Colts Neck Teachers & Staff

Heather Cadalzo is the owner & Artistic Director of Inspired Minds Colts Neck (formerly Lincroft). She graduated from the School of Visual Arts, NYC, with a BFA in Illustration in 2002. She has since been working as a freelance portrait artist; her paintings have been commissioned for numerous private collections. In 2002, she found her calling as an instructor when she returned to Riverview Art School, Islands Heights, where she had studied as a teen under master painter Elaine Sgambati. She served as the head children’s oil painting instructor there for five years.
In 2006, Rose and Heather joined up to form Inspired Minds- an art school modeled after Riverview, where she could pass down her artistic knowledge & skills to others and promote creativity on a daily basis. She feels blessed to be someone who truly loves her job!  Her work has been shown in many galleries locally and has won numerous awards and recognitions. 

Also a licensed Occupational Therapist, she has developed additional programs for seniors and special needs individuals at the studio. She teaches classes for artists of all ages and abilities.

To view her artwork visit www.heatherspaintings.com

and her Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/heatherbrowncadalzo/

Brittany James has taught various classes at inspired minds for the past 10 years and is also the Colts Neck Office Manager. She recently received the Monmouth Arts outstanding educator in visual arts award. Brittany is a jersey shore native who graduated from Montclair State University with a BFA degree concentrated in painting in 2009. She strongly believes in the healing therapy of art-making and self-expression and enjoys helping others create. She currently paints out of her home studio in Asbury Park. Her oil paintings are of surreal images, depicting the relationships between women in nature and society.

In addition to teaching at Inspired Minds, Brittany also runs a life drawing workshop and is the curator and manager of art629 Gallery. She has painted live on stage at the State Theater in New Brunswick and the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, and was part of a performance art piece during the Summer of Love concert at Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. She has been a muralist and featured artist for the Asbury Underground Art & Music Crawl and the Asbury Park City Mural Project, and has shown her work in several galleries in the New York tri-state area.

You can see her art at http://www.brittanyjamesart.com.

Rachel Lee teaches our Comics & Illustration with storytelling, character design, and Digital Art components at our Colts Neck studio. She is also our Operations Manager as she is probably one of the most organized and strategic artists we know!

She graduated from SUNY Purchase College with a BFA in 2016. She currently works as a freelance illustrator. She is passionate about sharing her love of learning and creating with her students. Rachel has always loved stories and adventure. As a child, she drew characters constantly. As an adult, she hasn’t lost her love of stories or creating characters, but instead, has learned to hone her artistic skills to match the scope of her imagination.

 Rachel has been commissioned to create illustrations for an online webcomic, a board game, and coloring book pages for Nj state parks. She recently has been focused on learning the ins and outs of video game design and production. View her current portfolio at

https://www.behance.net/rachelleeart

Raised by two artist parents, Willow grew up around creativity. This artistic background has led her deep passion for all art forms. From the birth of the art school at age 4, Willow, has been growing her skills and is now at a place to use that knowledge to help others.  

She is currently a Graduate Student at Rutgers University to pursue a career teaching elementary age children and specializing in Art/Language Arts. Willow especially loves mixed media and exploring various mediums including oil paint, watercolor, sewing and fabric art,

She strives to make the art school a welcoming and fun place and believes everyone can be an artist!

Willow is our the Exhibition Coordinator at the Lincroft Studio, where she also teaches our Homeschool Program as well as Mixed Media, Art Camps, & Art Parties.

Gabby is our first ever High School Intern! She has been taking lessons with us since she was 14 and now as a HS senior, she provides the studio with social media support, organizing, mentoring younger students, and just being a tremendous help with everything!

Gabby is a fantastic artist and person and she will be studying Fashion next year when she attends Savannah College of Art & Desing.

For now we get to enjoy her energy and enthusiasm at Inspired Minds Colts Neck.

 Lexi graduated from Rowan University in May of 2022 with a degree in Art Education. She now works full time as a high school art teacher in Monmouth County. On school breaks and during the summer time she returns to inspired minds to teach more art! Lexi is a mixed media artist who enjoys working in all mediums and trying new things often. When teaching, she makes it her goal to bring out the inner artists in all of her students and encourage them to try new things, step outside of their comfort zone, and to always be confident in their skills.

We are so excited Lexi will be teaching Mixed Media camps in Colts Neck for break camps & summer camps!

Victoria is currently instructs for Inspired Minds, leading art classes at various Assisted Living Facilities to bring the therapeutic power of art to senior residents. 

Victoria’s training in oil painting began under owner Heather Cadalzo’s wing about 19 years ago at Riverview Art School in Island Heights, NJ. Eventually, she then went on to graduate school and received several degrees/licenses in order to work as a therapist and art therapist with adults, children, and teens. When she is not teaching or in session, Victoria is often painting murals or creating for her own enjoyment.  

Victoria’s ultimate passion is to share the gift of creativity with individuals of all ages whether that’s in the mental health field or at Inspired Minds. 

Alena is an alumni of Inspired Minds where she studied as a teen. She then went on to receive her BFA from the School of Visuals Arts in NYC. 

Her love of people and passion for helping others steered her into the filed of Occupational Therapy. 

She is currently providing private lessons for special needs students. She can combine her love of art with her skills to accommodate any artist and facilitate creativity in a calm nurturing environment.