Contributors

Dear Friends,

When my first daughter was born, I started looking for age-appropriate things to do at D.C. art museums and was never able to find much.  That is when I came up with the concept for Art Within Reach.   AWR is my passion for art history and museums combined with my first-hand knowledge of early childhood development.  For years now, I’ve been locking myself in my office thinking about art and how to present it in a way that is accessible and fun.  Through this process, Art Within Reach has developed into a school that teaches about art, artists, art appreciation and art history.  I hope that you will join AWR  so I can introduce your child to the many wonders of art and museums!

There have been many contributors to Art Within Reach, most importantly Li Koo, who has acted as my educational consultant.  My husband, Mike Raso, VP of Creative Services at Don Schaff and Friends branded AWR and has spent countless hours helping me in other ways (mostly keeping my daughters out of my hair).  Tine Reese (Tine Reese Design and Bloom), one of my best friends from high school, designed this beautiful website while juggling two sons.  Heidi Strom Moon, Director of Marketing at CDG Interactive, convinced me that social media is the way to go.  Finally, thanks to Sheila Suranyi for her marketing tips and Janna Mattson for her library searches.  I couldn’t have done it without you!

Thanks for checking out Art Within Reach!

Sincerely,

Cynthia Raso

Cynthia Raso – Founder & Principal

Cynthia Raso, founder and principal of Art Within Reach, has a Masters of Arts in art history from The George Washington University. She has worked at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery where her work  focused on creating and implementing age-appropriate tours for children.  In addition to her professional experience, she has been trained in Visual Thinking Strategies, a teaching method that improves critical thinking and language skills through discussions of visual images.  She is also indebted to the Smithsonian’s Early Enrichment Center and their methodology on object-based learning. Ms. Raso resigned from full-time work in 2005 to take care of her daughter, Ila, and has remained a contract educator ever since.

Li Koo – Educational Consultant

Li Koo is the director of 918 Bathurst, a new centre for culture, arts, media and education in Toronto, Canada.  She also holds the position of Communications Strategist with Ministry of the Attorney General in the Government of Ontario. She specializes in media arts, digital technology, arts based education and international development.  Ms. Koo spent five years as a museum educator for the Freer Gallery of Asian Art within the Smithsonian Institute. Most recently, she returned from India where she produced short films for World Literacy of Canada.

Bren Larsen – Teacher & Educational Consultant

Bren Larsen has a Master of Arts in Museum Education from The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History and Curatorial Studies from Brigham Young University. Bren has worked/interned in the education departments of
Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, National Museum of African Art and Daughters of the American Revolution Museum. This fall she is also teaching a preschool class at Capitol Hill Art Workshop and leading
tours at the National Building Museum. She currently lives with her husband in Arlington, VA.