Jen Appel 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 own upbringings reflected the city, with her father growing up in the Bronx and her mother in Brooklyn. This early connection to place contributed to a lasting interest in culture, education, and public 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, and she maintains a long-term commitment to teaching advanced humanities subjects, including A.P. U.S. History, U.S. Government, Business, and Entrepreneurship. She has consistently approached education as a space where creative thinking and academic rigor support one another. Alongside her teaching work, Appel has founded initiatives focused on service, storytelling, and civic responsibility. 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. This experience proved formative and 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 rooted 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, participated in film projects, and served as lead singer for multiple alternative rock bands and creative collaborations. Her art has been exhibited in the Hamptons and New York City.