Tanya Poteat

Executive Director, Montclair Child Development Center

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Tanya L. Poteat is the Executive Director of the Montclair Child Development Center, Inc. (MCDC). Incorporated in 1968, MCDC is a private nonprofit that provides comprehensive, inclusive Early Head Start and Head Start preschool services annually to nearly 500 children and their families. MCDC serves families who live in Montclair, Orange, Bloomfield, Belleville, and West Orange. As the Chief Executive Officer, she has primary management and oversight for MCDC’s three centers, located in Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Orange, NJ, and a staff of 110.

A lifelong educator, Tanya’s professional career began at Kean University, where her varied experience included serving as Associate Director of the Gateway Institute for Regional Development. Her extensive career includes work in nonprofit organizational development, executive and leadership coaching, community constituent relations and partnership development, government relations, fundraising, and events management.

Tanya is an active member of the Montclair community, serving as President of the Montclair Fund for Women, Vice Chair of the Montclair Democratic County Committee, and Member of the Montclair Art Museum’s African American Cultural Committee. As President of the Montclair Fund for Women, she leads the Board’s efforts to fund initiatives that use traditional or innovative approaches to promote economic advancement for women and girls with a special interest in women and girls of color.

Also, she is an active member of the New Jersey Head Start Association (NJHSA) and the National Head Start Association (NHSA). Tanya is a graduate of Leadership New Jersey (LNJ) and an adjunct professor teaching Communications and Public Administration courses. She is often called upon to serve as a presenter, facilitator, and moderator for workshops, programs, and community planning meetings. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, a graduate of Rider University and holds a Master’s in Public Administration degree from Kean University and a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University.

Cheryl Slutzky

MAM Education Advocate and Community Leader

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Cheryl Slutzky’s connection to the Montclair Art Museum began in 2002 while a candidate for an M.A. in Fine Art and Connoisseurship from Christie’s Education in New York City. She was commuting to NYC to work at the National Academy of Design and needed to complete an internship for the M.A. Her advisor suggested contacting Gail Stavitsky at MAM. The result of her internship is in the back pages of MAM’s catalog, Selected Works, 2002 – the Index was done by Cheryl! In 2013 MAM was gearing up to celebrate its 100th Anniversary and a group of new docents was pressed into service. Cheryl was one of them...and the rest is history!

“I love being a docent. I love coming to the museum, seeing the other docents, schmoozing with the staff including the security guards! It provides an opportunity for ongoing learning. When new exhibitions are planned, the research begins. Tailoring that research to all age groups is the challenge.”

It's been a natural fit for someone who has worked in educational settings whether it was assisting principals in the Montclair Public Schools when her two sons were young, tutoring pre-teenagers at her synagogue, B’nai Keshet, preparing them for their Bar and Bat Mitzvot, or teaching English conversation to post high school students at the Japan Travel Bureau in Tokyo from 1987 to 1991. “I admit there is a bit of an actress in me and I like interacting with groups on tours at the museum, both kids and adults. I love to see their expressions change, eyes light up, never knowing when that unanswerable question will come up!”

Besides being a docent, Cheryl has worked on many special events at MAM over the past 10 years, decorating tables, serving on planning committees, and last year co-chairing the Art in Bloom Luncheon. She is a MAM Trustee, a co-chair of the Education Committee, and a member of the Art Committee. Her family and close friends know that she loves Broadway shows, especially musicals – a love affair that began when she was 11.

Cheryl grew up in Queens, NY and is proud to be a product of the New York City Public Schools and a graduate with a B.A. in Speech Pathology from Queens College of the City University of NY. She serves as the VP and Membership Chair of the Garden Club of Montclair, is a member of the Jewish Women’s Foundation, a past president of B’nai Keshet, a member of a vibrant book group, probably the worst bowler on the Women’s Bowling team of the MGC, and has lived in Montclair since 1977. She is married for 52 years to her fabulous husband Marc a retired actuarial consultant, and they have two sons, Jeff married to Matt, who live in Manhattan, and Andrew married to Robyn and their three children, Ashley, Jake, and Naomi, who live in Montclair.

Linny Andlinger

Philanthropic & Community Leader

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Linny Andlinger has been active with the Montclair Art Museum for more than 30 years. As a long-time trustee, she is currently serving on the Executive Committee and the Development and Facilities committees. She has been Co-Chair of the Facilities, Grounds, and Community Art Committees, a Co-Chair of the membership committee, as well as Co-Chair of the 1994 fundraising event. She was originally a member of The Montclair Art Museum Volunteer Council.

Her volunteer activism reaches far into the community: she was a trustee of HOMECorp for many years serving as President of the Board for 6 years and then on its Advisory Board. HOMECorp is a nonprofit, based in Montclair, is dedicated to providing affordable housing and housing-related counseling. She was a member of the Montclair State University Community Advisory Board; she served on the board of the Parent Association of Montclair Kimberley Academy (PAMKA) and was an active member on the board member of the Junior League of Montclair-Newark. Together with her husband Rick, the Andlinger’s are patrons of many local and national educational, environmental, arts, political and social organizations.

Linny started her business career at Morgan Stanley and then moved to real estate specializing in commercial R&D properties as a salesperson for Keller Realty. She was a project manager for Lincoln Properties overseeing industrial projects in Silicon Valley and a Vice President with VMS Real Estate working on office buildings in NYC. Linny has a BS in Business Administration from Ithaca College. She currently manages her family’s real estate investments.

A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Linny and her husband Rick have been married for 39 years and have lived in Montclair since 1984. Their son, Nick is an entrepreneur in the beverage industry and lives nearby with his wife Sarah and their two children, Henry and Lola.

Jason Gleason

Executive Director, Montclair Center BID

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After serving on the Board of Directors of the Montclair Center BID from January 2016 to July 2019, including a short stint as the board's President, Jason took over as Executive Director, where he serves the organization currently. In his tenure as Executive Director, he has been responsible for the organization being awarded over $1M in grants, overseen a major downtown strategic planning initiative, implemented new programs such as the ArtConnects mural program, Fresh Air Montclair, the award-winning Pop Goes the Plaza, and transformed the BID’s events programming by partnering to bring the Montclair Jazz festival and Montclair Pride Festival downtown. Jason has built a reputation as an inclusive, no-nonsense, transformative leader whose strengths are building strong foundations through partnerships and collaborative work, and fostering more robust connections with BID stakeholders.

Tom Nussbaum

Artist 

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Tom Nussbaum is known for a variety of work including sculpture, public art, drawings, paper cuts, prints, children’s books, animations, and functional design objects.

Tom has been making art continuously for over fifty years. His sculpture and works on paper have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States, and internationally. He has completed over forty site-specific commissions located in a variety of public settings including public plazas, train stations, schools, hospitals, libraries, environmental centers, and playgrounds.

Tom is active in the community, creating murals and organizing community art projects in East Orange, NJ. He has been a visiting artist and lecturer at a number of colleges and universities, and has served on many peer review panels and juries. He has been awarded two New Jersey State Individual Artist Fellowships and is a three-time MacDowell Colony Fellow.

He currently works from his studios in East Orange, NJ, and Burlington Flats, NY. His work can be seen on his website; tomnussbaum.com