BARBARA BRADLEE - Ceramics
Barbara Bradlee studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts and received BA and an MA in Fine Arts from UC Berkeley. She taught at Stanislaus State and is currently associated with the Richmond Art Center where she is involved with the Ceramics Program. When she is not at NIAD, Barbara paints and draws.

At NIAD, Barbara began as a teacher in the Drawing and Painting Department. She currently teaches ceramic techniques and enjoys watching the artists of NIAD learn to express themselves through clay.

ANDRÉS CISNEROS-GALINDO- Studio Manager, Printmaking
Andres Cisneros-Galindo is NIAD's Head Teacher, as well as master teacher in printmaking. He has taught at NIAD since 1984, instructing NIAD artists in the skills of creating woodcuts, linoleum cuts, collagraphs, and silk screen prints, and operating the presses.

Andres received a Maestro in Artes Plasticos, equivalent to an MFA degree, in Mexico in 1963. He has a BA in Psychology and completed requirements for a bilingual teaching credential at California State University-Hayward.

PATTI CORDOVA COOK- Fiber Arts, Jewelry, & Beadwork
Patti Cook is a native of the Bay Area and has lived here essentially all of her life. She has a B.A. in anthropology and has traveled the world extensively. Ms. Cook is particularly interested in pre-Columbian archaeological sites. After retiring from financial services in 1999, she began to persue her unrequited love for the arts.

At the NIAD Art Center Patti is able to apply her interest in jewelry when she helps NIAD artists to explore color and form through working with glass beads and natural stones. Ms. Cook is a member of the Pinole
Artisans and displays her work regularly.

JAN MIGNAUD- Mixed Media
Jan Minaud is an Oakland-based mixed media artist who works primarily in collage.  Originally from London, England, Jan is a an active member of the East Bay Art community.  She received an M.A. in Art Therapy at the NAROPA University in Boulder, CO.

At NIAD, Jan enjoys encouraging the artists to find their own path to personal expression.  She comes to NIAD via the West Contra Costa Adult Education (WCCAE) program.  NIAD artists work in a variety of media in Jan’s area.

TOMOKO MURAKAMI- Drawing & Painting
Tomoko Murakami teaches drawing and painting at NIAD. Through her work at NIAD she came to a realization that many disabled people are naturally gifted with intuitive expression which results in self-healing for both themselves and the community which responds to their artwork.

Tomoko has been a professional artist for more than 20 years and has been teaching visual art throughout the Bay Area since 1991. She has a Masters of Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute, and is currently in the Transformative Arts MA program at JFK University.


CAROL STEWART- Painting & Sculpture
Carol became NIAD's teacher in drawing, painting and sculpture in 2001. Carol encourages her students to expand their work into 3 dimensional realms to foster in each students his or her full expressive development and personal creative growth.

Carol received her BFA from the University of Memphis and her MFA from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught sculpture, painting, drawing and computer graphics at the University of Memphis, and served as Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.

PATRICIA COLEMAN- Executive Director
Before being hired as Executive Director, Pat Coleman was the interim executive on two different occasions and was hired permanently in October '02.

Prior to NIAD, Pat worked in the geriatric field as Director of Marketing/Community Relations for Alzheimer Services of the East Bay in Berkeley, and as Executive Director of Senior Access in Marin County. She founded an Internet company called ElderGift.com.

Pat has her Masters degree in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.

BELINDA SIFFORD-Client Services

In Joining NIAD in July 2008, Belinda assumed leadership of the client services department, providing administrative functions for clients and helping to resolve issues that arise with NIAD clients and the entities and individuals they interface with in their lives. Prior to joining NIAD, Belinda worked as Director of Development and Community Relations at Marin Ventures, a day program for developmentally disabled adults in San Rafael California.

A graduate of UC Berkeley, Belinda subsequently received a Masters Degree from the University of New Mexico and a law degree from the City University of New York. Belinda practiced law in California and New York and taught at several law schools, most recently Vermont Law School, where she retains an affiliation overseeing a law student interns working in the Bay Area.  In addition to her NIAD and Vermont Law School work, Belinda serves on the Board of San Francisco NAMI, the National Association of Mental Illness.

BRIAN STECHSCHULTE -Gallery Director
Prior to joining NIAD in August of 2007, Brian was a member of the exhibition committee at the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit and served as a teaching assistant for the California State Summer School for the Arts.

Originally from Detroit, MI, Brian received his B.F.A. from the University of Michigan School of Art and his M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts.  He continues to practice as an artist while coordinating the exhibitions at NIAD.

ANTHONY OLIPHANT-Accounting Manager
Anthony Oliphant moved from Long Island to the Bay Area in 1985. He has a B.B.A. in accounting and spent his business career in New york City working for C.P.A. firms.

His hobbies are photography, gardening, and trying to balance the books at NIAD where he has been employed since 2003. He finds the enthusiasm of the staff stimulating and looks forward to the time he spends at NIAD.