emerging leaders in the arts

Council Bios

• John Arroyo
• Amanda Ault - Vice Chair
• Teniqua Broughton
• Shannon Daut
• Eric Delli Bovi
• David Dombrosky - Chair
• Jana Farr
• Katie Guernsey
• Claudia J.H. Haydon
• Cuong Hoang
• Lex Leifheit
• Marialaura Leslie - Immediate Past Chair
• Tyrha Lindsey
• Mitch Menchaca
• Adam Natale
• Robin Iten Porter
• Eric Thomas, Jr.

John Arroyo
Organizational Development Coordinator
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
500 West Temple Street, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
Los Angeles, California 90024
T 213.974.1396
E jarroyo@lacountyarts.org
W www.lacountyarts.org

John Arroyo is the organizational development coordinator for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. He coordinates technical assistance and professional development opportunities including the county’s undergraduate Arts Internship Program, Arts Leadership Initiative, Executive Coaching Initiative, municipality programs, and grantee scholarship programs and workshops. Prior to joining the Arts Commission, Arroyo worked as an arts manager for La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Getty Foundation, Los Angeles Conservancy, and Canon Theatricals. While earning his degree in journalism and urban planning and development at the University of Southern California, his dedication to Los Angeles arts organizations earned him a 2002 USC Board of Trustees Renaissance Scholar award. He has also served as a grant panelist for the city of Los Angeles and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which named him a Local Emerging Leader in 2000. He enjoys writing, exploring cities, and is an avid docent for the Los Angeles Conservancy, Las Angelitas del Pueblo, and serves on the board of the Highland Park Heritage Trust.

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Amanda Ault
Membership and Program Associate
National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC)
145 Ninth Street, Suite 250
San Francisco, CA 94103
T 415.431.1391
F 415.431.1392
E amanda@namac.org
W www.namac.org

Amanda Ault is currently membership and program associate at the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC). She helps keep NAMAC connected to its members and produces NAMAC's biweekly eBULLETin, an email newsletter that reports on what's happening in and around the field of media arts. In 2002, Amanda co-moderated a series of interactive workshops on the topic of leadership development and emerging leaders at NAMAC’s national conference in Seattle and at the Americans for the Arts Emerging Arts Leadership preconference in Portland, OR. Prior to joining NAMAC's team, Amanda worked as a video editor at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH. Her experience in the arts also includes exhibiting her own work and curating a number of public programs. She holds a B.F.A. in painting from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Teniqua Broughton
President-Elect
Arizona Alliance for Arts Education
P.O. Box 870205
Tempe, Arizona 85287-0205
T 480.965.3940
E teniqua.broughton@asu.edu
W www.artsed.org

Teniqua Broughton is cultural participation manager at Arizona State University (ASU) Gammage in Tempe, AZ. She manages the Performances for Students series, offers vocational workshops for high schools, creates artists’ residencies, and programs the professional development workshop series based on The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partners in Education model. Along with ASU-established programs, she has developed and implemented an art vocational internship/volunteer program for high schools and created numerous standard-compliant curriculum guides for teachers. She has successfully implemented the Journey Home program for incarcerated women in collaboration with the Maricopa County Estrella Jail and local artists and also piloted an arts-integrated program in Desert Harbor Elementary School in the Peoria Unified School District. She serves as president-elect and chair of the Student Essay Contest for the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education. She holds a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in educational psychology, with an emphasis on theater for youth.

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Shannon Daut
Senior Director of Programs
Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF)
1743 Wazee Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202
T 303.629.1166
F 303.629.9717
E shannon@westaf.org
W www.westaf.org

Shannon Daut is the director of programs for the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). She administers WESTAF’s presenting and touring grant program, TourWest, and also manages programs in literature and folk arts throughout the West. Shannon has been employed at WESTAF since 1999 and has experience in a wide range of artistic disciplines, including film, visual arts, music, theater, and literature. In addition to her work with WESTAF, she has served on the jury for the Denver Pan African Film Festival and the Museum of Contemporary Art 2003 Colorado Film Biennial: 10 by 10. She is currently serving as chair of the MCA/D 2005 Film Biennial Committee. Shannon is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s communication arts/film program.

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Eric Delli Bovi
Co-Acting Director/Director of Administration and Development
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
T 773.751.3431
F 773.506.2414
E edellibovi@oldtownschool.org
W www.oldtownschool.org

Eric Delli Bovi is responsible for the Old Town School’s development, operations, finance, retail, and other related projects that support efforts in education, performance, and outreach initiatives. Old Town School serves 100,000 people per year. Eric was previously education outreach director for four years and developed a wide array of arts programs that continue to serve more than 11,000 children throughout Chicago. Eric is the Old Town School’s liaison to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools and served as convener for the Chicago Consortium of Community Music Schools. He is also a percussion instructor at the Old Town School. Eric holds an M.A. with a focus in directing and developing community arts education organizations from the School for New Learning at DePaul University and a B.A. in social studies/secondary education from Ithaca College.

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David Dombrosky
Contemporary Art Manager
Southern Arts Federation
1800 Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 808
Atlanta, GA 30309-2512
T 404.874.7244 x22
F 404.873.2148
E ddombroskey@southarts.org
W www.southarts.org

David Dombrosky is the contemporary arts manager for the Southern Arts Federation, where he co-manages Southern Visions: The Southern Arts & Culture Traveling Exhibits Program; annually produces over 100 showcases for the Performing Arts Exchange; manages JazzSouth Internet Radio; convenes regional meetings, such as the Southern Visual Arts Summit; and supervises the logistics for Operation Homecoming—a joint project of SAF, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts to provide literary programming to U.S. military bases both domestically and overseas. In 2004, David co-curated {Folk} A.R.T. IS*, a traveling exhibit celebrating the art and lives of 21 self-taught artists from across the South. He also provides technical assistance to regional artists and organizations in the literary, media, performing, and visual arts. In addition to serving on the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Council, David holds an ex officio position on the board of directors for the Southern Literature Council of Charleston and has served on the board of directors for The Essential Theatre. In October 2004, David co-founded the Emerging Arts Leaders of Atlanta, a professional network of young arts administrators in the Metro Atlanta area. Prior to joining the SAF staff in 1999, he worked with the Atlanta Coalition of Theatres, Jomandi Productions, and the Actors’ Company of Pennsylvania. David graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an M.A. in performance studies and B.A. degrees in psychology and communication studies.

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Jana Farr
Community Outreach and International Cultural Affairs Coordinator
Utah Arts Council
617 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
T 801.236.7558
F 801.236.7556
E jana@utah.gov
W www.arts.utah.gov

Jana Farr works as a community outreach representative at the Utah Arts Council, in which capacity she helps build strategic partnerships with other state, county, and city government agencies and business and nonprofit organizations. She also assists with the Board's legislative strategy and other aspects of advocacy. Jana is the founder and director of a nonprofit that brought performers from around the world to Utah for a celebration of international friendship shortly before the Olympics. She has degrees in music, dance, theater, and international studies: global economy. She is certified in the Kodaly method of teaching music, has taught in schools, and has assisted with international academic forums and conferences. She loves the power of the arts to bring people together.

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Katie Guernsey
Conference Coordinator
Carnegie Mellon University - Organization Center for Arts Management and Technology
5601 Wilkins Aveune #1
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217
T 805.798.0243
E-mail: ktgrnz@yahoo.com

Katie Guernsey is currently a M.A. in arts management candidate at Carnegie Mellon University and was a principal coordinator of the Technology in the Arts Conference, organized by the Center for Arts Management and Technology (CAMT). Drawn to the arts and engineering, Katie found a wonderful compromise at the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned her B.S. in creative studies with an emphasis in computer science. During her studies, she worked at two software engineering companies, studied abroad in Chile, and exalted in beginning ballet classes. After six months in Ecuador working at the Museo de la Ciudad, she returned to the United States and dedicated herself to the arts field. Since then, she has organized community events at the City of Ventura Cultural Affairs Division and has worked in the development department. She continues to work part time at CAMT and hopes that her exposure to the tech-savvy arts community will lead to a position where she will serve similar organizations in a technological capacity.

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Claudia Haydon
Director of Development and Marketing
Community Music Center of Boston
34 Warren Avenue
Boston, MA  02116
T 617.482.7494
F 617.482.6267
E haydon@cmcb.org
W www.cmcb.org

Claudia Haydon has been a member of the Emerging Leader Council of Americans for the Arts since 2002. She currently serves as the director of development and marketing for the Community Music Center of Boston. Her background includes more than eight years at the Massachusetts Cultural Council (a state agency), where she developed grant programs, resources, services, and strategies to support individual artists. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Brattle Film Foundation, which oversees programming and management of the historic Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge. Claudia holds a B.A. in English from Northeastern University and studied filmmaking at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Her creative pursuits also include performing with a local alt-country band, the Hayseed Prophets. She lives with her husband and son in Watertown, MA.

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Cuong Hoang is the director of programs for Philanthropic Advisors LLC. Prior to working at Philanthropic Advisors LLC, he worked as the ARTWorks for Kids program manager at Hunt Alternatives Fund where helped launch the fund’s new program focusing on arts activities for disadvantaged children and youth in the Greater Boston area. Cuong has also worked for the city of Boston overseeing all grants made from its general fund, including grants for arts organizations, out-of-school programs for children and youth, and early childcare providers. While at the city of Boston, he developed a new program to encourage city residents to take an active role in developing and providing summertime recreational activities for neighborhood children. Cuong also served as the performing arts manager at the Boston Center for the Arts and the Living/Arts Editor at the South End News.

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Lex Leifheit
Executive Director
SomArts
934 Brannon Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
T 415-863-1414
E lex@lexleifheit.com
W www.somarts.org

Lex Leifheit is Executive Director of SomArts (South of Market Arts, Resources, and Technology Services), a multicultural center that serves the San Francisco arts community through its arts support services, exhibitions, classes, and events. Prior to working at SomArts, Leifheit was Assistant Director of the Green Street Arts Center, a community arts and education center founded by Wesleyan University to provide an anchor for neighborhood revitalization in Middletown, Connecticut.She also worked at Wesleyan's Center for the Arts, and was Director of Communications for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center from 2001 through 2004.  Lex holds an M.A. in liberal studies from Wesleyan University, a certificate of achievement from the Moscow Art Theater School, and a B.F.A. in theater performance from Drake University.

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Marialaura Leslie, Emerging Leader Council Chair
Chief of Information and Outreach
Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
111 Northwest First Street, Suite 625
Miami, FL 33128
T 305.375.5042
F 305.375.3068
E mleslie@miamidade.gov
W www.miamidadearts.org 

Marialaura Leslie is the chief of information and outreach for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs; her responsibilities include grant administration, marketing initiatives, and outreach programs. Marialaura oversees the International Cultural Exchange Grants Program and co-administers the Dance Miami Choreographers’ Fellowship Program. Marialaura coordinates the department’s media relations for both English- and Spanish-language media; spearheads the department’s public information dissemination; and is the point person for promoting all events and workshops. In 2003, Marialaura founded the Miami Emerging Arts Leaders. A native of Puerto Rico, Marialaura is the immediate past chair of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Council and serves on the National Arts Marketing Project Steering Committee. She has served as a grants panelist for Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Miami-Dade Parks Department, and Arts Council of Indianapolis. She studied theater at Universidad de Puerto Rico. A former dancer, Marialaura is a graduate of the University of Miami’s Theater Arts Management program and has worked with a variety of arts organizations in South Florida and Puerto Rico. Immediately prior to joining the Department of Cultural Affairs, she was associate director of development for Miami City Ballet.

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Tyrha Lindsey
Principal, L.A.I Communications
E Linzyharis@aol.com

The arts have played a significant role in the life of Tyrha M. Lindsey. Originally from Cincinnati, OH, Tyrha began dancing at age three, was attending the School for Creative and Performing Arts by age eight, and began performing professionally at age 15. She has been seen in the Oscar-nominated movie, Mulholland Drive, PBS’ Great Performances production of PLAY ON!, and at the Blue Note Jazz Clubs in Japan. Tyrha’s passion for the arts and entertainment led to her receive a B.S. in radio/TV/film and a certificate in musical theater from Northwestern University. She also holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Her ability to work with all types of artists led her to work with Quincy Jones*David Salzman Entertainment, NBC, and Edmonds Entertainment in the development of television and film ideas and properties. Most recently, she served as the associate director of public relations and marketing for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. As an entrepreneur, Tyrha continues this work by way of her own marketing/PR consulting company, L.A.I Communications, which specializes in fundraising and creating strategic marketing/PR solutions with a focus on ethnic marketing for media companies, nonprofits, and small businesses. Volunteer affiliations include serving as a board member for the Greater Cincinnati United Way Foundation and the Arts Consortium and as a Business Volunteer for the Arts in Cincinnati. In addition, Tyrha has worked with the YWCA and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on a local and national level.

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Mitch Menchaca
Director, Local Arts Development
Arizona Commission on the Arts
T 602.229.8229
F 602.256.0282
E mmenchaca@azarts.gov
W www.azarts.gov

Mitch Menchaca is the director of local arts development at the Arizona Commission on the Arts. He administers grants and services to local arts agencies, festivals, and emerging organizations; and manages the commission’s cultural tourism, folk art, and international initiatives. Mitch serves on the board of directors for the Museum Association of Arizona, the Arizona Mexico Commission's Art and Culture Committee; and served as vice chair for the City of Casa Grande Arts and Humanities Commission. He is a member of the Arizona Book Festival, the Arizona Council for Enhancing Recreation and Tourism, and Emerging Leaders AZ.  Prior to working at the commission, Mitch served as the director of the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society, manager for Central Arizona College Public Events, and program associate for the Arizona Humanities Council. He studied theater and career development at Central Arizona College and Arizona State University.

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Adam Natale
Director of Member Services
Fractured Atlas
248 West 35th Street
New York, New York 10001
E adam.natale@fracturedatlas.org
W www.fracturedatlas.org

Adam Natale is the director of member services for Fractured Atlas in New York City. Since joining the staff, he has spearheaded a pilot program, known as the DC Area Artists Health Insurance Awareness Campaign, which seeks to improve low-cost healthcare for artists from that region. He recently created a revolutionary audience development initiative and established an ongoing relationship with New York University to offer workshops for students and alumni. Previously, he worked with the theater and musical theater disciplines at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). At the NEA, he worked on such national initiatives as Shakespeare in American Communities and American Masterpieces; designed and conducted presentations for the National Council on the Arts; adjudicated grant applications for international programs and the Coming Up Taller Awards; and worked alongside scores of theater, musical theater, literature, and folk and traditional arts professionals within grant-approval panels. Natale is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers (SSDC) and is a graduate of American University, where he earned a degree in directing for theater and film.

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Robin Iten Porter
E rliten@hotmail.com

Robin Iten Porter is an arts consultant. She most recently served as the executive director of Arts Council of the Valley in Harrisonburg, VA. Her experience with local arts councils includes serving as the first policy-level arts staff member for the city of Virginia Beach, where she directed the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission. She also administered granting programs for arts organizations, arts projects, and individual artists, as well as overseeing arts programming on a countywide basis at United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. Most recently, she administered artist fellowship programs in all disciplines at the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Robin received a B.A. from the University of Virginia (UVA) in art history, archeology, and women's studies and has completed graduate coursework in arts education at UVA and in urban studies in the School of Business and Public Administration of Old Dominion University.

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Eric Thomas, Jr.
Director of Marketing
National Black Arts Festival
659 Auburn Avenue, NE, Suite 254
Atlanta, GA 30312
T 404.730.7315
F 404.730.7104
E Ethomas@nbaf.org

Eric Thomas is the Director of Marketing at the National Black Arts Festival. Most recently, he lead the Audience Development Initiative at Lincoln Center. With a primary goal of cultivating new audiences, Eric worked with more than 100 community partners representing colleges/universities, community service organizations, and professional groups, both to bring their constituents to Lincoln Center and to bring Lincoln Center programs to their neighborhood venues. In addition, he programmed special events, including Lincoln Center's African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian Heritage month celebrations, Gay Pride activities, and Holiday Tree Lighting activities.

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