Claire Marie Mannle is thrilled to join Wells College as the new Assistant Professor of Theatre. She loves collaborating with others to tell old stories in new ways (as well as telling new stories in new ways). She is a director, performer, creative producer, deviser, partner, and parent. Claire has lived, worked, and taught in New York City, Los Angeles, and Tucson. Before coming to Wells, she was the Special Projects Manager for SITI Company (NYC) and the Associate Artistic Director for The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre (Tucson, AZ). Her favorite directing credits include FROZEN FLUID, The Thanksgiving Play, The Wolves, Eurydice, and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. Education: MFA in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International, BA in Theatre Arts and French Studies from Smith College.
Christine Elfman joins Wells College as the new Assistant Professor of Studio Arts. She makes photographs, paintings, and films that explore the unity of opposites such as stillness and change, intimacy and distance, visibility and the unknown. Many of her photographs are made out of their own disappearance, through week long exposures in the sun, and cannot be fixed. She received her MFA in Studio Practice from California College of the Arts, and BFA in Painting from Cornell University. Her interest in ephemerality has been influenced by family photographs and her work with photographic archives at the George Eastman House, University of Rochester Rare Books Library, and the Berkeley Art Museum. She has had solo exhibitions at Penumbra Foundation (New York), TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image (Philadelphia), University of the Arts (Philadelphia), EUQINOM Gallery (San Francisco), Gallery Wendi Norris (San Francisco), and Somarts (San Francisco). She has received a Light Work Grant in Photography, and has been an artist in residence at Penumbra Foundation, Saltonstall Foundation, and the Cape Cod National Seashore. Her work has appeared in publications such as BOMB Magazine, 1000words, The San Francisco Chronicle, Photograph Magazine, Der Greif, and Loupe Magazine. Elfman has previously taught art at Bowdoin College, Cornell University, UC Berkeley, CCA, and San Francisco Art Institute.
Brisa Núñez García joins Wells as joining Wells College as Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern Languages & Cultures. She received her B.A. in applied linguistics at the Universidad Mayor de San Simon in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She also holds an M.A. in Spanish from the University of New Mexico and an M.Sc. in Hispanic studies from Georgetown University. She is completing her Ph.D. in Spanish literature and cultural studies at Georgetown University. Nunez Garcia’s area of expertise is Latin America 20th – 21st century, Southern Cone. Her research examines alternative communities in Hispanic literature and culture, with an emphasis in subaltern studies and post-dictatorship testimonial literature. Núñez García concentrates on this topic because it allows alternative forms of interpreting literature from the perspective of marginalized voices. Before joining Wells College, Núñez García has taught at Hamilton College, Georgetown University, and the University of New Mexico.
Leslie Rogne Schumacher, PhD, FRSA is joining Wells as Visiting Assistant Professor of History. Dr. Schumacher studies modern global history, focusing on nationalism, imperialism, and migration in the Mediterranean Sea and its basin. He teaches courses on European and Middle Eastern history, refugee studies, leadership, and debate. All his classes focus on student engagement and interaction, using the Harkness method of roundtable discussion. In this style, the instructor is not the center of attention but instead provides a space for students to work individually and collectively on skills like listening, speaking, and reflecting, with the goal of attaining proficiency in leadership and teamwork. Before coming to Wells, Schumacher taught at many institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph’s University, and SUNY-New Paltz. He also currently serves as a Visiting Scholar in the Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell and as a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, PA. In 2017, he was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), for his civic engagement on immigration and refugee affairs. Dr. Schumacher lives in Newfield, NY with his wife Kaja and their gorgeous, enormous tabby cat, Bam.
