Irina Tarsis, Founder & Managing Director

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, Executive Director (since September 2021)

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.
Supporting Staff
Judith Bresler Fellow and Clinic Coordinator: Atreya Mathur (since Sept. 2021)
Auction Coordinator: Marla Katz (Sept. 2020 – Mar. 2021).
Director of Development: Daphne Chen Matthews (since May 2021).
Development and Fundraising Coordinator: Elena Gurevich (since Sept. 2020).
Newsletter Editor: Tess Bonoli (since Sept. 2019).
Interns and Fellows
2022
Alisa Grishin
Undergraduate Intern, Spring
Nicholas Michael
Undergraduate Intern, Spring
Anissa Patel
Legal Intern, Spring
2021
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
2020
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
2019
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
2018
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
2017
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
2016
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
2015
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