meet our team

Dan McCleary founded Art Division in 2010 along with Maria Galicia, Javier Carrillo and Emmanuel Galvez. He now serves as artistic director. In 2010, he realized no art program existed to serve 18 - 27 year olds in the Los Angeles area. He was inspired by the community work done by Francisco Toledo and Demian Flores in Oaxaca, Mexico where he has worked since 2000. Dan is a working artist and exhibits his work throughout the United States and internationally. He has taught art throughout Los Angeles at UCLA, USC and Art Center.

Herminio is a media and arts leader with over a decade of experience at Netflix and other leading production companies. A proud first-generation college graduate and son of Mexican immigrants, he has dedicated his career to expanding access to the arts for young people across Los Angeles, from classrooms to juvenile detention centers, through storytelling, animation, and mentorship.⁠ ⁠ At Art Division, Herminio is focused on helping students stay connected to their creative practice while building the real-world tools to thrive beyond the studio.

Cindy Ojeda is the Managing Director at Art Division. Working closely with Dan McCleary, Cindy has developed and executed organizational development, policies and budgets. Cindy earned her B.A. in Art History and Psychology at UCLA. Cindy spent more than 10 years working as Project Manager at Track 16 Gallery/Smart Art Press in Santa Monica, CA. In addition, Cindy assisted in implementing the Art Exhibition programming at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. Cindy joined Art Division in its inception. Cindy, a native Angeleno, is passionate about Los Angeles and the population Art Division serves.

Alina Kawai is an artist with a focus on abstract painting and received her MFA from UC Santa Barbara and her BFA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Since spring 2023 Alina joined Art Division as a painting instructor and is now the Director of Programing. In addition to Alina's studio practice she has taught visual arts at all levels from kindergarten to college and finds joy teaching painting and engaging with the community through art.

Luis Serrano is director of Fine Arts at Art Division. Serrano holds an MFA from Otis Art Institute and has painted and drawn for the past 40 years. Along with the fine art practice, Luis has taught general art classes such as Design, Watercolor Painting, and Two and Three-dimensional Design at LA Community Colleges and Ryman Arts. He has taught and mentored in the MFA program for Laguna College of Art and Design. At Art Division Serrano has taught Painting, Figure Drawing and Fundamentals of Drawing.

Hannah Sloan has acted as an independent curator, gallery director and art advisor since 2004. After a decade as a gallery director at RoseGallery, Santa Monica, she founded Sloan Projects, a curatorial program that provides a platform for women artists in Los Angeles through public exhibitions and professional development. Since 2021, she has taken an active role in introducing underrepresented artists from Central America to public institutions in the United States. Hannah guest lectures at public universities around Southern California about "the business of art," sharing a wealth of information about navigating the art world from a business perspective.

Joe Petricca has taught film at Art Division and served as the department head of the Digital Media Department since 2021. He is the Associate Chair, BFA for the Film Department at ArtCenter College of Design where he has been faculty member since 2022. He also teaches at LACC in their Dual Enrollment program and for the New York Film Academy. He was the Executive Vice Dean at the American Film Institute (AFI) for 20 years. Petricca is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and educator. Petricca curated the film series Testigo/Witness: Goya in the Movies (May 2024) for the Norton Simon Museum in support of the show I Saw It: Francisco de Goya, Printmaker. He served as a guest curator and photographer for the LARIVERX social media pages and is now included in their archives showcase recently exhibited at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Javier Carrillo is a Los Angeles-based artist. His work is profoundly influenced by the working-class neighborhoods of his upbringing in Los Angeles. He has exhibited in various museums and galleries such as Craig Krull Gallery, Bakersfield Museum of Art, and The Mexican Consulate General of Los Angeles among others. His work is part of the private collection of Stewart and Lynda Resnick, USC Fisher Museum of Art, Georgia College & State University, and more. Carrillo currently teaches fundamentals and advanced printmaking at Art Division.

Guillermo Perez is a graphic designer from Los Angeles California who has been designing and implementing communication through social media platforms and other more traditional platforms such as printed matter and website design for over a decade. He also teaches an introductory Adobe Illustrator class as a way to introduce students to the world of graphic design. Guillermo has been involved with Art Division for over 11 years, beginning as a student, then as a participant in our teaching programs, then graduating to full-time in-house graphic designer for Art Division.

Melissa Soriano maintains Art Division’s library. The library is one of the most crucial services provided by Art Division for students and the community to create a supportive and calming environment. The support from instructors, events, and mentors that collectively assist to help students succeed. Thousands of books from hundreds of artists bring indefinite amounts of inspiration to young and bright artists who research, who want to grow, and who want to learn. We believe all of our students should have access to an incredible collection of art books in their area, and interact with fellow artistic peers who share the same passion of the arts. Melissa assists with any of the student’s needs to achieve their creative, educational, and self-sufficient goals at the library, connects with other arts organizations who are in need of art books to curate Satellite Libraries in their space, and contributes archival, library, and art research resources to Art Division’s Library Hub. Melissa was a former student at Art Division and was part of Art Division's Oaxaca Exchange Program. She received her B.A. at San Francisco State University in Cinema with a Minor in Women and Gender Studies.

Victor Reyes has diligently maintained Art Division's campus as as operations assistant. Through this work, he has showcased his commitment to the artistic environment at Art Division. Victor began as a student at Art Division over 8 years ago. He is also teaching beginning printmaking as part of his work. He actively engages in his own artistic practice, exemplifying a harmonious balance between teaching, working, and personal creative pursuits