Conservatory Director
Ana Diaz-Zubieta, Ph.D. is a CEA graduate, Conchita Espinosa’s granddaughter, and Maribel Zubieta Diaz’ daughter. She is a product of Conchita’s philosophy. She attended the dance department at New World School of the Arts (NWSA) during its inaugural years and was part of the high school’s second graduating class. While a senior in high school she was a YoungArts (then the Arts Recognition and Talent Search) Level II winner in World Dance and a finalist for the Presidential Scholar in the Arts program. She received the Dean’s Award her senior year in high school from then Dance Dean, Dr. Daniel Lewis. Upon graduating NWSA, she attended The Juilliard School’s dance department and went on to graduate with a B.F.A. in drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Throughout her high school and early undergraduate years, Diaz-Zubieta was a soloist in the Ballet Español Rosita Segovia and performed during a New York season with the Maria Benitez Spanish Dance Company.
Diaz-Zubieta is a licensed psychologist who earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fordham University. She also has an M.S.W. in clinical social work from New York University. She completed her pre-doctoral, child psychology internship at Columbia University’s New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She later went on to complete a postdoctoral research fellowship in the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at Columbia University / New York State Psychiatric Institute. During her postdoctoral training, she specialized in eating and weight disorders and worked within the Eating Disorder Research Unit of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. Dr. Diaz-Zubieta has extensive training in cognitive-behavioral therapy with children, adolescents, and adults for a wide range of behavioral and emotional disorders. She also trained in interpersonal therapy, play therapy, parent management training, family therapy, and neuropsychological testing. From 2007 until 2019, she was a clinical associate at Child Psychology Associates, P.A. where she specialized in psychotherapy for mood, anxiety, and behavior disorders, as well as parent management training and psychological assessments of children with learning, behavioral, and emotional difficulties.
Diaz-Zubieta’s current role as the director of CEC and her role as psychologist and a member of the administration of CEA, perfectly interconnect her experiences in the worlds of arts and academia. She is looking forward to continuing her grandmother’s legacy through her role as director of CEC.
