Team

Alexander Korman is a native of Syracuse, and graduate of Colgate University (BA, History) and Syracuse University Maxwell School (MS, Public Administration). He began his career in performance and entertainment production, including network television, nationwide touring theater, and studio feature films.

Alex is entering his sixth year working with CNY Arts. He began as a Program Officer administering a $5 million state-funded incentive rebate designed to stimulate film and entertainment production in Central New York, and developed the guidelines for an additional $5 million incentive supported by the County of Onondaga. In 2022, he entered the role of Director of Communications and Marketing, managing more than $300,000 of funds to promote Central New York as a cultural tourism destination. In 2024, Alex was asked to serve as Deputy Director, working in close coordination with the Executive Director to raise crucial resources on behalf of the regional arts and culture sector for marketing, professional development, and arts-related educational initiatives. 

Alex is deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as Executive Director, and looks forward to continuing to support the cultural and creative vitality of Central New York. Alex is proud to also serve as Vice Chair of the WCNY Entertainment Academy. In his free time he enjoys hiking, skiing, travel, language, and painting. 

Jon Wilson, a native of Buffalo, graduated from Binghamton University with a BA in Theatre. Jon’s professional career has ranged from working in NYC at Playwrights Horizons in the production office and Playwrights Horizons Theatre School as the registrar and bursar, to working locally as general manager of Syracuse Stage, artistic director of Appleseed Productions, adjunct professor for Syracuse University VPA, and administration manager at CNY Arts (before leaving and coming back in his current position).

Jon has also produced, directed, designed, stage managed, and/or performed in over 175 productions in NYC, Minnesota, Virginia, New Orleans, Ithaca, Binghamton, Buffalo, and locally with just about every community theatre company in the Syracuse area, including two high schools.

Scott Jackoway is an arts administrator with a background in acting and directing for the stage. Before joining the CNY Arts team, he founded a theatre company in Chicago that focused on new play development, as well as featuring music and visual art by up-and-coming artists in the greater Chicagoland area.

Born in Wisconsin and raised in Indiana, Scott has since lived in New York City and Chicago. He has a BFA in Acting from NYU and Masters degrees in Arts Administration and Public Administration from Indiana University. He is excited to explore Syracuse and to enjoy the best food, arts, sports, and culture that the city has to offer!

Jeremy Stoller has worked in support of artists and art-making throughout his career, as a dramaturg, administrator, and producer. From 2016 to 2022, he served as the Director of New Work for off-Broadway’s Keen Company, where he oversaw the commission and supported the premieres of of 25 short plays and musical for stage and audio; curated and facilitated six cycles of Keen’s mid-career playwrights lab; and guided one world premiere and two New York premieres onto the mainstage. Other past roles include: Resident Dramaturg, Jewish Plays Project; Literary Manager, Two River Theater; VP Communications, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. 

He is a co-founder of Beehive Dramaturgy Studio, and also serves as the Resident Dramaturg for dance-theater company The Pioneer Winter Collective. 

Jeremy was born and raised in Albany, and holds a BA in English from Drew University, and an MA in Gender and Sexuality Studies from The City University of New York.

Stephen Butler served 16 years as Executive Director of CNY Arts. During his tenure, he transformed the organization from a $700,000 three-county operation into a $4.3 million regional arts council serving six-plus counties. It is the largest geographic regional arts council in New York State.

Under his leadership, CNY Arts received notable awards such as Ovation TV/Charter Communication’s National Stand for the Arts Award, Central New York Community Foundation’s “What Matters to You” Award, and CenterState CEO’s Economic Engine Award.

Mr. Butler is a native of Onondaga County and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Oswego State University and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Stephen spent many years in New York City in roles such as the Executive Director of Creative Alternatives of NY, the Executive Director of the Nyack Center, Director of Public Affairs at the Alliance of NY State Arts Councils, and the Director of Programs at the Alliance of Resident Theaters/New York (A.R.T./New York). Stephen is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship recipient in Strategic Planning and was an AEA stage manager.

Stephen has served on the boards of the Association of Teaching Artists and the Onondaga County/Syracuse Commission on Human Rights. He was an adjunct professor for several years at the inception of Le Moyne College’s Arts Administration program and still guest lectures at colleges and universities today. Stephen is the president of the Advisory Board of the School of Communications, Cinema, Media, and the Arts at SUNY Oswego. He is the past President of Arts NYS, an arts advocacy organization and for several years served as the State Captain for Americans for the Arts National Arts Advocacy Day.

Most recently, Stephen has been awarded the Community Commitment Award by Joined Artists, Musicians & Singers, Inc. (JAMS), an arts organization committed to supporting artists of color in Central New York. He also is a recipient of a State University of Oswego Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award for his overall career and contributions to the arts including those in Central New York.

Katherine (she/her) was born in Moscow and raised just outside Philadelphia. She holds a BA in Writing and Rhetoric from Syracuse University, alongside a minor in Public Communications. Her SOURCE-funded Distinction project, render, was published both online and in print in February of 2025. render—an open-access journal that Katherine wrote and designed—celebrates the artmaking practices and stories of nine artists impacted by incarceration through extended profile pieces.

While at SU, Katherine took the most pride in her work with Project Mend, a publishing initiative centering voices impacted by the criminal-legal system, and Perception, the university’s only student-run arts and literary magazine. Now Communications and Grants Associate at CNY Arts, Katherine is grateful to uplift the region’s artists and to collaborate with a team of creatives and advocates. Outside of arts spaces, you might find Katherine meditating, writing + reading strange poetry, and collecting antique knickknacks. 

Scott Herrmann is a visual artist who works in drawing and collage. An art history major at Syracuse University, he has had the opportunity to exhibit his work all over the region, most recently at the Upstate Cancer Center. He has twice been accepted by the Schweinfurth Art Center’s annual Made in New York juried show. For the past thirteen years he has served as the President of the Board for Open Figure Drawing, a non-profit group that specializes in providing the region with figure drawing opportunities. Scott is also a former director of the Westcott Community Art Center. He enjoys reading, hiking, cycling, trying new restaurants with his wife, and really weird films and music. 

Tony Filosi is an Onondaga County native who graduated with a BFA in Film from Syracuse University and is currently working on his MFA in Film at Syracuse as well.

In addition to his work at CNY Arts Tony is also a local filmmaker who has directed and produced several short narrative films and is a part-time Instructor at Syracuse’s College of Visual and Performing Arts where he runs equipment demos and teaches all elements of narrative filmmaking.  

Alondra Alicea was born in Puerto Rico and raised just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. in Fine Arts with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Penn State. She is currently a graduate student in the Museum Studies program at Syracuse University.

Alondra has completed internships at the Palmer Museum of Art and the Art Association of Harrisburg, where she gained hands-on experience working within cultural institutions. She is passionate about the intersection of art, business, and museums, and advocates for the importance of museums and the arts in communities.

In her free time, Alondra enjoys painting, traveling, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.

Miguel Bustamante is a graduate of Alfred University with B.A. in History. There, he and his colleagues published a new edition of the Kanakadea Review, an academic journal that circulates each year on campus. After graduating, Miguel moved to Syracuse with his loving partner and completed an internship at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. 

Miguel first met CNY Arts Executive Director Stephen Butler during a chance encounter while working retail. After learning about CNY Arts, Miguel was moved to apply for a fellowship. Miguel has always been passionate about art, heritage, and the stories that inform our history. At CNY Arts, he believes he can help preserve and promote these narratives. 

In his spare time, Miguel enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, video games, and other geeky subjects. Miguel looks up to J.R.R. Tolkien as a hero and inspiration, and wishes, like Vincent van Gogh, for people to know how deeply he cares.