783-2021

As Mayor and Commissioner of Finance & Administration, I request Council confirmation of the following appointments to the Arts Education Access Fund Oversight Committee:

Respectfully submitted,

Ted Wheeler

Mayor

Walle Brown is an Equity and Diversity Data Analyst at the City of Portland's Office of Equity and Human Rights. He recently completed the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program at PSU in 2021. He is originally from Georgia, and arrived in Portland to study at PSU via a journey which started in the American South, jumped to Southeast Asia, and back to the south before moving north westward to Oregon. Throughout his travels and multiple local professional experiences, he has gained insight and appreciation for the intersectionality of budgeting and finance across individuals, organizations, and institutions. He believes in the centralization of standards so that access to information can be optimized. He also believes in collective awareness so that responsibility in decision-making can be shared. As an active stewards of public funds he works to ensure that community moves forward through coordination. Meaning that he is invested in community education, awareness, and equitable outcomes. To make a long story short he enjoys tracking inputs to outputs and showing the work with community. After tracking inputs with outputs comes the work of deciding if what we are paying for is achieving what we are working for, if not then we need to recalibrate.

Statement of Interest : Walle has been fascinated by the implementation and mission of the Arts Education Access Fund ever since he arrived in Portland. The process, outcomes, and methodology of program implementation are fairly unique when compared to other arts programming across the United States. As a member of the oversight committee, Walle is committed to streamlining, and possibly mapping, the understanding of inputs to outcomes with the AEAF. This means budget dashboards, grant funding maps, and clear explanations of how money was spent from year-to-year in a manner that is accessible to community members. He plans to use his technical expertise and experience as a community advocate and organizer to spread awareness of how funds are being spent and ensure streamlined efficient and equitable outcomes for future implementation cycles.

Michael Cavazos is a Queer Chicano theatre maker, playwright and visual artist. Before moving to Portland, he was a member of the sketch comedy troupe Gender Offenders and performed on many New York City stages, including the Beechman Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Culture Project, and P.S. 122. Michael directed and performed in the theatrical concert, “Universo,” for Hand2Mouth and has worked with Imago, Milagro, Crave, Profile, Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse. He is a company member at Hand2Mouth and is currently part of two cross-cultural theatre collaborations with companies in Egypt (ShakeSphere) and France (Theatre Begat). He premiered a new video work called “de los cadáveres crecen flores/from the corpses flowers grow” in September 2021. In 2020, Michael's visual art was selected as part of Regional Arts and Culture Council’s new public art collection: “Capturing the Moment.” Michael is one of five Oregon performing artists to receive the 2021 Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship for artists of outstanding talent, demonstrated ability and commitment to the creation of new work.

Statement of Interest: I am very interested in a position on the AEAF Oversight Committee. As an Oregon theatre-maker and visual artist in Portland, I am invested in advocating for the arts and the institutions that manage funding for the arts. I would love the opportunity to provide my perspective and expertise, voice concerns, and make recommendations to council members as I believe my involvement and experience in the arts will be an asset to the team.

James Dixon is a Portland-based director (SDC), producer, and actor (AEA). He most recently served as the EDI Chair for the Portland Area Theatre Alliance (PATA) Board of Directors and currently serves on the Accountability Collective. He also served on the Community Committee and Equity Workgroup during this time at Portland Center Stage as an IT Associate. James has also served on the RACC grants panel, the Fertile Ground GROW Panel and several other equity-focused curation and grantee panels. James focuses on creating through an equity lens in an effort to bring communities closer to the stories that display the beauty of the human condition. James is also the Producing Artisitc Director for the BlaQ OUT Festival, a producing engine for works created at the Black/Queer intersection. As a social justice focused arts administrator and artist, James advocates for the voices of the unheard. These efforts allow the communities we serve and support to flourish in a way that makes us all whole and empowers the individual and community to create and heal collectively. The old way of doing things just doesn’t work anymore so we have to reinvent things and remain self-critical as professionals and as organizations. We are all existing in different conversations about sustainability and accessible means of long-term support. James hopes to plant roots for structural change in the arts, continue to shift perspectives within our social paradigm and create new pathways for healing and creativity.

Statement of Interest: I’m a solid advocate of arts access for all and a firm believer that it starts with our youth. Having the right voices in the room is important if we want to change that way we tell stories and fund the arts. I hope to be a strong voice in that discussion!

Jenn Falco is an arts lover with a Theater degree and an M.B.A. seeking a volunteer role rooted in the arts. In addition to a personal passion and volunteer experience with arts+kids non-profits, she would bring significant professional experience to this role. She has two decades of experience working as a management consultant, one decade of which has been in a leadership position. Her professional roles have put her face-to-face with creative teams and executive leadership in challenging circumstances. She receives consistent feedback that she “collaborates” and “exudes competence” in this environment. More importantly, her work has led her to speak effectively with a wide variety of people–skills she has used in developed and developing economies around the world, consulting in red and blue states, and in volunteer work here in PDX as a CASA. About a decade ago she received her M.B.A. from Cornell University’s Johnson School. While at Cornell, she learned about the principles of accounting and fiscal oversight, but was truly lucky to be taught and mentored by Jim Detert, a sociologist whose research on principled leadership, creating cultures of courage and ethics enabled her to take her own leadership practices further.

Statement of Interest : I was excited to see the brief article about applications for the AEAF oversight committee in the Hollywood Star News because I am an arts lover with a Theater degree and an M.B.A. seeking a volunteer role rooted in the arts. I am excited about the opportunity to continue to volunteer in the arts – some of my best memories from the last few years involve kids lost in a moment of flow in dance, theater and drawing (even virtually).

Leah Faure, being an artist, knows the community needs support, inspiration and investment to thrive. Painting for over twenty years, she received her degree from Portland State University with a double major in Psychology. With Leah’s Artwork, she has completed four solo shows, many group shows, participated in three studio groups and taught for PCC community education. In 2018 she completed the Art in Leadership program through the RACC. It is an educational program about non-profits. Once a month the class would meet at a different non-profit and cover different educational topics, from legal issues with boards to equity. Her hope is to serve the volunteer art community in a new way, to apply her knowledge of nonprofits and to support the values of the arts in the greater Portland community. Volunteering at a variety of art programs is a priority in Leah’s life, from being on the staff for PDX Pop Now and The Portland Film Festival to one day assistance of events like the Portland book festival or Feast. Leah learned so much about organization, cooperation and focused brainstorming from being part of these groups. This work is an honor. These events, backbone of the arts, support and grow the arts. The council is an additional resource to expand her effort to support the arts community.

Statement of Interest : It is an honor to apply to the Art Education and Access Fund Oversight Committee. My hope is to serve the volunteer art community in a new way, to apply my knowledge of nonprofits and to support the values of the arts in the greater Portland community. The council is an additional resource to expand my effort to support the arts community. I’ve been inspired by working together with other artist to complete shows. I am amazed by how quickly and eagerly students can apply what they learn. Putting together a show takes many hats, not stopping at ideas and inspiration but requiring promotion, discipline, budgeting, logistics, negotiation and communication. I look forward to expanding my efforts to assist the art community, applying my knowledge of the non-profit/educational system and supporting the values I have adopted as an Artist.

Rick Jung currently serves as the Executive Director of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus with over 24 years of experience in the non-profit sector including over 6 years as the National Senior Program Officer at the Gill Foundation in Denver, CO where he worked on various LGBT initiatives targeting Community Centers, Communities of Color and Statewide Organizing. Rick also has extensive background in HIV/AIDS, both at the community level, having served as the Director of Development for the Boulder County AIDS Project in Boulder, CO and nationally, serving as a member of the Ms. Foundation’s ‘Women and AIDS Advisory Committee’ and as the Vice-Chair of Funders Concerned About AIDS – a national group of corporations and foundations working together in increase financial support for HIV/AIDS at the local and national level. He most recently worked in higher education as a Director of Development for his alma mater, Boise State University, and at Rutgers University and Portland State University. Rick hales from Boise, Idaho and is a proud graduate of Boise State University where he earned a degree in Theatre Arts.  Rick currently serves on the boards of the Portland Suzhou Sister City Association and the Non-Profit Association of Oregon. He is a proud U. S. Navy veteran.

Statement of Interest: As a person who has spent years within nonprofit and city processes throughout the country, I am excited to put my skill set to work as a member of the Arts Education and Access Fund. I want to ensure that the funding mechanisms are utilized to bring arts education to the broadest group of people.

Jessica Lagunas was born in México; lives in Portland, OR since 2004. She is a certified art- e.i. life coach and an art instructor in early education. For several years, she has worked as the Creative Director of the collective IdeAL PDX of Latino Artists, strengthening the growing network of artists of all disciplines, finding unique opportunities for the artists to socialize, receive professional and artistic training, and showcasing their work. Lagunas connects with her work and life coaching skills by implementing her little artistic touch into early childhood education. She is Latino Network's Arts and Culture's lead associate and coordinates the program Studio Latino, currently serving eight different public schools from k- 8 in partnership with the SUN program. She believes that change begins with self-love, and through our transformation, we can lead others to reach their desired changes and ultimately create a better environment for all people.

Statement of Interest: As a Leader of Color and a Teaching Artist I seek to create opportunities in the city of Portland and metro areas, cultivate and expand the identities of minority communities that have come here with multiple traditions, honoring their ethnocultural backgrounds with equity principles developing plans that benefit their future.

Antonio Lara has been with Lara Media Services since 2001. As Chief Marketing Officer, his primary responsibility is to grow LMS’s clients’ portfolio, provide strategic guidance as part of agency’s leadership team, manage projects and marketing campaigns for clients and manage relationships with advertising trade journalists and editors and direct the application of communications tools to promote the agency including the use of Public Relations and Marketing tools to raise brand awareness and build the corporate reputation of the agency among key audiences, such as current clients, prospects, partner agencies and media. With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and industrial engineering from ITCH in Chihuahua, Mexico, Antonio began his career in Chihuahua, Mexico, as supervisor and project manager for Essex, a subsidiary of Chrysler. Antonio is also an active musician and an advocate for the arts.

Statement of Interest: My interest in serving on the Arts, Education & Access Oversight Committee is because I believe that voices from historically underrepresented communities need to be at the table when reviewing the AEAF expenditures, progress, and outcomes takes place in order to ensure an equal and just outcome for all.

Hana Layson serves as the Head of Youth and Educator Programs at Portland Art Museum. In the six years that she has worked in Learning and Community Partnerships at PAM, she has embraced two, related priorities: one, to make the museum a welcoming and inclusive space for  students of color and other people whom the museum has historically underserved and, two, to create leadership opportunities at the museum for both youth and educators— opportunities for them to claim the space as their own and create the kinds of experiences they want to have. These priorities have led to powerful programs, such as the annual, student-led POWER UP celebration of LGBTQIA youth, and an active Teacher Advisory Council, which facilitates programs and creates resources for peer educators. This work includes building relationships with teaching artists as well, who facilitate culturally responsive workshops at the museum and in the schools, connecting experiences with art at the museum to the students own art-making and their school communities.

Statement of Interest : I am writing to express my interest in joining the Arts Education and Access Fund Oversight Committee. I care deeply that Portland youth receive an equitable and comprehensive arts education and I appreciate the essential role that the AEAF plays in making that education a reality. Through my position as the Head of Youth and Educator Programs at the Portland Art Museum, I have a great deal of experience collaborating with teachers and district arts leaders to develop equity-centered arts education programs. I also have a strong sense of the arts landscape in Portland and the important contributions that individual artists and arts organizations make to both student and teacher learning.

Joaquin Lopez is a performing artist, musician, and mental health counselor whose work is grounded in personal transformation, self-expression, and Latino Queer identity. As an actor and performer, he has worked with theatre companies: Milagro, Sowelu, Hand2Mouth Theatre, BagNBaggage, WP Theater in New York, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 2019, he released UNIVERSO, an electro-pop album that pays homage to his coming-of-age as a gay man. Joaquin served as the Arts & Culture Manager and the Manager of Leadership Development during his time at Latino Network. Recently, he was appointed by city council as Creative Laureate for the City of Portland.

Statement of Interest: I'm interested in serving on the Arts Education & Access Fund Oversight Committee to be part of the process of funding our future artists in the City of Portland. Artists are the living and breathing beings in our community who create and imagine new worlds and perspectives, they challenge narratives and explore opportunities, and utilize their history, culture, and vulnerability to express the heart, body, and mind of a community that chooses to move forward. The artist is the change. We must meet our future artists and community leaders in their life when they are soft, young, and open so they understand that expressing themselves through communication and the creative arts is part of being human and that it contributes to the health of a community. Serving on this committee is serving the new future of the City of Portland. It would be an honor to be part of this change.

Dunja Marcum has been a music educator and advocate for music education in our schools since 1995. She currently is the Program Director for Vibe of Portland as well as teaching an active clarinet studio serving the Portland Metro area. She has been an AEAF member in the past.

Statement of Interest : I served on AEAF committee after it first got started and care very deeply about access to the arts for kids and all people in Portland. I have seen the hard work the committee does to ensure our tax dollars are being used as intended. I have been an advocate for arts education and access for kids throughout Portland for the entirety of my professional musical career here in Portland and want to put my energies into this committee to continue working towards equity and access for the arts.

Eric Miller runs Squishymedia, a web application design and development firm specializing in public interest projects for scientific research, healthcare, and the public sector. Squishymedia is a proud sponsor of KMHD Jazz Radio. Eric's educational background is in music and the arts with a BME in Music Education from Loyola University New Orleans and an MA in Digital Design from the Utrecht School of the Arts in the Netherlands, and has taught digital media courses at PSU, PNCA and AI-Portland. A Portland resident since 1995, Eric lives with his family in NE Portland.

Statement of interest : Though my career has been in technology, I take arts education seriously -- I was a music education major for undergrad and have a masters in digital design. I moved to Portland in the 90s with the original intent of working in music education. Music made all the difference for me as a student in public schools and I'm a believer that arts ed develops transferrable skills for today's students; local districts need all the support they can get for arts ed.

Sidra Morgan-Montaya As a nonbinary and mixed-race Chicana, Sidra Morgan-Montoya’s work unearths the edges and in-betweens of our world. Through multidisciplinary performance, they explore the audienceperformer dynamic as a site of political potential, inviting viewers into self-examination and social change. Their work approaches questions of colonialism, capitalism, queerness, and the role of technology in contemporary life with irreverence, humor and compassion. Sidra graduated from Reed College with a BA in Theatre-Dance, where they studied with Kate Duffly, Minh Tran, Carla Mann, and Victoria Fortuna. Sueños Americanos (2017), their undergraduate thesis, is an autoethnographic solo performance that digs into ancestral lineage and political solidarity fractured by cultural assimilation. Other past works include a lead role in I Need You Dead! (2020), a punk horror-comedy film about mental illness and the creative process; @lifeofpi.nky, an ongoing new media satire about personal branding, fascist ideologies & other facets of late stage capitalism; and a variety of group arts facilitation using dance, poetry and other forms of collective creation to foster supportive community connections and learning.

Statement of Interest : As a working Portland artist, I have benefited directly from the AEAF in a myriad of ways. Reading through the list of previous RACC grant recipients is like reminiscing on the most impactful performances I’ve attended as an audience member and workshop participant at Portland Playhouse, New Expressive Works, Milagro Theatre, White Bird, PICA, and so many more. I personally know multiple independent artists who have received RACC project grants in the past, and have witnessed how transformative these resources are to individuals and our city’s arts ecology as a whole. Finally, art came into my life in elementary school through a program that, just like Portland’s AEAF, placed professional visual and performing artists into my public school in rural Wisconsin. It was an experience that fundamentally changed the course of my life, and I am continually grateful for it. I have experienced the impact of Portland’s AEAF firsthand. This is why I am excited to be considered for the AEAF Oversight Committee. Since moving to Portland almost ten years ago, I have sought out opportunities to engage in our local arts communities both professionally and as a community member, particularly with LGBTQ and BIPOC artists like myself. Beyond my creative work, I have a breadth of professional and volunteer experience crafting policy and administering programs that emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion. As a student at Reed College, I collaborated with students and staff across multiple departments to help design and pilot the Students of Color Living Community on-campus. As a volunteer with the local nonprofit City Repair, I initiated participant demographic data collection, drafted the DEI statement for the organization’s bylaws, and collaboratively wrote the DEI section of the participant handbook. I am confident the research, analytical and community-building skills I’ve used in each of these roles would allow me to engage fully with the AEAF Oversight Committee responsibilities as a community member. and an artist. 

Margo Norton has more than 30 years of experience in managing the policy, direction, staff and fiscal operations of state government agencies, regional government, local government and not-for-profit organizations. Margo is currently part of the Multnomah County Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission; Commissioner (appointed by the Oregon Governor) January 2016 - present.  As one of five commissioners appointed by Governor Brown to the Multnomah Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission (TSCC) Margo is committed to and respects citizen involvement in budgetary processes and oversight of public funds. Prior to her retirement as the CFO at Metro, the regional government serving the metropolitan area, she took very seriously commitments made to voters who entrusted Metro with tax funds dedicated for specific purposes, reporting regularly on “promises made, promises kept.” 

Statement of Interest: My service as a two-term TSCC commissioner has always been to consider, learn and ask questions about how jurisdictions measure progress and assess impact of choices made with public funds. After a 30 year career in government finance I have interest in and direct experience with governmental financial and performance auditing, public contracting, public records, open meetings and citizen engagement. My personal interest and experience is in music, orchestral and choral, which began in my childhood. In addition to studying piano privately, I participated in music programs throughout my entire public school life. I believe that early exposure sets a lifelong path of appreciation and support for the arts. Today, in addition to being a ticket buyer and donor for a variety of Portland arts organizations, I am a former board member and current Conductor’s Society Member of the Oregon Bach Festival, “one of the world’s leading music festivals” (Wall Street Journal) since 1971 and housed at the University of Oregon; a former board member of the Portland Revels which has been celebrating the seasons through song, dance, story and ritual of the past and present and creating community across generations and cultures in Portland since 1994; and a current board member and treasurer of Vivoce, a women’s acapella vocal ensemble in Portland.

Suzy Root is a working artist and arts educator. She has an MFA from the Tyler School of Art and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Lewis & Clark. Suzy arrived in Portland almost 30 years ago, after having obtained her bachelor’s degree in art history, interning at a museum in Venice, and canning fish in Alaska. She stopped in Portland for a visit, fell in love with the moss, the coast and the community. With the exception of a two-year sojourn in Philadelphia for graduate school, Oregon has been home since 1992. Suzy has been a substitute teacher with PPS since 2007 and has taught youth classes at Oregon College of Art and Craft and Saturday Academy. She loves working with students of all ages and is especially inspired by the magical minds of elementary students. Suzy is passionate about comprehensive and quality arts education. She helped organize the first Art is Elementary Exhibit at City Hall as a way to share the benefits of the AEAF with the public. She hopes to bring to the Oversight Committee the experiences, observations and insight she has cultivated as a guest teacher in art rooms throughout the district. When not in the classroom or her ceramics studio, she can often be found exploring Forest Park with her pup or creating mischief in the garden.

Statement of Interest: I want to join the AEAF Oversight Committee to ensure that equitable access arts education continues to grow across the city. I have been a PPS guest art teacher for over 10 years. This experience has allowed me to visit K-12 art rooms across the district.  I hope to bring this perspective to committee and help advocate for programs and students. There has been growth , but I  believe there is room to create stronger programs through educating  principals, parents and communities and holding districts accountable for how they spend tax dollars for arts education programming.

Carlee Smith is an arts worker, grant coordinator, and community member and is currently located on the unceded land of Multnomah, Wasco, Kathlamet, Cowlitz, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other Tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. She works for the Office of Community and Civic Life and does free-lance arts event production. Carlee is also a former downtown Portland small business owner as well as founder and co-organizer of the Portland based One Flaming Arrow: Inter-tribal Art, Music and Film Festival.

Statement of Interest: The arts is an integral part of our lives. As a constituent in a city that has openly pledged its commitment to the support of arts programming I have a vested interest how this programming and funding is directed. Since moving to Portland in 2006 I have been an arts worker and organizer and have contributed to the arts landscape of the City. I believe that we need to continually provide space and funding for BIPOC artists and art work that has been marginalized or underfunded.

Ellen Thomas is a Portland Public Schools parent (Grant cluster) and arts organization professional with an interest in serving on the Oversight Committee of the Arts Education & Access Fund. Having recently concluded a 30 year stint as Education Director for the Northwest Film Center of the Portland Art Museum, Ellen is now looking for ways to help foster arts education during the upcoming COVID recovery, especially with our Communities of Color.

Statement of Interest: I have a personal life-long passion for the Arts and complete devotion to the idea that the Arts Change Lives, something I have witnessed repeatedly for years and years. I have extensive experience as a grant recipient and grant review panelist for the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Oregon Arts Commission, NEA and other entities. I have working familiarity with the Oregon Content Standards in the Arts, including service on an Oregon Department of Education standards advisory committee. I also have on-the-ground knowledge of planning, implementing and evaluating collaborative arts programs with various entities within Portland Public Schools, as well as experience with teacher professional development, having developed a graduate level summer "boot camp" in media production with Portland State University.

Stephanie Whitlock serves as Executive Director of the Architectural Heritage Center here in Portland where she provides leadership, management, and oversight of a public arts, architecture, and cultural center, including programs, operations, finances, fundraising, human resources, communications, and board development. Top level responsibility for working with the Board and committees to establish an overall vision for the organization and lead implementation of policies and programs. Oversight of a museum and exhibition program, programming venue, and collection of architectural artifacts and archives. Management and care of a 19th-century historic building.

Statement of Interest: I have worked for over 3 decades in the arts and culture sector. I currently direct an arts/architecture nonprofit in Portland. Before coming to Portland, I worked in philanthropy in arts and culture for over 15 years so I have strong experience reviewing materials, tracking project progress, and evaluating outcomes especially as related to the arts. In Portland, I have experience presenting testimony and speaking before local and state legislators.

Laura Streib grew up with a life filled with music. She started playing piano in elementary school, added the flute in 5th grade and finally landed on playing the oboe in 7th grade. Music and access to an amazing arts education is where she developed her passion for music and the arts and built community. Some of her life-long friends came from this shared arts experience. Continuing her music education in college, Laura earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music at Western Washington University and began building her private studio. She moved to Portland in 2004 to work on her graduate degree in Music. Laura founded Vibe after receiving her Masters Degree in Music Performance at Portland State University. While studying in downtown Portland, Laura discovered the need for art and music education within the schools here in the Portland Metro area and founded Vibe of Portland in 2007. Since programming began in 2008, Vibe grew to reach over 2,000 kids annually working at 12 schools across Portland and 2 studio sites. Programming included weekly classes at partner schools, studio classes, workshops, camps and East Winds Band Camp at Mt Hood Community College. Laura is the winner of the 2010 Skidmore Prize from the Willamette Week. She wears many hats, most importantly being a mom to her 3 amazing kids who love art and music and help drive Laura’s passion to see that ALL children have access to the arts.

Statement of Interest : Laura has followed closely the AEAF from idea, to ballot measure, to implementation. As her professional life has been all about arts education and access for the Portland Community especially for K-12 children, the AEAF is near and dear to her. She has served on the AEAF committee since 2017 and has served as chair of the committee since 2019, working hard to bring the committee into a good working relationship with the City, RACC, School districts and organizations by standardizing aspects of the committee. These include when reporting happens as well as solidifying/clarifying roles and responsibilities for all involved with the AEAF.

Michael Cummings is an Emeritus Professor of Geology at Portland State University where he worked for 35 years. He lives in Lents and participates in the East Portland Action Plan as a member of the Grants Committee. Michael’s first meeting of the AEAF committee was on March 20, 2017. He has a long history of participating in the arts and supporting education at all levels. He is willing to serve on the AEAF committee as it continues to provide oversight to arts education and programs supported by the arts tax. 

Statement of Interest : Michael has served on the AEAF committee since 2017, bringing with him the specific interest of supporting the David Douglas School district near his home and ensuring that school districts and organizations serving the Eastside of Portland are recognized and supported.