Staff
Co-Founder & Executive Director - Denise Fisher
Denise Fisher co-founded Arts of Life, Inc. in 2000, and has served as the Executive Director over the course of development for the last 7 years. She has become known and respected in the disability field for her innovative programming, as well as her compassion and advocacy for adults with developmental disabilities.
As a child, Denise assisted her mother in a special education classroom. She went on to volunteer at several Special Olympics and work as a summer counselor and cabin leader at New York’s Camp Jened, for three summers.
In her professional career, Denise worked for over 10 years in residential and support services for people with developmental disabilities. As founder of the Arts of Life, she led the development of an innovative program model, recruitment of artists, staff, and board members, and achieved a 3-year accreditation with The Council of Quality & Leadership (CSL), a respected international accrediting body. She continues to inspire the artists in the Arts of Life community, those who work for her, and all those who come in contact with the Arts of Life Studio.
Denise has her BA in education and psychology from Eastern Illinois University. She is also a qualified mental retardation professional (QMRP) trained to meet the needs of people with developmental disabilities.
Studio Director, Ryan Shuquem
Ryan Shuquem is a trained community-based artist with a BFA in Painting from California State University, East Bay. He has lived in Chicago for two years and has been a professional in the field of visual and performing arts for over 16 years.
Ryan’s bands have toured throughout the U.S. and Europe nine times creating a strong following in the alternative arena. In June, the zany marching band he currently plays with, Mucca Pazza, was featured on the Conan O’Brien show during its taping in Chicago as well as part of Chicago’s 2006 Lollapalooza.
In addition to his accomplishments in the music field, Ryan is also the founder of Reversible Eye Gallery in Humboldt Park. The gallery provides a showcase for avant-garde music and art as well as providing artist development and production sessions for selected Humboldt Park youth free of charge.
Ryan has successfully guided, taught, assisted, produced and managed numerous artists in a range of mediums and venues. In the spring of 2006 he joined the staff at Arts of Life and has brought a whole new array of experiences and opportunities to the studio. His commitment to community goes beyond his own and he has contributed to the Arts of Life community substantially.
Community Coordinator, Nick Schutzenhofer
Nicholas Schutzenhofer is an artist with a BA in Photography from DePaul University. Nicholas has lived in the Chicago area for twenty years working as a carpenter while pursuing his studies. Nicholas’s first experiences in the community service field, as a child, were at a local food pantry and in a geriatric living center.
As an emerging artist, Nicholas has volunteered in several capacities and organizations. His work has included documentary photography for Chicago House, a non-profit AIDS organization serving Chicago’s homeless families, as well as serving as a volunteer artist for Art Therapy Connections 2006 chalk festival. Arts Of Life became another recent volunteer experience beginning in July 2006. Nicholas began helping catalogue the collection of work produced by the community of artists. Now a proud member of the community, Nicholas hopes to learn and grow with the Arts Of Life family.