Ashli Sisk

Ashli Sisk

Program Manager – Operations

Ashli became Program Operations Manager in June of 2017. She first worked for CAW as the 2016 Summer Youth Employment Coordinator, before becoming a CAW Teaching Artist and, later, our Community Events Coordinator. Previously, Ashli was an adjunct professor for Molloy College, where she taught and developed curriculum for a variety of classes on the theory, business and culture of art. Ashli studied at San Francisco Art Institute, where she won the Gamblin Paint Prize, and earned her MFA at Montclair State University.

Ashli has exhibited her art in San Francisco, London and throughout New York and New Jersey. Her paintings were included in Wildlife of The Highlands, a traveling exhibition that toured the tri-state area. She curates an annual fall show at Freddy’s in Brooklyn and is a contributing writer for ArtFile Magazine.

Ashli’s art is predominantly concerned with the intersection of wildlife conservation, the anthropocene, and human hubris. Her three NYC murals depict endangered species, including a tiger; a rhino; and a black-chinned hummingbird, which was painted for an Audubon Mural Project. She successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign to travel to Indonesia to paint three of the last 100 surviving Sumatran Rhinos. This work became the foundation for The Sumatran Rhino Conservation Coloring Book, which she published in English and Bahasa, the official language of Indonesia. She is a sponsored artist of The International Rhino Foundation.

Ashli has volunteered for North Manhattan Arts Alliance; the Bully Project, a pit bull rescue group; and Root Division, a community arts education nonprofit in San Francisco. She believes in creating spaces for young people to express themselves and expand their perspectives. Ashli loves her cats, dog, and rabbit. She is not averse to fossil hunting in creek beds when the weather is good. Her many adventures include crossing the Sunda Strait on a raft during Monsoon season, climbing an active volcano, and being attacked by leeches.