Front Range MGD Faculty

Maria Abramowicz Maria Abramowicz is currently a Lead Graphic Designer and Brand Manager for a marketing firm in Denver. Although she now lives in the beautiful state of Colorado, she is originally from southern New Jersey. Besides design, her interests include competing in triathlons, the color orange, and being a dog mom to her Boston Terrier mix, Mr. Peepers.

Neal Betters Neal has been an Editor and Filmmaker working in television, commercials, movies, and freelance projects for over 20 years. Neal has won both local and national awards for his film work and also has years of teaching experience in Denver, Colorado. With a passion for inspiring the future generation of filmmakers, Neal incorporates practical training, creative thought-processing, artistic direction, and individual storytelling to his students.

Eric Boelts Eric Boelts is the current principal and owner of Brain Bolts and the past principal and co-founder of Boelts Bros. He has a BFA in graphic design and an MBA in entrepreneurship and marketing — both from the University of Arizona. Eric’s passion for teaching blended with his interest in the intersection of art and business in the world of design has led him to lecture at universities and colleges around the country. He has been fortunate to win awards in numerous design competitions throughout the world including the Czech Republic, Bolivia, Mexico, England, Canada, Russia, Poland and the USA. He runs long distances, paints with watercolor, is addicted to basketball and can both draw with a pencil and use a spreadsheet.

Rachel Byland Rachel Byland’s 20+ years of experience as a graphic designer has allowed her to perform in a variety of environments—from start-ups and small businesses, to Fortune 500's. She believes strongly that good design has the potential to empower individuals, ideas, communities and cultures. Or, as IBM's Thomas J. Watson, Jr. simply put it, “Good design is good business.” When not sitting in front of her Mac, Rachel can be found volunteering in the design and education communities, or outdoors, chasing her next big adventure.

Jemmy Chien Jemmy Chien has studied and worked as an artist, designer, and educator in the US for over 20 years. Since she was young, she has devoted herself to finding ways to utilize technology, design and entertainment for both self-expression and communication across all disciplines. Jemmy has a Master of Fine Arts degree as well as a Doctoral degree in Education, with an emphasis in digital media education and instructional design. Jemmy has taught design courses such as Advanced Typography, Graphic Design, Digital Design, Concept Design, User Experience Design, Motion Graphics, Animation and Advanced Photography at several colleges. She has also help to develop several New Media and Motion Graphics programs. Jemmy has received several design awards and exhibited her design work in the U.S. and Asia. She has spoken at several international conferences involved with design thinking, creativity, user experience design, and digital media curriculum for modern education.

Pamela Fischer Pamela Fischer is a professional artist, animator and MLS carrying instructional librarian. She holds a degree in traditional animation from Pratt Institute, and has worked on shows like "The Wonder Pets" aired on Nick Jr. and on mobile games like "MinoMonsters". In addition, she is a Master of Library Science and has worked for both the New York Public Library as a Technical Assistant III and the Art Institute of California - Silicon Valley as their Library Director. Prior to her time at Front Range Community College, Pamela was the Director of the School of Media Arts as well as an adjunct faculty member at the Art Institute of California - Silicon Valley where she taught a wide array of Media Arts, Graphic Design and Film classes.

Anne Gibbs Anne believes strongly that digital media has the power to inspire, educate, and initiate sustainable positive change. A powerful story can move an audience to think differently and take action. Anne has made a career exploring, seeking out and sharing stories about social justice, leadership development, women's development, and 21st century education practices. Anne is a producer, editor, videographer, educator, and an advocate. In all productions Anne brings creativity, enthusiasm, an open mind, purpose and structure. As an educator Anne embraces her responsibility and opportunity to build up future leaders by developing their critical thinking skills, public speaking skills, and technical skills in media production and communication.

Kate Hagerty Kate's 10+ years of experience in graphic and web design has given her a varied background. She has worked as a one-woman web design shop, a freelance instructional designer, as well as other design-related gigs. She has a passion for helping people better themselves, improve their outlook for the future, and pick up real-world skills. Kate lives with her family in Denver, CO and typically is found either grading, helping students, or playing video games. She will be finishing up her Master's in Educational Technology in early 2020.

Helga Hizer Helga was born and raised on the Great Plains of North Dakota and currently lives and works in Longmont, CO. She earned her MFA at California College of the Arts in Video and Sculpture. Her work looks at different ways of moving through landscape and how they develop a sense of time, space, and place. She has exhibited nationally in Seattle, Brooklyn, and San Francisco and internationally in Berlin. Helga recently joined Front Range Community College as an Instructional Design Assistant in 2018 and joined the Multimedia Graphic Design department as an instructor in 2019. When not working, she enjoys listening to music, spending time with family, and taking her dog for hikes.

Stacey Jacobs Stacey Jacobs has been a freelance designer since the 1990s and started a creative studio in 2013. She graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Colorado State University and received her post-secondary credentials through FRCC. Teaching allows her to not only work with aspiring designers but also grow and learn as a designer herself. Stacey provides her diverse customer base with creative graphic design solutions on a daily basis. Her design and marketing expertise with local clientele includes school districts, breweries, coffee shops, realtors, hotels, restaurants, and foundations, to name a few. Stacey lives in Estes Park with her three children, husband of 20+ years, and a plethora of pets. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, and exploring the beautiful state of Colorado.

Austin Jones Austin Jones is an adjunct instructor teaching video production. He has been working full time as the co-founder of Ignite video productions creating corporate videos, documentaries, and training tutorials.

Joshua LeConey Joshua LeConey has been working as a digital artist for over 25 years. He is a traditionally trained print maker who moved into the digital world with Photoshop as an alternate way to make prints. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Colgate University where he was first introduced to computer art. While earning his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Colorado, Boulder, he widened his interests to include Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and web coding. Joshua has taught at various schools in the Denver area including the University at Denver, Arapahoe Community College, the Art Institute of Colorado and is currently an Instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. His interests include jogging, reading, video games and comic books. He still creates the occasional traditional printmaking piece but works almost exclusively digitally now.

Kaitlin McCall Kaitlin McCall is both a digital and traditional artist, with a BA in Media Arts and Animation from The Art Institute of Colorado, and an MFA in Visual Effects and Animation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She has worked as a web and graphic artist for many different companies, including the Origins Games Expo. In addition to graphic art, she freelances as a 3D artist, creating models and animation for a variety of clients, including recent contract work for Microsoft. She also spends time in her studio doing traditional oil painting, drawing, and metal work. Prior to coming to Front Range, she taught a wide variety of art and computer-based courses and participated in curriculum development for other Denver-area colleges.

Brooke McKaig Brooke McKaig is a native of Colorado, with twenty-two years in the Graphic Design industry as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. She has taught Graphic Design at Bollman tech for eighteen years and is very passionate about assisting design students in realizing their potential and expanding their creative skills.

David Peters David Peters is a marketing professional with 15 years’ experience. He has held positions with advertising agencies and in-house marketing departments as a senior graphic designer, art director and distribution manager. He has worked on national accounts like Coca-Cola, Iron Mountain and Jackson, and led several creative projects for local brands in Colorado, Connecticut and Florida. Prior to all this, David served as associate instructor of graphic design at Central Connecticut State University. He earned his MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. In his free time when he is not teaching, David enjoys being outdoors with his family, hiking, attending concerts at Red Rocks and tackling home improvement projects.

Kristina Robbins As a creative professional, Kristina looks to an industry that keeps her on her toes. With a lifelong passion for the Arts, her journey has evolved from the traditional to newer forms of media with the growth of technology and digital design software. She started exploring Animation in early 2000, but work led her in the direction of Graphic Design. She found the value in expanding further with Video Production, Film, and Digital Media. After completing two Associate degrees in related areas, Kristina found a passion for teaching and decided to expand her knowledge by continuing pursuit of her BFA in Digital Design at CU Denver. Through her work in industry, in connection with her duties as an instructor, Kristina strives to bring cutting-edge concepts and real-world expectations to the students by engaging in industry projects. Her passion stems from seeing the students succeed and being a part of their journey. Kristina enjoys staying on the brink of the latest and most innovative developments in industry, and she demonstrates high-energy, new and exciting opportunities in the classroom.

Lynnae Rome Lynnae Rome is a Colorado native who has been active in the Denver/Boulder music scene as an audio engineer, musician and music educator since the 1990s. She earned her MA in Recording Arts from the University of Colorado at Denver and gained her industry chops at Colorado Sound Studios. She has held a position as a guest artist in Stagecraft and Design at Denver School of the Arts. Lynnae is involved in several professional organizations, with leadership roles in the Audio Engineering Society Colorado Section and Soundgirls.org. She is also a member of Women’s Audio Mission, ARSC and ASCAP. She is an active music creator, writing and producing music for sync licensing with her production team.

Dolly Rosenbrook Dolly Rosenbrook is Program Director of the Westminster Campus, Multimedia Graphic Design (MGD) Department and Program Lead for all online MGD and ART courses. She has a BA in Communication Arts from Lees McRae College, and an MFA in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Dolly has industry experience as Art Director for a National Fine Clothier as well as freelance history with an array of companies. For over 10 years she has been teaching and developing curriculum in higher education. She has developed Digital Media and Graphic Design programs while teaching a variety of multimedia graphic design, graphic communications and computing in the arts courses at various institutions. Passionate about online learning, she has been engaged for 10+ years in content development and instructional design & delivery via a variety of online content management systems.

Laura Seward Laura Seward has taught digital art at Westminster High School since 2008, including Concurrent Enrollment classes through Front Range Community College, where high school students get free college credit! She is a digital art teacher, mother, wife, photographer, and artist. The order depends on the day, but always a Creative.

Vince Sherry Vince Sherry is a digital concept artist certified in ZBrush through Ryan Kingsliens exclusive certification program. His specialties are 3D modeling/sculpting and digital painting. Vince has been involved in digital art since 1995 when Fractal Design software released Painter 5. A year later he picked up Lightwave 3D v.6.0. Vince teaches Storyboarding/Animatics and 3D Animation with Cinema 4D. He has had art shown in the Colorado Indian Art Market and the Harwood Museum in Taos, New Mexico. Some of his work involves producing 3D models, painted concept art, vector illustrations for health education companies and he enjoys wandering the southwest on photo safaris.

Parisa Tashakori Parisa Tashakori is a Visual Artist and Graphic Designer with a BA and MA in Graphic Design. She has collaborated as a designer and art director with several international advertising agencies and cultural institutions and now lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. Her work is focused in the field of social, environmental and cultural communication. Parisa’s work has been exhibited at over 80 international exhibitions in various countries including the COW! Festival in the Ukraine, the Ekoplagat in Slovakia, the Tehran Poster Biennial, and the Ukraine Eco Poster Triennial 4thBlock—among others, where she has received many awards. Parisa has also served as a lecturer and member of the jury for some significant international competitions and festivals like the 4thBlock in Ukraine, the Bolivia Poster Biennial in La Paz, the Lahti Poster Triennial in Finland, the MUT ZUR WUT competition in Germany, the Poster Biennial in Mexico, the PosterforTomorrow in Paris.

TJ Thurman TJ Thurman is a Senior Creative for a brand experience firm, he has over 10 years of experience building and activating brands. TJ is a Colorado native and received his BFA in Communication Design from the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Chris Williams Chris Williams was born and raised in Dallas, TX. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Radio/Television/Film from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. After graduation, he entered the field by working at two local television stations, in radio as a DJ, and doing commercial voiceover work for the local cable company in College Station, TX. Upon moving back to Dallas, Chris went to work for a cooperate and commercial video production company where he gained experience as a Production Assistant, Grip, Teleprompter Operator, Camera Operator, and Director of Photography. After a year, Chris left to pursue a freelance production career and formed Frosty Entertainment. This lead to numerous jobs in television and film, including producing the weekly television show, “Ticket Television”, in conjunction with local sports radio station, KTCK 1310AM—The Ticket. Chris and his wife, Kara, moved to Parker, CO in 2001 where he was hired as Lead PA at Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain. He was promoted to Chief Editor for the twice nightly sports casts editing feature packages and working with professional athletes in specialized television segments. After taking time off, Chris earned his teaching certificate and began his teaching career. He works at Westminster High School where he created and runs the Video Cinema Arts program teaching high school students how to produce a weekly news segment, WOLF-TV, studio and field production, advanced short film production, nonlinear editing and more. During the 2015–16 school year, Chris’ VCA program was selected by Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s office to produce the documentary MEDIC! for the Veterans History Project through the Library of Congress, where it is available for viewing today.

Maggie Xiong Maggie is Lead Faculty in the Multimedia Graphic Design Department. Prior to holding positions in premiere Colleges in Denver, Maggie Xiong worked as a digital designer directly with the CEO and Founder to enable acquisitions by public companies of Cluster File Systems (the Lustre company, acquired by SUN) and ClusterStor (acquired by Xyratex). Also, she has worked in an advertising and creative design agency for several years in China before moving to the U.S. Maggie's professional focus has shifted from visual design to web and UI/UX design in the recent years. She believes that as designers, understanding both design aesthetics and technology will further enhance and strengthen capabilities in order to achieve effective communications. Maggie combines Western creativity and quality with Chinese work ethics.