Meet the Team
Art Pierce
Capitolfest Co-Founder Executive Director, Capitol Arts Complex
A native Roman, Art Pierce has been the Executive Director of the Capitol since 2005, having previously served on the board of directors. Prior to working at the Capitol, Art served as Direct Communications Coordinator for Syracuse Opera, and before that worked for the New York State Department of Transportation as a deck hand on a tug boat. He graduated from SUNY Oswego with a degree in Music History and Music Literature, and has co-authored two books (Jean Arthur: a Bio-bibliography for Greenwood Press and Lux Presents Hollywood! for McFarland & Company). He also edited the Centennial Edition of D.E. Wager's Rome, NY: Our City and its People (Berry Hill Press). His interests include motion picture history, opera, and collecting phonograph records.
Doug Swarthout
Capitolfest Co-Founder Treasurer, Capitol Arts Complex
Doug was born in Freeport, NY. He graduated from New Hartford High School and Utica College, summa cum laude with a BA in English. He worked in the family business, the Berry Hill Book Shop in Deansboro, NY, where he became full-time manager/owner in 1978. His interest in performing arts led to volunteering at numerous Capitol events, which led to him becoming a member of the Capitol Board in 2003. He was elected Treasurer the following year, a position which he still holds. Doug is one of the key organizers/operators of Capitolfest.
Dr. Julie Pierce
Executive Assistant, Capitol Arts Complex
A Westmoreland native, Julie joined the Capitol as a concession volunteer in 2011. After serving with AmeriCorps VISTA through the Service Collaborative of Western New York, Julie returned to the Capitol as Executive Assistant beginning in 2014. She now oversees numerous development, administrative, and operational functions for the organization.
Julie earned her BA in Spanish and Sociology from Utica University, her MA in Nonprofit Administration from LSU Shreveport, and her PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of the Cumberlands, with a dissertation titled "Leadership Style and Burnout in Independent Bookselling.” She was selected for the YWCA's 2023 “Salute to Outstanding Women” award in the Entrepreneur category, as well as the Women's Fund of Herkimer and Oneida Counties' “Women Investing in Women Grant.” Julie is active in local religious organizations and is a DIY and international travel enthusiast.
AJ Parker
Administrative Assistant, Capitol Arts Complex
AJ Parker grew up just outside of Rome, New York in the town of Lee, and first became acquainted with the Capitol Theatre when he used to dance The Nutcracker there every year for almost ten years. An interest in the arts was always a part of his life from a young age, from years of volunteer work with the Rome Community Theater, school musicals and Rhapsody at Rome Free Academy, to a growing interest in movies and the people who make them. AJ then followed that passion to Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, where he graduated with a filmmaking degree, and returned home hoping to pursue that career path.
Fate would have it that he was made aware of a job opening at that old Capitol Theatre, the only problem being that at the time he was away from Rome on vacation! He interviewed via Zoom on the bed of the resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, and after an in-person meeting upon his return has been working for the Capitol since June of 2022. AJ spent much of his time in what began to feel like a second home, operating the Cinema Capitol that he once attended as a patron, duties that he’s itching to return to once it re-opens. Nowadays you often see him selling tickets at the box office or attending to numerous administrative tasks behind the scenes. He’s also taken the lead in the Capitol’s yearly awards activities that he is particularly passionate about. AJ has grown to love all of what the Capitol Arts Complex is, a historic venue that it is an honor and a privilege to serve.
Kylie Pierce
Grants Administrator, Capitol Arts Complex
Kylie Pierce started out at the Capitol as an organ maintenance volunteer. Beginning in 2007, Kylie has spearheaded development efforts at the Capitol, eventually seeing the organization through its 2020-2021 historic theater restoration. Today, Kylie continues to serve the Capitol as a grants administrator and is also employed as a Career Builder Coordinator at The Center in Utica.
In 2015, she received the Genesis Striving for Success Award, which recognizes young, dynamic leaders in the Mohawk Valley and was chosen as a Chamberlain Scholar for the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference. She has also served as a peer grant reviewer and annual meeting delegate for the New York State Council on the Arts, and as a regional Arts Captain for the EngageCNY arts inventory study conducted by CNY Arts. Kylie has presented nationally at annual conferences for the League of Historic Theatres on the topics of business planning, creative placemaking, and board giving. At Capitolfest, you will most likely find Kylie assisting with registration.
Jon Matwijec-Walda
Assistant Executive Director, Capitol Arts Complex
Jon grew up and attended schools in Central New York. He studied cinema as an undergraduate at SUNY Oswego and went onto a master's degree in fine art and the humanities with a focus on curation at The Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at Dundee University in Scotland. He joined the team at the Capitol Arts Complex in 2016 with the intention of putting his passion for the power of Cinema to work, recognizing the need for more arts and culture in communities like Rome, which are far from the influence of major metro arts hubs and traditions. He considers his work at the Capitol Arts Complex to be as much a following of passion as it is a civic duty. He has served as Rome City School Districts Clerk and is the co-owner of superofficial cafe in Downtown Rome.
Joe Borasky
Facilities Manager, Capitol Arts Complex
Originally from Auburn, Joe Borasky is a former drive-in theater projectionist. Joe began volunteering for the Capitol in the early 2010s, and was soon hired as Facilities Manager. He now oversees maintenance of the Capitol's four properties. Apart from the Capitol, Joe is involved with local animal welfare organizations, caring for stray cats in the local community. He has also participated in local ice sculpture activities, including Syracuse Winterfest.
Matt Hidy
Projectionist
Matt Hidy services projection equipment for varied exhibitionists across the Northeast, including movie theaters, drive-ins, museums, universities, and boutique cinemas. He is also Technical Supervisor, Film and Digital Movie Operations at Cornell University.
Before moving to New York, Matt worked at various archival, repertory, microcinemas, and first-run movie venues in the San Francisco Bay area.
Matt is also co-chair of the Association of Moving Image Archivists Projection & Exhibition Committee. He is an avid fly-fisherman.
Bob Hodge
Chief Projectionist, Capitol Arts Complex
Bob Hodge spent the bulk of his career at Syracuse University, where he worked in the Sound Archive. Bob served as the chief 35mm projectionist at Cinefest for many years, and has been projecting at the Capitol since 2002.
Jeannine C. Cat
Greeter, Capitol Arts Complex
Jeannine C. Cat joined the Capitol via the Humane Society of Rome. Since 2020, Jeannine has dutifully served as Greeter and, in her free time, enjoys eating, long naps on laps, and finding other warm places to rest.
Carl LaFong
Assistant Greeter, Capitol Arts Complex
A former resident of 1726 Pearl Avenue and the Humane Society of Rome, Carl LaFong (“capital L, small a, capital f, small o, small n, small g”) served the Downtown Rome Arts District as a talented bookshop cat. Following the 2024 tornado that shuttered his employer, Carl LaFong joined the Capitol Crew and has been perfecting his greeting skills ever since. In addition to his active social life, Carl enjoys visits to the Boiler Room and Projection Booth, treats, and sneaking out of the box office window.