Our Team

Administration

Abigail Norman, Executive Director
• 617.553.4686

Abigail has directed the Eliot School since 2007. She brings to the school over 30 years experience in nonprofit administration, focused on community-based arts and media, including time as Program Coordinator at Forest Hills Educational Trust and, before that, Director of Somerville Community Access Television. She also makes drawings, pop-ups and other small objects as a form of social exchange.

Alison Croney Moses, Associate Director
[email protected] • 617.553.4689

Alison is an accomplished educator and woodworker, whose elegant sculptures and furniture combine lamination and coopering. In 2022, she received a US Artists Fellowship for her work making art and community. She has been most recently profiled in The Boston Globe, Yankee Magazine and American Craft. Her work is collected by the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and private collectors. She holds a Preliminary License to teach Visual Art to Grades 5–12. Alison was the Eliot School's Program Director for School & Community Partnerships for 8 years. Before that, as Education Director for Red Rabbit (New York City), she developed and led interactive cooking and gardening programs for teachers, parents and children. As Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver CO), she developed, managed and taught art programs for all ages. She has also been Wood Shop Assistant at Anderson Ranch Art Center (Snowmass Village CO), Catalyst Arts Fellow at Rhode Island School of Design and Fabrication Assistant for Situ Studio (New York City). When time allows, she also teaches woodworking and visual arts in our schoolhouse and through our School & Community Partnerships.

Development & Communications

Angela Lett, Interim Director of Development & Communications
[email protected] • 617.553.4897

Angela is an experienced non-profit professional with more than 15 years of experience in a variety of nonprofit settings, including The Boston Conservatory, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Michigan State University, the Women's Lunch Place, The Food Project, and Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers. After a sabbatical from the nonprofit world to work as a Boston EMT, she is thrilled to join the Eliot School and once again work to support and promote artists and the art they create. Angela holds a BM and MM in Voice Performance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and continues to explore musical and performance opportunities.

Verónica Ramírez Martell, Communications

Verónica  is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and arts administrator fascinated by process improvement and focused on human connection. They are currently pursuing a Master’s in Library and Information at Simmons University to weave together their field experience with technical skills. Verónica served as Program Officer for Mass Cultural Council’s Community Initiative, supporting local cultural councils in Berkshire, Plymouth, and Worcester County through coaching, professional development, and capacity building. Prior to that, they worked as a Program Coordinator and taught within the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts’ School and Community Partnership program, bringing art education to public schools and community centers within the Greater Boston area. During all this time, Verónica continues to teach both children and adults in a variety of topics and crafts with a passion for encouraging enjoyment, confidence, and experimentation in students. Throughout their work, Verónica champions creativity, documentation, and transparency as a method for community capacity-building.

Programs & Engagement

Camila Bohan Insaurralde, Coordinator of Youth Engagement
[email protected] • 617.553.9096

Camila is an Interrelated Media artist. She earlier supported the Eliot School's Teen Bridge program through the Center for Art & Community Partnerships at Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Before that, she worked as an Arts Facilitator for Sociedad Latina's STEAM Team, as an organizer for the Public Education Network of Massachusetts, and in visitor services and community engagement at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. She holds a BFA in Painting and Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) with honors from Massachusetts College of Art & Design.

Emma Ellis, Manager of Youth Community & Engagement
[email protected] • 617.553.1387

Emma Ellis manages youth engagement programs at the Eliot School Schoolhouse. She is passionate about helping young people grow their talent, confidence, and community through creative practice. A JP-native, she returned to the Boston area after earning her B.A. with honors in Art History from Oberlin College and working as an English Teaching Assistant in Hamburg, Germany. She comes to the Eliot School from Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, where she focused on academic partnerships and community engagement. In her spare time, Emma can be found roaming JP’s parks, cooking elaborate meals for loved ones, tending to her plants, and reading romance novels on her balcony. 

Emma Green, Artist in Residence Coordinator
[email protected] • 617.553.4796

Emma Green coordinates our Artist in Residence program and teaches in our youth programs. She is also an artist whose practice incorporates clay, fiber arts, installation, and archival research. She has taught in ceramics studios and has also facilitated educational programs with incarcerated youth. She holds a BA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University and was chosen to be a resident at Yale’s Norfolk School of Art program in 2018. She has taught ceramics at Yale’s Trumbull Pottery Studio and Syracuse University’s Community Folk Art Center. 

Irene Rosa, Manager of Youth Partnerships & Engagement
[email protected] • 617.553.4687

Some of Irene’s most authentic passions are the creative arts, working with young people, and building relationships. She’s a published poet, a visual artist, and educator who was born and raised in Jamaica Plain, MA. As Arts Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Newton, she developed and taught original creative arts programs, including ceramics, 2D arts and mixed media, mural projects, and more, implementing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) content and practices as critical aspects across all programs, multiplying the interest and participation in the organization’s art department. Irene has worked in arts education since 2015, and started a small business for individualized visual arts and creative writing sessions in 2022, prioritizing coaching and guidance around artistic identity. Continuing her written craft after completing a 2023 poetry workshop at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Irene looks forward to bringing her professional and creative skills and experience to managing youth program partnerships and engagement with the Eliot School Team.

Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire, Director of Youth Engagement
[email protected] • 617.553.9206

Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire is an accomplished Haitian-American artist who has been a creator for as long as she can remember; her passion and expertise lie in colorful mixed-media artistry. She has received numerous accolades and has been showcased in various galleries, institutions, public art, and private collections. Marjorie has held several professional positions throughout her art career, including fine artist, arts administrator, artistic director, and teaching artist. She firmly believes that art plays a significant role in shaping young people's lives, having witnessed firsthand its transformative power. Her experience has demonstrated that visual art is not just a spectrum of colors; it has the potential to revolutionize our perspective of the world, inspiring us to consider new ideas, values, and viewpoints and, while at the same time, raise awareness of societal issues, promote inclusivity, and unite people from diverse backgrounds. Moreover, it can also transport us through time, enabling us to reflect on our past and move towards a brighter, more promising future. Marjorie has a BA in Studio Arts and an MS in Arts Administration. She actively participates in the local art community through teaching and exhibiting her artwork.

Program Support

Merlo Philiossaint, Program Support Associate
• 617.524.3313

Merlo Philiossaint is a young professional artist living in Boston, MA who specializes in graphite, oil, acrylic, 3D modeling, animation and ink. He grew up watching cartoons such as Batman: Animated Series, reading comics like the Bone Series by Jeff Smith and visiting art museums. All three of these factors greatly influenced his love of art. Having been blessed to have friends from many different backgrounds his art borrows elements from various cultures. He strives to respectfully represent the cultures that have influenced him while putting a piece of his personality within each piece.

Merlo can be found spending time with his loved ones, working on his art and watching a movie screening. He also enjoys trying new foods.

Lillian Webster, Program Support Associate
[email protected] • 617.524.3313

Artist and metalsmith Lillian E. Webster first discovered her passion for silversmithing after taking a jewelry fabrication class at UCLA.  Her work relies heavily upon such intangibles as the imagination and memory, and takes deep inspiration from nature. As a maker, Lillian’s relationship with, and appreciation for, the natural world invariably finds its way into her work.  Shapes, forms, and subject matter may be translated directly; or, often, organic materials such as seedpods, seaweed, and butterfly wings are transformed through her making processes.  Her pieces have been exhibited nationally, from as close to home as the Brookline Arts Center, to clear across the country at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.  Lillian is a passionate advocate for the Arts, Craft, and for hand-making processes.  She holds a BA in English and Spanish Languages and Literatures from Smith College, an MA in Spanish Literature from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in Jewelry/Metals from UMass Dartmouth. When not at her bench, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and spending time exploring nature.

Facilities

Jasmanie Gonzalez, Teaching Artist and Facilities Manager
[email protected]

Jazz was the Eliot School's Facilities Assistant for four years, helping to run the shop and the schoolhouse, before taking over as Interim Facilities Manager in 2021. He also teaches classes through our School & Community Partnership Program and in our schoolhouse. He started woodworking by making small furniture and continues to expand his skills. In his free time, he collaborates with other artists on murals and graffiti projects, including recently at Crimson Jam with Geo and Tak. His mural art can be found at the Egleston Square Peace Garden and elsewhere throughout Boston.

Aidan White, Shop & Facilities Assistant
[email protected]

Aidan White is a senior at Massachusetts College of Art and Design majoring in painting. His work has been exhibited in New York City and in several galleries in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He began drawing and working in his dad’s woodworking shop in early childhood and is passionate about making art. He grew up in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts where he enjoyed exploring the forests and hills near his home. He has also participated in archaeological digs and experimentation in Colorado, England, and Ireland. His constant companion and faithful friend is Darwin, a friendly, laid back black lab. 

Ana Colón, Space Rentals & Events

Ana has always been been a multi-tasker in the arts, with a special focus on LatinX events. In addition to coordinator Eliot School rentals and events, she is one of the curators for the Eliot Schoolyard Concert Series. She coordinates events for the Boston Puerto Rican Day Parade and for other Boston organizations including the Roslindale Substation. She worked for the Arts Dept. at Inquilinas Boricuas en Acción (IBA), coordinating events at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. Since then, she helped establish Cultural Agora, which coordinates LatinX events, manage upcoming artists, and provides spaces for artists in Boston. She also managed weddings at Arlington Street Church. Her passion is for coordinating events in different spaces where she can meet people and network all around Boston.

Rosa Figueroa, Custodian

Rosa is a competitive gamer with a specialty in Call of Duty. A single parent of a beloved autistic daugher, she lives on the border of Roxbury and Dorchester. She loves to read and listen to music.

Administrative Support

Kate Finn, Bookkeeping

Kate is a partner at Green Oak Financial, with clients in non-profit arts, education, and other fields. 

In Memoriam: Charlie Sandler

Charlie worked at the Eliot School from 1966–2012 as Director, Instructor, and Superintendent, and remained on call for consultation until the end of his long life. Charlie was certified in Vocational Education and Industrial Arts and held a Master’s of Education. He taught and supervised teachers at Hubert H. Humphrey Occupational Resource Center, Fitchburg State College, UMass, Roxbury High School, Dorchester High School and elsewhere in addition to the Eliot School. Charlie stewarded the Eliot School through half a century, infusing it with his warm, inclusive approach to life and work. The Eliot School's wood shop bears his name, and friends are encouraged to contribute to the Charlie Sandler Scholarship Fund in his honor: DONATE TO THE CHARLIE SANDLER SCHOLARSHIP FUND.