The Center for Life and Work

Jen Hitchings (she/her/hers) is an artist and curator with 10 years of professional experience working as a creative entrepreneur, administrator, and manager of artist studios and contemporary, artist-run galleries in New York City. Hitchings holds a BFA in Painting & Drawing from SUNY Purchase and a Certificate in Small Business and Entrepreneurship from Hunter College. In 2019, she founded Studio Associate, a unique and multifaceted art consulting agency and resource platform that forges connections between artists, workers, and supporters of the arts through professional development, job placement, private sales, and resource-sharing. She relocated to Southern California in 2021 to begin working at CalArts and is thrilled to provide insights from her experience in the field and passion for cultivating professional connections to CalArtians. 

 With the Center for Life & Work, Jen oversees the department's internship program, professional development workshops and resources, Incubator Program, creative educational partnerships, and collaborates with Student Experience and Academic Affairs to implement and facilitate initiatives stewarding CalArtians' success in life & work after graduation. 

Brent Kuszyk (he/him/his) has a diverse background involving the performing arts, higher education, marketing, career planning, nonprofit organizations and public service. As a classical musician Brent has performed, toured and recorded with the Los Angeles Philharmonic including performing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Tours include to Europe, North America and Mexico City. He has worked with Gustavo Dudamel, John Williams, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Michael Tilson Thomas to name a few. Brent has been performing/touring with the Pacific Symphony for over 20 years and has worked with artists including Danny Elfmann, Carl St. Clair, Amy Grant, Kristin Chenoweth, Seth McFarlane, Olivia Newton John and Anne Sophie Mutter to name a few. Tours include China, Europe and Carnegie Hall (NY City). He has worked with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, David Foster and Katherine McPhee. Additionally he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, the American Ballet Theater, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Tanglewood Fellowship Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Mainly Mozart Festival and the Virginia Symphony among others. He has served on the faculties of Biola University, California Lutheran University and Ventura College and has worked in marketing as a consultant with numerous businesses, nonprofit organizations and political campaigns. He has served on four nonprofit boards and most recently served a five-year term on the La Cañada Unified School District Governing Board, a publicly elected board where he served as its president in 2019. During his time in office Brent helped to organize multiple large-scale career events involving many professionals from the entertainment industry. He holds bachelor’s and master’s of music degrees from Temple University and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University. Mr. Kuszyk is married to Marion Kuszyk, a professional musician and they have two children ages 19 and 17. His hobbies include running, biking, weight training, golf and model trains.

With the Center for Life & Work, Brent works with the Bridge to Industry students, helping the BIPOC students with internships, mentorships, facilitates exposure to industry professionals and helps students launch into successful career paths. 

Sarah Melnick née Van Sciver (she/her/hers) is an artist and educator proud to empower fellow CalArtians to bolster and balance creative careers making art, making a living, and making a difference. She holds a Performer-Composer MFA from CalArts, a General Music Studies Professional Certificate from Berklee, and a Music BA from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to running her own music-arts business, Sarah has worked with arts, culture, and education organizations including the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, Cotuit Center for the Arts, Studio Crash, Stimulus Children’s Theater, Platt Performing Arts House, and Sholem, as well as studios, galleries, schools, and community programs spotlighting performing, visual, and literary arts. Sarah writes, arranges, records, and produces scores, songs, sound, and video for film/TV, theatre, dance, concert, opera, and studio album productions. She performs as a vocalist, pianist, harpist, ukulele player, and conductor/music director and mentors aspiring, emerging, and established artists. At CalArts, Sarah has had the pleasure of serving the Institute as a CAP (Community Arts Partnership) instructor, Herb Alpert School of Music TA and instructor, Alumni & Family Engagement Assistant Director, and Admissions Assistant Director representing our Herb Alpert School of Music.  

With the Center for Life & Work, Sarah helps CalArts students and alumni with resume and cover letter reviews, interview strategy and salary negotiation, professional development workshops, and job search and internship support.

Lonnie Woods III (he/him/his) is an artist, higher education administrator, educator, and professional development practitioner whose research examines the high school-to-college and college-to-career pipeline for college students studying arts and creativity adjacent fields. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Fine Art Photography from Towson University and a Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs from New York University (NYU). Lonnie has a unique blend of professional experiences supporting the academic and career paths of art students and established artists. Most recently Lonnie served as a faculty member in the Arts Administration master’s program at Teachers College, Columbia University where he taught professional development courses and oversaw the academic internship program. Lonnie has extensive experience supporting artists with their careers which is illustrated by his previous roles at colleges and universities such as New York University, Maryland Institute College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute and The George Washington University. Lonnie has also partnered with organizations to deliver artistic career development workshops in which his list of partners include: The Smithsonian Museum of American History, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Whitney Museum of American Art, The Studio Museum of Harlem and Sotheby's Institute of Art to name a few. Outside of work, Lonnie enjoys being a career development nerd, writing, hiking, and thrift shopping.

With the Center for Life & Work, Lonnie will forge and cultivate employer relations, coordinate recruiting events, manage our job board Compass, and support the facilitation of our Incubator Program.