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Live Your Dream Art Contest Judges

A talented group of professional artists narrowed down the entries to three finalists in each category (grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12).

Roger Roth
Roger Roth, who received a degree in fine art from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, has worked as an illustrator for more than 25 years and has illustrated dozens of children’s books. He also does editorial illustration for clients including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, in addition to teaching at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Among his many creative works, “Fishing for Methuselah” was honored with a Golden Archer Award, and “The Sign Painter’s Dream” was featured on the PBS children’s show “Reading Rainbow.” Roth wrote as well as illustrated both books.

One of Roth's most recent children's book, “Star of the Week: A Story of Love, Adoption and Brownies with Sprinkles,” was published by HarperCollins last spring. It was created in collaboration with his wife, Darlene Friedman (who serves as Soroptimist’s senior director of membership marketing), and is based on their experiences raising their daughter who was adopted from China as an infant.

RogerRoth.com

Isabel Warren-Lynch
Isabel Warren-Lynch has worked in the publishing industry for more than 28 years.A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., where she studied graphic arts, Warren-Lynch landed her firstpublishing job in 1980 at E.P. Dutton as a children’s book designer.

In 1985, Warren-Lynch became art director at Grosset & Dunlap, where she was introduced to mass market and novelty publishing. While there, she learned to create books that squeaked, rolled, had fur, popped up, or could be taken in the bathtub.

Warren-Lynch currently serves as executive director of art and design at Random House for 8 imprints, including Knopf Delacorte Dell (KDD) Books for Young Readers. While at Random House, she has designed and art directed hundreds of books.

Yuko Shimizu
Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese illustrator who lives and works in New York City. She is also a part-time illustration instructor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan.

Shimizu holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketingfrom Waseda University in Tokyo. She worked in public relations for more than 10 years before moving to New York to fulfill her dream of becoming an artist. She began her illustration career after receiving a master of fine arts degree from SVA. 

Working with a diverse range of clients, Shimizu has created advertising campaigns for Microsoft, VISA, Pepsi, NIKE, MTV, FUSE TV and NPR. Her illustrations have also appeared in TIME, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ and Rolling Stone.

Shimizu’s work has earned several awards, including: gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators; a silver medal from Spectrum; Yellow Pencil Award from D&AD; and the Magazine of the Year Award from the Society of Publication Designers. Yukoart.com

Randy Jayne Rosenberg
Randy Jayne Rosenberg is the founding Executive Director and Chief Curator of Art Works for Change, a nonprofit organization that uses the power of art to promote awareness, invite conversation and inspire action. The exhibitions serve as crucible and catalyst where artists, museums, advocacy and educational organizations, and the local community can join together in common cause.

Randy brings a background as an artist, art therapist, educator and curator to each project. She has provided curatorial and consulting services worldwide for nearly 30 years to a range of international and cultural organizations, including the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Art Works for Change produces world-class contemporary art exhibitions to address critical social and environmental issues.  

www.artworksforchange.org

Marie Garafano
Marie Garafano recently moved to Florida from the Philadelphia area. She has always wanted to be an artist and loves what she does. She received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from The Philadelphia College of Art, which is now The University of the Arts, where she taught Watercolor and Children’s Book Illustration in the Continuing Studies Program. She also taught at The Hussian School of Art. In Florida, she has taught Watercolor at The Longboat Key Education Center and classes at Art Center/Manatee and The Anna Maria Art League.

Her work may be viewed at The Artist’s Guild Gallery of Anna Maria Island, 5415 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, Florida, 34217.

mariegarafanopaints.com