Alexander Koch (Co-Interim President) joined the New York Dance Theatre Board of Directors in 2023. Alex is an alumnus of the Ohman School of Ballet and performed as a soloist in the New York Dance Theatre throughout his college years. A graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, he is currently the Vice President of Development & Asset Management for Eureka Casinos and The Familee Company. In his role, Alex oversees a large and diversified family office, leads the real estate division, manages private equity investments, and contributes to strategic projects for the casino company.
An expert in financial analysis and financial review, Alex chaired the New York Dance Theatre’s Finance Committee for the Board of Directors before becoming Interim Co-President with Aimee. It brings Alex great joy to volunteer with the New York Dance Theatre and help the next generation of dancers.
Alex also sits on the Board of Directors of Los Vaqueros Las Vegas, a charity dedicated to helping at-risk youth in Southern Nevada, serves as the 1st Global Vice President for the Cornell Hotel Society, and sits on the Cornell University Council. Alex is a periodic guest lecturer at Cornell University and the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV).
Alex resides in Las Vegas, NV with his wife, Ellen, two daughters, Gabriella & Charley, and the family dog, Nessie.
Aimee DiAndrea Anoia (Co-Interim President) joined the New York Dance Theatre Board of Directors in 2023. Aimee is an alumnus of the Ohman School of Ballet and performed as a soloist in the New York Dance Theatre throughout high school. In 2001, Aimee received a scholarship to attend her final two years of high school at North Carolina School of the Arts with a concentration on ballet. After graduating NCSA, Aimee moved to Pittsburgh to dance with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as a trainee in their graduate program getting to perform in mainstage productions like the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, Swan Lake and more.
After dancing with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Aimee attended the University of Pittsburgh and while in school returned to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as an intern. Upon graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009, Aimee joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as a full-time employee, going from a marketing intern to an integral member of the senior leadership team as the Director of Marketing in just 3 years. During Aimee’s tenure as the Director of Marketing, PBT hit multiple sales records including a 30% increase in audience attendance, an 11% increase in Subscription sales and a 35% increase in ticketing revenue. During this time, Aimee served as the Marketing Committee Chair for Dance USA, a national service organization for dance. Aimee has also spoken as a guest lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University and Point Park University on her work as an arts marketer.
Aimee now owns and operates multiple restaurants in the Pittsburgh area along with her husband Dave – DiAnoia’s Eatery (named one of the top 100 restaurants in the USA by Yelp in 2021), Pizzeria Davide and Pane é Pronto.
As an expert in arts marketing, Aimee chairs the New York Dance Theatre’s Marketing Committee for the Board of Directors. Aimee also serves as the treasurer on the Board of Directors of Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association Western Chapter.
Aimee resides in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, Dave and daughter, Florence who just finished her first semester of ballet classes at PBT School.
Gretchen Adams (Treasurer) holds a BA from Long Island University and is a financial professional at Morgan Stanley located in Garden City, New York. Gretchen Adams holds an industry securities registration subject to FINRA oversight having passed securities examinations including S65, S66 and S7. Financial advisors may be dually registered. In addition to being registered as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) licensed to sell insurance, advisors are often referred to as “stock brokers” when they are registered representatives to sell securities through broker dealers.
Lorraine Pogan Shef (Secretary) has been on the New York Dance Theatre’s Board of Directors since the early 1980s. Her involvement began when her son studied with Frank Ohman in Huntington. Starting as a “backstage Mom” and relying on prior experience with school and community theater productions and having studied Public Relations for the Theater at Queensborough Community College, she has served in many jobs in New York Dance Theatre including Office Manager, Company Manager, and a Member of the Board of Directors. She has performed in several of Mr. Ohman’s productions, including appearing in the NYDT’s production of the Nutcracker for over 40 years.
Her experience as an Executive/Administrative Assistant has included many fields of endeavor including Petrochemical Engineering, Marine Documentation, Legal Assistant, and Director of Development and Alumni Relations at her former high school in New York City. She also was among the founders of their Alumnae Association as well as the not-for-profit Charitable Foundation for the Group which awards scholarships to deserving young women who wish to attend Catholic High Schools. She also served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society (LI Division).
Lorraine now lives in her beloved New York City (Queens), having previously lived in Dix Hills for over 46 years. She is married to Michael and is a devoted grandmother to Michael and Stephanie. Their parents are her son Michael and his wife, Anne.
Argere Loizides has been on the Board of Directors since the early 1980s. Her involvement began when her daughter was brought into their training ground (Ohman School of Ballet) to study with Frank Ohman, the founder of New York Dance Theatre. Before devoting her time to her children, she taught French in the South Huntington School District with additional years spent as a substitute teacher. She volunteered her hours to NYDT and OSB before taking on the role of head administrator. She has created bonds with over 40 years of students, aiding in their mission of teaching the art of classical dance. She was a nanny to many families in the greater Huntington area, a perfect fit to care for the many families that the Ohman School of Ballet has seen over the decades. She is heavily involved in her church and is a dedicated grandmother and volunteer.
Lauren Ann Novellino joined the New York Dance Theatre Board of Directors in 2022. She is an alumnus of the Ohman School of Ballet and performed as a soloist in the New York Dance Theatre throughout high school and college. After graduating from Hofstra University with a BA in Dance, Lauren went on to dance professionally with Upward Spiral and Saltare Foundation for the Arts dance companies in Manhattan as well as joined the event team of the American Ballet Theatre planning events including their Opening Night Gala at the Metropolitan Opera House.
She then continued planning events for GlaxoSmithKline, Merk, Novartis, Pfizer and finally BlackRock, Inc. where she worked directly with their CEO, President, Board of Directors and other executive level staff and helped develop their Events Department and manage large scale internal and client conferences and events.
Lauren, currently residing in Smithtown, NY, is a mother of three with her youngest following in her footsteps at the Ohman School of Ballet. She is also president of the PTP at St. Patrick School and Vice President of the Mothers’ Guild at St. Anthony’s High School.
Cheryl Halliburton, Ed.D. , Professor Emerita, LIU Post , launched her dance career in the San Francisco Bay Area. She studied and performed with various Bay Area choreographers while also choreographing and co-producing various dance concerts under the auspices of H & H Productions, a company she co-founded with fellow dancer Debra Hunt. In addition she taught at several Bay Area studios and, for a time, at Stanford University in Palo Alto as well.
Family brought her back to the east coast where she continued to teach, choreograph and perform. In Philadelphia she joined Craig (Spider) Moore’s afrocentric modern dance company New World African Dance Theater where she was lead dancer, dance captain, and assistant to the choreographer, Mr.Moore.
After moving back to New York with her son, Dr. Halliburton turned her focus and attention toward mentorship and academia. While working as an adjunct professor at both Nassau Community College and Long Island University Post, she began the Saturday Dance Adventures for Kids program at Post, aimed at children ages 4 and up, acting as both Director and Coordinator of the LIU sponsored program. She also was a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute and for the Institute of Arts and Culture of Tilles Center for Performing Arts. Upon becoming a full-time faculty member of LIU Post, Cheryl became the founding director of the Dance Studies Program and co-director of Post Concert Dance Company, the resident dance company of the Department of Theatre, Film, Dance and Arts Management.
Despite her academic interests, she continued to perform and choreograph with the Halliburton Dancers and with Cara Gargano and Dancers, including at the Long Island Fringe Festivals, Third Street Music Settlement, NY’s Dance New Amsterdam, and Tilles Center among other venues. She also choreographed and was assistant director for the musical Into the Woods, presented by the Post Theatre Company.
As a member of SORAC (Society of Research on African Culture) and CORD (Congress of Research in Dance), she wrote and presented scholarly articles on African influences on American culture. Currently she is working on a book highlighting and acknowledging the often historically omitted dance trailblazers of color who have helped transform and change the world of contemporary dance.
Judith Rivera is currently the Director of Community Relations at CareFirst Home Solutions. She is a dedicated professional whose passion for building long-term relationships and for helping her community is widely recognized. Her previous position was as the Director of Community Sales at the Atria Glen Cove. Other past work experience includes roles as a sales account executive with the Herald newspaper group and Richner Communications, Inc., as an administrative assistant with Bethpage Investment Strategies, as a real estate associate broker with Warren Lewis Real Estate in Park Slope, Brooklyn and as Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. She is a board member of The Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce. Judith is also a member of the Gold Coast Business Association, the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce, the North Shore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the North Shore Kiwanis.
Judith’s extensive dance and acting experience includes summer stock, regional and dinner theatre, cruise ship revues, industrials, national commercials, films and performances with three dance companies: Martita Goshen’s Earthworks, Foot & Fiddle Dance Company and New York’s Broadway Dancing Cheerleaders. Her acting credits include a lead role on the hit TV show, “America’s Most Wanted” and appearances on “One Life to Live” and “Another World.” She also has done voiceovers for documentary films. She is also a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
As the dance captain of Foot & Fiddle, Judith had the privilege of participating in the prestigious “BIENNALE de la Danse” in Lyon, France and of touring Switzerland. She was assistant director and dance captain for the Village Theatre Company’s production of “What Would Esther Williams Do In A Situation Like This?” She also choreographed the nightclub revue “Around the World in 80 Days” at the Club Versailles in Brighton Beach as well as other local concerts for Paul Baserman’s productions. Locally, she was the choreographer and assistant director for the original musical, “The Adventures of Gingerella.”