Seattle Arts Commission

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, Editor-in-Chief of the interdisciplinary arts publication REDEFINE, and co-chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. In 2022, Vee released the short film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project. They're presently a pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. 

Vanessa Villalobos is a performing artist, choreographer, producer and non-profit consultant from Lima, Peru with Indigenous, African and Spanish ancestry. She presented hundreds of original works and danced with companies in New York, Seattle, and more. She has degrees in Theatre and Dance from the University of Washington and earned her MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University.  She co-founded creative company VANICH Multimedia (NY) and is the founder of BALORICO.dance (WA). She is a seasoned Teaching Artist having worked in many public and private schools in Seattle and New York. Trained in contemporary, ballet, jazz and Ballroom Theatre Arts, she is a certified American Ballroom Rhythm & Smooth instructor. Film credits include MadHot Ballroom and Walt Disney's Enchanted where she was a principal dancer. Her dedication to racial equity is expressed through her community work with 501Commons, the Covid-19 Response Alliance, La Sala, the Dance Educators Association of Washington and Seattle University's Center for the Study of Justice in Society. Vanessa's cross-industry expertise has brought forth opportunities to help influence funding decisions on behalf of the Washington State Arts Commission, 4 Culture and the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Leslie Anne Anderson is responsible for the National Nordic Museum’s creative vision as its Chief Curator. She oversees the Museum’s collections, exhibitions, and program functions. Leslie has organized major exhibitions with Sweden’s Nationalmuseum and Finland’s National Gallery, commissioned new work from Jónsi—vocalist for the world-famous band Sigur Rós—and organized his first art exhibition at a US museum, and developed programs featuring Iceland’s President, Ministers of Iceland and Finland, and Ambassadors of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Norway. For COP26, she directed planning of an industry-leading symposium—co-presented with the American Alliance of Museums, the International Council of Museums, and the UK’s National Museum Directors’ Council—that convened speakers in 7 countries to discuss the impact of climate change on Arctic museums.

Previously, Leslie held curatorial positions at Utah Museum of Fine Arts and Indianapolis Museum of Art and taught courses at Brooklyn College and Parsons School of Design. She published in 10 academic journals, curated 20+ exhibitions, and directly stewarded 1,000+ acquisitions of art works. Leslie won the international Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) Award for Excellence (First Place) in 2018 and the Utah Museums Association Award for Excellence in 2020. She is a contributing author for AAMC’s latest best practices guide and a member of the editorial board of the international journal Arts. Leslie serves on 4Culture’s Heritage Advisory Committee and the Executive Council of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study. Previously, Salt Lake City’s then-Mayor Jackie Biskupski selected her for the City’s Art Design Board.

A former Fulbright scholar to Denmark, Leslie earned an MPhil (and advanced to doctoral candidacy) in Art History at City University of New York Graduate Center and an MA in Art History at the University of Florida, where she also completed a BA in History. She earned certificates in Scandinavian Languages from New York University, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Business Management (both) from University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. In 2023, the University of Florida Alumni Association selected Leslie for the “40 Gators Under 40” honor.

Linda Lowry’s creative energy, enterprising spirit, and passion for the arts are evident in all her ventures whether it be the motivation that drives success in her role as Director of Opportunities at Seattle Magazine, her focus on enhancing relationships through connecting community leaders with the private and non-profit sector, or her active participation on advisory boards and committees that demonstrate her love of the arts and her initiatives for a diverse, and equitable community. Linda founded the Art Committee at the Columbia Tower Club (CTC) in 2010, whereby she has been part of a passionate group that has promoted community engagement of the arts. The annual highlight of this committee is a fundraising gala to support local artistic groups such as: Arts Fund, Cornish College of the Arts, The Film School, SANCA, The Michael J. Owens Music Foundation, to name a few. Linda studied at Chapman University where she was a collegiate athlete in Women’s soccer and received her BA in Political Science/International Law. Linda remains active in the greater
Seattle community as evident by her volunteer efforts with the following organizations: Executive Advisory Council for Providence O ’Christmas Trees, Chair of the DEI Committee at the Women’s University Club. Linda also embraces opportunities to assist like-minded entrepreneurial efforts and women in business and currently serves on the advisory board for PartnerTap. In 2021, Linda was recognized and awarded the “Hometown Hero” award by the Seattle Mariners, for her philanthropic work Bloodworks NW during the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda is also a stroke and brain aneurysm survivor, and her story of strength and resilience has been featured in the “50/50 Friendship Flow”, “Ask Yourself This” by Shari Leid and on several podcasts, including “Power Moment” with Paula Lamas. She is also part of an all-women’s sailing team.

Kayla DeMonte is the Managing Director at Citizen University, a Seattle-based non-profit working to build a culture of powerful, responsible citizenship across the US. Prior to this role, she was Director of Programs & Partnerships at the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce and began her career at One Reel, where she managed festival sponsorships, partnerships, and special projects for Bumbershoot and the Family 4th. In addition to her years on staff at One Reel, Kayla has done work with a variety of major festivals and events such as Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Northwest Folklife, and has been an event consultant for Seattle's Mayor’s Arts Awards for the past several years. Kayla has served in volunteer leadership roles with ArtsFund, The Vera Project, and Leadership Tomorrow and is a proud graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Dhyana Garcia is an International Butoh performer based in Seattle, and holistic movement specialist whose work and research centers on dance and movement as healing and transformative practices. Co-founder of DAIPANbutoh Collective, former dance faculty at the University of Washington and owner of Meditation in Motion Pilates and Yoga and Breathing Room Studio in Seattle. Has more than 30 years performing nationally and internationally in Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the United States.  During her professional ballet and modern dance career, she performed with the National Ballet of Mexico, Luna Negra Dance Theater and The Chicago Moving Company in Chicago, and The Chamber Dance Company and BQDanza in Seattle. As butoh artist her solo and collaborative work has been presented in Seattle, New York City and Minneapolis in the US and  Seoul Korea, Kyoto Japan, Toronto Canada, Santiago Chile and Mexico City. You can find Dhyana teaching Pilates and yoga at meditationinmotiontoday.com

Ricky Graboski’s personal and professional history are intertwined with America’s underground DIY scene. He currently serves as Executive Director of The Vera Project, an all-ages music venue, arts incubator, and community center in Seattle. Before Vera, Ricky coordinated grassroots initiatives in Detroit, worked in musician engagement in New York, and ran a national community organizing training center based in Houston. During that time, he also played in terrible punk bands and volunteered at influential DIY spaces Death by Audio and Shea Stadium in Brooklyn. At Vera, Ricky has dedicated his time to advocating for the DIY scene and community-centered cultural spaces, building all-ages programming at the intersection of art and activism.

"The arts reflect, provoke, question, and connect human beings and the human experience. For a just society to exist, we must ensure access to the arts are available, representative, and part of the thread that binds the fabric of our society together".  With a background in non-profit management, strategic planning and communications, Holly's professional background spans both for-and non-profit institutions. She has created strategic marketing and product solutions for Microsoft, The City of Seattle, The Seattle International Film Festival, and other entertainment and education institutions.  A passionate advocate for social justice, in 2003, Holly co-founded Voter Action, a national non-profit organization with the aim to secure accurate election systems, especially for underserved communities.  Voter Action led a national effort to develop reliable and fair voting practices which helped improve access and standards across the country. Having studied film at San Francisco State University, she has worked in film and is a strong believer in the power of story telling to elevate often unheard voices.  Since 2013, Holly has been the Executive Director of Path with Art, an organization on the forefront of connecting the arts to low income adults living in or recovering from trauma. She has been engaged with the steering committee of With One Voice, an organization supporting International Arts and Homelessness organizations and practitioners across the globe. 

Megan Kiskaddon is Executive Director of On the Boards, Seattle's home for contemporary performance. Previously, she was interim Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer at SFMOMA, where she oversaw artist driven, socially engaged, discursively inclined, and educationally focused initiatives. She served for several years on the Advisory Board for Emerging Arts Professionals, an equity-centered organization focused on empowerment and leadership in the arts. She holds a BA in Sociology from Mills College, an MA from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University, and is an alumna of the NextGen Getty Leadership Institute for executive education.

Yolanda Spencer member of the Confederated Tribes of Yakama Nation and as well as Lummi Nation in Washington. She is part of the Swan Clan and carries her mother’s Lummi name Cho Phosh Owet. She attended Haskell Indian Nations University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She has served with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation over a decade and has served as its strong leader for the past decade promoting education and employment rights, her knowledge spanned to outreach and education for both workers and employers for our Seattle Indigenous community. Yolanda has developed and administered Native Workforce Services Program since 2011. She is currently the new Community Services Director for the Chief Seattle Club that focuses on Reentry, Housing, and Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault need within our Urban Indigenous. Chief Seattle Club non-profit organization dedicated to physically and spiritually supporting American Indian and Alaska Native people. She previously served on the WorkSource Seattle-King County Employer Outreach Partners and King Central Local Planning Area (LPA) that focuses on best practices and outreach for our underserved job seekers. She also served as a recovery coach for the White Bison Medicine Wheel that supported the incarcerated women at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and participated as a traditional dancer that attended the Department of Corrections Pow Wow’s across Washington State. She is also certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to administer personality assessment tool, facilitator in White Bison Warrior Down/Recover Coach and Survivors of Homicide. She is an avid Seattle’s sports fan for the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks.

Joël Barraquiel Tan (siya/he/all pronouns) is the Executive Director at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. He is the author of “Type O Negative” (Red Hen), and various works on identity, AIDS, & queer politics appear in academic and commercial venues.  Joël co-founded LA's Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team Health Center and was the Director of Community Engagement at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from 2004-2015. Before coming to the Wing Luke Museum, he lived on Hawai'i Island. He helped develop Vibrant Hawai'i, a network of cross-sector leadership working together to connect Hawai'i citizens to needed resources.