The Art of Support: Meet CAW's Four Coordinators
We talked with our four coordinators about their essential roles in keeping CAW running smoothly, the art that they make, the pets they call family, and what they do in their free time.
EJ Mehan
EJ Mehan
Finance and Administration Coordinator
Claim to Fame: Digitized summer youth apprentice payroll, saving hours of hand-processing time
EJ Meehan has been with CAW since spring of 2026. He supports all administrative and financial functions and general operational needs to ensure the organization runs smoothly. Outside of work, EJ is the team captain of his volleyball team, and has recently taken up crocheting. A graduate of the NYU theater program, EJ is a produced playwright and continues to write fiction. He shares his apartment with his cat, Thomas, an 18-pound gray tabby.
CAW: What are some things you like about working at CAW?
EJ: I like everyone who works here. Everyone is very good at what they do. I appreciate that it’s a very creative environment, and there’s a lot of variety in the the work from week to week.
CAW: What are the most rewarding aspects of your job and what are the most challenging?
EJ at at middle school gallery walk
EJ: I love problem solving. Digitizing the time cards for our summer youth apprentices was a lot of fun for me to figure out because it took a lot of research and figuring out how to overcome all the roadblocks that popped up, and then adjusting it once it was deployed in the field. I'm a big puzzle guy, so I like having puzzles in my work as well.
CAW: What makes you the right fit for this job?
EJ: Ian and I work very well together, which I think obviously helps. I think I'm operationally minded. In my normal life as well as all of my professional life, I'm constantly trying to identify where there is friction and how can I reduce that? I’m always looking for ways to remove obstacles so that we can be the most efficient organization so that more of our time, money, and resources can go towards the mission.
Emilio Vides-Curnen
Emilio Vides-Curnen
Operations Coordinator
Claim to Fame: Designed and implemented an inventory management system, enhancing efficiency and economizing on supplies purchases
Emilio supports all program logistics by supplying materials to CAW programs across four boroughs, including procurement, delivery, and inventory. In addition to day-to-day operations, Emilio plays a central role in executing the Annual Benefit, overseeing the venue layout and run of show. In their free time, they sew, attend live music, and spend time with their kitten, Miu Miu. Emilio holds a double major in fine art and architectural studies from Brown University and continues to make drawings that explore themes of sustainability and humanity's relationship to the natural world.
CAW: Were you always an organized person? Did you have to learn how to do this or is this something that just comes naturally to you?
Emilio: You mean, did I go to organizing school?
CAW: Well, yeah, it does seem like you have a Ph.D. in organization.
Emilio: I've always had systems in my life that have made sense to me. I think what has happened throughout this job and previous jobs is I've learned how to make systems that make sense to other people. For instance, my initial plan was to organize the supply room based on categories, but I realized through talking to Ricky and Maddie, who are the people who use the supply room the most, that's not actually how teaching artists think about their work. They're thinking “What do I need in order to do a printmaking class?” So it's much more efficient for them to have the supplies organized by project type. And it's not set in stone. It very much is adaptable to the needs of the season. It's definitely a living, breathing thing.
CAW: What is the most challenging time of year for you?
Emilio, seen here with CAW Program Manager Kevin Claiborne and CAW Program Manager of Teaching & Learning Ricki Sabel, brought his flair for organization to the layout and run of show for the 2026 Annual Benefit for Kids
Emilio: The summer Public Art Youth Employment season is the largest lift of the year in terms of program materials. You have to guesstimate how many things will be needed at each worksite months in advance and then order accordingly, whether it's through sourcing donations or ordering them directly. Then it's a question of making sure everything gets to the sites. That is a big effort because we deliver to six sites across the city and it all has to go out on the same day. During the summer, everyone’s so busy and it's such a fast pace, so it's a lot of thinking on your feet. I love everything about it except for the heat.
CAW: What’s the biggest impact your work has on the organization?
Emilio: I feel like we've gotten to the point now where certain things are so routine that it allows us to spend time on more important things, which I take as the ultimate compliment. We're not worried about all the logistics leading up to summer because there's already a system.
Paola Gonzalez
Paola Gonzalez
Development and Communications Coordinator
Claim to Fame: Refreshing CAW’s Social Media
Paola’s role is at the intersection between development and communications, which requires a lot of different skills. At any given moment she might be crunching numbers, writing a blog, photographing an event, or laying out a newsletter.
Just as is the case with her job, Paola, who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in studio arts and women's studies from Lehman College, pursues a wide range of creative hobbies in her free time, including crocheting, needlepoint, painting, and photography. She credits a lifelong inclination toward creativity as having naturally led her to her current role with CAW. Paola also enjoys spending time with her cat, Tuna, and her dog, Ruby.
CAW: Your role bridges development and communications, but are they really all that different?
Paola: The development and communications sides of my job go hand in hand, because both sides work to represent our communities. You really have to know the programs well in order to talk about them effectively, whether you are reporting on the use of funds for a grantor or writing a blog that engages our constituents. So our blogs and other documentation support our development and reporting and vice versa. It’s all communication.
Paola Observing a class at PS 153, The Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. School, in Harlem - the same school she herself attended as a child
CAW: You have recently been handed the job of refreshing our social media strategy. What do you see as some of the challenges there and what are some of the opportunities?
Paola: I think the challenge is that there's a big difference between managing social media as an organization as opposed to posting on your personal account just for fun. You have to have a strategy. We want to promote programing to our partners and participants, nurture a sense of investment among our constituents, and shout out how we are showing up for the larger community. What I like is that I’m in charge of the content and I have some freedom when it comes to choosing the direction and the execution.
CAW: What are we trying to say in our social media?
Paola: I think we're trying to say that creativity isn't confined to the classroom. It shows up everywhere and it's fundamental. You never stop being creative, which is why I really liked that we held a community event at Dyckman Senior Center and invited kids from PS/MS 278 across the street to join us. It was great to see grade-school students making art alongside community elders.
Madeline De León
Madeline De León
Programs Coordinator
Claim to Fame: Tracking months' worth of programmatic data to measure impact
Madeline, or as she's best known, Maddie, has a long history with Creative Art Works. She first joined CAW as a youth apprentice in 2016, working on “The More You Give, The More Your Grow” She worked her way up to Teaching Artist Assistant in 2019, and was a summer coordinator in 2022 before joining the full-time staff that fall.
Maddie discovered heavy metal at a young age, in part by staying up past her bedtime to watch “Metalocalypse” on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Recently, she has picked up the bass again and taught herself piano in order to better understand music theory. Her next goal is to learn a digital audio workspace with an eye towards becoming a music producer.
Maddie holds an associate’s degree in animation and motion graphics from Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Maddie as a first-time youth apprentice at the unveiling of “The More You Give the More You Grow” at Jacob Schiff School Campus in West Harlem in 2016
CAW: What do you think you got out of being a CAW youth apprentice?
Maddie: I'm so fond of my time as a youth apprentice. My first summer of 2016, I was so shy I didn't want to speak to anyone. But I was lucky to be surrounded by supportive teaching artists and the CAW staff. I had a safety net, so, if I failed, it was okay, because it was an opportunity for me to grow. It definitely gave me so much more confidence in myself, whether it was about my art skills or opening my eyes to bigger opportunities. As a teenager, I had a very limited view of my capabilities. It's a testament to how much other people believed in me that I now feel like I'm going to continue doing bigger and better things going forward.
CAW: Your current role includes occasional substitute teaching or being a Teaching Artist Assistant. What's it like being on the other side of the equation?
Maddie teaching at a community artmaking event last fall
Maddie: For me, teaching is like stopping to smell the roses, especially during our culminating events. That’s when our students see how much they have changed from the start of the program. The fact that our students are able to reflect on how much they have learned is already such high intelligence. I've also seen my fair share of challenges with students but working through those difficulties has felt the most rewarding.
CAW: One thing we have noticed about you is that, in a very positive way, you push our students to do things for themselves.
Maddie: It's more like a gentle nudge in the right direction. I think part of the reason I do that is because I see a lot of myself in our kids. I also grew up in the NYC public school system. I want them to dream big and know if they can imagine it, it can become reality. You just have to believe in yourself and jump in and do it.