Staff

	Dr. Alexis Lynne Pavenick is Conjuring Arts’ Head Librarian. She spends her days organizing the library’s holdings, coordinating memberships, editing AskAlexander and answering reference questions.  She has a BA in Anthropology (UCSC), an MPhil in Museum Studies (Cambridge University), an MA in 20th Cent. American Literature (Cal Poly Pomona), a PhD in Victorian Studies (UC Riverside) and an MLIS (UCLA).  In her spare time, she studies the History of Magic and Classics.  She very much enjoys helping people develop and refine their interest in Magic history and performance.
	Janie Brookshire was with Conjuring Arts at its inception in 2003. She was its first librarian and was responsible for much of the initial cataloguing and organization. After leaving to attend graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill, she has returned as the Administrator for the Hocus Pocus Project, CARC’s outreach arm. She is working to expand the HPP, connecting magician instructors not only to additional New York area children’s hospitals, but also to disadvantaged youth and to US veterans. Janie also works frequently on a number of special projects at Conjuring Arts, from transcription of rare correspondence to general office and account management.
	Dr. Lori Pieper is Conjuring Arts’ Director of Research and Translation. She acquires the almost unexplored existing material in magic history for Conjuring Arts, and makes it available to English-speaking readers in translations and editions of primary sources and secondary scholarly works. Her studies in the Humanities, earned masters in both Library Science and History, and Ph.D. in Medieval History all inform her work here at the library. Lori also is Pope John Paul I’s official translator. Like all of the Conjuring Arts staff, Lori appreciates the incredible variety in what goes on here. One day she’s translating an early twentieth-century dime novel about Houdini and Sherlock Holmes from German, and then the next she may be dissecting a Renaissance Italian humanist’s text on mathematical games or maybe a sixteenth-century French “recipe book” that tells you how to make a roasted chicken flap its wings and fly away! Lori looks forward to the many ancient, medieval and Renaissance works that Conjuring Arts will give good critical editions. In addition to continuing her scholarly work, Lori’s intent is to cultivate relationships with other established academic institutions in order to promote knowledge of the Conjuring Arts field in the scholarly community in general.
	Sean Rockoff is the Digitization Librarian at CARC. As such he is responsible for digitizing the library’s collections for Ask Alexander. Sean has a BFA in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and will soon have a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute. He enjoys following the lives of magicians throughout the works he scans and longs to discover the mysteries hiding in the Rare Book Collection.
	Stephen Minch is the author of more than thirty books on sleight-of-hand and mentalism, which aside from his own creations include the magic of Dai Vernon, Alex Elmsley, Tommy Wonder, Martin Nash, Daryl, Larry Jennings, Bruce Cervon, Bro. John Hamman, Ken Krenzel, Eddie Fields and others. Minch is also the founder of Hermetic Press, Inc., an established publishing concern devoted to producing quality books on conjuring; and in his spare time he edits Gibecière for fun.
	Doug McKenzie is the Magic Director for the Conjuring Arts’ Hocus Pocus Project. In addition to running the magic side of the HPP, Doug maintains a busy schedule traveling across the globe performing his own brand of magic at trade shows, conventions, fundraisers, dinner banquets, and private parties. Doug also serves as head magic consultant to David Blaine for both his live performances and television work. Originally from Scotland, Doug has lived all over the world including Oman, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. He is currently based in New York City and holds a B.S in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is fluent in English, German, and Arabic.
	Ricky Smith is the student in residence at Conjuring Arts. He has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which he refrains from using, and instead does magic related activities and research. He has contributed to magazines, been profiled in MAGIC magazine, and occasionally does miracles.
	Dan Smith is Conjuring Arts’ volunteer System Administrator. He develops new features for Ask Alexander and resolves technical problems reported by our members. Working at Conjuring Arts allows Dan to combine his passion for magic history with his extensive professional work in software development. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University and manages software engineering teams at Adobe Systems, Inc. Dan is always looking for volunteers to help with the varied computer projects being developed for Ask Alexander and Conjuring Arts.
	Dylan Fitch, Director of Strategic Partnerships, has spent the past decade developing successful business alliances for both public and private companies in the US and abroad. A skilled negotiator and strategist, he is responsible for sourcing and implementing our varied external partnerships that support the Conjuring Arts’ initiatives. Dylan is currently Executive Producer for Mansueto Ventures, LLC which owns Inc. and Fast Company media properties.
	Dan and Dave Buck are twin magicians based in Los Angeles, CA. They spend most of their time either practicing the art or producing instructional products on magic for their company, dananddave.com. In addition to magic, they have a keen interest in graphic design, and they have volunteered such services to the Conjuring Arts since 2007. They are now lead web designers for all Conjuring Arts websites.

Volunteers and Interns, A special thanks to past and current volunteers who have assisted Conjuring Arts in all its endeavors: Caroline Ashby, Laura Baldwin, Kara Banister, Brendan Colby, Pat Colby, Michael Davis, Alice Dontanville, Lindsay Friedman, Chrysse Haynes, Evan Natelson, McKinley Parker, Joelen Pastva, Diana Post, Kenlynne Rini, Neil Romanosky, Gina Toell, Ilyssa Winokur, Michael Brophy, Anna Bekker, Ryan McQuade Lohner.

	Evatima is the current CARC mascot. She is not only awesome but is the curator for the library’s large and important dog toy collection, which is renowned throughout the neighborhood for its focus on toys which arrived new and yet have been mysteriously ravaged as if by a vicious tornado.
	Munito was The Conjuring Arts Research Center’s Official Mascot and Head of Security. He spent his days researching digestion of cards, perfecting his metamorphosis into a wolf, and digging through trash cans. He passed on in April of 2007.