Sales Design

Elisha Bird

Instructor at CUNY in the Heights/Hostos Community College

***********@*****.***

Specialties

Working with Licensed Character(s), Licensing development, fantasy illustration, graphic design, multimedia

design, print design, instructional work & curriculum development.

Experience

Instructor at CUNY in the Heights

2010 - Present (4 years)

Meant to serve a community that is often neglected and ignored in Washington Heights, CUNY in the

Heights offers state-of-the-art employment-relevant courses to the local neighborhood at affordable prices.

Working with Aldrin Bonilla, Executive Director and Cindy Keitz, Program Coordinator, I have had the

honor of honing and developing a majority of CUNY in the Heights computer and design courses.

Most of these courses are designed to initiate a student from a beginner to an intermediate or even expert

level of desktop publishing and/or web design. Portfolio development and a professional pipeline are stressed;

enabling the student to understand and find work in relevant fields of employment.

I have created all curriculum and class exercises as well as taught each class. CUNY in the Heights is offering

ten of my courses this term. I have helped to double the enrollment of the school these past three and a half

years. Earlier in 2013, I was awarded "Faculty of the Year". I love to teach and encourage my students to

stay in touch. Luckily, they do!

• Created all the current curriculum used by the various faculty for the entire Graphics & Multimedia

department.

• Established the current Graphics & Multimedia department from one Photoshop class to the current ten

classes in Desktop Publishing, Web Development, and Video & Animation.

• Trained new faculty hires to teach the current syllabus.

• Generated both videos and a constructed a private website for students to further their understanding of the

class materials and assignments.

• Formulated all assignments and projects for the department.

• Developed marketing strategies and advertising materials for the department and the school.

• Awarded “Teacher of the Year” by Hostos Community College and CUNY in the Heights in 2013.

Contract Employment at #

1998 - Present (16 years)

•Creative/Art Director for various clients, providing services such as:

• Budgets and Estimates

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• Providing and overseeing freelance designers

• Logo Design & Corporate Branding

• Developing National Ad

Campaigns

• Direct Mail

• Web Design

• Animation

• Banner Ads

• Illustration

• Licensed Development and working with Licensed Characters and concepts

• Press kits

Training Center Manager at ABC Media Center, Corp.

January 2002 - January 2003 (1 year 1 month)

• Created all curriculum for classes in Desktop Publishing and Web Design.

• Developed all marketing strategies, which led to over one million dollars in revenue in less than seven

months.

• Leading sales manager for corporate sales.

• Hired and oversaw all instructors and staff.

• Generated all budgets and estimates for corporate clients, private seminars, and tutoring.

• Contracted with New York City’s Workforce 1 to offer classes to the general workforce and unemployed in

the goal of training/retraining NYC’s workforce in Desktop Publishing and Web Design at no cost to the

student.

• When necessary, taught classes, seminars, and tutored.

• Engaged the local community, small businesses and non-profi ts to hire or use Center’s students for their

marketing needs.

Art Director at Nice Man Merchandising

January 1997 - December 1999 (3 years)

• Overseeing a staff of six and leading design teams in the creation and production of Licensed character and

Brand apparel to be sold in major department stores.

• Developed, in conjunction with

sales staff and various department

stores, private label apparel lines.

• Administering and creating production and print schedules among four different printers throughout the

country.

• Develop a freelancer network and

supervise all contracts and work of

freelance artists.

• Liaised with sales staff and stores to generate new trends and designs to fit the changing market.

• Produced all business to business marketing materials.

• Sourced production materials and vendors for apparel.

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Designer/Interrn at Happiness Express

1992 - 1993 (1 year)

Honors and Awards

Faculty of the Year

CUNY in the Heights/HOSTOS Community College

February 2013

This honor was voted upon and awarded by the administration. I was one of only five instructors given this

award. I was also the youngest and the one with the least amount of time on the job. However, I personally

teach more classes (we are offering ten of my classes this term) than any other instructor and I've created an

entire department where none existed before. I am heavily involved in the marketing of my classes and the

school, resulting in nearly double the enrollment of the school from when I started in 2010.

Skills & Expertise

Graphic Design

Web Design

Animation

Digital Illustration

Illustration

Character Animation

Flash

Layout

Illustrator

ActionScript

Logo Design

Teaching

Storyboarding

WordPress

Web Development

InDesign

Creative Writing

Art Direction

Typography

Flash Animation

Curriculum Development

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Dreamweaver

Photoshop

Graphics

Mobile Design

Concept Design

Instructional Design

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Education

Westwood College of Technology

BS, 3D Animation, 2005 - 2009

School of Visual Arts

Illustration, 1989 - 1992

Interests

Traditional and computer painting/illustration, animation, folklore and fairy tales, reading, improving my skills

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Elisha Bird

Instructor at CUNY in the Heights/Hostos Community College

***********@*****.***

Contact Elisha on LinkedIn

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