Corning

Andrew “Dru” Alejandre was elected Chairman of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians in September 2016. Prior to be elected Chairman, he served as Tribal Secretary starting in April 2014. Alejandre grew up in Williams, California, and moved to Corning, California, when the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indian Tribe opened Rolling Hills Casino in 2001. He graduated from Corning Union High School and earned a degree in graphic design from the Art Institute in Sacramento.

Alejandre also serves as the Vice chairman and Co-Founder Chairman of the Tribal Leadership Council and the Chairman of the Tepa Companies Board of Directors. Tepa is the 8(a)-business arm of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians. He also oversees the Paskenta Nomlaki Foundation, the tribe’s 501c3 that continues to support the local and surrounding communities and holds the annual Wish Upon a Par Golf Tournament for Northern California.

Santa Monica

State Senator Ben Allen represents the 24^th Senate District, covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County. An advocate for California’s leadership in arts and entertainment, Senator Allen serves as vice-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Arts and as an advisory board member of the California Film Commission. He also chairs the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, co-chairs the Legislative Environmental Caucus, and serves on the Elections and Constitutional Amendments, Judiciary, Natural Resources and Water, and Transportation Committees. An attorney and former school board member, Senator Allen has authored crucial legislation in the areas of creative economy/economic development (SB 628), environmental protection, climate change, green transit, educational equity, government transparency, and electoral reform. He is the son of teachers (both parents taught in the humanities) and holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge and UC Berkeley. He and his wife Melanie have a young son and are excited to welcome a second child early this year.

Washington, D.C.

Lauren Appelbaum is the SVP, Entertainment & News Media, at RespectAbility. Drawing upon her background in broadcast journalism and as an individual with an acquired nonapparent disability – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – she works at the intersection of disability, employment, entertainment industry, and politics. From entertainment professionals to presidential campaigns, she has conducted trainings on the why and how to be more inclusive and accessible. A big part of Appelbaum’s work is to increase hiring initiatives of people with disabilities behind the camera and to enrich the pool of disabled talent in Hollywood by connecting them to those who can assist with their careers, both on the creative and business sides of the industry. She is a founder of RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab and Children’s Content Lab, with goals of building the disability community within the industry and connecting Lab Fellows to opportunities as writers, directors, and in below-the-line positions. She is a recipient of the 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award for her work creating the Entertainment Lab. This work helps increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how society views and values disabled individuals.

Nevada City

As the CEO of California’s statewide arts advocacy organizations since 2018, Julie has worked to increase the legislative clout and visibility of the arts and culture communities by building coalition across the for and non-profit sectors of California’s creative industries, producing a month-long arts awareness and advocacy campaign every April, and fighting for resources and legislation to serve and protect artists and cultural workers. She has served as the California State Captain to Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Action Summit, the co-chair of the creative economy working group at the CA Economic Summit and as the recent co-chair of the Western Arts Advocacy network for WESTAF. She is the board president of California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project and was elected to the Nevada County school board in November of 2020. She is also an appointed member of the State of California’s 2022 Entrepreneurship & Economic Mobility Task Force (EEMTF). Julie is the recipient of the 2021 Americans for the Arts Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award that honors an individual at the state level whose arts advocacy efforts have dramatically affected the political landscape.

Over the years, Julie has owned a fine arts gallery for emerging artists, co-founded Flow art fair — a satellite to Art Basel Miami Beach — opened a consulting firm Julie Baker Projects and curated an annual world music series at the Crocker Art Museum. Earlier in her career she was President of her family’s arts marketing firm in New York City and worked at Christie’s Auction house before moving to California in 1998.  Julie also served for eight years as the Executive Director of The Center for the Arts, a non-profit performing arts venue and California WorldFest, an annual music and camping festival located in Grass Valley, CA. She is the recipient of the inaugural Peggy Levine Arts & Community Service Award from the Nevada County Arts Council.

Eureka

Lindsie Bear is a mother and Vice President of Strategic Projects at Humboldt Area + Wild River Community Foundation. She is former Editor of News from Native California magazine, and Executive Director at Heyday, where she worked on initiatives to foster opportunities for emerging and established Indigenous writers and creatives to thrive. She is currently on the board of Justice Funders, the advisory council for Native Voices Rising, and a former founding board member of Open Roads Media, an international grassroots journalism training organization. Her most recent writings and talks on the vital role of culture in a healthy society have been featured in the United Nations IDG forum, the Journal of Religion and Psychology, and Flora magazine.

Encinitas

Tasha Boerner was first elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2018 and re-elected for her third term in November of 2022. She represents the 77th District, encompassing Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, and the coastal communities of La Jolla south to Coronado.

Tasha was selected by Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon to chair the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee for the 2023-2024 session. She serves on the Joint Committee on Arts and the following policy committees: Higher Education, Military and Veterans Affairs, Emergency Management, and Public Employment and Retirement. In addition, she chairs the Select Committee on Sea Level Rise & the California Economy.

Before serving in the State Assembly, Tasha served as a local City Councilmember, businesswoman, and former PTA leader. A fourth-generation San Diego County resident, she served as a member of the city’s Planning Commission prior to her election to the Encinitas City Council in 2016.

Professionally, Tasha has worked for global Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and higher-education institutions. In response to her daughter’s struggle with a sensory processing disorder, Tasha started a business designing sensory-friendly clothing for little girls.

Tasha earned an M.A. in International Studies from Claremont Graduate University Institute of Politics and Policy. She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Tasha is the proud Mom of two children.

Los Angeles

Danielle recently joined the CAC in late December as the new Executive Director, with a career spanning over thirty years as an artist, teaching artist, presenter, arts administrator, and public official. Brazell has a knack for building new cultural infrastructure and innovating within arcane systems and bureaucracies. From 2014 to 2021, Brazell served as the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; she was the founding Executive Director of Arts for LA, transforming the ad-hoc group of executive arts leaders into a new model for local arts and arts education advocacy. In addition, she served as the Artistic Director of Highways Performance Space and the Director of Special Projects for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Currently, Brazell is leading Super Creative Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in organizational strategy, cultural planning, and inclusive community development. Danielle utilizes her vast knowledge of the arts and cultural sector in this role to advance the support systems needed for creativity to thrive. In addition to learning how to throw pottery, she serves on the World Cities Culture Forum Board of Advisors and the DataArts Advisory Board.

Los Angeles

Matt Buchholtz is a Global Community Lead at Riot Games, helping players connect in new and authentic ways with game developers. By celebrating and elevating player voices, he is thrilled to be sharing community stories with the global playerbase. Previous to Riot Games, Matt worked at DeviantArt as the Head of Digital Content and Community, pioneering programs like the “DeviantArt Collective” – a livestream-sponsorship program aimed to promote and support artists making a positive difference in the space.

Redondo Beach

Roxanne Messina Captor is an Emmy-nominated writer, director, and producer, and a directing protégé of Francis Ford Coppola. She was awarded the Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France in 2005, and the
Ohio State Award for the CBS movie Home Sweet Homeless. She is also an accomplished theatre director and choreographer.

Messina Captor was one of the founding original programming executives of Turner Network Television and the former executive director of the SF International Film Festival and Society, where she increased box office and attendance by 40 percent. Messina Captor’s first career was on Broadway. She was also assistant choreographer to Gene Kelly on One From the Heart. She serves on the Policy-Making Committee for Governor Gavin Newsom, and the Policy Committee for the Faculty Association for California Community Colleges. In addition to the New York Film Academy, Messina Captor is a professor at Santa Monica College, heading up documentary production. She is a former faculty member at Emerson College LA and Cal-Arts. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Who’s Who in America, NAPTE, and Greenlight Women.

San Francisco

Deborah Cullinan is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on the pivotal role artists and arts organizations can play in shaping our social and political landscape, and has spent years mobilizing communities through arts and culture. She joined Stanford University in early 2022 as the first full-time vice president for the arts. Previously, she was CEO of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she launched several bold new programs, engagement strategies, and civic coalitions. Prior to joining YBCA in 2013, she was the executive director of San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts. She is a co-founder of CultureBank, board member of the Community Arts Stabilization Trust and EPACENTER, and recently served as co-chair of the San Francisco Arts Alliance and vice chair of the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy. She was the inaugural National Field Leader in Residence at Arizona State University’s National Accelerator for Cultural Innovation and a former innovator-in-residence at the Kauffman Foundation. She served on Mayor London Breed’s San Francisco Economic Recovery Task Force and also on Governor Gavin Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. Her passion for using art and creativity to shift culture and advance equity and justice has made her a sought-after speaker at events and conferences around the world.

San Francisco

Kale grew up in a conservative evangelical community in Western Michigan, where his love for music and art took hold. After getting his Bachelor of Music from Wheaton College, he pursued a Master’s in Trumpet Performance at Northwestern University.

For thirty years now, Kale has worked as a professional orchestral trumpet player. Most of his time has been with orchestras in Northern California, including the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and various Broadway shows at theaters like Orpheum, Golden Gate, and Curran.

Apart from performing, he has been advocating for musicians’ rights. As the President of the Musicians Union Local 6, American Federation of Musicians, he’s pushed for fair pay, better working conditions, and protection for musicians’ interests. Building unity among musicians has been a key goal, ensuring our voices are heard and respected.

Outside of music, Kale is into reading philosophy and literature, spending time with family and friends, having meaningful conversations, and enjoying sports. These things add different flavors to his life beyond music.

San Diego

Matt D’Arrigo has dedicated the past 20 years of his life to being a champion and advocate for the arts and young people. He is the Director of Creative Youth Development at the Clare Rose Foundation and the Co-Founder of The Clare Rose Center for Creative Youth Development (CYD) in San Diego, CA. Prior to joining Clare Rose Foundation, D’Arrigo was the Founder and CEO of A Reason To Survive (ARTS), a nationally recognized CYD organization based in National City, CA. His work with ARTS was the subject of the 2013 Academy Award winning documentary short “Inocente”, featured on the Today Show, was a case study in the New York Times best-selling book “Decisive” by Chip and Dan Heath. D’Arrigo is co-founder of the National Creative Youth Development Funders Forum and Arts Amplifying Youth (AAY!). He sits on the boards of the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties, and is Vice-Chair of the San Diego Regional Arts & Culture Coalition. He also sits on the National Partnership for Creative Youth Development and the Arts Ed Impact Group for Grant Makers for Education. He is a coach and facilitator for the Fieldstone Leadership Network, San Diego.

San Francisco

Tom DeCaigny is a respected leader in the areas of arts education, cultural policy and community development. He currently serves as a Program Officer in the Performing Arts Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Most recently, Mr. DeCaigny was the Executive Director of Create CA – the largest statewide arts education policy and advocacy organization in the United States. During his tenure, he helped secure over $3.4 billion in support for arts education in California public schools. Prior to Create CA, he served eight years as the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City & County of San Francisco where he advised three mayors and oversaw the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC), a city department with an annual budget of $42 million. At the SFAC, he tripled San Francisco’s annual investment in the cultural sector, advanced racial equity in the City’s grantmaking and led several affordability initiatives in support of artists and arts organizations.

Prior to his tenure at the SFAC, Mr. DeCaigny spent nine years as Executive Director of the Performing Arts Workshop, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young people develop critical thinking, creative expression and essential learning skills through the arts. He has held board leadership positions with a variety of national and international organizations including the U.S. Urban Arts Federation and World Cities Culture Forum and currently serves as a board member of the San Francisco Community Investment Fund which distributes over $60 million annually in New Market Tax Credits. Mr. DeCaigny received his B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and resides with his partner in the Excelsior neighborhood of San Francisco.

Los Angeles

Snehal Desai was appointed Center Theatre Group’s third artistic director in 2023.  As an artistic leader, Snehal has sought to raise awareness on social issues that affect Angelenos through impactful and empowering storytelling.  Previously, he was the Producing Artistic Director of East West Players.  A Soros Fellow and the recipient of a Tanne Award, Snehal was the Inaugural Recipient of the Drama League’s Classical Directing Fellowship.  He has served on the boards of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (Caata), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and currently serves on the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT).  Snehal was on the faculty of USC’s graduate program in Arts Leadership and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles native DeJon Ellis Jr. has been a grip with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 80 for 27 years. He has worked on various projects, from feature films to prime-time television and music videos. DeJon currently serves as Local 80’s Business Manager for grips, crafts services, set medics, marine, first aid employees and warehouse workers.

San Francisco

Sophie leads the Stuart Foundation and stepped into her role in 2019 after serving as its Chief of Programs. As President she sets the vision and supports strategies to achieve the Foundation’s aspiration for education systems that improve life outcomes for young people. She was drawn to the Foundation for its clear commitment to changing the odds for equity, and for its conviction that systems can change to far better serve students who have been farthest from opportunity. She is both leader and steward of a long Stuart tradition of listening and learning in pursuit of change.

Sophie has spent her entire career working for social justice as an advocate, a coalition builder, and now in philanthropy. Trained as a lawyer in France, Italy and at the University of Texas, Austin, Sophie came to the Foundation following work on criminal justice issues, which inspired an understanding that well-resourced public schools constitute society’s best platform for setting upward youth trajectories at scale and for strengthening an inclusive multiracial democracy. She has served as Director of Research & Policy at the Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (IDEA) at UCLA, where she oversaw public policy and legislative efforts focused on education equity and access, student and parent engagement, school transformation, and the democratic purpose of education. She also worked at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, where she concentrated on advancing education equity, LGBTQ and immigrant rights, and advocacy for housing and homelessness issues.

She believes the Foundation’s work is most effective when it is closely guided by community needs and voice, and when it is multidisciplinary in nature – employing a range of interconnected approaches including practice, research, advocacy, policy development, storytelling, litigation and organizing.

Daughter of a music critic and social justice activists, Sophie has moved to a lifetime soundtrack of jazz, blues and politics. When not working or arguing about ideas, she can be found playing with her dogs, hiking, cooking, playing tennis, reading, and negotiating what to stream with her partner Deb, a high school teacher, and 19-year-old stepson, Sevan. Sophie serves on the boards of Grantmakers for Education, the Philanthropic Collaborative for Education, and the National Center for Youth Law. In addition to English, she is fluent in French and Italian.

Los Angeles

Adam J. Fowler is an economist and founding partner at CVL Economics. His work focuses on the intersection of economic development and the creative economy. Recent engagements include designing and implementing creative placemaking initiatives and developing strategies for supporting creative talent pipelines. Adam currently serves on the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) Careers Program Advisory Council, where he chairs the Data and Research Working Group. He is a member of the Entertainment Equity Alliance (EEA) and teaches strategic planning for the Economic Development Certificate Program at Fresno State University. His research, thought leadership, and expert commentary have been cited in a wide variety of media outlets, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, the San Francisco Chronicle, and National Public Radio.

Los Angeles

Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson was proudly born and raised in the Watts community of Los Angeles, and always knew that he wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of those he encountered. He understands that his “why” is to serve. His upbringing and the foundation provided by his parents, who both only had a high school education, inspired Assemblymember Gipson’s dedication to leading others. His parents taught him to trust and believe in God and that hard work will always pay off.

Assemblymember Gipson’s undeniable passion for public service propelled him to run and get elected to the Carson City Council in 2005. He served as Mayor Pro Tempore, for nearly a decade, before running for the California State Assembly in 2014, where he has served ever since. Today, Assemblymember Gipson represents the new 65th Assembly District which includes the areas of Watts, Willowbrook, Compton, Carson, North Long Beach, Harbor Gateway North & South, Harbor City, Wilmington, and San Pedro.

Since joining the Legislature, Assemblymember Gipson has been a true leader for his community and among his peers. He served as Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair from 2015 until July 2023, making him the longest-serving Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair in California State history. Assemblymember Gipson was responsible for setting the agenda for the largest Democratic Caucus in the history of the California State Assembly. He has now been appointed to Chair the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism committee by Speaker Robert Rivas, and also Chairs the Select Committees on Police Reform and Ports and Goods Movement. He serves on a number of Standing and Select Committees, and is also an active member of the California Legislative Black Caucus as well as Chair of the 76th Council of State Governments West (CSG West) and Vice-Chair for the Council of State Government National (CSG).

Assemblymember Gipson has supported and co-authored groundbreaking legislation on criminal justice reform, gun control, labor, the environment, affordable housing, and expanded healthcare. He is a diligent champion for his district in providing resources and funding for essential programs in communities that have been historically underserved, having recently secured nearly $4 billion in state funding for various district projects.

Most notably, Assemblymember Gipson’s work in the areas of police reform, education, social justice, health, and housing have resulted in several awards that include “Legislator of the Year” by the California Association of Black Lawyers; the “2021 Champions for Adults with Sickle Cell Disease” by the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation; the “Outstanding Legislator” award by the Community College League of California; and “Legislator of the Year” again by the Children’s Law Center, among many others.

San Diego

Jonathon Glus is the City of San Diego’s executive director for arts and culture, where he leads the city’s investment in the arts, culture and creative industries, internally across departments and externally, working with partners in economic and workforce development, philanthropy, tourism, community activation and binational and international cultural initiatives.

Under his leadership, the City of San Diego commissioned its first creative economy study in 2019, which was updated in 2023. The City is currently conducting its first citywide cultural planning process, which is projected to be adopted by City council in early 2025. Glus currently represents the City on the leadership team for World Design Capital San Diego-Tijuana 2024, the first binational effort of its kind in the world.

Glus has more than two decades of experience in the public sector in senior cultural leadership roles, in     Houston, TX, Los Angeles/Pasadena, CA, Chicago/Evanston, IL, and Sacramento, CA. During that time he lead three additional citywide cultural planning processes and co-authored Houston’s first creative economy study. His arts career began with the International Sculpture Center, in Washington, DC, where he wrote for SCULPTURE magazine and traveled exhibitions internationally.

He studied liberal arts at Earlham College and urban economics and public policy at Indiana University, where received his BA. He pursued masters work in art and architectural history at University of Illinois, and later received a certificate British urban policy at University of Kent, in  Canterbury, England.

Los Angeles

David Michael González is Director of Labor Relations & Government Affairs for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, the industry trade group for television commercial production companies. David administers AICP’s nine collective bargaining agreements with film industry unions and guilds on behalf of over 200 signatory production companies and oversees AICP’s legislative advocacy at the state and local levels across the U.S. Outside of work, David serves his community as a volunteer minister at Blessed Sacrament Hollywood; an Admissions Ambassador for his alma mater, Dartmouth College; and as a Community Advisory Committee member for the 100 Acre Partnership, a city-state initiative to restore 100 acres of land along the L.A. River as natural and recreational space.

Imperial Beach

Leah believes that the arts are a universal tool for healing. She is the owner of Leah Goodwin Creations, “Where Art and Soul Meet”. She has a diverse background that includes strategic planning; fundraising; event, festival, and conference coordination; art and culture projects; curating gallery exhibits; and creating art master plans. Her exemplary career in the arts encompasses everything from public arts management, to visual and performing arts program development and consultation, to creation and implementation of award-winning arts in education and arts in hospital programs.

Leah has held many important leadership roles in the arts, including Director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in San Diego, CA and Director of Museum and Education for the California Center for the Arts, Escondido (CA), where she presented seventeen exhibitions over four years. She is a founding faculty member for RISE San Diego’s Urban Leadership Fellows Program.

In August 2015, she created the San Diego Experience of the Civil Rights Movement exhibit acknowledging the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which is on displayed all around San Diego. In 2019, she created and curated the 1619 Celebration of Black Women exhibit for the Women’s Museum of California.

Leah is the granddaughter of San Diego Black Pioneers Odie Lee and Ruby Berkeley Goodwin. The daughter of James Goodwin a Tuskegee Airmen who flew the 332.  Leah is the immediate past chair of the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, appointed by Supervisor Nora Vargas. She was recently appointed to the California Arts Council by Governor Gavin Newsom. Leah is a Fullbright Scholar and an accomplished and published poet and writer, including contributions to, Teaching English Language Learners through the Arts, by Merryl Goldberg and Muheres in Movement; Poems about self-love, activism & community.

Sacramento

As Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, Tara Lynn Gray serves as the voice for California’s 4.2 million small businesses in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Under Director Gray’s leadership, the California Office of the Small Business Advocate focuses on helping to bring about Governor Newsom’s California for All vision through further development of the state’s small business ecosystem and by ensuring that questions about equity and inclusion are the starting point for all the state’s small business programs. Immediately prior to her appointment by Governor Newsom, Director Gray led the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce (FMBCC) and Chamber Foundation (FMBCF) as CEO. Closing opportunity gaps, the role of women and BIPOC business leaders, and diversity in procurement opportunities are recurrent themes in her advocacy work. She has also led green economy initiatives, employment & training programs, and working to advance electric vehicle ownership.

San Bernardino

Alejandro Gutierrez Chavez, is a first-generation Chicano and social entrepreneur currently serving as the Executive Director of Arts Connection – The Arts Council of San Bernardino County.  His varied career has seen him taking on diverse roles such as a 6th grade math teacher for Duval County Schools, a Research and Evaluation Analyst at First 5 San Bernardino, and the Director of Strategic Partnerships at El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center. He also co-founded the nonprofit, Lifting Our Stories, in his hometown of San Bernardino, demonstrating a deep commitment to the community that raised him.

Recognized as one of the 30 Most Influential Leaders Under 30 in California’s 50th Assembly District in 2017, Alejandro is a strong believer in the unifying and transformative power of art. He sees the arts as a powerful medium to bridge cultural and social gaps and amplify diverse voices for systemic change.

Beyond his professional life, Alejandro is an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying nature and its explorations. In both his work and personal life, he is dedicated to inspiring and innovating, aiming to provide tools for others to achieve their highest potential.

Los Angeles

Ri-Karlo Handy is a pioneering force in the entertainment industry, leveraging over 25 years of editing and producing expertise to make his mark. As the CEO and Founder of The Handy Foundation and Sunwise Media, he has established a formidable reputation as an award-winning show runner and producer. His remarkable career has garnered partnerships with major networks like MTV, OWN, BET, and STARZ, a testament to his exceptional talent and professionalism.

Throughout his illustrious career, Ri-Karlo Handy has borne witness to the lack of diversity and training for people of color, particularly within the television industry. This realization ignited his determination to make a difference, leading to the establishment of The Handy Foundation. Through this foundation, Ri-Karlo champions professional development opportunities, advocating for diversity, expanding inclusion quotas, and creating job prospects for underrepresented communities in Hollywood.

Ri-Karlo’s professional affiliations include Local 700, TV Academy, PGA and Entertainment Equity Alliance  While Ri-Karlo takes immense pride in his accomplishments to date, his focus remains unwavering. Ri-Karlo is dedicated to supporting the expansion, prosperity, and diversification of organizations, leaving an enduring impact on the entertainment industry.

Los Angeles

Gustavo was appointed as Arts for LA’s CEO in December 2018.  Prior to AFLA, he was the Western Regional Director for Young Invincibles (YI), where he was responsible for leading YI’s California offices. As director, he set strategic direction and advanced YI’s policy priorities on health care, higher education, jobs, and civic engagement for the region.

Prior to YI, Gustavo was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of L.A. Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LAPCA), overseeing the day-to-day operation of a county museum, including the oversight of a master plan committee responsible for strategically developing three acres of additional museum campus. Between 2007-2010, he assessed and recommended business growth strategies in the US marketplace for the global Fortune 500 Company, American Honda Motors, Co.

Gustavo holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from American Jewish University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Santa Barbara. He is the co-chair of the board of CA Forward.

San Jose Taiko

Roy Hirabayashi, co-founder of San Jose Taiko (SJT) in 1973, recently celebrated 50 years of composing and playing taiko and the shinobue (Japanese drum and bamboo flute). For years of community-building through SJT, he and his wife, PJ, were awarded the 2011 National Endowment of the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. Roy has also received the SV Creates Legacy Laureate, San Jose Arts Commission Cornerstone of the Arts, and Bunka Hall Fame and has been a mentor in the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Master Program. In 2017, he performed at the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival and the Library of Congress Noontime Series and remained active in performing and conducting workshops internationally. His current project includes music composition and performance for Luis Valdez’s play, “Valley of the Heart.”

Roy is active in the national arts community. He has served on the boards for Western Arts Alliance, Japantown Community Congress of San Jose, and the School of Arts & Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. Roy is a founding member of 1st ACT Silicon Valley, the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute, and the Taiko Community Alliance. He is an American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley John W. Gardner Leadership Awardee and a 2017 US-Japan Council Japanese American Leadership Delegation member. In 2023, the Japanese government awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold and Silver Rays.

Sacramento

Jason Jong (he/him) is humbled to serve as the Cultural and Creative Economy Manager for the City of Sacramento’s Office of Arts and Culture. He has been a community advocate, cultural connector, percussionist, and creator of meaningful experiences that uplift traditional and contemporary arts, creativity, and cultural wisdom, with a goal of promoting dialogue, healing, and social justice. Engaged in the public-sector for 20 years, prior roles include terms with the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, and the California Arts Council, supporting opportunities and programs for individuals, arts administrators, and cultural arts organizations centering immigrants, refugees, communities of color, tribal groups, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. For 30 years, he has played supporting roles as board member, staff, and advisor to numerous public and nonprofit organizations in the Sacramento region and the Bay Area.

San Francisco

An award-winning artist and filmmaker, Dorka Keehn is the Principal of Keehn On Art, an art advisory that specializes in public art, art master planning, and creative placemaking. She works with developers, city planners, and architects to enhance development projects and foster community engagement. She has been instrumental in the success of some of the most innovative and visible art projects in the Bay Area including The Bay Lights, the 25,000 LED light installation by Leo Villareal for the Bay Bridge and Seeing Spheres, the iconic artwork by Olafur Eliasson for San Francisco’s Chase Center. For over a decade, she served on the San Francisco Arts Commission where she chaired the Visual Arts Committee that commission’s all artwork pertaining to the city’s Public Art Program. Additionally, she is the co-founder of Sites Unseen, a project that brings arts programming to neglected alleys in downtown San Francisco.

Hollister

Jennifer Laine is a passionate arts advocate and has spent the majority of her career increasing arts and cultural equity at the local, regional and state level. Since 2010, Jennifer has served as Executive Director of the San Benito County Arts Council, a local arts agency based in Hollister, California, where she has raised millions of dollars in arts funding for her rural community, built the county’s largest Arts in Education Program and developed dedicated arts programs and services for some of the county’s most under-resourced residents, including students with disabilities, incarcerated youth and economically-disadvantaged families. In 2022, Jennifer was part of a collaborative effort to bring in over $5 million in state arts funding for individual artist grants and creative workforce development to the Central Coast region and is currently working with the California Department of Transportation on two Clean California Highway Beautification Projects in District 5. Jennifer is a board member with California for the Arts/California Arts Advocates, serving as Board President and Policy Chair of CAA, and is also on the leadership team of the statewide Coalition of County Arts Agencies.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from UC Santa Cruz and a Master of Arts in Global Studies from the University of Leipzig, Germany and recently completed the Executive Program in Nonprofit Leadership at Stanford University, where she studied alongside Nobel Laureate, Malala Yousafzai. In 2023, she was awarded “Woman on the Year” by Speaker of the State Assembly Robert Rivas. Jennifer lives in her hometown of Hollister with her three wonderful children, Henry, Anabelle and Sam.

Oakland

Lemon Grove

Kamaal’s passions are plants, arts & culture, building community and uplifting our region’s creative economy.

Prior to co-founding ArtPowerEquity, a social/cultural enterprise in 2020; his unique skill set and network come from a professional journey including roles as: Vice President of Networks and Initiatives (Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties), Director of Advocacy (California Charter School Association), Adjunct Faculty/Political Science (San Diego Community College District), Government Relations Specialist (San Diego County Regional Airport Authority) and multiple positions in state government ranging from Field Director, Special Assistant to the Speaker and District Director (California State Assembly).

A graduate of the University of Oregon, B.A. (History), M.A. (International Studies), Kamaal currently serves as a mayoral appointee to the City of San Diego’s Arts and Culture Commission and has served on numerous non-profit boards and advisory groups including: Project New Village, Somali Youth United and the San Diego NAACP. He currently lives in Lemon Grove, CA, with his partner and daughters.

Los Angeles

Dee Dee Myers is Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.  She brings more than three decades of experience in strategic communications, public affairs, corporate governance and social responsibility in both the public and private sectors.

Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Warner Bros.  She was a member of the company’s executive committee and advised the CEO on a wide range of issues.  Prior to joining Warner Bros., Ms. Myers served as Managing Director of the Glover Park Group.

Ms. Myers served as White House Press Secretary during President Bill Clinton’s first term and was the first woman to hold the position. After leaving the White House, she worked as a political analyst, commentator, and writer as well as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. She is the author of The New York Times best-selling book “Why Women Should Rule the World” and served as a consultant on the Emmy Award-winning drama series “The West Wing.”

Before joining the Clinton presidential campaign in 1991, Ms. Myers worked on a number of local, state and national campaigns. She served as press secretary for Dianne Feinstein in her 1990 bid for governor of California and worked on the presidential campaigns of Governor Michael S. Dukakis and Vice President Walter F. Mondale. She also worked on the staffs of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and California State Senator Art Torres.

Myers also serves on Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts International, a publicly- traded Fortune 500 Company that develops and operates 5 Star integrated resorts in the United States and Macau.

She also serves on the boards of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. A graduate of Santa Clara University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Todd S. Purdum and their children.

Baldwin Park

Senator Susan Rubio was elected to the California State Senate in 2018 to represent Senate District 22.  She was reelected with overwhelming support to a second term in 2022.  Previously, she was a public school teacher for seventeen years, and served as an elected official for thirteen years in the City of Baldwin Park.

Senator Susan Rubio has been a champion for San Gabriel Valley cities, delivering unprecedented amount of funding and resources to our communities.  Among those benefits is the creation of the San Gabriel Valley Housing Trust, the largest in the state, which has already helped build over a thousand affordable housing units, and three tiny home communities to help transition unhoused individuals into permanent housing, and tackle the homelessness crisis. Senator Rubio also secured funding to build two new urban forest parks in the San Gabriel Valley that provide needed open green space for our families and help clean our air.  Senator Rubio was also proud to champion the work to secure the state funding needed to save the Covina Theatre.

Senator Susan Rubio is an internationally recognized domestic violence advocate, successfully passing groundbreaking legislation protecting victims. She also passed bills that strengthened reading standards for children, and secured millions for English Language Learners, domestic violence programs, the arts, climate change, and the environment.

The first Latina Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, Senator Rubio is part of the Senate Leadership team and chair of the Senate Select Committee on School Climate & Student Safety. She is also appointed to the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education and the Domestic Violence Advisory Council. She is a committee member of the committees on Health; Energy, Utilities, Communications; Governmental Organization; and the Joint Committee on Rules; and Arts.

Senator Rubio was born in Juarez, Mexico, and is the proud daughter of a former bracero worker and housekeeper.

Oakland

Ted Russell is Director, Arts Strategy & Ventures for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Ted leads the Foundation’s strategic direction for the arts, supporting diverse, visionary artists and collaborating with artists, partners and funders to foster an equitable ecosystem.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ted was an organizational consultant who specialized in working with funders and BIPOC arts and cultural organizations. He also served as the Senior Program Officer for the Arts Program at the James Irvine Foundation from 2005-2016 and previously worked at several California nonprofit arts organizations in various management, marketing and fundraising roles. Ted holds a BA in mechanical engineering from Yale University and an M.B.A. in arts management from UCLA’s Anderson School. He served as the board chair of Grantmakers in the Arts in 2020 and 2021.

Washington, D.C.

Jas Sajjan serves at the Senior Manager of Government Relations for Live Nation Entertainment, where he focuses on issues relating to venue development and live entertainment ticketing. Before joining Live Nation, Jas served as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the San Francisco 49ers. During his team with the football franchise, he has led major public-private partnerships including converting Levi’s Stadium into the largest vaccination site in California and converting the stadium into a voting center during the November 2020 election. Additionally, he led engagement with local municipalities and the California legislature to ensure the organization continues to play an active role on issues impacting the Bay Area region and state. Before Jas joined the 49ers, he spent several years at the Glover Park Group in Washington, D.C., assisting clients in the technology, energy, and transportation sectors on issues before Congress. Jas earned a B.A. in Political Science from American University in Washington, D.C. and currently resides with his wife in the Park View neighborhood in D.C.

Los Angeles

Kristin Sakoda is Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the local arts agency with a mission to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout the most populous county in the U.S. The Department’s programs include grants and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations; creative career pathways including the nation’s largest arts internship program; public-private arts education initiatives; commissioning artists for the LA County Civic Art Collection; professional development; research and evaluation; and cross-sector arts strategies to address civic issues—all with a lens of cultural equity and inclusion. Ms. Sakoda is an arts executive, attorney, and performing artist with over 25 years in the field. As an artist she appeared on stages around the world including with dance and social justice company Urban Bush Women, in Rent, and Mamma Mia! on Broadway. Prior to her work at LA County, she served at New York City Department of Cultural Affairs overseeing a $200M portfolio of strategic, programmatic, policy, and legislative projects on diversity and inclusion; public art; creative aging; cultural facilities; grants; and affordable workspace for artists. She holds a J.D. NYU School of Law with honors in Entertainment Law, and B.A. Stanford University with a specialization in Race and Ethnicity and secondary major in Feminist Studies.

Sacramento

Abby Snay is deputy secretary for the Future of Work at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. She has worked to increase economic mobility for immigrants and refugees, to create a new healthcare workforce initiative in partnership with the California Health and Human Service Agency, to expand apprenticeships in California, and to develop training and workforce opportunities through the state’s climate strategies. Previously, she served as CEO of Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) in San Francisco for over 35 years. Under her leadership, JVS built training and employment programs to help workers with employment challenges develop competitive skills and earn wages that will sustain their families. JVS programs in health care, water utilities, financial services, and youth employment have received national recognition for their innovation and impact. She recently completed an 11-year term on the board of directors of the National Skills Coalition, during which she served as board chair for 4 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in counseling from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Los Angeles

Sarah Weber joined the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) in 2016 and has been the executive director since 2019. ACSO is the largest state orchestra association in the U.S. and its members include orchestras, choruses, festivals, music ensembles, and individuals and businesses aligned with the orchestra sector in California and the Westerns US. ACSO has approximately 130 organizational members and serves their 2,500+ board and staff.

Sarah has worked in the arts and culture sector for more than fifteen years with a focus on on building organizational health and stability in order to best deliver mission-driven initiatives and serve diverse communities and audiences.

With a background in museum education, public programs, and nonprofit operations, Sarah was part of the start-up leadership teams of two major museums. At both the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix and the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles she created fully functioning education departments from the ground up. She also headed the education department at the Los Angeles Conservancy, a historic preservation nonprofit, and has consulted for many other nonprofits in the areas of fundraising, membership, and operations, including the Pasadena Symphony, the San Bernardino Museum Association, Festival Mozaic, and the Santa Monica Conservancy.

Originally from Salt Lake City, Sarah holds a BA in history from the University of Utah and an MA in history and museum studies from Arizona State University. She completed a nine-month leadership fellowship through the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and she sits on the advisory board of the Historic Murray First Foundation, a grassroots historic preservation nonprofit in Utah. Sarah is a violinist and has enjoyed playing in youth and community orchestras throughout her life.