WHO WE ARE
Ridgefield Park Arts Association Executives
Karen Purpura, Chair
A graduate of the Juilliard School, Karen is a freelance New York flutist. She has been a member of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Long Island Philharmonic, the New York City Opera, and has performed many Broadway shows. Presently she is a member of the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the Cecilia Orchestra, and the Teatro Grattacieo Orchestra. Karen is very dedicated to bringing the arts into the lives of all of our Village neighbors. She lives in Ridgefield Park with her partner, Tom Olcott.
Giselle Holloway, Vice Chair
For over 25 years, Giselle has been helping nonprofit organizations achieve their strategic,
programmatic and financial objectives. She is currently the Director of Membership and
Volunteer Experience at the Newark Museum of Art. She has been involved with the arts since she began taking ballet lessons at age 4. Giselle has held leadership positions at First Friends of NJ and NY, United States Golf Association, International Rescue Committee, Thirteen WNET Public Television, and God’s Love We Deliver. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the Boston College School of Management, an Executive Certificate in Transformational Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Notre Dame, and a Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University. She is proud to be a founder of the Ridgefield Park Arts Association to help make the Village more exciting and vibrant and through the arts.
Marly Gonzalez, Secretary
Marly has been a member of the RPAA since 2018. She, her husband, Rafael and daughter
Isabella, have been village residents since 2014. Marly has a J.D. from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Law School. She works in New York City as an attorney for children in
custody, guardianship, abuse and neglect cases. In her spare time, Marly enjoys photography and writing poetry. She and her family are committed to supporting and helping RP become a thriving art community.
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Thomas Olcott, Treasurer
Thomas Olcott received degrees from Yale College, The Juilliard School, and Cardozo School of Law. For more than forty years, he combined a professional trombone career (Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre Orchestra among others) with advocacy for musicians’ rights, both locally and as attorney for orchestras nationally. From 2011 - 2018, he was Financial Vice President of Local 802, AFM., overseeing the general finances of Local 802 while also negotiating musician labor agreements. He moved to Ridgefield Park in 2017 and is committed to supporting and preserving a thriving arts community in our Village.
Janet Malool, Past Chair
Janet’s passion for art grew while taking art in high school. Although she made the choice to teach math as her career, she never forgot her interest in art. She earned her degree in Math Education with a minor in art, from Brooklyn College and her MS in math from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. In 1979, after marrying her husband John, she relocated to Ridgefield Park and raised their daughter Ani. After retiring, Janet joined the Green Team and was instrumental in creating the community gardens. As a member of the RPAA, Janet is dedicated to helping to create events and work on projects which spotlight the arts in all its forms.
Members
Mimi Bismarck, George Cooke, Rita Cottone, Frank Donaruma, Tyler Gregory, Guillermo Lopez-Pastas, Justin Moore, Rachel Moore, Leslie Olson, Mark Olson, Theresa Robinson, Kayla Reynolds, Sunny Shin, Bob Sienicki, Joe Kenney
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