Meet Our Team
Westport Leadership Team
Sarah Rinaldi | Director
Sarah received her BFA in Art/Education from Manhattanville College and her MFA from College of New Rochelle, where she studied under artists who work in a variety of mediums such as printmaking, sculpture, and watercolor.
As an undergrad, Sarah interned in the education department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. She later worked as the Children’s Programming Director for 8 years at Citibabes, a private facility in SoHo, NYC. During this time Sarah created and implemented a variety of classes specializing in the arts. Sarah then spent three years working as the Director of a reggio emilia program in Connecticut, where she developed an authentic art curriculum that focused on fine artists and techniques.
Sarah continues to work on her own art inspired by nature, working mainly in watercolor and printmaking. Sarah is excited to be part of the One River School’s team to continue to build amazing programming.
Emma Reid | Director of Education
Emma Reid graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Graphic Design. She works in many artistic mediums but her focus is mainly on design and illustration. As a freelancer, she works on everything ranging from movie posters to tattoo design. Art has always been a fundamental part of her life and she hopes to help others acquire the skills they need to make it a part of theirs. At One River she is able to really put this into practice!
Maija Krasts | Assistant Director of Education
Maija received her BFA with honors in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design and a BA in International Relations from American University. Before moving to Westport with her family, she worked as a senior designer for a national womenswear brand in NYC. In addition to teaching at One River, she was an instructor at the New England Fashion+Design Association. As an illustrator, she works primarily in marker, gouache, watercolor and ink. Maija has spent years sharing her love of art and design with kids in local public schools and is excited to help students of all ages and abilities find their inner artist through the unique One River experience. She also loves that her youngest students know her
as “Maija Papaya”!
In-Studio Educators
Katia Claude | Instructor
Katia Claude was born and raised in France before moving to Montreal where she studied Fine Art at the University of Quebec in Montreal. She was an instructor at the French American International school and studied at the San Francisco Studio School in Contemporary Art for her own practice. Katia is a visual artist with oil painting being her strong medium of expression. She moved to Connecticut two years ago and has found a great fit at One River School of Art And Design.
Deniz Yazar | Instructor
Deniz Yazar graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Cartooning/Illustration. His main focus during his studies was on comics and sequential story art. While he is versed in both digital and traditional mediums of art, his main focus is on traditional pen and ink illustrations. His work is heavily inspired by street art and late 90’s cartoons, with a splash of metal and electronic music showing up as well. Outside of One River, Deniz has been working as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator for the past 4+ years. He’s worked on several projects ranging from tattoo designs to company logos, and product design concepts. Deniz is also an Eagle Scout and active member in his local Boy Scout troop, where he’s had a variety of experiences instructing children of different age groups. He also has additional experience working with children with learning disabilities such as Autism and Aspergers.
Above all else, Deniz is always looking forward to working together with students to help guide them through their art and have a great time doing it.
Tara Dixon | Instructor
Tara received her B.A. from Connecticut College with a major in International Studies and a minor in French but could always be found in the art department. She studied at The Art Students League from 1991 to 1994 with Bruce Dorfman and became his teaching assistant at The New School. During those years she supported herself by doing freelance window display at Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman Men, Gianni Versace and other stores in Manhattan. Her own work ranges from abstract to representational watercolors and can be found in private and corporate collections. Tara taught art at the Packer Collegiate Institute, Creatively Wild and out of her own studio in Brooklyn using the method she developed called Talk And Response Art. She delivered a TEDx talk during the pandemic entitled “No One Will Ever Have To Say Again: I Am Not An Artist.” She is excited to be part of the One River team.
Hannah Bertrand | Instructor
Hannah received her BFA in Art with a concentration in drawing from the University of Rhode Island. Her artwork is inspired by her love of nature, especially animals and flowers. Her artwork is typically created with soft pastels or oil paint. She previously served as Activities Coordinator for an assisted living facility, where she used her love of art to nurture creativity and expression in seniors affected by dementia. She is excited to be teaching at One River and foster creativity in another generation.
Emily Curran | Instructor
Emily Curran received their Associate's Degree in Illustration from Pratt Institute in 2017. They create a lot of story based work through comics or picture books. Their primary mediums are gouache, colored pencils, and ink to create colorful, whimsical pieces. Emily is from Norwalk and is excited to work with children within their home community. Emily finds a lot of joy in teaching art to kids and encouraging their artistic pursuits.
Bonnie Liang | Instructor
Bonnie received her BFA in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design. She is an artist, sculptor, and designer who loves mixing various disciplines and techniques of 2D and 3D art with a focus on acrylic painting and sculpting in polymer clay. In 2019, she co-founded BonnaH Co Fiber Arts, based in Fairfield, CT and has been teaching sewing and embroidery to both kids and adults. Bonnie is thrilled to be part of the One River team to help creatives of all ages develop their artistic voices.
Nell Waters | Instructor
Nell Waters, a native of Westport, is a painter and a teacher. Her studio practice is based in Brooklyn. Nell studied at Parsons School of Design and earned her BFA in Painting from SUNY Purchase. She has exhibited her paintings extensively in the US and Europe.
Nell has been teaching for 20 years. In addition, she has been very involved with programs offering healing arts to people with special needs and hospital patients.
Lilah Heyman | Instructor
Lilah Heyman graduated from Fairfield University in 2021 with a BFA in Studio Art and minors in Education, Graphic Design, and Marketing. In 2023, she graduated from Western Connecticut State University with an MFA in Painting. Lilah is primarily a painter, focusing on contemporary still lives and interior scenes in both oils and acrylics. She also creates through drawing, printmaking, and embroidery. Lilah is passionate about nurturing the gift of creativity and the love of learning in young students.
Olivia Porretta | Instructor
Olivia Porretta is an award winning filmmaker, animator, and teacher who graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a Bachelors in Animation. She specializes in storyboarding and animation, and has produced countless short films-- many of said films have been selected for film festivals and have won numerous awards, including Best Production Design and Best in Show. She is also the recipient of the BAFTA King's Scholarship for her Thesis Grant. She has also worked for numerous clients including Titmouse, Studio Yotta, Showtime, Cartuna, Nathanlove, and more. Olivia loves working with students who want to tell stories and create their own unique worlds through art and animation.
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.