PATHWAY COMMITTEES
Our Pathway Committee members were selected for their deep expertise across the field and serve as thought leaders guiding the development of AFTACON’s nine content pathways.
Working in close collaboration with the AFTA team, they have helped shape the conference by designing breakouts and incubators that challenge assumptions, expand possibilities, and introduce a wide range of models and perspectives that help the field imagine new futures.
We encourage you to connect with them during the conference in Albuquerque.
ACTION AND ADVOCACY
Cynthia Chen
Creative West (formerly WESTAF)
David Holland
Scansion LLC
Jess Peña
Fairbanks Arts Association
Dr. Lance Nielsen
Nebraskans for the Arts
Lee Bynum
Maestra Music (Executive Director) and American Composers Forum (Board Chairperson)
Rachel Garcia
Mexican Cultural Center
ARTS AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
Chloe Little
Investor Relations Professional
Darya Pilram
Economic Recovery Corps
Ellen Placey Wadey
Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Kacie Luaders
Could Be Pretty Cool
Nic Roc
You Belong Here LLC
ARTS EDUCATION
Abe Flores
Create CA
Betsaleel (Bets) Charmelus
Highmark Mann Performing Arts Center & Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation (Board Chair)
Dalouge Smith
Creating Abundance Collaborative
Dr. Clarence McFerren II
Texas Tech University - School of Theatre & Dance, J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts
Mary Dell'Erba
Arts Education Partnership
Ruth C. Mercado-Zizzo
EdVestors
ARTS IN CIVIC LIFE
Anika Tene
Creative West
Isis Ferguson
Arts + Public Life
Maria Carla Chicuén
Miami Dade College
Sallyann Kluz
Shiftworks Community + Public Arts
Steven Boudreau
Steven Boudreau, Experience Architect
ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND COMMUNITY VITALITY
Gabrielle Lyon
Illinois Humanities
Jason R. Mancini, Ph.D.
CT Humanities
Mitch Menchaca
Greater Columbus Arts Council
Phoebe Stein
Federation of State Humanities Councils
Yennie Tse
Formerly National Endowment for the Humanities
CREATIVE WORK, AGENCY, AND TECHNOLOGY
Jason Najjoum
Arts Consulting Group
Jeni Barton
ArtsWave
Matty Bovard
Distributed Creatives
Nahal Jalali-Farahani
Monitor Institute by Deloitte
Theo Edmonds
WREN Institute & University of Colorado
EMPOWERING RURAL ARTS AND CULTURE
Dr. Astrid Kaemmerling
The Educational Foundation of America
Hannah Almon Matangos
Art of the Rural
Joseph Allen
Manoomin Arts Initiative
Krysta Aina
Arts Council for Wyoming County
NONPROFIT STRATEGY
Ariel Fristoe
Out of Hand Theater
Ariel Shelton
CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia
Katherine Mooring
MOKA Partners LLC
Paul Marengo
Promethean Fundraising
Tara Aesquivel
Tara Aesquivel Consulting and USC
READINESS, RESPONSE, AND COMMUNITY CARE
Matthew Ché Kowal
Majestic Collaborations & ReadyWhen
Michelle Dobbins
Houston Arts Alliance
Mollie Quinlan-Hayes
NCAPER/National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response
Tom Clareson
Lyrasis/Bay Area Arts Readiness Network