Who We Are
Cor Garcia-Held
Before founding Gasworks NYC, Cor was an art therapist working in addiction, medicine, psychiatric outpatient facilities, and working with kids with neurodevelopmental disorders. She fell in love with clay while taking a ceramics requirement for grad school and switched grad school programs to focus on the therapeutic and transformative powers of clay. She opened Gasworks NYC in Brooklyn in 2018 with her partner Emiliano Garcia-Held. Shortly after opening the studio, Cor, Urooj, and Emiliano realized the need for equity in clay and founded Public Ceramics in 2019.
Nia Thomas
Nia Thomas was a Public Ceramics Fellow during the first cohort in 2021. Her love of clay and enthusiasm for the program made her an obvious candidate for the board of directors. Since then, Nia has been helping to grow Public Ceramics, coordinating with the fellows and directors of studios. With her at the helm, Public Ceramics seeks to continue evolving its programming and creating more equity in the ceramics world.
Urooj Khan
Urooj is a founding board member of Public Ceramics. She is a lawyer by trade, once working in the corporate world before leaving to work as a Public Defender in the Bronx. She took her first pottery class in 2016, in search of some joy during her soul-draining corporate days, and has been hooked ever since. She believes that clay can be a magical and transformative experience, and is committed to lowering the barriers of access to this creative practice.
Emiliano Garcia-Held
Emiliano is a founding board member of Public Ceramics alongside Cor and Urooj. Before working with Cor in ceramics to sell her pottery and open Gasworks NYC, Emiliano spent 15 years as a professional musician, composer & arranger while also juggling a diverse array of side gigs including positions in recruiting for geo-technical engineers, professional fundraising with the Share Group Inc, and market research collection for health care organizations. Born in raised in The Bronx, NY with the African and Indigenous ancestry of his Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian ethnic heritage, Emiliano's experiences as an alumnus of the Prep for Prep program inform his unique perspective on income inequality and social justice.
Kyle Lee
Kyle Lee was born in White Plains, NY and currently resides in Rochester NY. He creates voluptuous vessels and well-turned cups that provide the canvas for his unique hand painting and surface treatments. Kyle’s practice has included teaching over the years at Educational Alliance Art School and other institutions. Kyle has studied ceramics in multiple studios throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn and has exhibited in solo and group gallery exhibitions in NYC and abroad. Kyle is an original Board Member of Public Ceramics, and continues to be a friend to the non-profit.