Idyllwild Arts Academy Administration

Academy Administration

Brian D. Cohen, President & Headmaster

Deans
Anna-Karin Li, Dean of Academics
Douglas Ashcraft, Dean of the Arts
John Newman, Dean of Students
Marek Pramuka, Dean of Admission

Brian D. Cohen
Brian D. Cohen, newly appointed President of Idyllwild Arts, is an educator and artist. Before coming to Idyllwild, Brian completed 26 years at The Putney School in Vermont, where he was Founding Director of the Summer Programs, Dean of Faculty, and a visual arts teacher. Brian is a printmaker and founder of Bridge Press, publisher of limited edition artist's books and etchings. He has shown in over twenty individual exhibitions and over 150 group shows, and his work is held by major private and public collections throughout the country.

Anna-Karin Li
Dean of Academics/ESL Instructor
M.A. East Asian Literature and Languages, U.C. Santa Barbara; B.A. Oriental Studies, University of Pennsylvania; TESOL Certification. In the early 80’s, Anna-Karin lived and taught English at both university and high school levels in China for many years. She returned to the United States to teach ESL at the Fay School in Massachusetts, and from 1989 to 1995 initiated the ESL program at Idyllwild Arts Academy. She left Idyllwild to create the Chinese Studies program at the Thacher School, and then served as the Academic Dean at Squaw Valley Academy. Most recently, Anna-Karin taught AP British Literature in Florida, before returning to Idyllwild Arts to begin her tenure as the Dean of Academics in July, 2003.

Douglas Ashcraft
Dean of the Arts/Piano Instructor
Pianist Douglas Ashcraft has performed to acclaim in recitals and concerts throughout the United States and in Europe. A winner of prizes in many competitions, he began his formal training as a student of Aldo Mancinelli. Masters and doctoral degrees followed at the University of Southern California where he worked with pianist John Perry. During those summers he participated in classes at the Aspen Music Festival and the Holland Music Sessions in Alkmaar, Netherlands as a student of pianists John O’Conor, Marie Francoise Bucquet, and Gyorgy Sandor. As a result of his participation in the Holland Music Sessions he was invited to perform in a recital at Amsterdam’s famed Concertgebouw.
In addition to his solo work Douglas Ashcraft is an active chamber musician and has performed in recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Jacqueline Du Pre Hall at Oxford University in England.

Mr. Ashcraft’s performing career has included radio broadcasts on New York’s WQXR and live chamber music recitals on KKGO, KMZT and KUSC in Los Angeles, and BBC Radio 3 in London.

Dr. Ashcraft is currently serving as the Academy's Dean of the Arts.

Read Dr. Ashcraft's Blog

John Newman
Dean of Students
John brings fourteen years of experience in private school education to the dean’s office at Idyllwild Arts Academy. As a teacher, coach, advisor, and administrator, John has committed his professional life to working with young people in private schools.

John was named Dean of Students in 2006 after serving as Associate Dean of Students and Humanities Department faculty at IAA beginning in 2003, during which time he taught Honors Senior English, American Literature, Classics of Western Civilization, and a senior elective in Contemporary Poetry. John has been a dorm parent, a dorm head, and a judicial committee chair; he was an active contributor to the school’s Scheduling Committee that designed and helped implement the modified block schedule adopted by the school in 2005. He continues to work closely with the IAA faculty, staff and administration to inspire a community committed to positive personal growth. He co-founded the Idyllwild Arts Academy Honor Council in 2005 and serves as its advisor.

His love for boarding school life began when he was a student at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, where he graduated in 1991 with honors in music. John is a Master of Science candidate at Quinnipiac University School of Business. He earned his BA from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA where he was active in the arts. John was also the top singles and doubles player for Bucknell’s men’s varsity tennis team, which he captained in his senior year. He has been a professional jazz musician throughout his life and continues to enjoy sitting in with students at IAA. John lives on campus with his wife, Molly Newman and their daughters Lucy and Cecelia.

Marek Pramuka
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
MBA; Marketing and Corporate Development, University of California, Anderson Graduate School of Management, Riverside / Palm Desert.
Marek joined Idyllwild Arts as the Associate Dean of Admission and Financial Aid in January of 2004. He currently oversees the recruitment of students into the Moving Pictures, Music and Theatre department. Marek resides in Idyllwild with his wife Michaela and their two children, Pierce and Easton.