Mr. Brownlie has been the Director of The New School since its inception in 1973. With a wealth of experience in all aspects of media, Tom has mentored thousands of students over the years and takes pride in his ability to help each and every student who attends The New School, shape their careers and follow their dreams.

In addition, Mr. Brownlie has been directly involved in the development of every program offered by the school. Prior to Directing The New School, Mr. Brownlie worked in various capacities for numerous major radio and television stations throughout the U.S. and Canada including, WKIS-FM, New York, NY; CKLW Radio and Television, Detroit, MI; CHUM Radio and Television, Toronto, Canada; and WXXA-TV, Albany, NY.

Cathy came to The New School in 2007 and her incredible drive to organize and help was immediately recognized. Cathy is truly a dynamo with unwavering passion to help people and make things work. Her deep passion for people also extends into her outside life, where she is highly involved in many charitable organizations as a spokesperson and coordinator. In 2011 she was featured in an article by The New York Times for her work with the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation. On the entertainment side, Cathy is currently a producer for both the Miss California and Miss New York components of the Miss USA Pageant. Along with organizing and directing various businesses for more than two decades, Cathy has worked as a writer for a Kentucky-based magazine The Bluegrass Horseman.

The essence of Cathy Taylor however is her unwavering dedication to people and their success, and that is why she so exemplifies the true spirit of The New School.

Janielle is originally from Hudson Falls, NY. She holds both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Television/Film/Radio and comes to us with a background in news, documentary, and freelance video production. Her independent documentary "Taking Back the Hudson: The Fight for our Stolen Future" earned her team the title of "Hudson Valley Heroes" from the group Scenic Hudson among other recognitions from the groups Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, and Clearwater. Janielle is an active volunteer wishgranter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeast New York and a proud supporter of the Green Mountain Pug Rescue.

Janielle enjoys helping students develop their technical skills and creativity in order to bring their ideas to life. She enjoys seeing her students grow and develop into great audiovisual storytellers.

Dawn Kitner is one of our Financial Aid Officers and is our primary business office contact. Dawn joined our team 18 years ago after graduating from St. Bonaventure University, and has worked in many capacities at the school through the years. She has previously specialized in areas such as curriculum development, teacher training, compliance and reporting, organizing and structuring of business office procedures, and now makes her current home in the Financial Aid Department.

Because of her tenure at The New School, Dawn is a good contact for parents or students who need further explanation of financial aid or payment plan options, billing questions, or other general information regarding the student loan program.

Born in the small Eastern European country of Lithuania, Jurgita spent her life in the shadow of the former Soviet Union and as a result, is fluent in many languages. As a student, Jurgita was extremely conscientious and quickly earned a reputation for hard work and high marks. After graduating college with a Bachelors’ degree in Business, she emigrated to the U.S. and continued her studies for two more years of post-graduate work in business administration.

Jurgita joined the staff of The New School in 2011 and works with each and every student to create their financial aid package and make the experience as effortless as possible.

Michael Flynn started in the radio industry in 1986, just after graduating from The New School. He has worked on all sides of radio including Programming, News, Production, Promotions and sales.

Michael brings experience from several different formats as an on-air personality at many Albany, NY stations including FLY-92, STAR, B95, Z-ROCK, K100 and The BUZZ.

Tom’s lengthy tenure at The New School began when his guest lecture on radio arts led to an offer for fulltime employment. 32 years later, he still helps students perfect their on-air voices for both radio and television.

Tom has served for many years locally in positions such as music director, morning air personality, and voice talent at stations including WROW, WWOM, WRGB-TV, and Time Warner, as well as at WBZ-TV in Boston. His experience allows him to help students gain a deep understanding of station formats and real-world scenarios, while learning to properly develop and deliver their breaks.

Since the age of twelve, David has had an unusual obsession with music recording and sound engineering. While his friends were outside playing, David could be found inside his makeshift studio, multi-tracking to cassette tapes on a department store karaoke machine.

An avid musician, David excelled in chorus and jazz band in college as a vocalist, guitarist, and drummer. His performances contributed to multiple national awards for performance excellence.

Since founding his production company Audiowurkz in 1999, David has enjoyed producing music and custom audio for national FM and satellite radio broadcasts, as well as television. David also engineers and produces other musicians and bands at his home studio in Saratoga Springs.

With someone like Prez as an instructor, music recording students get a glimpse of the real inner workings of the recording industry. Prez is not just a multi-instrumentalist. He’s a writer, producer and singer who has spent a lifetime composing, performing, producing, and jamming with some of the world’s best known recording artists. George Clinton, Christina Aguilera, Maxwell, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Tupac Shakur, Salt n Pepa, Krs-1, and Mad Lion, are only a small sample.

Prez has earned platinum record awards for his work on albums and soundtracks, and earned a Grammy nomination for his work with Aretha Franklin in 2004.

Jason comes from a family of full time musicians. His background includes 12 years of classical training on violin, 17 years on bass guitar, and playing and recording jazz and rock. He has spent a lifetime singing, performing in a capella groups both in college and professionally. He also spent eight years working full time writing, working with, and most importantly learning from producers such as Brian Howe and Jeff Tomel.

Jason left New York City and a chaotic life on the road to set up shop in Saratoga Springs in late 2009. After two years of producing local artists, he reached out to The New School and found an opportunity in teaching. His production credits include songs that were featured on MTV’s “The Hill” and on “Rehab with Dr. Drew” as well as in the award-winning independent film “One Night” by Michael Knowles and 7A Productions.

Chris has been involved in video production for the last 15 years. He holds a BA in speech communications from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a certificate in video production from the NYU School of Continuing Education.

He worked at CBS 6 Albany for 13 years where he served as chief editor and features photographer, earning two Emmy nominations, a New York State Broadcasters award and two Associated Press awards. After training new employees at CBS 6 for many years, he is happy to help students achieve their creative potential.

Kelly is a television sports anchor and reporter for WRGB-TV, Albany’s local CBS affiliate. Before joining CBS 6, he was an on-air sports personality at WTVY-TV in Dothan, AL and GOLTV, an all-soccer television network based in Miami. He’s earned multiple Associated Press awards for his local sports coverage.

A 2002 graduate of the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, he’s also worked as a play-by-play announcer both in radio and on television. Kelly feels blessed to be working at a job he loves, and he enjoys teaching students that share a similar passion for sports journalism.

Jim came to The New School in 2011 after a long and impressive career in broadcasting. He graduated from Holy Cross College with a B.A. in Mathematics and began working as a local disc jockey. He went on to do radio play-by-play of Siena Basketball and analysis on Adirondack Red Wings Hockey broadcasts. He then made the leap to television, working at WRGB as a sports anchor and reporter before moving onto evening news anchor at WTEN. He also produced and anchored the syndicated PBS show New York Week in Review, and continues to do freelance broadcast work today. His extensive list of memorable moments include coverage of RPI’s NCAA Hockey Championship in 1985, Siena’s memorable upset of Stanford in the NCAA basketball tournament in 1988, heavyweight title fights by Mike Tyson, and political events like the 1994 Republican National Convention, the 1995 international summit between Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin, and the 2000 New Hampshire Presidential Primaries.

Justin graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication from SUNY Plattsburgh, receiving two national awards during his education. As a freelance filmmaker in NYC, Justin held jobs in all aspects of production, from big-budget feature films to small independent productions. As an instructor at the New School, Justin works with students to create high-end professional content with a cinematic flare. Whether it’s producing, directing, cinematography, editing or visual effects, Justin has a passion for sharing his knowledge and watching students grow. Justin teaches Digital Film Production, Music Video Production and Advanced Video Production.

As the owner of his own media company, Justin brings cutting edge techniques in new media, film and video into the classroom every day. Justin also enjoys providing opportunities for students to gain real world experience through his freelance projects and contacts.

Steve comes to us with 18 years of experience in television broadcasting, marketing and advertising. He majored in Broadcast Communications at Brockport State, where he managed the SUNY Cable News television station. He rose through the ranks of TV commercial production, videography, editing and graphic design at WPTZ-TV in Plattsburgh, NY, where he won the New York State Broadcaster’s Association Award for best TV commercial in 1995. After spending many years as a broadcast designer at television stations in Albany, NY, Providence, RI, Washington DC, and Portland, OR, Steve moved onto the corporate marketing team of Vertis Communications, specializing in corporate communications and web design.

Steve is an active musician, freelance designer and small business owner, and came to The New School because he wants to share his experience with others.