Our Team 

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Jersey City Arts Council is an all volunteer group of passionate, knowledgeable and experienced individuals with diverse backgrounds, interests, and age groups, representing all geographic wards of Jersey City.

Chair: Amy Elise de Jong – De Jong has lived in Jersey City since 2008 and has contributed to the local arts community as a singer, actor, writer, visual artist, and organizer. She has helped curate and organize local arts events such as the Cathedral Arts Festival and Digable Arts Festival, served on the founding committee for the Cathedral Arts Live performance series, and directs the annual Grace Church Holiday Concert. De Jong worked in elementary education for 10 years and now serves in an administrative role at Training The Street.

Vice Chair: Mike Grabowski – Grabowski is a resident of Jersey City since 2002. He works all of the world as a Senior Lighting Designer with 20 years of television experience, working for numerous broadcasts at several networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, MTV, Bravo, CNN.

Secretary:  Natalie Brathwaite – Brathwaite is the Regional Public Affairs Director at Fidelity Investments. Past jobs have included Aide to the Office of the Mayor of Jersey City, Director of Programs and Community Engagement at the Newark Trust for Education.

Treasurer: Zach Mayo –a resident of Downtown Jersey City for the past three years (and a resident of Hudson County for the past five).Professionally, I have worked as a Production Manager in the television industry for almost ten years. As a PM, my central focus is in logistics: finding and booking the best crews, creating schedules and communicating information to each department, putting together camera and equipment orders, securing film permits and studio contracts, and making sure everyone is treated properly and safely. The main draw of my job, and the reason I continue to enjoy it, is that I’m consistently put in a position where I’m able to help execute the creative visions of those I work with. I love the collaborative spirit that film sets generate, and using my skills to make ideas come to life is the reason I stay in the industry.

Alvin Pettit – Pettit is the director of the Mary McLeod Bethune Center in Jersey City, as well as a member of the city’s Artist Certification Board and the Public Art Advisory Committee. He is the president of the Bergen Hill Neighborhood Association. Pettit is also a well regarded painter and sculptor.

Jeff Dess – Jeff Dess is an award-winning educator, best-selling author, and notable public speaker who specializes in the areas of culturally responsive education. He is the Co-Founder of Trill or Not Trill – the disruptive educational firm and leadership institute. Jeff is a TedX speaker who has reached over 100,000 learners from institutions and companies. Jeff is an author of 7 books, including the Amazon bestseller, We Wear Kicks To Work Additionally, he has performed as a spoken word poet internationally on the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia along with the Caribbean. He currently serves as the Director of Leadership & Engagement at New Jersey City University.

Dawn Lucovich was most recently a founding faculty member of a new public university in Japan. She has worked on film festivals in the United States, performed in radio plays in England, emceed live art shows in Korea, and hosted monthly events dedicated to bringing the creative community together in Japan. She was co-founder of the bilingual Japanese-English 10. Magazine, which focused on artist interviews and photography in Tokyo. She is a Toastmaster, international plenary and keynote speaker, as well as a published poet, researcher, and book editor. She holds a certification in Japanese kimono dressing and studies tea ceremony.

Elisha Dorsey is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Dorsey Design Studio, a premier digital design firm specializing in user experience (UX) and product design, website development, ad campaigns and creative consultation. With over 10 years of experience, Elisha has transformed brands through immersive experiences, digital solutions, design thinking workshops and storytelling. Currently, he is a Senior Experience Strategist, Consultant at Verizon, where he leads digital transformation initiatives. Previously, Elisha held leadership roles at R/GA, working with Fortune 100 companies such as Verizon, Google, Meta, Disney and Goldman Sachs. He holds degrees in Interactive Digital Design and Public Relations from Quinnipiac University and continues to expand his studio’s reach while pushing the boundaries of design, fine arts, and sustainability.

Melanie Rudin is the owner of MiT Communications Digital Marketing Agency and the founder of Jersey City Restaurant Fest and the Jersey City Restaurant Owners Coalition. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in illustration. Her Company has been the lead design firm for The Historic Downtown Jersey City providing website design and management and event marketing for district. Her work with the JC Restaurant Fest and Coalition has built a community for food business owners in JC to collaborate and share resources as well as promote JC Dining through twice-a-year Restaurant Festival delivering thousands of dollars in dining to the area. 

Lexie Levin has been an enthusiastic member of the cultural community in Jersey City since 2007; she has been deeply involved with many organizations and events in administrative, leadership, creative, and production roles. She served terms as both Vice President and Treasurer of Art House Productions Board of Directors from 2008-2013. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy. As a mixed media visual artist Lexie has shown locally at LITM, Jersey City Theatre Center, and The Monroe Center. She’s taken part in The Jersey City Artist & Studio Tour (JCAST), 14C Art Fair, and the Digable Arts Festival. She has performed in JC Writers’ Genre Nights, at The Peanut Café, The Box Café, Krewe, and at the Grace Church Annual Holiday Concert. Lexie is a Licensed Professional Counselor who believes advocating for the arts is a part of advocating for the mental health and wellbeing of our community.