ArtYard is pleased to welcome four new additions to our team — Isabel Augusto, Michael Gilheany, Dawn Ferguson, and Meghan Van Dyk. The four bring to the organization broad perspectives and experiences, including from their backgrounds, creative endeavors, and work in the travel, healthcare, contracting, and philanthropic fields.
Isabel Augusto (she, her, hers) is Exhibitions & Special Projects Manager. Isabel manages the operational function of ArtYard’s art exhibitions and special projects, applying years of operational experience in the travel industry, where she was involved with planning and managing international trips that included guided cultural excursions and religious pilgrimages throughout Europe. A Lisbon native who speaks English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, Isabel is passionate about literature, photography, and books, which she explores in her own book art. Her work has been featured in collaboration with local artists at art fairs, exhibits, and workshops she’s hosted throughout Portugal and the United States. She loves finding creative ways to repurpose existing materials and give them new meaning in a thoughtful showcase. Isabel lives in Readington Township with her husband Paul and their two dogs, Bailey and Hudson.
Michael Gilheany (he, him, his) is Facilities & Grounds Director. Michael oversees the design, planning, construction, and maintenance of ArtYard’s four buildings and properties and ensures their environment supports ArtYard’s mission. Before joining the ArtYard team, Michael was a self-employed contractor, both in between and during professional jobs, as he did while working on a renovation television show for HGTV, in fast-paced restaurants in Philadelphia, and through the pandemic. He has worked as a painter, waiter, dishwasher, chef, and manager of large-scale projects, all of which point to his curious, creative, and driven personality. A longtime Frenchtown resident and artist, Michael brings a great sense of teamwork to ArtYard and his problem-solving nature generates a contagious excitement.
Dawn Ferguson (she, her, hers) is Executive Assistant & Office Manager. Dawn provides high-level executive support and manages the functions of the ArtYard office to ensure smooth operations of all administrative aspects of the office environment. She has 20 years of administrative experience in healthcare and data analysis and applies her skills to organizing and streamlining the many moving parts of the growing organization. A Frenchtown resident and creative soul, Dawn produces a motivational podcast, Mz O In the Mix. Dawn. The daughter of an artist/engineer father, Dawn was born and raised in Newark.
Meghan Van Dyk (she, her, hers) is Communications & Marketing Manager. Meghan promotes ArtYard’s mission and programs in collaboration with the ArtYard team and external partners. Meghan has 15 years’ experience working with local leaders, journalists, media-makers, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations in New Jersey to amplify community voices and support collaboration, social change, and racial equity. In her previous role at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, she led strategic communications and programming to facilitate civic engagement through local journalism, creative storytelling, and community media projects. Before that, she was a local editor at the Daily Record. Meghan is a New Jersey native and recent Pennsylvania transplant.
Based in Frenchtown, ArtYard is an incubator for creative expression and a catalyst for collaborations that reveal the transformational power of art.
