Our Team

Aylin Green, Executive Director, has served in this role since July 2015. She is responsible for overall administration of the arts council, with development and oversight of all facets of the organization including artistic programming, fundraising, marketing, and financial planning and strategy implementation. Previously, Aylin served in varied positions for over a decade of service at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, including as Director of Membership. A practicing artist and experienced curator, Aylin has exhibited her and fellow artists’ paintings and sculptures at galleries and art centers throughout the region. As an educator, she has taught classes for adults and children in a variety of media from experimental to traditional and in a range of educational settings. Aylin holds a Master of Education from Tufts University in Boston, MA, and a BFA in Sculpture from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she earned high academic honors. She is a graduate of the Arts + Business Council of Greater Philadelphia’s Designing Leadership program and has studied nonprofit management through La Salle’s Nonprofit Center. Aylin is the co-chair of the Mercer County Minority Concerns Committee and co-founder of the Princeton Area Arts and Culture Leaders group.

Kaveri Kalawar, Operations Director, has worked for the organization since 2008. She is responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining processes and systems to ensure effective and efficient financial, administrative, communications and IT operations. Her responsibilities include presenting and obtaining approvals on budgets and fiscal reports, the fulfillment of financial reporting requirements to funding and government agencies, and daily support for programs and services. Kaveri’s previous experience encompasses teaching, research and small business entrepreneurship. Her ventures include successfully transferring a key food-related technology to a consortium of chocolate growers in India, launching one of the first organic vegetarian Indian frozen foods businesses in New Jersey, and creating and launching a collaborative content-sharing platform through seed and first round funding. In addition, Kaveri has experience in teaching and staging various cultural and educational programs in New Jersey, specific to the interests of diaspora Indians since 1995. Kaveri has an MA in Clinical Psychology and a BA in Psychology from the University of Delhi, where she graduated with high academic honors. She also attended the MBA program at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Kirsten Sanford, Education Manager, comes to her role with three and a half years of studio management experience and a BA in Studio Art and Design with a concentration in education. As the Education Manager since September 2019, Kirsten is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing art education programs for children and adults, including classes, camps, workshops and Family Fun Night. She oversees and trains more than 60 student volunteers each year to assist with education programs and foster a love for working with children. She started the Education Committee in 2022. Previously, Kirsten served as the studio manager for Pinot’s Palette in Princeton, NJ, where she taught adult and youth art classes and managed and trained teaching artists. Additionally, Kirsten’s working art experience includes working as an art gallery assistant, working as a ceramic studio assistant, and teaching grades K-12 in Haverford, PA. Kirsten also worked at Educational Testing Services and coached Division III tennis at Rosemont College.

Nina Milizzo joins us after an education and career that has spanned both arts and health fields. Nina has a degree from FIT in fine art and jewelry design and worked for West Windsor Arts previously as a camp counselor and later as part time office staff helping with parties and rentals. She then went on to study nursing at Mercer County Community College and worked in medical practices where she developed compassionate communication techniques with the community as well as balancing the demands of a busy office. Now, she has come back to the field of arts with a desire to make connections in the intersection of the arts with wellness.

Kimberly Ducote-Schimmel, Outreach Programs Manager, has worked for the organization since January 2018. As Outreach Programs Manager, Kimberly manages the Volunteer, Membership, Exhibitions, Artist in Residence, and Community Performance programs. She also oversees nonprofit rentals, and other partnership programs such as the Lunchtime Gallery Series and Artist Meetups. Kimberly was a successful commercial photographer for over 25 years and taught photography for 10 years. She holds a BS in Studio Art from SUNY at Stony Brook, with a minor in Photography. She began her photographic business in NYC photographing for advertisements, brochures, catalogs, magazines and editorials for major corporations, local businesses and the media, working both in the studio and on location.

Raina Pahade (they/them) became the Program Assistant in January of 2025. Raina manages rentals; assists with events, studio and gallery operations; and supports community engagement initiatives. They earned a BA in Critical Theory and Social Justice and Studio Art from Occidental College in 2024 and has experience working in various arts and activism-related roles, including arts administration, grant writing and event planning, as well as supporting various arts organizations and nonprofits. Raina is also an interdisciplinary artist whose work blends color, cultural motifs, abstract patterns and textiles to explore themes of gender, queer diasporic imagination, and the body within the South Asian diaspora. Drawing from Bollywood, queer theory, Bharatanatyam, mythology and family histories, Raina’s multimedia paintings reflect a deep engagement with cultural heritage and personal identity.