Faculty and Staff
Program Director
Email: john.deamond@montgomerycollege.edu
Phone: 240-567-5188
Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, CF 134
Biography
John Deamond is dedicated to the idea that the arts are for everyone. He seeks to provide avenues into the arts, whether for personal practice or a career. His artwork manifests as photography, digital art, sculpture, and installation. John holds an MFA in photography from Parsons School of Design, and a BA in art & art history with a minor in theater from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. John’s work has been shown in galleries and museums in over a dozen states and Canada. He is a winner of the 2013 New York Photo Awards, the 2107 Maryland Individual Artist Awards for sculpture, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 International Photography awards. In his non-professional arts life, John plays music, builds furniture, and sews. He is a hopeless painter and dancer.
Instructors
Biography
Christina Arellano is a professional video editor and producer. She has been teaching Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects for the past 4 years as a part-time instructor in the Community Arts Department. Her background in video production spans over 10 years with experience covering pre-production to post-production. She has worked on various projects for broadcast including television shows airing on the History Channel and the DiY Channel. Currently, she is the Senior Editor for a PR agency producing content for both internal and external communications. Christina loves the mastery of visual storytelling and hopes to share that same passion with her students.
Biography
Yorkshire metalsmith Nick Grant Barnes and his wife Diane; two brilliant heir apparent,
a couple of cats & Bethany the pup have made their home & workspace in Maryland, USA
since 1995.
Through teaching & creating one off commissions for customers & exhibitions, he has
developed his style working with a myriad of mediums from precious metals; plastics;
woods & not too precious materials that are fun to play with.
His work has been collected & exhibited internationally, as well as featured in numerous
publications.
Personal Websitenew window
Biography
I have been working with glass for nearly 10 years now. I started out as a hobbyist and recently transitioned into a full-time artist. Primarily, I work in fused glass (glass that is melted in a kiln), although I still work with stained glass on a regular basis. I am proficient in both forms of stained glass: the leaded stained-glass method and the copper foil stained-glass method (invented by Tiffany). I often include fused glass pieces in my stained-glass panels. I also do repairs on existing stained-glass panels. I hold teaching positions at local colleges as well.
Instagram: @glass_by_dave
Biography
This native New Orleanian has starred in series on the major networks Lifetime, The Food Network and Spike TV. Her years of experience in the film industry has afforded her the opportunity to teach others. She has earned her credits as an Acting Coach, Casting Director, Producer and Film Director. She has been featured in Rolling Out and Celebrity Net Worth “The Richest”.Nicole Porche is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Nicole built her career as a professional film, television, theater and voice-over actor by demystifying the casting process and illuminating the business side of pursuing a creative career.
Biography
A native of Taiwan, Dr. Hanyin Chen won top prizes in various young artist competitions and appeared in solo concerts and with orchestras. Her musical training continued at the prestigious Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana she was a featured soloist in the Mozart Festival. She graduated, with a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Piano Performance. In addition to a Doctorate in Piano Performance, she holds a master’s degree in computer science.
As a teacher she has over 20 years of one-on-one group teaching experience. She has taught in various music schools and colleges and has served on the piano faculty of the Montgomery College since 2010. As a passionate performer, she has been a Solo Performance Member of the venerated Friday Morning Music Club since 2004. Performing extensively in solo recitals and in FMMC concert series, both as solo pianist and in chamber groups, she recently performed J.S. Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations.
Biography
Eunmee Chung is an Adjunct Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmith at the Montgomery College since 2006. She has received MFA from most respected art school of Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Korea in 1984, and again MFA from the University of Wisconsin in 1988. Her works Focuses on the notion of sustainable art through contrasting metal works, photography, and installation which touches on a universal issue related to the nature, individuals, social, and our environment. She has held over twenty solo and more than two hundred exhibitions in Washington, DC, Baltimore, New York, Tokyo, Scotland, and Seoul, Korea.
www.chungeunmee.com
Instagram.. eunmee chung 
Biography
STEVE CHURCHILL graduated summa cum laud from The Catholic University of America and received his Masters degree in oboe in 1993. He has played oboe, saxophone, clarinet and flute in the Kennedy Center Opera House and Show Orchestras, The National Theater Orchestra, national tours of Broadway musicals, and network television shows, performing with artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Nat Adderly, Charlie Daniels, Marvin Hamlisch, Loretta Lynn, Steve Lawrence, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Sam Moore, Kenny Rogers, Barnum and Bailey Circus, and the Bolshoi Ballet. He has played principal oboe in the Maryland Symphony and at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. He currently performs with the Chesapeake Saxophone Ensemble, a “supersax” group specializing in the bebop jazz of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
In addition, he has taught at Catholic University and Howard County Community College and has been on the faculty at Montgomery College for the past 30 years.
Biography
Alice’s classes at Montgomery College, Art in DC and Art Collecting, aim to increase accessibility through field trips and firsthand meetings with art professionals. In addition to teaching, she is a practicing artist, with an MFA in Painting and Drawing from UCLA. From 2016 to 2020, she was a regular contributor to the magazine DC Modern Luxury, writing about art exhibitions across the city. Previously, she was a Gallery Educator at the Getty Center, engaging visitors with the museum's collection through interactive courses and tours.https://www.alicecisternino.com/
Biography
Dr. Ronald Collé is an internationally recognized research scientist in radiochemistry and nuclear chemistry with over 130 research publications in science journals, and has worked at a national laboratory for over 40 years. He has taught mathematics in both private schools and universities, and has tutored students for many years. He has studied, been an aficionado, and a collector of art throughout his adult life. His background and interests make him an ideal candidate to teach ADS 423, Mathematics in Art and Design, a unique course that he developed and teaches.A brief biography can be found in a Wikipedia articlenew window.
A more complete science profile can be found at NIST websitenew window.
Biography
Wendy Daniels is a visual artist trained in Fine Arts at Howard University and the University of Maryland – College Park. She works in watercolor acrylics, pen/ink, mixed-media collage, lost wax jewelry, and sculpting one-of-a-kind figurative images. She has conducted graduate research in Art History and Art Education. Her concentration was on the Artists of the Harlem Renaissance and Mural and Printmaking Divisions of the federal Works Progress Administration.
Ms. Daniels’ career was as a Creative Art Director in graphic design and the print production industries. Over the last three decades, she has devoted herself to artwork and teaching art. She has had the opportunity to provide instruction to specific populations: cancer patients; medical staff; Deaf and Dyslexic individuals. Currently, she teaches courses in watercolor, aqueous media collage and drawing at Montgomery College.
Ms. Daniels was on a panel discussion of Doll-makers in October 2019 at the Annual
American Folklore Society.
Biography
Lucy is the Coordinator of the Jewelry and Metalsmithing/Crafts Area at Montgomery
College (MC), Rockville. Additionally she is the advisor to the MC club, Student Art
League. Lucy is also a board member of the non-profit organization Ethical Metalsmiths
(EM), acting as facilitator to multiple chapters of EM Students around the world.
Personal Websitenew window
Biography
Robert Devers is an artist with a multi-faceted practice that includes ceramics, sculpture, painting, and photography. Ceramics remains his essential focus and provides the lens through which the other mediums are engaged and ultimately brought back into play in ceramic practice. He is the owner and founder of Blue Fire Studio in Mt. Rainier, Md., where he holds exhibitions and workshops, as well as serving as his primary studio.
Works in public collections include: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, American University Art Gallery; Katzen Art Center, Manuel Cargaliero Foundation, Ravello, Italy, Museo Manuel Cargaliero, Castelo Branco, Portugal, International Monetary Fund, and the Washington Brain and Spine Institute.
Biography
Leland Edgecombe has been teaching as a part-time instructor on the music faculty
at Montgomery College since 2011. Mr. Edgecombe joined the department as a guitar
instructor who came from the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz (Washington, D.C.).
At MC, Instructor Edgecombe teaches several courses to include music appreciation
and class guitar. He has also created various workforce development, continuing education
music courses to include American folk-life guitar studies, and music production business
and technologies.
Since his arrival at MC, Instructor Edgecombe has been the recipient of the 2015-2016
Smithsonian Institute Faculty Fellowship Award through the Paul Peck Institute for
Humanities where his work primarily focused on jazz studies education, and African
American history and literature. Instructor Edgecombe is a graduate of the Master
Guitarist curriculum from the Berklee College of Music’s Professional Studies Program
in Boston, MA,; and holds a Master’s Degree in Urban History and Planning from the
University of Pennsylvania’s School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA.
Biography
Greta Ehrig holds an MFA in Creative Writing and BA’s in Visual Arts and Psychology. A lifelong artist, she began teaching piano and other arts while in elementary school. It wasn’t until 2000, however – when folk icon Tom Paxton called her work “Really terrific!” – that she began performing her original music out. Since that time, Ehrig has graced stages from the Baltimore Book Festival to the Boulder Museum of Art. She’s won numerous awards and taught over a thousand students, of all ages. Ehrig is particularly interested in the ways that an artist’s vulnerability and authenticity can change lives.
Here she is solo and “live”: soundcloud.com/greta_ehrig_arts
Biography
As a mult-instrumentalist, Rockville native Scott Giambusso has been a member of the Montgomery College Adjunct Jazz Faculty since 1999, teaching advanced bass and beginning and intermediate guitar classes. He has performed as a sideman and leader in the Washington area since the late 60’s on guitar, bass (electric and upright), tuba and ukulele and vocals, playing as many as 240 gigs yearly. Although the pandemic has temporarily ended his playing career, he has mastered the ability to teach clearly and is always willing to share his knowledge of music.
Biography
Angela, originally from Pittsburgh, is a life-long dancer and a master instructor. She trained in the Cecchetti Style of Ballet. Interested in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian dance she traveled to Cuba, and Brazil studying the folkloric dances. Angela has taught at the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of Naval Intelligence, DC Dance Collective, Flow Yoga Center, George Mason University, and George Washington University. She has performed at Fiesta Latina at the White House for President Obama. She lectures and choreographs on stories of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban dance. She applies traditional and folkloric techniques, and her experiences to her instruction of Ballet, Modern, Fosse and Luigi-styles of Jazz. Angela encourages her dancers to understand the cultural context of their dance style to reach a higher quality of movement and to connect with the experiences that originated the dance technique they are bringing to life.
Biography
Mark is a theatre director and teacher based out of the DC area. Since moving to the DC area, he has worked with The Source Festival, Molotov Theatre Group, Peter’s Alley Theatre and Adventure Theatre MTC. He was nominated for Best Director of a Professional Production by Broadway World DC.
Mark earned an MFA in Directing from Indiana University. While in graduate school, he directed/worked with Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington and Bloomington Playwrights Project. Prior to graduate school, he acted and directed in Chicago for nine years. He was fortunate to direct sketch comedy at Second City Chicago.
Mark has taught theatre, fine and performing arts and public speaking at Carrol Community
College, Community College of Baltimore County and Montgomery College. As an assistant
editor, he helped put together Scenes and Monologues from Steinberg/ATCA New Play
Award Finalists, 2008-2012.
https://www.markkamie.com/
Biography
Wanjin Kim grew up in Seoul, Korea and moved to the US in 1993 to pursue an art career. She began her studies in English and Art at Montgomery College, eventually completing a BFA degree at the Pratt Institute and an MFA degree at Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Her works examine the latent beauty of the natural world that surrounds daily life. Over the past two decades, Wanjin has exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions.
Currently, she teaches Jewelry Making, Crafts classes, and Drawing at Montgomery College.
Biography
I was born and raised in Jamaica where I took an interest in photography; I saw a print being made in a developer tray and I was hooked. At around 19, I moved to NYC where I bought my first camera and proceeded to shoot everything; I studied at the NY Institute of Photography. I have a degree in Journalism from Howard University and an Associate’s degree in photo editing from the International Photo College. I was manager of photo and imaging at Washington National Cathedral. I have taught photography at the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts and Digital Photo Academy. For the past 8 years, I have been adjunct professor of photography at Montgomery College. I was a member of the board of the American Society of Media Photographers, DC Chapter. When I'm not making photos, or teaching, more than likely I'm playing my bass.
Biolography
Kaltoum Maroufi-Colle’s work focuses on realistic painting. Her work becomes more socially and politically relevant combining in different art forms creating a complex visual language. Kaltoum’s oeuvre incudes oil paintings; murals, marouflage, and frescoes (including restoration); sculpture; textiles and tapestry; design of interior decoration, landscape, exterior architectural details; and book alterations. Kaltoum’s work resides in private collections on four continents, and has been exhibited in group and solo shows. She received the First Grand Prize at the 2ème Salon des Artistes Independents de la Cote d'Azur and the Daedalus Award for craftsmanship and technical excellence at the 1998 Icarus International Exhibit in Nags Head, North Carolina. Kaltoum previously served on the board of La Maison des Artistes. She currently owns and manages the K.A. Maroufi Gallery. In addition to teaching for Community Arts, Kaltoum gives lectures and conferences about American Artists and Painters in French to foreign audiences.
Biography
John focuses on copyright and trademark registrations and transactional matters, litigation, copyright infringement, publishing and media issues, defamation, licensing and contracts, and commercial matters relating to creative industries. He works with writers, artists, filmmakers, photographers and creative people to protect, promote and productively exploit their work. In addition to his law practice, John is the President of the Board of Directors for the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, Advisory Board member of Veterans in Media and Entertainment, adjunct faculty teaching Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Law at UDC Law School, past adjunct faculty teaching Art and the Law at George Mason University, lectures regularly at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Art as Applied to Medicine Master’s program, and gives numerous lectures and talks every year on legal issues related to artists of all kinds. His email is jmason@copyrightcounselors.com and his law firm website is www.copyrightcounselors.com.
Biography
Gizelle’s love for dance directed her path to the ballroom dance arena 10 years ago,
where she managed a top ballroom dance studio and became a DVIDA certified instructor.
She participated in numerous ballroom competitions and showcases and won 1st place
in the Solo Exhibition category to her and partner’s rendition of Smooth Criminal
by Michael Jackson. She continued pursuing her love for performing by joining the
ProAm Dance Team USA performing Latin inspired numbers during halftime at NBA/WNBA
games. Gizelle has taught at social and corporate functions, for group and private
instruction, and choreographed first dances for wedding couples.
Biogrphy
Biljana "B" Milenkovic is an accomplished multi-media professional with more than two decades of experience. Professor "B" teaches Intro to Television Production and several Community Arts classes, including Smartphone Video Production and Personal Digital Archiving, at Montgomery College, her alma mater.
Biography
Rissa Miller is a multi-disciplinary artist, art historian and chef. She holds graduate degrees in studio arts, art history, and a diploma in culinary arts. Her drawings, paintings and ceramic sculptures have been exhibited in multiple galleries in the U.S. and Italy, and speak to intuitive processes and peripatetic states. Her research on the intersection of folk art and food culture will be published in the upcoming East-West Cultural Passage Journal, 2021. Passionate about both teaching and Mediterranean culture, Rissa runs art, art appreciation, and writing workshop retreats every summer in the Roman countryside.
Biography
Jamie Noguchi is a Japanese/Chinese-American artist and webcomic author who currently publishes Yellow Peril, an Asian-American office romance comedy webcomic, and Sherlock Holmes' Seriously Short Mini Mysteries, with Steve Napierski. The first Yellow Peril compilation, Back to the Grind: A Yellow Peril Collection, was published in 2011 and the second, The Client is Always: A Yellow Peril Collection, was published in 2013. Noguchi was also the first in the series of illustrators for the Erfworld webcomic. During his time as illustrator, it was listed as one of Time magazine's "Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007."
Separately, Noguchi is a co-founder of Super Art Fight, a show based in Baltimore,
Maryland, where notable artists engage in a real-time artistic competition incorporating
various design elements over the course of 30 minutes, occasionally opting to interact
with each other's art in a battle, with audience participation determining the winner.
Biography
Vincent Patterson is the Founding Director, Maryland Band Directors Band. He earned
the degrees Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting and Master of Music from The Catholic
University of America. Mentors there included Dr. Robert Garofalo and Frederick Fennell.
His undergraduate degrees in Instrumental Performance and Music Education are from
Millikin University.
During the Vietnam era he was Staff Instructor, Armed Forces School of Music, Army
Element. Following European study in saxophone performance he was accepted into “The
President’s Own,” United States Marine Band. As a Bandsman he served during three
presidential terms at White House events, for numerous affairs of State and performed
on U.S. National Tours. To promote the Marine Band’s tradition, Dr. Patterson organized
its Public Relations Office, then created the “Friends of the Marine Band;” he developed
annual Marine Band Chamber Music concerts which flourished in Coolidge Auditorium,
Library of Congress - this series continues today in Sousa Band Hall and DC-area concert
venues.
In 1975 Dr. Patterson sang professionally in St. Matthews Cathedral Choir, directed
by Robert Shafer, also the Oratorio Society of Washington and National Shrine. He
continued as a vocalist in Washington National Cathedral’s Choir of Men and Boys and
parish churches. Dr. Patterson also sang for three seasons with the Washington Opera
Chorus, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2007, the Mayor of Rockville, Maryland presented the city’s “Lifetime Achievement
Award” to Dr. Patterson for his years of service as Director of its community band.
Biography
Karin J. Rodney-Hodge (formerly Rodney-Haapala) is from Silver Spring, MD. Karin identifies as anA/R/Tographer (artist/ researcher/ teacher). She holds a BFA in Photojournalism and MAT in ArtEducation from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. Karin is dedicated tothe advancement of learning and inquiry with students and creators of all ages.In 2015, she joined the Visual and Performance Arts Department as an Art Educator at MontgomeryCollege in Takoma Park, Maryland. Karin teaches credit and community arts courses such as DigitalTools for the Visual Arts and the Adobe Creative Suite.Website: www.theartographer.org/
Biolography
The artist Rozeal uses her large-scale acrylic paintings to wryly comment on the ductile and ever-changing essence of cultural identity, most often by creating visual mash-ups of two disparate but in fact subtly harmonious subcultures: the samurai and geishas depicted in traditional Japanese ukiyo-e printmaking and the contemporary world of hip-hop. In her work, Rozeal pursues a transcultural aesthetic in both her imagery and her technique, mixing many social issues into her subject matter with the deftness of a DJ.A recurring character in Rozeal's work is Yoshi, a wise female war hero—sporting an afro and classical Japanese influenced garb—whose enlightened state allows her to exist as a communicant between divinities and mortals, guiding those still on earth. The artist's paintings have been widely exhibited, and she received a solo show at Cleveland's Museum of Contemporary Art in 2010. She was commissioned to create a performance for the Performa biennial.
Biography
“A title often confines then defines,” said Rochelle Udell, when speaking of her many titles. Considering the arc of my professional experiences and education there are three constant and essential qualities; perception, curiosity, and adaptability.
Biography
Curt Seiss is a multi-media sound artist, composer and media teacher producing original music and sound for stage (including contemporary movement, dance, performance art, contemporary, medieval and renaissance theater), film, radio, digital media, apps, online video and installations.
M.A. Digital Media, Savannah College of Art and Design
Biography
Theodore Shusterman is a graduate of Towson and Shepherd Universities, and has earned both Master of Music and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Guitar Performance. He studied classical guitar with Troy King, William Feasley, and Maurice Arenas. Mr. Shusterman has fifteen years experience teaching guitar in both private and group settings, from beginner to advanced, and focusses on the fundamentals of technique and musicianship in many styles from classical to contemporary.
Biography
Rebecca is a freelance illustrator of children's books, young adult book covers, and magazine stories. She also does product packaging illustration, character design for games, and concept art for films. Her clients range from large publishers to self-published authors. She enjoys bringing all sorts of stories into visual life, and has a special interest in folk tales and just plain loves to draw!
Rebecca primarily paints traditionally in mixed media. She received her BFA and MFA in Illustration from the Hartford Art School. Rebecca teaches classes in illustration and drawing at Montgomery College and at the Workhouse Art Center in Lorton, VA. She is a regular guest speaker at colleges and art guilds.
Her clients include Penguin Random House, Spider Magazine, Highlights Magazine, Cengage Learning, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Locomotion Press, Herald Press, and Columbia University.
Biography
Annie Storr is founder of the Art Education Department at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC. Previously, she was head of Education Programs for the American Association of Museums, as well as Director of Arts Management at American University. Her academic specialty is pre-Civil War narratives in American art. Storr was an author/contributor to Building a Nation of Learners, the first policy statement on lifelong learning and cross-disciplinary learning studies produced by the United States federal government.
Biography
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Katja Toporski is a jewelry maker, professor, curator,
and writer with a MFA from Towson University. With her work she aims to investigate
the limits of our understanding of the visual world, using a metaphysical approach
to the question of knowledge. It has been shown in numerous exhibitions across the
US as well as internationally and has been honored with a number of awards, most recently
for her work in the Gioielli in Fermento exhibition in Piacenza, Italy, by the Italian
Association for Contemporary Jewelry. She teaches jewelry related classes and workshops
in the Washington/ Baltimore area and lives just outside Washington DC.
www.katjatoporski.com 
Biography
Holly Trout’s studio practice focuses on sculpture and drawing. Her work has been exhibited at Arlington Arts Center (Arlington, VA), Stable Arts (Washington, DC), and Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA). Holly attended an artist residency at Vermont Studio Center in 2018 and has been published in ArtMaze Magazine. She received her MFA from American University (2018) and BA from Mount Holyoke College.
Website: www.hollytrout.com 
Biography
Jerry Truong is an interdisciplinary artist, whose work deals with history and memory as they relate to the exercise of power and the residuals of trauma. Truong received his M.F.A. in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego. His work has been shown at venues such as the Arlington Art Center (VA), American University Museum (DC), and CUE Foundation (NY). He participated in a fellowship at Hamiltonian Artists from 2012-14. He was also a former member of the Sparkplug Collective at the DC Arts Center, where he currently serves as Program Manager.
Biography
Sheila Wenz is a comedian and comedy writer who has appeared on NBC, Comedy Central and The Lifetime Network. In Los Angeles she worked on a variety of films and television series and on the staff at NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” She is the founder of Stand-Up Studios, a comedy school where she has trained more than 1500 people in the comedy arts and has produced more than 300 live shows featuring the comics she has trained.
Biography
Alison Whitty is a marketing-minded designer with 10+ years of print and digital experience. She creates effective visual messaging across communication channels by using design thinking and a strategic mindset. She is a Creative Cloud expert who loves tackling creative challenges and enjoys the opportunity to write or code when needed.
Alison has worked in-house for Discovery Communications, Constellation Energy, Bluemercury and University of Maryland. She has a Masters degree in Publications Design from University of Baltimore and studied Rhetoric & Communications at Mount St. Mary’s College. In addition to teaching at MC, Alison volunteers at Pyramid Atlantic’s letterpress studio.
Web: www.theartdept.com
Biography
Baakari Wilder is internationally known for starring in the Broadway musical Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. He received a Bessie Award for his performance, and later assumed the lead role for a year. He has also received the Pola Nirenska Award for achievement in dance. Baakari's dancing has delighted audiences around the world in places such as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, France, Africa, Brazil, Germany, Japan, and Russia. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre from the University of Maryland at College Park. He shares his knowledge of tap dancing through his role as assistant artistic director of the Washington D.C. based company Capitol Tap. He recently directed a weekly production entitled the”Essential Jazz and Hoofers House.”