Office and People Directory

Greg Barry

Biography

Greg Barry is a professor of 2D Animation at Champlain College, where he teaches students about the art and craft of hand-drawn animation. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Greg has worked on various animated series for network television, including “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and the Emmy-nominated show “Our Cartoon President.” He has also contributed to streaming platforms through projects like “Wolf Boy and the Everything Factory” and directed a web series for Mattel’s “Monster High” toy line.

Growing up in a rural area of Massachusetts with a strong art background, Greg learned the value of hard work, craftsmanship, and self-expression. Animation became the ideal medium for him to pursue these values by integrating various art forms to create compelling narratives.

At Champlain College, Greg aims to enhance his students’ observation, problem-solving, and process skills to help them better understand the world around them. This approach equips students with new tools and skills, allowing them to express their creativity with confidence.

Recommended Readings

• The Red Turtle (2016) – Dir. Michaël Dudok de Wit
• The Secret of Kells (2009) – Dir. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

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Matthew Dismuke

Biography

Dismuke works in the game industry and taught an Advanced Seminar class.

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Christopher Dreisbach

Biography

Christopher Dreisbach is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, and fine artist with over a decade of professional experience.

American Film Institute Conservatory, Master of Fine Arts (specializing in Directing)
Hampshire College, Bachelor of Arts

Distinctions & Awards

Alfred P. Sloan Science & Film Award

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Film: Housekeeping (1987), Directed by Bill Forsyth
• Music: Talk Talk – Laughing Stock (1991)
• Book: The Visiting Privilege by Joy Williams

Favorite Quote

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.”

—Robert Bresson

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Felipe Lega

Biography

Felipe Lega is the Director of the Animation Program at Champlain College and holds an MFA in Fine Arts with a focus on 3D Animation and Special Effects from Lynn University, USA. Felipe has designed educational models for Champlain College and has taught several classes for the animation and video game programs. He is also currently advising the projection mapping project at the Emergent Media Center, which is being developed in collaboration with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

His teaching methodology is based on motivation, self-realization, and compassion. His work with students always involves mentorship, fostering the development of individuals with strong human and professional capacities. The success of his method is attributed to his faith and motivation in his students and in understanding them as individuals to support them in achieving their desired results.

He was an associate professor at UDEM – Universidad de Monterrey, where he developed and taught several classes in the master’s program in video games and the bachelor’s program in 3D animation and visual effects. He also participated in significant academic projects for this institution, such as the Experience 360 “Lamentos Encontrados” project developed in collaboration with Breda University in the Netherlands. Additionally, he served as an advisor for several award-winning thesis projects and short films.

Felipe was involved for approximately four years in the design, production, and creative direction of animated content for various projection mapping shows across Europe. Notable projects include: the HCA Hans Christian Andersen Festival show in Haderslev, Denmark; the Taastrup Library projection mapping show in Denmark; and the Christmas show at the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania, among others.

During his industry experience, Felipe has worked as a visual effects artist and 3D animator in different areas of TV post-production and production, including Hasbro toy commercials for Avengers, Spider-Man, and Transformers. He also created special effects for Latin American international series such as Kdabra, Sikis, and Mentes en Shock, and developed 3D animations for Nat Geo and Discovery Channel.

In 2014, he was awarded the YCE (Young Creative Entrepreneur) Award by the British Council in the Broadcasting category, representing his visual effects studio, Entertainment & Visual Arts, at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Distinctions & Awards

Rising Star Award – Champlain College, YCE – Young Creative Entrepreneur Award, 2014 British Council.

Favorite Quote

“Imagination is Everything, It is the preview of life’s coming Attractions.” – Albert Einstein

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JoAnn Patel

Biography

JoAnn Patel has a MFA in Computer Arts from Florida Atlantic University and a BFA in Environmental Design from Parsons School of Design. Her exploration with computers as a creative tool began with digital music creation and expanded to the visual arts. Her digital art career started with web design, then moved on to 3D art, compositing and game art.

JoAnn was 3D Art Director at D2 Creative/D2 Team-Sim where she worked on training simulations for Raytheon and the US Military as well as marketing videos for pharmaceutical clients and continuing medical education projects for doctors. While freelancing in New York City, she worked on projects for the History Channel, A&E, HBO, Discovery, MSNBC, BMW and Hasbro Toys.

JoAnn has taught at Pratt Institute, New York Institute of Technology, Florida Atlantic University, Digital Media Arts College, Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami International University of Art and Design Online. JoAnn’s animated short films “Reflections”, “Idea Hunting”, and “Casandra The Chameleon” have been shown at international film festivals and on the Tampa Educational Channel. “Casandra The Chameleon” won the grand prize at the Homestead Animated Film Festival in 2003.

JoAnn’s current creative focus is on hard surface modeling and texturing, procedural modeling, game environments and the use of game engines for filmmaking and visual effects.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

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Robin Perlah

Biography

Robin Perlah currently serves as Dean of the Core Division, Creative Studio and School of Social Innovation at Champlain College, where she is also an Associate Professor. In this role, she provides academic leadership across the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts and design disciplines.

During her time at Champlain, Perlah has held several leadership positions, including Chair of the Creative Studio, Program Director for several programs including Graphic Design (BFA), Interaction Design (BS) and Emergent Media (MFA and MS), Academic Director for the Emergent Media Center, and Assistant Dean for the Division of Communications and Creative Media. She has taught a range of courses in the areas of photography, graphic design, design history, image-making, visual design, interaction design, and media theory, serving both undergraduate and graduate students.

Perlah’s art practice is based on a persistent interest in the photographic image, both still and moving, as it is transformed by digitality. Her work deals with the ambiguity of memory, the intersection between image capture (both analog and digital) and the methods of processing and presenting images, and how generative art and data mutations can reveal layers of complexity.

Before working at Champlain College, Robin taught and ran programs in art, design and creative media in K-12 education, and developed several community art programs to support young people through art-mentoring relationships and other activities. She also served as co-director for the Technology & Design Institute at Governor’s Institutes of Vermont. Prior to her work in education, she had a long career as a professional photographer and photo editor, specializing in commercial, portrait, and event photography as well as fine-art printing.

Robin is a site evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), is part of the volunteer board for PechaKucha Night (PKN) Burlington, and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Vermont Arts Council board of trustees, which she rejoined in fall 2024. Robin earned a master of fine arts in emergent media from Champlain College, a bachelor of science in art education from the University of Vermont, and studied commercial and fine art photography at the New England School of Photography.

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Claire Preston

Biography

Claire Preston is an Adjunct Professor at Champlain College where she teaches Animation History. She holds an M.A. from Goldsmiths, University of London in Virtual and Augmented Reality and a B.A. in Studio Art and English from Kenyon College. She is a passionate researcher and artist with a strong interest in storytelling forms. She has worked to develop Virtual Reality research projects in a variety of fields and is invested in educating students in the possibilities present in emerging technology. In her free time, Claire enjoys working on creative stop motion animation projects and exploring the beautiful outdoors of the Upper Valley, where she resides.

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