Team

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Irina Tarsis, Esq. is an art historian and a practicing attorney admitted to the bar in New York State. She earned her Masters Degree in Art History from Harvard University and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (NY). Ms. Tarsis launched the Center for Art Law as a blog in 2008/2009. Starting in 2012, Ms. Tarsis began offering internship opportunities to interested law students, invited guest writers to publish research articles with the Center for Art Law website, and organized events to bring lawyers and artists together for meaningful conversations and exchanges of ideas. Under her leadership, the Center was incorporated as a stand-alone non-profit organization in December 2017. Ms. Tarsis has served on the faculty of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art (2021), FIT/CUNY (2021), Teachers College/Columbia University (2020), Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (2012, 2017-2018), and the European Shoah Legacy Institute/Provenance Research Training Workshops in Vilnius, Lithuania (2013), Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy (2014). An active member of multiple bar associations and art law committees in the US and Europe, she contributes to scholarship through regular publications and lectures on various topics, including resale royalty rights, due diligence in provenance research, and fair use issues affecting visual arts. Her publications include a chapter in The Art Law Review on artists’ rights as well as articles in the IFAR Journal, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Cultural Heritage & Arts Review, Library and The Cultural Record, the ArtWatch UK Journal and the Institute of Art & Law’s journal, Art Antiquity and Law.

Minelli Manoukian manages the Center for Art Law’s daily operations including editing and reviewing articles and the Center’s monthly newsletter, planning and coordinating events, along with training and supervising interns and fellows. Ms. Manoukian has been an attorney since September 2020 and, outside of her legal career, she enjoys moonlighting as a visual artist and performer in her spare time. Ms. Manoukian received her Bachelors of Science in Public Affairs with a major in Legal Studies from Indiana University Bloomington, and later received her Juris Doctor from the Michigan State University College of Law. Ms. Manoukian’s area of academic study has focused on art law, the First Amendment, intellectual property law, brand protection and anti-counterfeiting. Ms. Manoukian strongly believes in protecting the rights and creations of artists and in fostering accessibility to legal information in the art world, and she is excited to explore these passions with the Center for Art Law. Her publications include articles published and forthcoming in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, and Entertainment Law Journal, the  AIPLA Quarterly Journal, and the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection’s Brand Protection Professional. 
Photo credits: Ruth Yaro.

Visala Alagappan
Legal Intern, Summer

Rinnah Anosike
Post-graduate Fellow, Summer (Zürich)

Michelle Bailes Perdew
Post-graduate Fellow, Spring

Alexandrea Canzano
Legal Intern, Summer

Kelsey Clifford
Legal Intern, Fall

Claire Darrow
Undergraduate Intern, Summer

Gabrielle Discafani
Graduate Intern, Spring

Adetokunbo S. Fashanu
Legal Intern, Summer

Tyler Heneghan
Legal Intern, Spring

Marissa Hong
Development Intern, Fall

David Jenkins
Legal Intern, Spring

Laura Kaiser
Legal Intern, Spring

Marie Kessel
Graduate Intern, Spring

Minelli Manoukian
Post-graduate Fellow, Summer

Alexis Redsahaw
Undergraduate Intern, Fall

Julianne Schmidt
Graduate Intern, Summer

Olivia Baker
Intern, Summer

Talia Berniker
Intern, Fall

SaBreigha Dixon
Legal intern, Fall

Elena Gurevich
Post-graduate Fellow

Marla Katz
Legal intern, Summer

Amber Lee
Legal intern, Summer

Sara Osinski
Legal intern, Spring

Michelle Bailes Perdew
Post-graduate Fellow, Fall

Isabella Rivera
Graduate Intern, Fall

Sabrina Soffer
Legal intern, Fall

Lucy Siegel
Intern, Summer

Alexa Sussmane
Legal intern, Spring

Kelley Tackett
Intern, Fall

Christopher Zheng
Legal intern, Summer

Sophie Chung
Graduate Intern, Fall

Timothy Chung
Legal intern, Summer

Jacqueline Crispino
Intern, Summer

Mia Guttmann
Legal intern, Spring

Angela Dimery
Post-graduate Fellow

Madhulika Murali
Legal intern, Fall

Jennie Nadel
Graduate Intern, Spring

Cates Saleeby
Intern, Summer

Laurel Salisbury
Legal intern, Summer

Hannah Tager
Intern, Summer-Fall

Yuchen Xie
Graduate Intern, Fall

Ethan Ashley
Intern, Summer

Samantha Bonilla
Intern, Spring

Louise Carron
Legal intern, Spring

Claire Dettelbach
Intern, Summer

Hanna Feldman
Legal intern, Summer

Shlomit Heering
Intern, Summer

Kathryn Moynihan
Legal intern, Spring

Jennie Nadel
Intern, Summer

Olivia Taylor
Intern, Fall

Jason Barnes
Legal intern, Fall

Madeline Conlin
Intern, Summer

Heather DeSerio
Legal intern, Spring

Caroline Keegan
Post-graduate Fellow

Marine Leclinche
Legal intern, Spring

Tyler Maxin
Intern, Spring

Colby Meagle
Legal intern, Summer

Wylie Rechler
Legal intern, Summer

Laura Richardson
Legal intern, Fall

Samantha Smart
Intern, Summer

Alexandra Terrell
Legal intern, Summer

Bianca Acquaviva
Legal intern, Spring

Lindsay Dekter
Intern, Spring

Adelaide Dunn
Post-graduate Fellow

Samantha Elie
Legal intern, Spring

Scotti Hill
Legal intern, Summer

Nina Mesfin
Intern, Summer

Jessica Preis
Legal intern, Spring

Elizabeth Weber
Post-graduate Fellow

Dennis C. Abrams
Legal intern, Spring

Lindsay Dekter
Intern, Fall

Debra Friedmann
Intern, Fall

David Honig
Post-graduate Fellow

Melissa (YoungJae) Koo
Legal intern, Spring

Adir Paner
Legal intern, Fall

Lesley Sotolongo
Legal intern, Spring

Mia Tomijima
Post-graduate Fellow

2014

Jessica Curley
Post-graduate Fellow

2013

Hanoch Sheps
Post-graduate Fellow