Jen Appel New York
Founder and CEO in Locust Valley, New York
Jen Appel is an artist, educator, filmmaker, and founder based in Locust Valley, New York, with professional roots across all five boroughs of New York, including Long Island, New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. She was born in Old Brookville, NY, to parents whose backgrounds reflected the city, with her father growing up in the Bronx and her mother coming from Brooklyn. These early connections to place helped shape a lasting interest in culture, education, and civic life.
For more than 30 years, she has built a career that spans film, education, branding, and civic media. Her work includes theater, film, fine art, and music, while remaining closely tied to teaching advanced humanities subjects such as A.P. U.S. History, U.S. Government, Business, and Entrepreneurship. Appel has consistently approached learning as a space where creative thinking and academic structure support one another.
Alongside classroom work, she has founded initiatives rooted in service and storytelling. She is the founder of Somewhere I Read, a national initiative dedicated to renewing America’s civic imagination, and the creator of 16 Paws, a pet lifestyle brand and children’s book centered on kindness and animal-assisted service.
Jen Appel began her artistic development early after discovering theater during high school, an experience that proved formative. This path led her to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a full acting scholarship and trained in the Experimental Theatre Wing and at Circle in the Square, building a foundation grounded in collaboration and discipline.
During and after her formal education, she worked across acting, directing, music, writing, and fine art. She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appeared in film projects, and served as lead singer for multiple alternative rock bands and creative collaborations. Appel also developed an acceptable art practice that has been exhibited in galleries in both the Hamptons and New York City.
These early professional years reflected a willingness to work across disciplines while remaining focused on thoughtful and socially engaged content. Through performance, visual art, and music, she explored themes connected to identity, community, and responsibility.
In 1997, Jen Appel of New York founded Risk Productions, a film, television, theater, and music company dedicated to projects that directly address social and cultural issues. Through this company, she wrote, directed, and produced Yes! Damn It, which played to sold-out audiences at The Producer’s Club in New York City.
She later co-produced multiple films and television projects, including the live-action segment of Blue’s Clues for Nickelodeon, one of the most influential children’s programs of its generation. This work expanded her experience in large-scale media while remaining aligned with educational and values-based storytelling. Appel later broadened her production work through Prinxessa Productions, extending into music publishing and multimedia projects.
These production efforts reflected an ongoing interest in how narrative, sound, and visual media can support learning and public dialogue. She has continued to balance creative leadership with a commitment to meaningful content.
Education has remained central to Jen Appel's professional life for more than 30 years. She earned a Master’s degree in Education and English Literature from Long Island University as a Merit Fellow and Magna Cum Laude graduate, completed postgraduate studies, earned U.S. teaching certification, and holds New York State certifications in Secondary Education and English Language Arts, along with certification in the Hochman Writing Revolution.
She has taught across public, private, and independent schools, including Collegiate, City and Country, Stevenson, Friends Academy, Marymount, Trevor Day School, Buckley Country Day School, Dwight Global, and Fairfax County Public Schools. Appel has also served in roles such as diversity curriculum coordinator, theater director, learning specialist, and private educator.
She completed advanced studies in differentiation and diversity at Harvard University, participated in programs with the Gilder Lehrman Institute under the direction of Professor David Blight of Yale University, and, since 2020, has collaborated with Dwight Global Online School as a private humanities and arts educator and consultant. Her work continues to integrate education, civic engagement, and service through Somewhere I Read and 16 Paws.
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Jen Appel’s latest book is now available on Amazon
BUSINESS & INNOVATION IN PET INDUSTRY