Ilene Sperling MA, LPC-S, ATR
Clinical Director
Ilene is a graduate of the Lesley University Expressive Arts Therapies program. She has practiced art therapy for over fourteen years, providing individual, group and family art therapy in a myriad of settings and programs. Ilene is one of the founders of the Art Therapy Institute and is also the Clinical Director.
She is currently working with newly emigrated refugees from Burma in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools and also at a Community Health Center in Carrboro. Ilene provides clinical supervision in art therapy and is particularly interested in working with clinicians who use art in their work with children and families.
Ilene is also an early childhood consultant and play therapist and specializes with young children. She has written poetry and stories and is a contributor in the anthology, Word Pictures: The Poetry and Art of Art Therapists by Bruce Moon and Robert Schoenholtz.
Kristin Linton, MA, LPC, ATR
Executive Director
Kristin Linton graduated from New York University’s masters program in art therapy and is a licensed professional counselor and certified art educator in the state of North Carolina.
One of the organizing founders of the Art Therapy Institute of North Carolina, Kristin has worked to promote awareness of the field and access to services through direct service, education and trainings, exhibitions, and grant writing.
Currently she is working on the Burma Project with recently emigrated refugees in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system. She is also the consulting art therapist for the Exceptional Needs Program in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district. She specializes in working with clients who have experienced trauma and children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. In her free time she can be found painting, making jewelry and metalwork.
Eva Miller MPS, ATR
Director of Development
Eva is a registered art therapist, and a graduate of the Pratt Institute masters program in Art Therapy & Creativity Development. She has over twelve years of experience providing individual and group art therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. Her work has taken place in a variety of settings to include schools, psychiatric hospitals, community support agencies, rehabilitation facilities, group homes, and clinics.
In addition to being one of the co-founders of the N.C. Art Therapy Institute, Eva currently facilitates art therapy groups for women with eating disorders, adults with acquired brain injury, and refugee children. She also directs the recreation program at a local healthcare & rehabilitation center in Raleigh.
Eva holds an undergraduate degree in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She enjoys using collage and pastels in her personal artwork, and lots of color!
Hillary Rubesin, MA, LPC
Community Relations Manager
Hillary Rubesin received her MA in Expressive Arts Therapies and Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University. Since that time, Hillary has utilized numerous arts forms (i.e. visual art, drama, music, storytelling, videography, dance, and creative writing) in various therapeutic settings, including alternative schools, nursing homes, outpatient counseling centers, and community health programs.
Hillary has also conducted research on how arts-based programs can affect at-risk youth, as well as how the expressive arts can be utilized in group prenatal care.
Currently, Hillary is working in local schools and neighborhoods with refugee families from Burma who have been relocated to the Triangle Area. She also leads art therapy groups at UNC hospital, helps coordinate the "Brushes with Life" art gallery at UNC hospital, and works as a music teacher in a private school.
Bridget Pemberton-Smith ATR-BC
American Art Therapy Association Liaison
Bridget graduated from Lesley College in 1998 with a Master’s in Expressive Arts Therapies. She has worked with a variety of people including seniors, especially those with dementia, at-risk adolescents and children with chronic medical illness.
Since returning to NC after receiving her Master’s, Bridget has worked hard to promote the field of art therapy in the state, especially through her work with the North Carolina Art Therapy Association. (ATA-NC) She is currently the president of ATA-NC.
When she is not practicing art therapy, she can most likely be found working at Cameron’s, the gift gallery she co-owns with her twin sister.
Art Therapy Institute © 2011
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