Owner/Manager: Carmen Rusu, MAE

The Puppetonia Team

• Corneliu Rusu, MAR, MSW, Founder

Cornel spent most of his career in teaching but turned to social work in the recent years. In 2002 he initiated programs for toddlers in Symposia Bookstore that gradually developed in what is today know as Puppetonia – the land of music and puppets. Corneliu has been married to Carmen and they have two children.

• Andrew Learner, PhD, School Psychologist

Andrew Lemer, Ph.D. is an educator with 25 years experience working as a school psychologist, psychotherapist, professor and consultant. He specializes in encouraging learning, cognitive fitness and behavior change with children, adolescents and adults. Dr. Lemer is a long time resident of Hoboken, NJ.

• Paige O’Malley, Artistic Director

Paige graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Art Therapy and in Spanish. Her acting career began over a decade ago at Neumann College where she played leading roles in many original children’s shows. Most recently she has starred in several NYC off-Broadway children’s participatory musicals.

• Sarah M. Todes, Actress

Sarah Todes is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch through the Playwrights Horizons Theater School and the Atlantic Theater School. She has studied in Shanghai and Paris, and is a writer as well as an actor.

• Katherine Curri, Actress

Katie is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and CUNY Hunter College. She has acted in  numerous theatre and film productions in NYC and Los Angeles. She has been a member of the Puppetonia team for the last four years and is bffs with Mary the puppet.

• Anca Ioana Ciobanu, Graphic Artist

Anca Ioana Ciobanu is a high school student at George Apostu Art High School in Bacau, Romania, where she is studying architecture. She has already illustrated several books for children published in Romania among which The Octopus and Love through Children’s Eyes. Anca is the drawing artist for Puppetonia coloring pages.

• Vlad Razvan Baciu, Composer

Vlad Razvan Baciu is a choir conductor, piano artist and composer who won several prizes for interpretation and composition at national and international competitions. His goal is to take a Master Degree in Conducting (choral and instrumental) and a Doctoral Degree in Musical Composition. Vlad is currently a student at State University of Music in Bucharest, Romania.

• Rafi Cordova, Consulting