Rani Arbo came to the Center for the Arts with career/life experience that included two early years working in community engagement in higher education; 25 years in band management and promotion as a nationally touring artist; 20 years as a freelance writer and editor; and 20 years of being an arts-engaged resident of downtown Middletown. At the CFA, her main focus is linking the Center’s programming to student and faculty research and to the curriculum; helping to design and support visiting artist residencies; assisting with internal campus marketing; and being a relationship-builder between Wesleyan and the Middletown community.

Benjamin Chaffee ’00  is the Associate Director of Visual Arts in the Center for the Arts (CFA), Wesleyan University where he curates/organizes exhibitions in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery and the gallery at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies. Prior to joining the CFA, Chaffee worked as the Director of Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago, Illinois from 2012–2018, the Director of Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago, and at Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston. Originally from New Hampshire, he holds a BA in Earth and Environmental Science from Wesleyan University and an MFA in Studio Art: Sound from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is an Adjunct Instructor in Art in the Art Studio Program at Wesleyan and has also worked as a freelance curator, visiting lecturer, and exhibiting artist.

Andrew Chatfield MALS ’19  has substantial experience in non-profit arts communications, publications, and marketing, including creating content for expansive online and social media presences, media relations, advertising, messaging, brand management, and overseeing design and public imagery. He has focused on reporting and analysis as well as strategic planning and implementation, and his specialties include copy writing for all collateral, from brochures and websites to print and radio advertising campaigns. Prior to Wesleyan, he worked for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. He received a B.A. in Music from Syracuse University (’99), and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in the Arts from Wesleyan University (’19). He is a professional musician in four groups: the jazz quartet Stanley Maxwell, jazz/blues group The Castlefield Trio, and both ’80s and ’90s cover bands.

Fiona Coffey holds a Ph.D. in theatre history from Tufts University. Previous to this, she received an M. Phil. in Irish theatre and film from Trinity College, Dublin and a B.A. from Stanford University. Between her masters and doctorate, she spent several years at the William Morris and Harry Walker agencies, working with artists, politicians, and celebrities. This industry and practical experience greatly informs her teaching and scholarship, both of which emphasize the importance of connecting theory with practice. Her research centers around Irish drama with a focus on women dramatists and theatrical responses to the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. Her first book, "Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, 1921-2012" was published by Syracuse University Press (2016).

Rosemary Lennox is the Exhibitions Manager at the CFA where she oversees the organization of exhibitions and related programming at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery and the gallery at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies. She is also the Managing Advisor for the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance. Before coming to the CFA, Lennox worked as an Arts Registrar and Collections Manager for a Private Foundation in NYC and was a Public Art Consultant for the State of Connecticut and the City of Hartford. She is originally from Canada and holds an M.A. in Art History from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Ariana Molokwu is the Associate Producer for the Embodying Antiracism Initiative, a position that welcomes her back to Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts. Ariana had previously worked as the CFA Program Coordinator for three years and as the ICPP Project Manager in spring 2020. Her professional background is in arts administration, venue management, and concert production. She previously worked for Kidcity Children’s Museum, the Xfinity Theatre, the Oakdale Theatre, various music festivals, and has briefly served on the Board of Directors for the Women Composers Festival of Hartford. Ariana graduated from UCONN in 2014 with a B.A. in both Psychology and Communications, and a minor in Music. A dancer for 13+ years, a violinist for 11, and with 10 years of experience in musical theater and the visual arts, Ariana is grateful to be immersed in the arts on a daily basis while working with students at a university focused on a better tomorrow.

Paul Theriault is the Art Preparator for the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery and the gallery at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies. Since 2019 he has overseen the installation of eight gallery exhibitions and assisted Art Studio Program students with senior thesis installations. Prior to working with Wesleyan University, he worked closely with curators and artists at Artspace New Haven for over a decade. He has also worked with the architecture studio of Kent Bloomer and Versteeg Art Fabricators. Paul is also a practicing artist working primarily in the field of electronic media. He lives in the Cedar Hill neighborhood of New Haven with his partner Monique and their two dogs, Rupert and George.