The Art Effect

Adam Reid

Adam Reid joined The Art Effect in 2019 as a Youth Media Instructor, teaching video production, photography, and script writing. Adam graduated college with a MS in Arts & Sciences with a passion for video production that he discovered as a student at The Art Effect, Adam enjoys working with youth in the community; encouraging them to try new things and become the best version of themselves.

Hatim Belyamani

Abby Lessick

Abby Lessick is a freelance artist and illustrator living in Poughkeepsie, NY. She received her BFA in drawing and painting from SUNY New Paltz and has been running her art business for the last five years. Her artwork focuses primarily on the intricacies of nature, on finding beauty in tiny elements like mushrooms, flowers, and moss. In her free time she loves reading, writing, and being outdoors. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Zach Reid

Zach Reid is an arts/media teacher coming out of Poughkeepsie New York. He has been a part of the Art Effect team for 4 years and enjoys working with the students and helping them take their creative thoughts and forming them into a reality. Zach is also a musician, recording artist and athlete. He is a graduate of Poughkeepsie High School, and furthered his music and education at Herkimer College where he graduated with his Associates Degree in Music Industry. Zach also played soccer while in college winning the Regional championship 3 seasons in a row to qualify for Nationals.

Zach Reid

Zach Reid is an arts/media teacher coming out of Poughkeepsie New York. He has been a part of the Art Effect team for 4 years and enjoys working with the students and helping them take their creative thoughts and forming them into a reality. Zach is also a musician, recording artist and athlete. He is a graduate of Poughkeepsie High School, and furthered his music and education at Herkimer College where he graduated with his Associates Degree in Music Industry. Zach also played soccer while in college winning the Regional championship 3 seasons in a row to qualify for Nationals.

Benjamin King

Emma Schmidt

Orin Brecht

Orin Bliss Brecht is a Creative Director with nearly 20 years of digital art experience in the fields of music, publishing, retail, and agency spaces. He began his career as an illustrator in NYC before working as a designer at print magazines like SPIN and Dazed. Currently working in advertising, his clients include the likes of Verizon, Pepsi, Sony Music, Fisher-Price, Home Depot, GEICO, Starbucks, & more.

Sarah Taylor

Sarah Timberlake Taylor has been teaching videography, animation and experimental film for over six years. She graduated from Bard College where she majored in Film Production. After college, Sarah has been an assistant editor on several features and done projection and stage managing for a couple of touring one-woman plays. She often works with documentarian Kevin Schreck, assistant editing on his award-winning film Persistence of Vision along with TANGENT REALMS: The worlds of C.M. Kösemen, and his upcoming film ENONGO – The Sammus Documentary. She loves to collaborate with other artists and enjoys lending a hand with any stage of production.

Xan Peters

Xan Peters is an artist from Clearwater, Florida interested in the intersections of art, science, and history. He grew up learning and teaching art in his mother’s art studio. He graduated with a BFA in studio arts and a minor in museum studies from Montana State University in 2018. In 2019, he moved to Florence, Italy to pursue his graduate studies where he lived for a year. In 2022 he received his MFA in Studio Arts from Tufts University after transferring due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His work has been featured in shows all across the country and is a part of multiple permanent art collections. He is currently a teaching fellow professor at Tufts University, a production artist for an established upstate ceramic studio, and is scheduled to teach a workshop at the Joseph C. Campbell Folk School in the summer of 2023.