Meet Our Team
Woodbury Leadership Team
Clark Ruggeri
Director
Clark (he/him) has been a creator his whole life. He loves seeing something develop from nothing. His passion for creativity and love for contemporary art led him to earning his BFA in Cartooning from The School of Visual Arts. After a few years managing an entertainment center, he began his art education career teaching in Westchester, NY. Shortly after relocating to Long Island to raise his family, Clark and his wife opened two successful small businesses, including an art studio of his own. He is confident that these experiences were all stepping stones to the director role at One River School in Woodbury, and looks forward to a bright and successful future for all involved.
Alyssa Nuzio
Assistant Director of Member Services
Alyssa (she/her) studied Art History at the Catholic University of America. After getting a chance to teach art classes at the Long Island Children's Museum , she realized she wanted work that was more focused on art education, which is what led Alyssa to One River. She loves our mission of transforming art education and making it more accessible for everyone! Ever since getting her first colored pencil set, Alyssa has always wanted to be surrounded by the arts, and feels One River is a great place to see so much talent amongst the Long Island Community. Alyssa loves working with oil paint, chalk pastels, and colored pencils to create landscapes she has seen and give some new life to old family photos.
In-Studio Educators
Victoria Pizzarelli
Victoria (she/her) is a well rounded artist who enjoys drawing, painting, sculpting, and digital art. She graduated from the University of Hartford Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She specialized in photography, along with a double minor in art history and ceramics. Currently, Victoria is attending Queens College to earn her masters degree in visual art education. She grew up surrounded by artists in her family and developed a love for art from a young age. She wants to help children find their own creative outlet just as she found photography for herself.
Emily Torres
Emily (she/her) majored in Visual Arts and is a fine artist, specializing in figure drawing. Her favorite medium is charcoal. Emily especially loves working at One River because she gets the chance to teach children of all ages and spend time with individuals who share her passion for art and education.
Kathleen O'Brien
Kathleen (they/them) is a classically trained animator and illustrator, who specializes in the digital medium. They have a BFA degree from San Jose State University in Animation/ Illustration, and a BA degree in Studio Art with a focus in Digital Media. Kathleen has worked as a professional animator and illustrator for various studios and as a freelancer. They are also a hobbyist cosplay EVA foamsmith. Kathleen likes cartoons, comic books, science fiction, DND, and video games. They take great pride in providing the next generation of animators with a strong understanding of the fundamentals of animation.
David Shear
David (he/him) is a passionate art teacher with a BFA in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and a Masters in Art Education from Long Island University (LIU). He has been a creator his whole life whether that be creating comics in college and whimsical illustrations of Locations in New York City and even working as a Game Developer working on 2D game graphics. David has been teaching online classes on how to draw anime characters for years, and has even been hired by Putney Student Travel to teach courses on Anime Illustration in Japan. His interests include Anime/Manga, Pokémon, Video Games, Dinosaurs, and Art Museums. As a self proclaimed “Art Nerd“, his passion is contagious and goal is to get others as excited to learn as he is to teach.
Sarah Astegher
Sarah (she/her) studied Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She specializes in traditional mixed media but also loves digital art and uses similar techniques as traditional mediums to create a layered hand painted storybook look. Sarah adores all things fairytale and has a love for illustrated and animated storytelling. Because of her large family and background she loves children, and after being taught by amazing teachers and professors Sarah hopes to challenge, inspire and nurture children of all ages to express themselves and strengthen their abilities and their love for art!
James Biordi Jr.
James (he/him) has a BFA in Sculpture from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He has had a passion for the arts for as long as he can remember, and started working with clay at the age of ten. He loves sculpting and illustrating, among many other mediums, and always has an idea for what to create next. He thoroughly enjoys teaching art and brainstorming with students, and believes that seeing a student’s idea come to life is one of the most fulfilling experiences for him as an educator. He loves Pokemon, and often creates his own creatures inspired by these fictional creatures!
Alex Palmieri
Beth Neiland
Beth (she/her) is a lifelong resident of Long Island, and grew up nearby in Syosset, N.Y. She loves drawing, painting and has a passion for photography and chasing down the perfect sunset photo by beach or boat. She has a BA in Journalism & Advertising from Temple University. Beth has worked professionally as an Account Director for a NYC catalog design agency, served as the yearbook designer for her children's school district, and has painted murals for hospitals and veterans homes. She is a NYS certified art teacher and is currently completing her Masters in Art Education at Queens College. She wants to help her students be curious about the world around them and have fun creating in all mediums.
Olivia Martinez
Olivia (she/her) is a multimedia artist who enjoys drawing, cartooning, printmaking, and digital art. Growing up, Olivia has always loved the arts and considered the art room as a breath of fresh air in comparison to the chaos life brings. Becoming an art teacher in hopes to create a safe space for students like herself, she graduated from the SUNY New Paltz in 2026 with an undergraduate degree in Art Education and Art History, and plans on getting her masters degree in Art Education at Brooklyn College. Currently, Olivia is a full time art teacher at Vincent Smith Charter School who teaches studio art, ceramics, and digital art for K-12. While Olivia specialized in painting and printmaking, her true passion for art education lies in the ability to make the arts accessible to all and continues to do so at One River!
Abigail Shapiro
Student Services Coordinators
Veronica Agarwal
Veronica (she/her) is a working graphic novelist who loves sunflowers, summertime, and animals! She has a BFA in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts, and currently publishes books with her writing partner and husband. She's half-Italian, half-Indian, and her comics reflect the diversity she grew up with.
Alex Palmieri
Join Our Team
Career opportunities at One River School allow passionate artists, educators and lovers of art to share their love and knowledge of art and enhance the lives of people they connect with everyday.