Board of Directors
Bob Lehman
Bob Lehman is the Executive Director of the San Diego Museum Council and Vice Chair of the San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission. He is proud to serve as Chair of San Diego Art Matters. As leader of the San Diego Museum Council, Lehman advocates on behalf of more than 80 museums and cultural institutions throughout San Diego County has an additional 30 cultural partnerships in Baja California. The Council is now one of the nation’s largest regional consortiums of museums and cultural institutions. Lehman also serves on the Arts + Culture: San Diego Task Force and represents museums, LGBTQ+, and veterans' communities on the Balboa Park Cultural Advisory Board. He previously served as Director of Marketing at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center and as Executive Director of Finest City Performing Arts. For more than 25 years, Lehman has been a nationally recognized leader in the fight for social justice and equality. As a combat U.S. Marine veteran, he founded San Diego's American Veterans for Equal Rights and helped end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He and his husband also led San Diego's initiatives for marriage equality and made history as the first two men in California history to marry legally. Three San Diego mayors have named a day in Lehman's honor. In 2016, the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission named Lehman "Humanitarian of the Year." In 2022, the California State Legislature honored him at the State Capital.
Matt D'Arrigo
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. The Center is a backbone organization and philanthropic intermediary established to ensure that CYD funders, practitioners, organizations, and young people have access to the resources, tools, opportunities, and relationships they need to thrive. With a small team, D'Arrigo oversees local, regional, and national strategy, investments, advocacy, coalition building, and field-building activities.
Before 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, and profiled in Darius Graham's book "Being the Difference: True Stories of Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the World." His work in philanthropy with Clare Rose was recently featured in the New York Times.
D'Arrigo is co-founder of the National CYD 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.
He lives in Point Loma with his wife Hulya, kids Tessa and Andrew, and their dog Max.
Shayla James
Shayla James (she/her) resides in San Diego on Kumeyaay Land. She balances her time as an arts administrator, teaching artist, and researcher in the arts and culture sector. Her work is rooted in community and collaboration across disciplines, and she advocates for accessible, inclusive arts learning and programming for all ages.
Shayla is currently the Director of the San Diego Creative Youth Development Network, overseeing network operations, communications, and programming. She is also a multi-instrumentalist with over 15 years of experience as a performer and educator. She enjoys being a facilitator in youth and adult creative spaces. She also owns Sempre Music Studio, a creativity-focused studio that offers students a responsive and trauma-informed music curriculum. Also, she is the creator and lead of Teaching Artist Circle, a community space that centers teaching artist voices of San Diego County. Shayla is a Research Associate at RISE Research & Evaluation, where her work focuses on arts assessment and evaluation, inclusion, racial and cultural equity in the arts, and cultural policy.
Board and committee service are priorities in Shayla's arts and culture advocacy work. In addition to serving on the San Diego Art Matters board's Executive Committee, she is a member of the Arts, Culture, and Design Committee for the Port of San Diego. Also, she is the Co-Chair of the Advocacy and Outreach Sub-Committee on the Teaching Artists Guild National Advisory Committee.
Danielle Bunch
Danielle Bunch is an arts administrator and actor. Originally from Houston, Texas, Danielle earned a BFA cum laude in Theatre Performance from the University of Houston and a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University. At Drexel, her research explored the impact of racial capitalism as a formidable obstacle for artists venturing into creative careers. While in Houston, she performed for numerous companies, including but not limited to Mildred's Umbrella Theatre, Obsidian Theatre, and the Houston Grand Opera; in San Diego, she has performed at Scripps Ranch Theatre and The Old Globe. Beyond the stage, Danielle is an active member of both Texas's and California's creative communities. She remains connected to her Houston roots by co-managing Fine Arts Forward, a grassroots collective of artists providing professional expertise across industries to students interested in pursuing visual and performing arts careers. In San Diego's creative community, Danielle serves as the Marketing Manager for Coronado Playhouse and separately provides communications support to the San Diego Black Artist Collective, facilitating connections for local Black artists and fostering a collaborative arts community. Formerly a dedicated theatre educator, Danielle now spearheads public will and coalition-building as the Communications Manager for Create CA, a nonprofit championing equitable arts education in California public schools. Her multifaceted career reflects an unwavering commitment to the arts, education, and cultivating inclusive creative spaces.
Carlos Cristiani
Carlos Cristiani is owner of Peninsula Business Consultants, a consulting firm dedicated to helping U.S. companies establish operations in Mexico and Latin America. His firm also assists foreign companies doing business in the U.S. with headquarters in San Diego and offices in Tijuana and Mexico City. Cristiani was appointed to the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and served for three years on the Executive Board of The House of Mexico. Born and raised in Mexico City, Cristiani attended law school at the Autonomous National University (UNAM) and also attended UCSD as an International Student. He later trained at the NCRC at their Summer Institute in La Jolla to become a Mediator.
Pauline Crooks
Pauline Crooks is the Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for the San Diego County Office of Education, a position she has held since January 2016. She works to ensure every child has the opportunity to experience the arts to build empathy and self-awareness in order to see the many assets they bring to their community and the world. Pauline received a B.A. in music education from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in teaching from National University, and a master’s degree in educational administration from Concordia University. She is a National Board-Certified Teacher in early and middle childhood music and has been a music educator for 28 years. Pauline is the leader of Arts Empower San Diego, a partnership between the San Diego County Office of Education and a coalition of nonprofit arts organizations, community partners, and school districts to champion arts education in all schools across the County.
Steve Dilley
Steve Dilley is Executive Director of the Veterans Art Project. As an artist, he believes it is his responsibility to help people in our community. The Veterans Art Project is an outgrowth of his personal sense of Artistic responsibility. From his time teaching Art at the college level, he observed how powerful Artmaking in community could be for individuals. VETART started as a passion to share skills and his love of Ceramics. From humble beginnings, The Veterans Art Project has grown into a nationally recognized program supporting Veterans, Spouses, dependents, caregivers, and active duty personnel. Community collaborations have also grown to include MHSOAC, The Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission, a California state agency, NEA Creative forces, Intrepid Center of Excellence MCBCP, San Diego Veterans Coalition, PEH, Physical and Emotional Health subcommittee, among many others.
Laurie Egan-Headley
Laurie Egan-Headley is the Director/Curator at Barona Cultural Center & Museum on the Barona Band of Mission Indians’ Reservation, a position she has enjoyed for almost 15 years. With a Master’s Degree in Anthropology and Museum Studies and over 26 years of museum experience, Laurie is passionate about education, interpretation, voice, representation, and equity. With strong community-centered beliefs and values, Laurie previously served on the San Diego Museum Council Board of Directors and currently serves on the boards of Western Museums Association and the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce. Through her work at Barona Museum, Laurie earned the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ National Medal in 2019, the Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums’ Guardian of Culture Award in 2020, and most recently, the Association for State and Local History’s Award of Excellence in 2022. She enjoys teaching and spending time with her family.
Jonathon Glus
Jonathon Glus joined the City of San Diego in November 2018. He leads and facilitates the strategic vision of the office. Before working in San Diego, he was the Director of Culture and Creative Economy for the City of Sacramento, CA where he led the city’s first cultural planning process in more than 20 years. Jonathon set in place an assessment of Sacramento’s film sector and an equity audit of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Before Sacramento, he served as the first CEO of Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) for over nine years. While at HAA, he worked closely with a board of more than 30, multiple committees, staff and partner agencies including Visit Houston, the Greater Houston Partnership, cultural districts and universities. Jonathon co-chaired the tourism committee of Visit Houston, partnered on multiple cultural tourism initiatives, and led two studies on the creative economy in Houston region. He was also the chairman of the board of Texans for the Arts (TFA), a statewide arts advocacy organization.
He was Executive Director of Arts & Culture for the City of Pasadena, CA where he led multiple cultural tourism initiatives and partnerships, represented that city with the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition & Festival, and led the city’s cultural planning process, in partnership with the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission. Jonathon began his career with city arts agencies in Evanston, IL, and his arts career with the International Sculpture Center, in Washington, DC where he wrote for SCULPTURE magazine and traveling exhibitions internationally. He studied urban economics and public policy at Indiana University, and art and architectural history at University of Illinois. He also studied at University of Kent, in Canterbury, England, where he focused on British urban policy.
Leticia Gomez Franco
Leticia Gomez Franco is executive director of the Balboa Art Conservation Center(BACC). A seasoned arts professional with deep roots in the San Diego community, Gomez Franco's work at BACC is informed by her commitment to preserving culture and years of hands-on experience with exhibitions, artists, and communities. Before joining BACC, Gomez Franco served as the Senior Arts and Culture Funding Manager of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture where she administered over $11 million in grants for community arts organizations. Prior to that she was the Director of Programs and Lead Curator for the New Americans Museum, an institution dedicated to preserving and presenting the immigrant experience, and established The Front: A Collaborative of Art, Culture, Design and Urbanism as a formal art gallery and leading binational laboratory of creative thought in the world's most trafficked border region, San Ysidro/Tijuana. As an accomplished curator she has developed more than forty exhibitions at various museums and galleries. Her independently curated work has elicited nationwide press and attention, as well. She holds a master’s degree in Curatorial Theory from the Liberal Arts and Sciences program of San Diego State University, and a bachelor’s in English and Chicana/o Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
James Halliday
James Halliday is Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at the NTC Foundation/Arts District Liberty Station. Prior to joining the NTC Foundation, James was executive director of A.R.T.S A Reason to Survive. A native San Diegan, James attended public K-12 schools, completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma program at San Diego HS in 1999, and had the privilege of being an Aaron Price Fellow, where the connection between civic engagement and public leadership first took root. After graduating with a degree in history from Stanford in 2003, James pursued postgraduate studies in Cracow, Poland, where he lived until 2005. Between 2005-14, he lived in Seoul, Moscow, and Istanbul, where he worked for many years in journalism, before transitioning the focus of his work to the intersection of education, philanthropy, and social enterprise. Prior to joining A.R.T.S., he was program director at the Education Synergy Alliance, and actively involved in shaping the impact economy for the greater San Diego region through his work with ImpactSD and the local chapter of EPIP.
Victoria L. Hamilton
Victoria L. Hamilton is an Emeritus member of San Diego Art Matters. She currently serves as the President of the California Arts Advocate and Past President of Californians for the Arts. She is the Founding Director of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, where she led this nationally recognized multi-million-dollar local arts agency for 24 years. At the Commission, she achieved unanimous approval of a plan for 2% for public art in capital improvement and 1% in private development, and for the Penny for the Arts Blueprint for increased arts and culture funding. With over 30 years in the field of arts administration, she is recognized for her pioneering leadership and work on public policy, cultural tourism, grantmaking, arts advocacy, and cultural diversity initiatives. Victoria has served as President of the United States Urban Arts Federation and California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies and has been a grant panel member for the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the San Diego Foundation, and the Sacramento Arts and Culture office and on public policy committees at state and national levels. She also serves as a Forever Balboa Park trustee and on the board of directors of the NTC Foundation and San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition. She has received numerous local, state, and national awards for her work, including the Ray Hanley Innovation Award given by the United States Urban Arts Federation for "outstanding individual contributions to arts and culture in American cities," the Americans for the Arts Selena Roberts Ottum Award "for outstanding contributions in the local arts agency field" and the 2020 78th Assembly District Woman of Distinction as a role model in the community for professional accomplishments and leadership.
Joey Landwehr
Joey Landwehr is an award-winning actor, arts administrator, and arts advocate currently serving as Artistic Director for JCompany Youth Theatre (2006-present) and Artistic Director for the SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE. Joey moved to San Diego after being a professional actor and Director in New York City, working on and off Broadway, national tours, and regional theatre, and directing and soloing at Carnegie Hall. He received his MFA in acting and directing from The Ohio State University and has studied under such theatrical luminaries as Marcel Marceau, Patti LuPone, F. Murray Abraham, and Twila Tharpe and has had the great privilege of working with such greats as Ben Vereen, Phyllis Diller, Sam Harris, Harvey, Fierstein, Cyndi Lauper, and Howard Keel. Joey has worked in all media of entertainment and is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the Director's Guild of America (DGA), and Americans for the Arts (AFTA).
Locally, Joey worked from 2003-2006 for the San Diego Performing Arts League as Membership and Community Development Director and from 2006-2015 as resident staging director and choreographer for the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus under the baton of Gary Holt. From 2014 to now, Joey served as Artistic Director for the Ben Vereen Awards, renamed the Broadway San Diego Awards - a part of the Nederlander Organization.
Joey has won over 50 awards for his work with young artists in San Diego, including a special creativity award for shaving his head with his lead in THE KING AND I, Yul Brynner style, gaining over $10,000.00 for Rady Children's Hospital, Cancer Unit. Earning him the title Joey "Do Anything For The Arts" Landwehr. In 2007, he received the "40 Under 40" Award from San Diego Metropolitan Magazine for outstanding leadership in the arts, and in 2011, he was also honored as the San Diego Newsmaker of the Year in the Arts. In 2015, Joey was nominated by the great Ben Vereen for the Inaugural Excellence In Theatre Education TONY Award; in 2016, Joey was further recognized when San Diego proclaimed October 18th Joey Landwehr Day.
Valentina Lunati
Valentina Lunati was recently appointed MOXIE Theatre’s Managing Director, after serving as the organization’s very first Development Director since 2018. During her tenure, she led MOXIE’s substantial growth in grant income and solidified and expanded their donor base. As a fundraiser and nonprofit manager, Valentina is passionate about fostering radically inclusive practices in all aspects of her work, from creating a work environment that celebrates diversity and access needs, to focusing on community-centered fundraising and audience engagement. She was a recipient of the 2019 Colette M. Murray fellowship from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, San Diego Chapter and served on their Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Committee for 4 years. Her previous experiences include working as an Interpreter and Translator, before joining the nonprofit sector in 2014. As a Department Manager at a social service nonprofit assisting refugees, she oversaw the operations and growth of multiple social enterprise income-generating programs, such as language services, a homecare agency, and a medical transportation program, all aimed at offering training and job opportunities to the refugee population. Valentina holds an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Padua (Italy) and an M.A. in Conference Interpreting from the University of Geneva (Switzerland).
Marcela Mercado
Marcela Mercado is General Manager with Fern Street Circus and also serves as a Community Assistant II with the San Diego Unified School District. She is a City Heights parent and activist and is well-regarded by elected officials in District 9. Her extensive volunteer work has benefitted several nonprofits, including Rosa Parks Elementary Board President; City Heights Día De Los Muertos Committee Organizer; and New Roots Community Garden. She is a graduate of the PCI Community Health Worker Academy and Mid-city Residence Leadership Academy. She has an AA degree in Visual Communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise.
Denise Montgomery
Denise Montgomery is the founder and principal of CultureThrive, a consulting practice with clients spanning the social, public, and private sectors, primarily focusing on arts, culture, and youth development. A strategist and global expert in creative youth development, Denise's research has been covered by National Public Radio, The Washington Post, and Youth Today, among other media outlets. She has published peer-reviewed work in the International Journal for Research on Extended Education, Arts Education Policy Review Journal, Afterschool Matters Journal, and Journal of Youth Development. Denise contributed the arts chapter to the influential Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings textbook.
Denise has spent more than two decades improving equitable access to the arts and out-of-school time programs, including helping to secure passage of California's landmark $2 Billion investment in universal expanded learning. Innovative and collaborative, Denise has formed strategic and programmatic partnerships with over 100 organizations and has successfully engaged over ½ million people in programs and volunteering throughout her career.
Denise draws on her experience in the public, private, and social change sectors to inform her involvement in cross-sector collaboration, systems change, advocacy, and policy. During her tenure as Director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, RAND ranked the agency as one of the top two municipal arts agencies in the United States.
Among her key influences are the youth and community-based practitioners she has had the privilege of learning from and working with. Denise serves on the New Children's Museum board, where she chairs the Education Committee; is active with the Creative Youth Development Funders Forum and Grantmakers for Thriving Youth; and is an education advisor to the National Museum of the American Latino.
Erin Spiewak
Erin Spiewak is the Executive Director of the Museum of Us. She joined the Museum team in January 2020 as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer. An established leader in San Diego’s nonprofit sector, Ms. Spiewak served as the Chief Executive Officer of Monarch School, a unique K-12 institution serving youth experiencing homelessness. While at Monarch School, Ms. Spiewak oversaw an instrumental capital campaign, renovating and opening the school’s new Nat & Flora Bosa campus; grew the student body from 150 to 300 students, while expanding the staff from 19 to 40 team members; developed a state-of-the-art high school college career lab; and launched an annual fundraiser, which has raised over $4M since 2015.
Previously, Ms. Spiewak worked with several foundations, including the Gary and Mary West Foundation, WebMD Health Foundation, and the Rose Foundation. Ms. Spiewak received a BA in Sociology from San Diego State University and her MBA from Webster University. She currently serves as a member of Women Give, San Diego and San Diego Rotary. Ms. Spiewak is a fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Sector Skills Academy and a graduate of the LEAD San Diego INFLUENCE leadership program.
Richard Trujillo
Richard Trujillo is an arts administration professional who most recently served as the Artistic Director at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SDSCPA). He led the artistic vision and guided the school to a renewed sense of purpose, putting it on track for national arts accreditation. Richard curated 13 seasons of award-winning theatre, music, visual and media arts, creative writing, and dance. He led the formalization of the art majors and designed the programs of study, establishing and authenticating the school's distinctive dual curriculum.
He served six years as the City of San Diego's Representative for the National Association of Colleges, Admissions Counselors Visual and Performing Arts Fair. He was the Director of Education and the Multi-district Arts Director for the West Valley Arts Council. He taught drama at Herrera School for the Fine Arts in Phoenix, Arizona, was nominated for the Governor's Arts Award in 2005.
An award-winning actor, Director, and producer, Richard has shared the stage with Tony Award Nominees Grace Keagy, Clayton Corzatte, and Patrick Page. He may be the only actor to perform works by these Latino vanguards--Latins Anonymous, Culture Clash, and John Leguizamo. His mentor, the late theatre icon Diane Rodriguez, directed each production. A directing highlight was leading the original production of James E. Garcia's Voices of Valor, a joint project from Artes Americas partners Arizona State University Public Events and the University of Texas in Austin. Richard is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association.
Nicole Verdes
Nicole Verdes (they/she) is devoted to serving arts and culture organizations as an administrator and advocate. In their time as Managing Director of Lambda Archives, she has successfully used her passion for social justice, arts and culture, and cultural preservation to create policies that center equity and access. In addition to her role at Lambda Archives, they have served on the Executive Committee of the San Diego LGBT Community Centers' Young Professionals Council, Treasurer on the Steering Committee for Rising Arts Leaders San Diego, as a Diversionary Theatre's Community Advisory Committee member, currently serves on the San Diego Art Matters board. She has presented on topics such as Youth Archival Futures at the ALMS Conference in Berlin. She has served on a grant panel for the California Arts Council's Administrators of Color Fellowship initiative. Nicole holds a master’s degree in Sociological Practice from Cal State San Marcos and is a graduate of the Western Archives Institute's course in Archival Study.
Alan Ziter
Alan Ziter is an Emeritus member of San Diego Art Matters, having served in various leadership roles since its inception. He recently retired from the NTC Foundation, serving as executive director since 2003, overseeing the restoration of 26 historic buildings at the former Naval Training Center to open them as ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station. To date, the NTC Foundation has completed $91 million in renovations to 17 buildings and the ARTS DISTRICT is home to over 95 galleries, dance companies, civic groups, artists, designers, cafes, and creative retail. A long-time arts advocate, Alan is a founding board member and former chair of the California Arts Advocates. He is a founder in 1989 and twice past co-chair of the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition. Alan is a Steering Committee member for the San Diego Chapter of California Lawyers for the Arts and the San Diego Arts + Culture Challenge. He served seven years on the San Diego Tourism Authority board and three years on the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce board. He is a past board member of the Art of Elan chamber music organization. Alan was the first staff person hired by the San Diego Performing Arts League in April 1986. During his 18 years at the League, he created and oversaw implementing programs that developed new audiences for the arts, promoted San Diego as a cultural destination, and increased community support for the arts. Prior to coming to San Diego in 1986, Alan was Marketing Director for the League of Chicago Theatres and worked in the Chicago office of the Shubert Organization.
