching excellence award. She is honored by the J. D. Rockefeller III Foundation, Fulbright Association, New York Art Teachers Association, and the Everson and Renwick Museums.

Wendy has been a professional curator for over 35 years, and has presented 30+ exhibitions. One of the highlights was a major exhibition of contemporary Danish ceramics, which was featured at the Museum of Arts and Design. This exhibition was also presented internationally.

After that, Wendy curated another international group exhibition of contemporary ceramists, also at MAD.

Wendy is a writer for Art New England, and has contributed to the Encyclopedia of New England published by Yale University Press. She has also served as a juror for many art exhibitions.

Wendy has a B.A. from Smith College, an M.F.A. from Boston University, and has taken courses at Radcliffe Seminars.

Carol Green is a textile designer who operated a manufacturing business that designed and produced placemats, canvas bags, and accessories. She has also worked in fashion and interior design and served on the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts board. Green is an avid collector and appreciator of all art mediums, traveling and collecting with the Art Jewelry Forum, James Renwick Alliance for Craft, Corning Museum Of Glass, Glass Art Society, MFA Boston Fashion and Textile Arts Council, and NCECA.

Richard Rogers holds an MBA from Ohio State University (1979) and a BA in Biology and Chemistry from Hiram College (1977). Rick began his career in 1980 as founder and president of Tribute, a software company based in Akron, Ohio. He assumed leadership of B. W. Rogers Company, a manufacturing and distribution company in 1994. Rick’s philanthropy includes supporting the Akron Children’s Hospital; the Akron Art Museum; the Intermuseum Conservancy Association; and the Boys and Girls Club of the Western Reserve. In 2017, Rick created the art nonprofit Curated Storefront which has secured and managed funds to launch installations in downtown Akron. Rick is deeply engaged in the arts and is a leading collector of contemporary ceramics from Asia and the US and twentieth-century American and European design.

Ranti Tjan has made significant contributions to the arts in the Netherlands, particularly in ceramics and education. He studied Political Science and Art History at the University of Amsterdam before becoming the director of the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk in 2010. Under his leadership, the EKWC not only survived financial cuts but thrived, doubling in size and focusing on internationalization, public engagement, and higher education, which led to renewed governmental funding. His efforts positioned the EKWC as a global leader in ceramic art residencies.

In June 2022, Tjan was appointed director of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (KABK), where he continues to influence art education by fostering inclusivity, enhancing the learning environment, and promoting an educational vision that aligns with global artistic trends. His career reflects a blend of academic background with practical leadership in arts administration, emphasizing change and adaptation to remain relevant in the global art scene.

From 2024 on, Ranti is head of Collections and Exhibitions of Het Noordbrabants Museum in the Netherlands, hosting artworks of Van Gogh, Renoir, Dali and ceramic pieces of Fontana and Barcelo.

Jeffrey Spahn is a private art dealer specializing in 20th century masters of studio pottery and ceramic sculpture. He has contributed to Studio Potter, Ceramics Monthly, Yunomi: A studio pottery collector’s guide, and recently, The Art of Toshiko Takaezu and Chris Gustin Wood fired Ceramics, and Martha Russo’s Mid-career review at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.. He owns and operates Jeffrey Spahn Gallery, an on-line re-sale gallery for collectors and sellers at www.jeffreyspahn.com.

Sin-Ying Ho, born in Hong Kong and based in New York City, is an associate professor of ceramics at Queens College, CUNY. She holds an MFA from Louisiana State University, a BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and a High Diploma from Sheridan College. Ho was the first off-campus student from NSCAD to study at Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, China, in 1996.

An influential educator, she has taught and led workshops globally, including at Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and numerous institutions across North America and Asia. Ho’s honors include a Merit Award from the San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, multiple Canada Council Grants, and a PSC-CUNY Grant. Her works reside in permanent collections worldwide, such as the American Museum of Ceramic Art, Hood Museum, Gardiner Museum, and Yingge Ceramics Museum.

Exhibited internationally, her series Eden was showcased at the Giovanni Nicelli private airport on Venice’s Lido Island during the 2022 Venice Biennale, and her piece Afterglow is currently on display at the Office Kiln Museum in Jingdezhen. Her work Music served as the cover of Utopic Impulses: Contemporary Ceramics Practice, and Beyond Borders – Passage of Time is the cover image of New Export China (2023). Ho is a senior advisor at Taoxichuan Art Centre, China, and a trustee at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts.

Hailing from Austin, Texas, Will Resen is responsible for the development and digital infrastrucure of MOCA-NY and the Ceramic World Destinations web application. He currently works as a Senior Developer at Vitech Systems Group and a Senior Engineer at Iternal Technologies, and volunteers as a board member and director at the Museum of Ceramic Art - New York.

Leigh Taylor Mickelson is an artist and independent arts management consultant with 24 years of experience in nonprofit arts management, exhibition curation, and program development. From 2013-18 she served on the board of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) board as their Exhibitions Director and is currently a board member for Studio Potter. She received her MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts.

Ilsy Jeon is a multidisciplinary artist and writer born and based in New York. She studied drawing and painting at Pratt Institute for two years and received her B.F.A Hons in Sculpture and Environmental Art from Glasgow School of Art where she completed a dissertation about the epistemology of museums through a postcolonial lens. She has participated in residencies in Iceland, Hungary, and the United States and has exhibited in New York, Glasgow, Seydisfjordur, and Budapest.

Jacqueline Tse is an artist and designer. She was awarded the Multicultural Fellowship in 2020 from the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts. Her work was selected for the 61st Faenza Biennale at the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy, and has been featured in various publications about contemporary ceramic art. She is also a seasoned designer with over 15 years of experie nce in design consulting, development, and project management in branded consumer products. As a global citizen and tech-savvy individual, she is excited to work with MoCA/NY to enhance and enrich the digital experience of Ceramic World Destinations to all the ceramic art lovers out there.

Carla Aviles-Davidson holds an MBA in Marketing from the Zicklin School of Business and BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her lifelong passion for learning and storytelling fuels creative digital marketing initiatives that emphasize human connection. She has previously worked for the McCann agency pitching campaign recommendations for the Verizon and HomeGoods brands. When not diligently researching consumer trends and working on digital marketing projects, Carla is either reading an ever-growing pile of books or cooking some new, delicious recipe. She currently lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

Abby Digital has been involved with computers since they were programmed with punch cards and paper tape. He learned Computer Science at Yale University under the tutelage of several graduate students, while he was still in high school. Over the years, he has been a pioneer in HVAC, Desktop Publishing, Video Special Effects, and Television Post-production Scheduling systems. A long time consultant for Judy Schwartz, Abby was involved with the realization of the concept of the Ceramic World Destinations map, and the architecture of its application.

Yeliz Saydan is a ceramic artist and researcher born in Turkey. She graduated from the Ceramics Department of the Fine Arts Faculty in Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. She has a MA degree in the same discipline in 2009. In 2012, she participated art classes in The Art Students League of New York City. Along with practicing clay art, she is interested in culture-art, media-communication, social and educational projects. She gained experience and involved in several EU projects in Turkey, Germany, Spain and Italy. In particular, she has been conducting research on destinations of ceramic cities. In 2022, she took part in an Erasmus+ internship program at the Italian Association of Cities of Ceramics, collaborating with Çanakkale Municipality to specialize in this subject. Currently studying at the Art and Design Department of Izmir Dokuz Eylul University as a Proficiency in Art student. She carries out her art works and research in Çanakkale.

Sarah Heitmeyer is an artist specializing in sculptural wall tile using ceramics and computer aided design. With 15 years of experience, her business creates work for private and commercial commissions.

Sarah received an emerging artist award from the National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts in 2019. She received her MFA at the State University of New York at New Paltz and BFA from Alfred University. She exhibits her work across the US and has worked for ceramics studios such as KleinReid, Kala Stein Design, and ModCraft Tile, as well as in digital design and fabrication labs such as the Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center and Polich Tallix.