GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Community Access to the Arts (CATA) announces the hiring of Chaya Schneider as its new Development Coordinator as well as new full time Resident Faculty Artists Adam Gudeon (Visual Arts), Caroline Calkins (Theater), and Katie Herbst (Music). 

 

CATA also announces the promotion of Courtney Maxwell to Program Coordinator, and welcomes Gary Schiff as a new board member.

 

CATA has expanded programs serving people with disabilities in recent years, with a community-based model rooted in partnerships with disability agencies, day-habilitation programs, residences, and schools. CATA currently provides more than 2,500 arts workshops annually for 1,250 children, teens, and adults with disabilities in painting, dance, acting, songwriting, drumming, creative writing, juggling, yoga, and more.

 

These new appointments will help CATA deepen community partnerships and expand financial support for the organization, giving people with disabilities across the Berkshires and Columbia County more opportunities to explore their talents and express themselves creatively.

 

Chaya Schneider (she/her) joins CATA with a diverse background in corporate IT, along with extensive volunteer experience with several non-profit organizations. She is excited to officially transition her career to the nonprofit sector and is passionate about CATA’s mission to promote accessibility to the arts. Chaya holds a master’s degree in music from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in music from Barnard College.

 

Courtney Maxwell (she/her) has been promoted to Program Coordinator. She joined CATA in 2022 as Program Associate. Previously, Courtney worked at MASS MoCA as a gallery art teacher and at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital as an occupational therapist. She has a graduate degree in art education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and a graduate degree in occupational therapy from Kean University in Union, NJ. In her role at CATA, Courtney supports CATA's Program Director team, with a focus on programs taking place in CATA’s studios in Great Barrington, and helps coordinate CATA’s adaptive tools, resources, and art-making approaches.

 

Adam Gudeon (he/him) is a children’s book writer and illustrator, and arts educator, joining CATA in a new, full-time role as Resident Faculty Artist teaching comics, illustration, graphic art, painting, and more. His picture books and early readers have been published by HarperCollins, Holiday House Books for Young Readers, and Boys Mills Kane. Adam also creates limited edition and one of a kind books and zines. Previously, Adam served as Special Education Teacher at Berkshire Meadows School (Justice Resource Institute). He has a fine art degree from Pratt School of Art and Design.

 

Caroline Calkins (she/her) is an actor, theater-maker, and teaching artist, joining CATA in a new, full-time role as Resident Faculty Artist in Theater, teaching improv, acting, Shakespeare, and more. She has worked with hundreds of students in theater workshops and residencies across Berkshire and Columbia Counties, mainly through her work with the Education Program at Shakespeare & Company. She has performed on local stages for many years. Caroline has a BA from Brown University and an MA in Theater Education from Emerson College, and trained at the National Theater Institute.  

 

Katie Herbst (she/her) is a Berkshire-based performing artist with deep connections to our local community through her work as a farmer and musician, now joining CATA in a new, full-time role as Resident Faculty Artist in Music, teaching singing, songwriting, and more. Katie comes to CATA from Stanton Home, a residential and day program for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, where she worked as the Farm & Garden Program Coordinator. Katie also performs with the local folk/Americana band Rounders Revival. Katie received a degree in social work from the University of Vermont.

 

Gary Schiff (he/him) is a native of Adams, MA with a family history in the Berkshires dating back to 1896. A past member of the CATA Finance Committee, Gary now joins the CATA Board of Directors. From 2015-2024 Gary served as the managing director of October Mountain Financial Advisors, a newly formed division of Springfield-based St. Germain Investment Management and joint venture with Lee Bank. Previously, he had a 21-year career with TD Private Client Wealth LLC and TD Bank USA’s predecessor banks in New England, beginning in 1995 with Bank of Boston. Prior to TD he held various management positions with MASS MoCA, Heritage Development Group, and the SWA Group (Boston). An active member of the community since the 1980s, Gary is a member of the Berkshire Funders’ Roundtable, a corporator of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation, a member of the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, a member of the Harvard University alumni interviewing committee, a director and chair of the Congregation Knesset Israel Investment Committee, and chair of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires’ Investment Committee. He is a past director and president of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, past director of the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation and the Colonial Theatre, and a former member of the Town of Lenox Planning Board, Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Berkshire Land Use Commission, and Berkshire Community College Business Advisory Committee. Gary is a graduate of Middlebury College and holds a Masters degree from Harvard University.