Adam Hinz
Youth Services Coordinator
Adam is psyched to be working with teens at the Great Neck Library and Levels. He has now had the good fortune of working and performing with several pit bands for Levels shows, and helping to get the word out about all of the awesome programs at Levels. When not at work, Adam is either playing baseball with his kids or playing drums with Badinba, an Afro Caribbean inspired group that performs throughout New York City.
Jamie Lagasse
Levels Manager
Jamie LaGasse has always loved libraries. Her first job was as a page in her local library, where she worked for eight years. She received her BA in English from St. Joseph’s College, and her MS in Library Science from Long Island University. Jamie previously worked as the Head of Youth Services at the Shelter Island Public Library and as the YA Librarian at the Wyandanch Public Library. She is very excited to be working at Levels, and considers it to be her dream job. In her free time you can find her either curled up with a good book, playing D&D with friends, or giving her dogs surprise-attack-hugs!
Barry Weil
Assistant Manager
Performing Arts/Theatre
Barry has been a theatre artist for more than 30 years and has been working with teenagers since 1992. He is an actor, playwright, director, filmmaker, visual artist, puppeteer and puppetry designer. Barry and his creative partner Tanya Khordoc are co-artistic directors of Evolve Puppets, and have been creating original theatre for the past two decades at venues that include La MaMa, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Here Arts Center, The Brick, Dixon Place and The Puppeteers of America National Festival. In 2019, they presented their epic multimedia play Home (a Jim Henson Foundation Grant recipient) at the Tank NYC. Barry & Tanya directed, designed and performed the world premiere production of former Czech President Vàclav Havel’s play Motormorphosis for UTC61’s Havel Festival, and were visited backstage by President Havel himself. They also design, build and supervise puppetry for other companies, including the innovative internally-lit characters in Theater East’s production of Devil and the Deep (a musical by Graham Russell of Air Supply). Finally, Barry has been inside the “Audrey II” plant for so many productions of Little Shop of Horrors that he’s starting to grow leaves. (Photo by Richard Termine)
Michael Meehan
Audio/Visual
Michael has been the Video Instructor, and Producer of LTV since July of 1996. His background in the field is extensive, having broad corporate and educational video experience. He also produces freelance projects for such companies as Covenant House and Weight Watchers through his own production company Pro-Am Partners. Michael is a recipient of a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Award for producing the CUNY Cable series Cultural Connections.
Laura Sweeney
Fine Arts
Laura has loved art since she was little. Influenced by manga and comics, her passion for drawing led her to a BFA at Manhattanville College in painting and drawing and a MFA at Long Island University in portraiture and figure drawing. Inspired by her favorite high school teachers and college professors, she now teaches art to creatives of all ages as an adjunct art professor at Long Island University Post and Suffolk County Community College. She exhibits illustrations of her favorite characters at comic conventions and has shown work in galleries in New York City, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Japan, and South Korea. Laura loves working at Levels where she can share her enthusiasm for all things art!
Jonelle Robinson
Performing Arts/Theatre
Jonelle frequented Levels during her high school years, and credits a production of Rocky Horror Show (’02) for sparking her acting interests. Since then, she’s obtained a B.F.A. in Acting from Ithaca College, the other windy city, and has appeared in regional theatre, Off-Broadway theatre, commercials, voice- overs and indie films/shorts. She also continuously takes classes in NYC, working with artists like Lisa Rothe and Cotter Smith (google them, they are AMAZING!). She is currently a part of SAG/AFTRA, and uses her insurmountable love for acting and performing as fuel to learn, to pursue, and to teach! You can find her here, at the amazing Levels, and at The Port Washington Children’s Center as the Drama Director! Aside from acting, Jonelle also thoroughly enjoys cooking, boxing, yoga, knitting, playing guitar, being overly positive, and binge watching Scandal.
Jacob Handelman
Performing Arts/Music
Jake started piano at the young age of five, and continued to learn music through his youth. Seventh grade is when he first heard jazz playing on the radio. After that, he experimented through improvisation and doing his own compositions. He was awed by the talent of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. He engaged in music lessons throughout high-school, slowly getting into other types of music. Jake eventually left New York to pursue an education in Jazz Studies with Emphasis on the Trombone at Indiana University. He also received a minor in Scoring to Media at Indiana University because of his high interest in writing music for the screen. Jake is inspired by blockbuster level film composers Hanz Zimmer, John Williams, and Bernard Herrmann. Jake professionally plays trombone, piano, and sings in various bands of the Metropolitan area.
