Youth Camp Instructors

Angela Alcerro

Angela Alcerro is a Los Angeles-based consultant and educator with an expertise in toy design. As a staff illustrator and manager of the Digital Effects department at Mattel, Ms. Alcerro worked on iconic brands such as Barbie, Disney Princess, Hot Wheels, and He-man. At Lakeshore, she partnered with seasoned educators to design immersive learning experiences aligned with regional standards. Five years ago she founded a consulting business specializing in toys and international education for ages 5 to adult for Mattel, Hand2Mind, Moose Toys, SpinMaster Toys, Charisma Brands, LA Galaxy and clients throughout the US, Asia, the Middle East, and Canada. 
Since 2010, Ms. Alcerro  has taught in Otis College’s Toy Design and Liberal Studies departments where she was a faculty grant recipient (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022). Ms. Alcerro holds a B.A. in Spanish from UCLA; M.A. in Media Arts and Design from Antioch University, McGregor; M.A. in Teaching, TESOL, University of Southern California; and studied Graphic Design at Art Center . She is in her first year as a doctoral student at USC.

Portfolio: https://www.angelaalcerro.com

Rochelle Botello

Rochelle Botello is a Los Angeles based visual artist working across mixed media, sculpture and site-specific installations. Her work has been exhibited in the United States and internationally, extending Japan, Berlin and South Korea. She has exhibited with Holter Museum of Art, Torrance Art Museum, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Coagula Curatorial and Durden and Ray to name a few. Her exhibitions have also been reviewed in the LA Times, The Huffington Post, Whitehot magazine, Artillery Magazine and Coagula Art Journal. Botello holds a MFA from Claremont Graduate University and a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Website: rochellebotello.com

Ernest Gomez-Frausto

Ernest J Gomez-Frausto, EJGF, is a fan and connoisseur of the geeky and nerdy and proud of it.  Well-versed in the world of comics, animation, cinema, and video games, he loves and knows these worlds well.  Throughout the years,  he has worked in a variety of mediums, styles, and subject matters, with a love of character and creatures. 

He got his bachelor’s in fine arts at Savannah College of Art and Design where he majored in Sequential Art, focusing on storytelling through images.  Aside from freelance illustration work, he has worked in education working with students from ages 5 and up teaching topics of  literacy, art, and storytelling.

EJGF loves to share his love and knowledge of illustration with anyone, but always finds it best shared with young and hungry minds seeking to learn and express themselves through illustration.

Portfolio: https://www.ejgf84.com/  

Instagram: @art_of_ejgf

Tony Martinelli

Tony is a Big Kid. He has been working with children since he was a summer camp counselor at age 18 and continued every summer throughout his college years. Because of his natural rapport with children, he returned to school to get a master’s degree in Art Education. Upon moving to Los Angeles, Tony returned to the educational field at Kidspace Children's Museum where he quickly rose the ranks to become one of their essential Lead Educators. Tony has also taught after-school programs for ReDiscover, Critter Squad, Little Yellow House Art and Mad Science of LA. Tony has also been an Outreach Instructor at Discovery Cube Science Center and a Youth Education Instructor at the LA Arboretum. Tony is currently the resident Teaching Artist at the Enchanted Castle Montessori Schools in Pasadena and San Remo.  Tony has two  graphic novels in the Space Platypus series available on Amazon for Kindle.

Portfolio: https://theartoftony.com

Instagram: @theartoftonym

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtOfTony

Louisa McHugh

Louisa McHugh studied fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Cinematography in 2005.  After a short stint in the film industry, Louisa decided to return to her roots as a painter. She first began exhibiting her work with Galleria Mijiares in downtown Los Angeles and soon was gaining recognition with International Awards from various watercolor societies.  Louisa is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and her works have been displayed in collections both public and private around the world.

Portfolio: louisamchugh.com

Monica Leigh Rodriquez

Monica Leigh Rodriquez is a resilient veteran and trusted visionary of the fashion industry. She has designed and produced for high profile personalities, celebrities, and executives. Monica has also worked with some of the most well- known labels in the fashion industry including Rivet Utility, Rachel Zoe, Herve Leger, BCBG Runway, BCBG Atelier, The Max Azria collection, ALC, Halston, and FJ Benjamin LTD in Singapore.

Utilizing her core design talents and competencies developed over almost three decades, Monica is a consummate entrepreneur uniquely developing proprietary fashion designs, draping, pattern artistry, and costing methodology. Monica’s brand, Monica Leigh SVX is becoming a well-known luxury brand in Los Angeles.

Monica has appeared in Forbes, Elle Magazine, Voyage LA, Shout Out LA, The Hollywood Times, The Style Researcher, and 24 Fashion TV. In addition, she has been a featured designer at the 46th Day Time Emmy Awards Golden Gift Lounge. One of Monica’s most notable achievements is having her Red Silk Satin Origami Gown travel with International Arts and Artists four consecutive years featured in prominent museums around the country, including the Japanese American Museum of Art in Los Angeles.

Joining Otis College of Art and Design Fashion Department faculty in the Fall of 2022, Monica also continues her own secondary education at California State University Long Beach working on her BA in Sociology.

Portfolio: https://monicaleigh.com/ 

Instagram: @monicaleighsvx

Julianna Ostrovsky

Julianna Ostrovsky, MFA in Painting and Sculpture, Columbia University and BFA in Painting and Sculpture, School of Art Institute of Chicago, is a visual artist currently living in Los Angeles. A community artist whose work has been nationally and internationally exhibited, Julianna works in many different artistic media and as an educator is committed to making the process of art practice understandable and accessible to all individuals, with the goal of encouraging creative thinking and collective problem- solving. As a teaching artist she has instructed a range of visual arts workshops for all ages, including in-depth painting, mixed media, drawing studios, and summer workshops for youth at Otis College of Art and Design. A recipient of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) Artist in Residence Cultural Grant 2014-15, Ms. Ostrovsky has worked as an Artist-in- Residence at the Skirball Cultural Center, and is currently an Educator at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Emma Sher

Emma Sher is an Los Angeles-based ceramic artist with a B.A. from UCLA in World Arts & Cultures, with focuses in ceramics and curatorial studies. Emma has taught at various community ceramics studios in LA for the past three years. She is a recent resident artist of High Desert Test Sites in Joshua Tree, CA. Emma’s current objective in her practice comes from a curiosity about the meditative process of creating and how that can be translated into a viewer’s experience of an object. Creating kinetic work that emits light has been a framework to materialize these ideas.

Portfolio: https://emmasher.com
Instagram: @emmma.sher