Jennifer Awe, the dean of student affairs, spent the eight years before Juilliard at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla., most recently as associate dean of students and student life operations. She received her bachelor’s in exercise physiology and biomechanics and her master’s in education from the University of Wisconsin; in 2011, she was granted her doctorate in higher education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Ellie Covault, who’s the academic affairs coordinator for the Pre-College Division, recently moved to New York City from Tallahassee, Fla., where she was the residency coordinator for the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography. Originally from Satellite Beach, Fla., Ellie earned her master’s in arts administration from Florida State University and holds a B.M. with a concentration in flute performance and business administration from Stetson University. She has held internships with the Daytona Beach International Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In her free time, Ellie enjoys attending performances around the city and watching F.S.U. football.

“Nope, it’s not a typo and it doesn’t mean anything special,” Belly Jay Horcasitas told The Journal. “I was named Belly, but my mom calls me Billy.” The part-time e-commerce coordinator for the Juilliard Store, Belly was born and raised in the southern island of the Philippines and moved to New York City when he was 14. Before starting at Juilliard, where he had an internship in the I.T. Department, Belly interned at the M.T.A. New York City Transit office in downtown Brooklyn. He’s also worked as a freelancer, a house sitter, and a dog sitter. An avid gamer and observer, he loves working with technology. 

Elliott Hurwitt, program editor in the Publications Office, studied recorder and Baroque cello at the Royal Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands and received his B.A. from Hunter College and his Ph.D. in music history from the CUNY Graduate Center. His dissertation was on blues giant W. C. Handy. Elliott has written dozens of encyclopedia articles on African-American music and many classical CD reviews; he edited the 2012 edition of Handy’s Blues: An Anthology; and wrote the program notes for the Caramoor Music Festival for three years. In 2004, he curated the New York Festival of Song's Lost Tribes of Broadway show. A passionate jazz, roots, and Baroque music fan, he lives in Manhattan with his wife, Elizabeth. 

Laura Kanaplue, the administrative and accounts receivable assistant, was born and raised in New York and received her B.A. from SUNY Purchase. After college, she worked in Pennsylvania with the nonprofit youth development organization Philadelphia Academies. Laura started at Juilliard in September, and when she’s not enjoying her Evening Division classes, she can be found volunteering with L.G.B.T.Q. nonprofit organizations, singing, playing guitar, and updating her fashion blog, Girl in a Bow Tie. She resides in Brooklyn.

Alumna Laura Marks (Playwrights ’12) is the literary manager and administrator of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Her prizewinning play Bethany was produced in 2013 at City Center Stage II by the Women’s Project. It was directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch and starred America Ferrera. Bethany was also produced at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater in January. Marks has had residencies at New Dramatists and the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group, and she currently holds a commission from South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif. Her play Mine was produced by the Gift Theater, Chicago, and her Gather at the River was workshopped at TheaterWorks in Palo Alto, Calif. 

Michael McCoy has joined the staff as the orchestra librarian in the Performance Activities Department. Previously he has served as the orchestra librarian for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, for the ensemble the Knights, and for New York University’s orchestral program. 

The new financial aid office assistant, Amanda Meier, is a proud native of Omaha, Neb. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in music. Before moving to New York, she lived in Boston and Oklahoma City. Amanda is thrilled to join the Juilliard community; in addition to her passion for the arts, she is a dog lover and an avid sports fan.

Katie Murtha, the director of major gifts, was most recently deputy director of patron and individual giving at the Metropolitan Opera, and she’s grateful her daily commute is now one block shorter. Prior to the Met, she was director of development for the San Diego Opera’s Corporate Council. She spent several months traveling through South America before moving to New York six years ago. She has a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Pennsylvania and is thrilled to be part of the Juilliard community.

Cory Owen, director of the International Advisement Office, is a doctoral candidate in higher education administration at the University of Houston. She has a master’s degree in American literature from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas A&M University. With almost 10 years of immigration-advising experience, she most recently served the Rice University international population in Houston. She is originally from Anchorage, Alaska.

Phoebe Gillette Slanetz, the director of development resources and strategy, is originally from Long Island, and was most recently the director of donor services at the New England Aquarium. Prior to that she was the director of development research at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and worked for the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds a master’s degree in arts in education from Harvard University, plus a bachelor’s degree from Smith College. In her free time, Phoebe enjoys traveling, reading, playing squash, visiting museums, attending performances, and spending time with family and friends. As for the arts, she sang, painted, and was a figure skater earlier in her life. 

Hilary Tanabe, the Dance Division’s administrative assistant, was born and raised in Honolulu and travelled to less sunny Philadelphia to attend Swarthmore College, where she majored in English literature and minored in dance. Upon graduating, she moved to New York City where she worked as an administrative assistant for a dance company and as a sales assistant for a clothing manufacturing company. Hoping to pursue her own artistic and academic interests, she then enrolled in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, earning a master’s degree in performance studies. She’s an active member of KOREresponse, a dance company based in New York City. 

Matthew Way (B.M. ’02, M.M. ’05, double bass) is the development associate for foundation and corporate relations. Following a professional career as a musician that included stints as a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami and as the principal double bass with a number of festivals and orchestras around the world, he switched tracks, getting a certificate in business management and pursuing a career in arts administration. He has worked in the fund-raising departments of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra and is currently the executive director of Doublestop Foundation.

The following people have also joined the staff in the past year: Dean Buck is the lead sales associate in the Juilliard Store; Carlton Douglas and Porfirio Hodge have joined the Facilities Department as custodians; Andy Knapp is the master electrician in the Sharp Theater; Sam Nester is the artistic coordinator in Educational Outreach; and Maxfield Raynolds is a staff carpenter.