Nick has been a full-time faculty member in the Brind School of Theater since 2004. In the past he has served as Program Director for the Theater Design & Technology program, and as Associate Dean for the former UArts College of Performing Arts. He is currently the Secretary of the Faculty Council. Nick was a member of the UArts Union Bargaining Team for almost the entire three years of negotiations, and he’s also a member of the theater design union, USA 829. The most important lesson Nick has learned as a part of our UArts Faculty Union is that when we stand together we are powerful!

Rick Rein is a UArts Alum (BM Trumpet Performance, '10) and an Adjunct Professor in the Music Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology program since 2021. He represented UArts Faculty during contract negotiations as a member of the Bargaining Team, and continues to serve on the Organizing Committee. His classes focus on sound engineering for live performances, and he frequently leads the production of concerts in UArts' Caplan Recital Hall. Outside of UArts, he works and performs regularly at concert venues, recording studios, and wherever else noise is made.

Bradley Philbert is an Adjunct Professor in Critical Studies at UArts and a faculty member at Rowan University and Penn State, where he teaches courses on writing, media, film, and literature. His decades of rank-and-file union experience began as a UFCW member at 16 years old. At UArts, he serves on the Faculty Union Organizing Committee and represented faculty on the Bargaining Team during first contract negotiations. He is a former member-organizer for AFT-NJ and was elected Executive Vice President of United Academics of Philadelphia in April, 2023.

Keavy Handley-Byrne (they/them) is an adjunct professor in Photography at University of the Arts as well as Brookdale Community College, and an instructor at the International Center of Photography. They have been teaching at UArts since 2022 and come from a union family in both the world of photography (Kodak) and the world of education (NYSUT). For the UArts Faculty Union, they currently serve on the Organizing and Communications Committees. Outside of teaching, they are a site operations manager with Photoville, a public art nonprofit. They live in Brooklyn, New York with their wife and three sweet but ornery cats.

Jaime Alvarez is an Adjunct Professor at UArts, School of Art, Photography Department since 2022. In addition to teaching Photography at UArts, he also works with artists, museums, and galleries in the Philadelphia area to document artwork. He also walks around Philadelphia documenting the day to day changes, when he’s not in his studio.