JENNIFER RITCHKOFF, MSW (Executive Director)
jen@artandsoulcenter.org      

Jennifer is a community organizer and social activist, as well as an actress and writer.  A recent graduate of USC, she received a Masters degree in Social Work, with a concentration in Community Organizing, Planning & Administration.   With over twenty years in the arts, Jennifer has experience in theatre, television and film performance and production, technical theatre, teaching, coaching, and arts administration.  She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association, and Women in Theatre.  While at USC, she completed an internship at The Actor's Fund of America, where she did clinical work and co-facilitated a group that utilized The Artist’s Way. At USC, she twice received a scholarship from the School of Social Work, and was accepted into a school-wide Business Plan Competition for The Art & Soul Center, which she completed in her final year of school through an independent study. 

Jennifer currently serves on the Board of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, as Chair of the Arts & Culture Committee.  She continues her education through seminars and workshops at the Center for Nonprofit Management, and with empowerment and capacity-building workshops offered by the City of Los Angeles, through her work with the Neighborhood Council; geared toward nonprofit management, program development, grant writing, and community development.  Additional management experience includes four years of property management of a large, residential property in LA, and two years as an office manager of a law firm in NY; in addition to arts administration experience in audience services and box office management, and theatre marketing.

Jennifer is currently working with the Hollywood Arts Council, doing program development and grant writing for their successful after-school arts program, Project S.O.A.R (Students Overcoming All Risks).  The Art & Soul Center has also teamed up with the Hollywood Arts Council to launch our community art center, and recently saved an historic house from being demolished by submitting an application for historic designation, after spending two years researching the abandoned property.  In November, their project got unanimous approval from the Cultural Heritage Commission for historic designation, and in January it received a final approval from the Los Angeles City Council.    
                      
                                                                                                                                            MORE ABOUT JEN 

                                                    

The Art & Soul BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JENNIFER BERTHELOT-JELOVIC (President of the Board)

jberthelot@artandsoulcenter.org

Jennifer earned a degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology from Ohio University in 1999.  While in school she served as Vice President of the Student Social Work Association (SSWA).  While in SSWA, he volunteered at the ABLE Lab tutoring adults working to obtain their GED’s.  Jennifer was also a member of Corp. for Youth where she volunteered at local schools tutoring children struggling in different areas, and served as the Vice President of CEASE (Coalition Educating About Sexual Endangerment).  She interned at the Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling Services’ Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate Program.  Jennifer currently works at Shangri-La Entertainment.  

                                                                                                            MORE ABOUT JENNIFER                     



ROBIN CASSETTA (Vice President of the Board) 
robin@artandsoulcenter.org

With more than 10 years experience in communications, Robin's work in the fields of health care, employee benefits, strategic communications and change management has included content development, layout and design for online and print materials, training, public relations, journalism, speech editing and media relations. Robin is currently a Consultant with the communication practice of Mercer Human Resource Consulting, where she is responsible for developing communications strategies, overall project management, and for writing and producing employee communications materials used to meet each of her client's unique needs.

Robin's vast theatre experience includes both administrative and technical theatre/production positions.     

                                                                                                                      MORE ABOUT ROBIN



BETH WILSON (Secretary)

Born and raised in California, Beth is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at University of Southern California.  Beth currently works in Human Resources at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).   Upon completion of her degree in May, she will transition into social work where she will continue her work with children and families.

MARGOT FOLEY
Margot is a producer, writer and actress.  She has a B.A. in Economics from Hobart and WilliamSmithColleges, and is a graduate of the William Esper Acting Studio and the UCLA certificate program in Broadcast Journalism.  As an actress, Margot has performed and produced theater in both Los Angeles and New York and has an extensive background in improvisational theater and sketch comedy.   Margot has also worked as a producer on shows such as Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, The Tyra Banks Show and the David E. Kelly reality show, The Law Firm.  Margot is a member of the Producers Guild, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The West Coast Ensemble theatre company, The Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association, and AFTRA.  
 

CINDY YANTIS
Cindy is Group Sales Manager for Blair Television, a national rep firm representing 144 television stations selling their commercial advertising.  She works with national advertising agencies with offices in Los Angeles.  She is a member of American Woman in Radio & Television.   As a writer, Cindy has completed four screenplays, two of which The Butterfly Symphony and Sugarplum Destiny have finished in the Quarter or Semi-finals in the Nicholl Fellowship for Screenwriting sponsored by the Academy of Motion Pictures.  She is completing the novel version of Sugarplum Destiny, and plans to have a publisher by the end of 2007.  She has also written a play and another novel and is working on a one-woman show.  Cindy was the Founder and President of The POWDER Network (Power of Women Developing Entertainment Resources), a professional networking organization for women in entertainment. 

The Art & Soul ADVISORY BOARD Members

RAFAEL C. ANGULO

Rafael Carlos Angulo is an Associate Clinical Field faculty who joined the faculty in 2001 after 11 years doing both investigative work and clinical practice with Child Protective Services. Specifically, he worked four years in Emergency Response/Investigation, three years in Street Outreach Services working with runaway youth in Hollywood and the surrounding areas, and four years providing transitional housing services in East Los Angeles to emancipated foster youth. His areas of micro practice also include medical social work and clinical work with predominantly Spanish speaking clients.  Rafael was recently named Social Worker of the Year by National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Fascinated by the beauty and grandeur of cultures, he went to Bali, Indonesia for the first time in 1991 and eventually did his graduate thesis in Bali studying the parental methods of discipline and perceptions of child abuse and found that community rituals and traditions are essential protective buffers in providing social support and helping to recognize the essential dignity of children.  His areas of both clinical and policy interests include fatherhood impact on child development, clinical practice with Latino clients, media literacy, spiritual dimensions of clinical work, transforming power of art in undervalued communities, and educational success for minority youth.  Trained as a filmmaker, he has produced and directed documentaries, public service announcements, and corporate videos for nonprofit agencies. Further, he has utilized video technology to conduct oral histories, digital storytelling, and ethnographic recordings.

He is currently the Families and Children co-coordinator and the Public Child Welfare coordinator along with being the co-advisor of the Latino Social Work Caucus. He teaches Integrative seminar and Media in Social Work: Documentary Filmmaking as a Praxis for Social Justice class. Outside the university, he facilitates group therapy for Spanish speaking fathers, provides individual counseling to the immigrant community, and is working on numerous documentary projects for national distribution.

NYLA ARSLANIAN 

Nyla Arslanian is Editor of Discover Hollywood Magazine and President of the Hollywood Arts Council.  The Council was formed in 1978 to address the role the arts would play in Hollywood’s revitalization. The Council continues to be involved to keep the arts at the forefront of community life.  Highlights of the Hollywood Arts Council’s accomplishments through the years include the Children’s Festival of the Arts, outdoor art shows, promoting the wealth of arts activities available through Discover Hollywood Magazine, the new upcoming Rock n Roll Pilgrimage Concert in August and its annual Charlie Awards Luncheon held in the beginning of the year.  Project S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming All Risks), the Council’s after school program, provides over 2,000 3rd, 4th and 5th graders with quality art instruction and an opportunity to explore their own creativity. The Council relies on donations and its volunteers to carry out its programs. Everyone interested in the arts and in the unique culture of Hollywood is invited to join.  The Hollywood Arts Council has emerged as the voice for Hollywood's unique culture and a strong advocate for the impact arts can have on the life of a community. The Council has renewed its dedication to promoting, nurturing and supporting the arts and is evolving to meet new challenges and opportunities.

ERIN CAHILL

Erin was born in Alexandria, Virginia and lived in the nearby town of Stafford until she was 18. She began acting in plays directed by her mother, Deborah Cahill, when she was about 5 years old. At age 6 she discovered what a headshot and portfolio were and wanted them right away! She has been focused on her career ever since. Her first stage role was as the youngest Snow Child in Carousel and her earliest singing role was as Amaryllis in The Music Man. Erin started dance at age 8, excelling at all types. She still loves to take jazz and ballet class. She attended Brooke Point High School where she performed in numerous productions before attending Marymount Manhattan College on a Performing Arts and Academic Scholarship. She then moved to Los Angeles and has been there ever since.  Erin loves dance, yoga, movies and eating (especially sushi)!  She has been doing volunteer work for many years, currently volunteering for a non-profit organization in downtown Los Angeles called, Art Share, a program that brings the arts to communities that may otherwise not have access to them.  Erin recently co-hosted SpikeTV's summer season, late night variety show, MDN, and also starred as the Pink Ranger on the popular children's television show Power Rangers Power Force.  Erin was recently seen on the FOX comedy series, Free Ride, Sunday nights on FOX, as the female lead, Amber Danwood.

STEPHANIE CARTER-WILLIAMS

Stephanie L. Carter-Williams has worked in the area of education and child welfare for nearly seven years as a professional consultant and serves as an adjunct teaching faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.  Ms. Carter-Williams’ areas of specialization are program design, development, and implementation, data tracking, and program performance.  Ms. Carter-Williams has worked with the Departments of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Probation as a consultant member (Data/Contracting/Evaluation) of the Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Office (CAO) appointed Interim and Design Teams and helped to develop information systems for tracking services provided to Emancipation Services and Independent Living Program (ES/ILP) youth (DCFS and Probation) and a web-based outcomes reporting system/survey for emancipated foster youth presented at the Child Welfare League of America National Conference in Washington, D.C., March 2005, “Well-Being and Concerns of Emancipated Youth: A Web-Based Methodology for Long-Term Tracking”.   Ms. Carter- Williams’ future research interests include examining the relationship between personal characteristics of caregivers and outcomes for individual children, effectiveness-based practices in education, and best-practice research to strengthen systems and programs serving children and families.  Ms. Carter-Williams current consultant activities includes work as a Research Analyst for the Children and Families Research Consortium.

MICHAEL DONOVAN
Michael Donovan's casting credits include numerous feature films such as Teddy Bear’s Picnic (directed by Harry Shearer), The Rose Technique, Scrambled, Devious Beings, Quality Time and Closing the Deal; nine TV series including The Jersey (Disney Channel), Fudge (ABC), The Eddie Files (PBS), Random Play (VH1) and The Super Adventure Team (MTV); TV films War Dogs (Discovery Channel) and Medal of Honor (TNT); several pilots and over 1,000 commercials. Theatre credits include Laura (starring Linda Hamilton), Amy’s View (starring Carol Lawrence and Susan Egan -- Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle double nominee for Best Production and Best Actress, Ms. Lawrence), The Philadelphia Story (starring Allison Eastwood), The Powder Room Suite (starring Sally Kirkland), Candles (starring Michael Learned and Andrea Evans), All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (two productions: at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., starring James Whitmore, Bonnie Franklin and Liz Sheridan; and at the Tiffany Theatre in L.A., starring Robert Mandan, David Naughton, Michael Tucci and Beth Howland), Fedunn (L.A. Weekly Nomination for Best Ensemble, 2002, as well as Best Production and Supporting Actress), There’s No Place Like Hollywood (2001 Ovation nominee) and Shopping and F***ing (Garland award for Best Ensemble, 2000). 

Michael Donovan is also resident casting director for the International City Theatre (I.C.T.) in Long Beach, having cast their productions of A Servant to Two Masters (for which he was nominated for the C.S.A. Artios Award for Outstanding Casting, and the cast won the Garland award for Best Ensemble, 2001), A View from the Bridge, Death Defying Acts, Swingin’ On a Star (eight N.A.A.C.P. award nominations), Honk!, Black Comedy, Triumph of Love, Master Harold and the Boys, Putting It Together, Agnes of God, The Real Thing and Raisin, which was scheduled to star Nell Carter until her untimely passing during rehearsals. Michael is also now the casting director for Garry Marshall’s Falcon Theatre, where he has cast two projects to date: Twilight Romance (starring Katherine Helmond and Robert Mandan), and Gretty Good Time. Michael has cast two celebrity benefit productions for Shakespeare/LA: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (starring Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Martin Sheen, Martin Short, Angela Bassett, Christina Applegate, Tracey Ullman, Peter Krause, Richard Moll and Michael Jeter), and Two Gentlemen of Verona (starring Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Brad Garrett, Billy Crystal, Thomas Gibson, Lainie Kazan, Martin Sheen and Christina Applegate). Michael has also just started casting for the Centre Theatre, a new Equity theatre in Vancouver, Canada.

Michael Donovan started in the business as an actor and director, and has now been casting for 13 years. He directed the world-premiere of Red Tie, Green Tie at West Coast Ensemble, where Michael is also past-president and current Board member. Michael has also recently directed two short films, For Lydia, and another which has just wrapped and is yet untitled. Michael is also a busy acting teacher, having taught at such places as the Stella Adler Academy and the American Film Institute, and he has directed at the AmericanAcademy of Dramatic Arts. Additionally he does a great deal of private coaching, and has his own personal classes. Michael is also a member of C.S.A., the Casting Society of America, and an officer of the C.C.D.A., the Commercial Casting Directors’ Association.

ALAINA REED HALL
Ms. Hall is widely known for her roles in two highly successful series, in the long running and popular Sesame Street and the hit comedy series 227. She was also a series regular on Cleghorne. Ms. Hall continues to appear regularly in guest appearances in shows such as ER, Ally McBeal, Friends, Between Brothers, NYPD Blue, The Steve Harvey Show, Drew Carey, and Caroline In The City. Ms. Hall’s TV movie and film credits include Cherokee Kid, starring Sinbad, Brown, Death Becomes Her and Me And The Kid which starred Danny Aiello. With such a well known television and film career, it is sometimes overlooked that Alaina Reed Hall is a Broadway veteran. Having made her Broadway debut in Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, she went on to star in Eubie, Chicago, A, My Name Is Alice, and in classic show biz style, replaced Jennifer Holiday with a day’s notice in the role of Effie in Michael Bennet’s workshop production of Dreamgirls. Ms. Hall combined her love for children and her musical talents to expand her abilities as co-writer and co-producer of the CBS FOX children’s home video Learning Can Be Fun. She brings not only her vast show business experience which includes co-hosting Hour Magazine and appearances on The Late Show, but also her life experience as wife, mother and community leader. Ms. Hall hosted the first Women’s Promise Keepers gathering at the Rose Bowl. She is already slated to host the event again in May of 1998. She will host the 2nd Annual Chosen Women’s Conference in Fresno in May. Ms. Hall has been profiled twice on Lifestyles Of the Rich and Famous. She lives her belief, donating her talents to numerous benefit performances and organizations including opening for Joan Rivers at The Aids and Comfort Benefit in Boston, joining old friend Bette Midler for the Design Alliance Aids Benefit in Los Angeles, as well as benefits for The Arthritis Foundation and the Rancho Los Angeles Foundation. A versatile and electrifying musical performer, she continues to appear across the country in her inspirational one-woman show.


PRISCILLA F. LEVINE, LCSW

Ms. Levine received her Masters in Social Work from New York University in 1988 and currently is the Director of Disabled Student Services at LoyolaMarymountUniversity (LMU/LA).  Prior to joining LMU/LA, Ms. Levine was the Coordinator of the AIDS Initiative at The Actors Fund of America.  During her 14 ½ years at The Actors Fund she clinically supervised the program and assisted those in the entertainment industry who were affected by HIV.  In addition, she is an adjunct faculty at The University of Southern California, School of Social Work, and serves as a field instructor/supervisor for social work interns in the graduate school.

CHERYL MACON-OLIVER, MSW 
Ms. Macon-Oliver is a consultant, facilitator, trainer and coach with over thirty years experience in non-profit and educational environments.  As founder and president of Epiphany Consulting Group, Inc., she works with individuals, teams and organizations to maximize their potential.  She has consulted and coached individuals and organizations in areas of financial planning and management, human resource development, organizational and leadership development, strategic planning, program development and implementation.  Ms. Macon-Oliver has worked as a clinical social worker and as a manager of a State-wide program as well as other community based programs.  She is the co-founder of a human service non-profit organization located in South Central Los Angeles and served as its chief operating officer for ten years.  Ms. Macon-Oliver is also an Adjunct Professor in the USC School of Social Work.  In addition, she serves as a field instructor/supervisor for social work interns in the graduate schools of USC, UCLA and Cal State Long Beach.

TALMADGE RAGAN

Originally from North Carolina, actor, producer, writer, Talmadge Ragan attended Chatham Hall, where she received the Sherwood Memorial Award for Drama, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Finch College and The New School for Social Research ( both in NYC) , majoring in Dramatic Art and English. She did graduate work in theatre at WesternWashingtonUniversity. She worked in advertising in NYC for many years starting in the accounting department, then as a TV /radio media buyer, moving into producing, first at agencies, than at the award-winning commercial production company, Grand Street Flicks. She was an associate producer for the documentary JUMPERS, with Brooke Shields, about Olympic equestrian trainers and their horses.

For many years, during that same time, she wrote two weekly columns for The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines, NC, “It Says Here, a look at contemporary society for their editorial page, and “trends”, based on her New York experiences.  She also had several essays published in the N.C. Literary Review. Her poem, “Tell Me,” was included in the off- Broadway production of “Some of My Best Friends Are Women”, directed by Isaiah Scheffer, which later became “A, My Name is Alice”, and in the well-known “Southern Accents” column. She was a speechwriter in WashingtonD.C. for N.C. Senator Robert Morgan.  Throughout her career, she has always continued to perform across the country in numerous theatres, including the country’s oldest outdoor drama, The Lost Colony, with whom she is still active in their alumni group.

Ragan moved to Los Angeles in 1989 and continues to work as an actor on stage, in television, films, and voiceovers. She is co-owner and producer for Blue Kiss, LLC, a production company for films, commercials and audiobooks in StudioCity, President of the non-profit, Women in Theatre, and Administrative Director of the Screen Actors Guild Conservatory at the American Film Institute, as well as being Vice-Chair of the National and Hollywood Conservatory Committees. She was a founding member of Kings and Clowns, the Educational Shakespeare Alliance, and currently serves on their Advisory Board. She is a member of SAG, Actors Equity, AFTRA, Women in Film, and FIND. She is honored to be a part of Art and Soul and strongly believes in this organization’s goals.

MARCIA WILSON, PH.D.

Dr. Wilson received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis on Criminology and Deviance from University of Southern California.  She went on to complete her Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Mental Health, and her Doctorate in Social Work with an emphasis in Clinical Social Work, also from the University of Social Work.  Her dissertation was on juvenile and gang delinquency with a causation in a structural equation model.   Dr. Wilson is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, and also serves as Tech Prep Director for the Los Angeles Community College District.  She served as Executive Director of Curriculum and Executive Director of Development for Healthy Beginnings in Temple City.  She had a private practice as a Therapist, Seminar Leader and Research Consultant (Wilson Consulting), and in Grant Writing, Program Evaluation and Consulting (Write on the Money).   She served as Director of Community Success Programs at the University of Southern California Center for Academic Support, and as Director of Academic and Support Services & Coordinator, Counseling and Crisis Intervention Component for the University of Southern California Neighborhood Academic Initiative.  She served as a Therapist for El Nido Services in Compton and Carson, as an Instructor at California State Polytechnic University, and her publications include:

o        Sullivan, R. and Wilson, M. "Getting There from Here:  A New Perspective in Juvenile Delinquency Theory,"  Journal of Adolescence. 1995. Spring, Vol. 30(117): 1-17.

o        Wilson, Marcia.  Juvenile and Gang Delinquency Causation: A Structural Equation Model.  Dissertation.  University of Southern California Graduate School, 1995.

o        Wilson, Marcia.  Tech Prep Articulation Handbook, Los Angles Community College District publication, 2003.