Core Faculty
Diane Alire
Diane has been a fine artist and commercial photographer for over twenty-five years. She has also been a photographic educator for the last ten years. Diane’s experience in photography ranges from photojournalism to high-end commercial work and fine art. Before moving to New Mexico in 2001, Diane was the Division Manager for a national product photography studio in Seattle where her clients included Home Depot, Starbucks and J.Crew.
This year she received a merit award from the highly competitive 32nd Annual Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition. Diane’s first book of photographs was published in 2006 entitled “The Cross Garden.” Her work can be found in many collections in the United States and around the world. Diane was recently named Photography Curriculum Coordinator for Southwest University of Visual Arts' Albuquerque campus. She continues to teach and show her work locally and internationally.
Deidre Argyle
Deidre earned her MFA from the University of Arizona in 2002. She has exhibited in venues such as the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California, Works Gallery, in San Jose, California, The Florence Quater Gallery, The Lower Link Gallery at the Tucson International Airport and The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona. She is the recipient of The Dennis Jones Steel Case Scholarship. She is a founding member of the Zaslow Argyle Group, a small art design collaborative and currently teaches in the Studio Arts program at Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Aaron Barreras
Aaron, a native of New Mexico, is an award winning freelance graphic designer and animator with over 12 years of visual effects experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in animation and began by creating detailed 3D animations for biomedical and pharmaceutical companies such as Parke Davis. He soon expanded to product design and pre-visualization, where he created concept animations and patent designs for Metero, a theme park roller coaster company targeting the Japanese market.
Aaron has been teaching at Southwest University of Visual Arts since 2000. His awards include a Telly, three Addy’s, and several top categories in regional film festivals. His previous film credits include “The Boundary of Moab” (2007), “Procrastination” (2005), “Chippie’s World” (2002) and “Albuquerque Fries” (2001), as well as VFX work on the live action film “Spinners” (2008).
Aaron C. Bass
Aaron is a fine artist who works primarily in the printmaking field. He holds a Masters degree from the University of New Mexico and is a Tamarind Institute certified professional lithographer. Recent exhibition (2009 -2010) participation includes South Korea, Japan, Pakistan, India, the U.K. as well as other national showings. In addition to teaching, he has taught workshops in photo-printmaking processes, curated exhibitions, and worked in research and development for the nation’s leading press manufacturer, Takach Press.
John H. Clarke
John H. Clarke earned his MFA with an emphasis in Photography from the University of Arizona and a BFA from the University of North Florida. Clarke mostly exhibits in Southern Arizona and North Florida. Among his recent exhibitions is The Human Canvas held at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins. He began teaching photography in 2004 and joined Southwest University of Visual Arts in 2008
John Cummins
John graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Communications from Point Loma Nazarene University, in 1990. He continued his education receiving an A.S. in Advertising Design in 1995. From 1997-2004, John worked in the entertainment industry working in post-production for broadcast television. He worked as a digital compositor/visual effects artist for many television shows including Power Rangers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 2 1/2 Men, Malcolm in the Middle, Still Standing and TV movies like 12 Days of Terror. He was also given the opportunity to be a lead compositor for pilot episodes, and worked as an Inferno Artist for commercials. His movie credit includes Minority Report in 2002.
John has extensive experience with Adobe software and Discreet Logic. He also spent a brief amount of time in front of the camera as a commercial actor, credited as main player for an ESPN Gameplay commercial in 2004.
Kristen DiBattista
Kristen graduated from Syracuse University, New York, in 1991 with a BS in Environmental Interior Design. She has experience in both residential and commercial interior design. In 1999 she began teaching and working with Southwest University of Visual Arts developing the current CIDA accredited Interior Design program. Receiving her NCIDQ license in 2001, she started her own practice ’Design in Context’ focusing on commercial interiors. She currently works as full time core faculty and acts as a design consultant in both New York and Arizona.
Len Disalvo
Len received a BS in Illustration from San Jose State University in 1993 and has been a professional illustrator and animator since 1990. Working in many formats from newspapers to games, Len has most recently been involved in illustrating the children's book series "The Lima Bear Stories".
Don Fox
Don earned his BFA with an emphasis in illustration and painting from the University of Arizona in 1985. He has produced illustrations and designs for the advertising, publishing and licensing industry. Don has served on Southwest University of Visual Arts faculty for over twenty years. He specializes in teaching illustration, drawing and rendering and has been actively involved in the development of the curriculum in these areas. He supports the principles of life long learning and models interdisciplinary approaches to drawing.
Don’s interest in landscaping has lead to the production of numerous illustrated gardening books produced by Ironwood Press. Other clients include: The University of Arizona, Mead Corporation, The Southern California Gardener, Nelsonic Industries, Rainbird, Home Planners, MCP International, CA Reed and The Arizona Institute for Sports Medicine.
Nicole Kesel
Nicole Kesel is a professional educator and fine artist currently residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a Bachelors and Masters in Art Education from The Ohio State University. While at The Ohio State University, Nicole was a graduate assistant and later a lecturer in the department of Art Education. During her time as a lecturer she collaborated on the development of the first online art education course.
In her hometown of Columbus, Ohio Nicole's mixed media paintings were exhibited at galleries and juried shows. Currently, Nicole is faculty at Southwest University of Visual Arts in Albuquerque where she passionately teaches students to grow in their appreciation and understanding of contemporary art practices.
Kobi Miller
Kobi received a BFA in Printmaking in 1975 from Instituto Allende in San Miguel De Allende, GTO Mexico and earned a MFA in Printmaking from the University of Oregon in 1980. Kobi has worked as a freelance graphic designer, computer game artist, production artist, illustrator and technical illustrator. For the past 14 years Kobi worked as a product development artist and engineer for a major children's stationery corporation focusing on package construction, prototyping and design.
Michael Nolan
Michael Nolan earned both his BFA in Illustration in 2002 and his MFA in Illustration in 2006 from the University of Arizona. In 2008, he was hired to the faculty of Southwest University of Visual Arts in Tucson and named as a full Professor in 2010. Michael has shown in numerous exhibitions including the 2009 Arizona Biennial and his work has been featured in multiple publications and annuals, including the American Illustration 29. Michael has been art director, cover artist, and illustrator for several publications.
Michael Nolan's work can be found at www.michaelnolanart.com
Liza O'Connor
Liza has been working in New Mexico as a large scale steel sculptor since 1994. She has shown her work in galleries and outdoor sculpture gardens throughout the southwest, ranging in locations from Taos, NM to Sedona, AZ. Her work has been exhibited and sold at National and International level shows since 1995. In addition, she has done privately commissioned sculptures for clients across the United States. Liza received her B.A. in Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her M.A. in Architecture from the University of New Mexico. Her passion for sculpture expanded into the architectural field with projects ranging from residential additions, remodels, and landscape design, to the detailed work of custom fences, gates, and furniture design. While teaching at Southwest University of Visual Arts, Liza has continued to work on Architectural projects, as well as weld her large steel sculptures for private commissions and galleries.
Krista Ogden
Krista graduated from the University of Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Studies and then went on to receive her Masters of Architecture from University of New Mexico. Krista has been fortunate to contribute to the designs of commercial and residential projects in Upstate New York and New Mexico. She also designed furniture, kiosks, display carts and gallery spaces for a retail manufacturing company based in Albuquerque.
Krista also took part in the establishment of a Design-Build construction company named Ogden Construction. Ogden Construction is proudly responsible for the development of several neighborhoods in the Albuquerque area.
As an associate professor and faculty of the Interior Design department, Krista is encouraged to share her professional experiences with students and is committed to the high standards of Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Alan Roberts
A second generation native of Tucson, Arizona, Alan received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona in 1994. Upon receiving his architectural license, Alan started the architectural firm of D. Alan Roberts Architects, Inc. His projects have been featured in many architectural and design magazines.
Alan began teaching as full-time faculty at The Art Center in 2009 in both Interior Design and Landscape Architecture. He is currently pursuing his Masters of Architecture with an emphasis on Energy Conservation and Sustainable Design.
Lucas Sanchez
Lucas first began working in the media industry as a news/commercial editor. He worked for Univision as a Technical Director and with an ABC affiliate as a Sound Technician and Commercial Editor. After working in the news business for four years he went back to school to focus on Computer Graphics. After School Lucas moved to the greater Los Angeles area and worked for an Interactive agency producing interactive 3D environments, working for clients such as the Universal Technical Institute and Bosch Tools.
Lucas moved back to his home state of New Mexico in 2008 and began teaching part time while he worked for Northrop Grumman creating interactive 3D training for various government agencies. Lucas now teaches full time.
Natalie Gallagher
Natalie graduated with a B.A. in English and a B.A. in History from Eastern New Mexico University. She continued her education receiving an M.A. in Education from the University of St. Thomas. Natalie’s experience as a writer and educator began 8 years ago as the Editor-in-Chief of the El Portal Literary Magazine for the Eastern New Mexico Community. She was twice awarded the Departmental Award for Excellence in English during her academic career. She has done freelance editing for organizational consultant and motivational speaker Ron Chapman’s books What a Wonderful World and Seeing True.
Natalie received her M.A. in Education from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where she graduated with honors. Her career as an educator has included working as a private tutor, high school teacher, and managing a learning center. She moved back to New Mexico in 2009 and is now core faculty in the General Education department.
Mano Sotelo
Mano Sotelo's background includes commercial and fine art. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Otis Art Institute Parsons School of Design and a Master in Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix. His paintings have been exhibited in both juried and invitational shows, a variety of Tucson Galleries, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Mano has worked as a freelance artist for over 10 years. His experience includes magazine and book illustration, corporate identity, product development, catalog and book preproduction. A partial illustration and graphic design client list includes Video Games and Computer Entertainment Magazine, Bridge Publications, BookPublisher.com, Matam Press, Pauline Books and Media, Shoe Tree Publishers, and Arizona Mail Order.
Mano started teaching at Southwest University of Visual Arts in 2001 and his work can be found at www.sotelostudio.com.
Robin Stillwell
Robin Stillwell is a licensed Interior Designer who received her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design at Kansas State University. Robin is also a LEED accredited professional who's worked on projects such as a prototype fire station for the city of Chicago. While in Chicago, Robin worked in an architectural firm which has a focus on educational and commercial design. Examples of projects include, designer of record for Boeing's World Head-Quarters, multiple area high schools and a multi-story build-out for an insurance association.
Robin brings twelve years of professional experience and a passion for design to share with the students at Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Elisa Valdez
Elisa is a graduate of Southwest University of Visual Arts Albuquerque where she received both her Associates in Advertising Art and Bachelors in Graphic Design, finishing both degrees with honors. She has been practicing Graphic Design professionally for seven years, working in the design field as Art Director, Marketing Associate, Production Manager, Web Developer and Print Broker. She has worked with such national clients as Go Fast Energy Drink, Para Gear skydiving outfitters and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Her local client list has included all of New Mexico's ski areas, Santa Fe Outlets, the City of Albuquerque and the Breast Cancer Resource Center. Her awards include two Gold Addy Awards, on the local and regional stages and a National Silver Addy. She currently has fours years of teaching experience at Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Kirk Van Gilder
Kirk Van Gilder received an AA Degree in May 1976 with extensive studies in Anatomy and other Natural Sciences and a BFA in May 1979 from the University of Arizona with an emphasis on graphic design. He is a former member of the Designer and Illustrators Guild and a current member of the American Advertising Federation. Kirk has taught at the U of A from 1980-88 and has been with TACDC since 1989 in a variety of capacities. Kirk also owns Van Gilder and Associates since 1980 and has had numerous clients and won many design and advertising awards.
Phil Young
After nearly 30 years in the animation industry, Phil started teaching at a time when he felt the need for a shift in careers. Armed with a BFA in Illustration from Cal State University in Long Beach, CA in 1977, Phil began an illustrious career in animation. Without knowing what the future would bring, Phil started in the character animation trainee program at Disney, which was very small at that time. He stayed with Disney for 25 years working on projects such as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and 15 other screen credits as a character animator.
In 2002, Phil left Disney to work at Dreamworks and Warner Brothers before leaving California to teach at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. Phil earned his Master’s Degree in Sequential Art and then headed back out west were he settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a faculty member at Southwest University of Visual Arts since 2007, Young teaches classes in animation, fine arts and illustration.
Paul Ziomek
Paul Ziomek is an illustrator and has been working in advertising since earning his illustration and graphic design degree in 2004 from Southwest University of Visual Arts Albuquerque. He has worked on clients such as the City of Roswell, BMW, Santa Ana Star Casino, Creamland Dairies, McDonald's and the UNM Cancer Center. Paul has earned local and national Gold Addy Awards for his illustration and art direction for the City of Roswell. He currently teaches illustration and continues to work on his personal comic book projects.
Visiting Faculty
Erin V. Sotak
Erin V. Sotak is a contemporary multi-media artist who investigates issues of labor, futility and the absurdity of the human condition in photographic, video, performance based works of art. Sotak exhibits both nationally and internationally at such institutions as the Phoenix Art Museum, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, UCSC Sesnon Gallery, Women and Their Work, and Centro de Artes a La Universidad Eafit. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Project Grant, the Phoenix Art Museum Contemporary Forum Materials Grant and the Texas National. Erin has been an invited lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Arizona State University, UCSC and the University of New Mexico, Gallup. She has been an artist in residence at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Memphis College of Art, Grand Valley State University and the McColl Center for Visual Art.
PART-TIME / ADJUNCT FACULTY
Devorie Brown
Interior Design
Karen Cesare
BLA, MLA, R.L.A., ASLA Karen has worked in both public and private practice as a Registered Landscape Architect and is owner/president of her private practice. Karen has served on the Arizona State Technical Board of Registration and volunteers time with CLARB on the L.A.R.E. exams.
James Deroussel
BLA, R.L.A. James is a Registered Landscape Architect and is owner/president of his private practice. James has been very active with the sustainable practice of rainwater harvesting in the community with the Watershed Management Group.
Eric Gant
Eric Gant is a multimedia and mixed media artist, who combines traditional photographic practice with installation, video, and interactive art. He earned his BFA in Studio Arts, specializing in photography and sculpture from New Mexico State University, in 2001. He later received his MFA in Mass Communication and Media Arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2006. His work can be found in private collection around the United States.
Serena Hall
Serena has been an adjunct instructor at the Southwest University of Visual Arts since 2010. She brings to the classroom nearly 10 years of experience in marketing communications, public relations, news reporting, and magazine journalism. Since earning her BA in journalism from Humboldt State University, and later an MBA from Claremont Graduate University, she has worked as a newspaper reporter, been on the editing staff at Islands and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazines, helped manage university media relations and marketing efforts, written articles for lifestyle magazines, and consulted with a number of California and Arizona businesses. She also spent several years on the Ad2 board of directors here in Tucson.
Jessica Kennedy
Jessica Kennedy is a fine artist who works primarily in abstract painting and drawing. She earned her BFA in Fine Arts in 2005 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 2006, Jessica relocated to Albuquerque to pursue her MFA at the University of New Mexico, where she earned the degree with honors in 2009. She has been sharing her love of art with others through teaching for five years and has been a member of the team at SUVA since the summer of 2010. She continues to paint and exhibits her work regularly in juried and group shows both locally and nationally. Jessica’s work can be found at www.jessicalkennedy.com.
Jennifer Krzyzanowski
B. of Arch, MLA Jennifer, former Landscape Architecture Department Chair at SUVA is a critical figure in the development of the program. Jennifer’s skills and talents are based in the sustainable and ecological planning and design principles and elements, as well as GIS and AutoCADD.
Frank Macri
Frank has been recognized as, “The creative person’s business person” by Advertising and Marcom industry professionals. He is an award-winning, 40-year veteran of the advertising business, having worked with major regional, national and international accounts like American Red Cross, American Express, British Telecom, Chase-Manhattan, Continental Airlines, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Rockies Baseball, Coors Brewing, Embassy Suites, IBM North America, Johns-Manville, National Western Stock Show, Qwest Communications, Sharper Image, United Way, and Western Union.
He was president of one of Denver’s top ten advertising agencies until coming to SUVA, and still consults with legacy clients where he is highly-regarded for his skill and expertise in Advertising, Strategic Planning, Marketing Communications and Direct Marketing.
Monica Lynne Mahoney
BFA, MLA. Monica specializes in design education and curriculum writing with an emphasis on merging art, culture and ecology in landscape architecture. Her private landscape design practice spans a clientele in the Southwestern US where she has provided native plant habitat gardens, restoration, landscape representation and contemplative spaces.
Aaron Miller
Aaron Miller is an artist who specializes in printmaking, drawing, painting, and mixed media. He received his MFA in printmaking from the University of Arizona and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. He has exhibited throughout the United States, as well as Central and Eastern Europe. He is an Adjunct Instructor of Studio Arts at Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Teresa Moreno
Teresa Moreno is a photographer and master printer, specializing in printing vintage negatives shot between the 1880s and the early 1960s. She received her BFA in Photography at the University of Arizona in 1980, followed by a one-year internship in Arles, France with photographer Lucien Clergue. She has worked with some of the most important photographers and photographic archives of the 20th Century, including Andreas Feininger, Dorothy Norman, Bruce Davidson, Life Picture Collection, and the Robert Capa estate, for which she was the exclusive printer from 1994 -2007. She is an Adjunct Instructor of Photography at Southwest University of Visual Arts.
Richard Pokress
Advertising / Marketing
Tom Potter
General Education
Jennifer Rogers
Jennifer Rogers has her Masters in Counseling and Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada. Jennifer has over five years professional counseling experience and a passion for Psychology and counseling. As an instructor at Southwest University of Visual Arts since 2009, she teaches Psychology in the General Education Department.
Rebecca Seiferle
General Education
Jeffrey Tobin
Interior Design
Jeffrey Van Maren
BLA, R.L.A. Jeffrey is a Registered Landscape Architect and is owner/president of his design firm. Jeffrey has designed many projects in the southwest including gardens of the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
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