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Speaker Biographies
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2003 Convention Overview Home - 2003 Convention Home
- Amanda Ault
- Eileen Baker
- Benjii Bryan Bittle
- Michelle Hunter
- Leslie A. Ito
- Robert L. Lynch
- Diane Mataraza
- John McCann
- Laura Roberts
- Harriet Sanford
- Jerry Yoshitomi
Amanda Ault
Amanda Ault is an artist, editor, and curator in the media arts. For the past four years she has worked as video editor/program assistant for the Wexner Center for the Arts Media Arts Department residency program.
Eileen Baker
Eileen Baker was a college instructor and a practicing visual artist until 1980 when she began her career as an arts administrator. She currently is director of cultural affairs for the City of Savannah. She earned a bachelor’s degree in printmaking at the University of Georgia and a master’s in arts administration from Goucher College.
Benjii Bryan Bittle
Benjii Bryan Bittle is an arts administrator in the Tacoma Economic Development Department. An accomplished performing and literary artist, he has been instrumental in fostering a local renaissance and advancing Tacoma as a cultural tourism destination.
Michelle Hunter
Upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history, Michelle Hunter began her career as an arts administrator with the City of Savannah's Department of Cultural Affairs in 2000. As the contract coordinator, her responsibilities include monitoring contractual compliance for the more than 910 cultural services designed to revitalize neighborhoods, encourage cultural tourism, and provide educational opportunities for young people. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s in arts administration from Goucher College.
Leslie A. Ito
Leslie Ito is currently the director of program development at Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian American media arts organization. She is also the co-coordinator for the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Arts Network, an informal advocacy and networking group and serves on the board of directors for Americans for the Arts. From 1998 to 2000, she was a program associate in the Media, Arts and Culture Division at the Ford Foundation in New York.
Robert L. Lynch
Bob Lynch is the president and chief executive officer of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to promoting arts and culture through leadership, advocacy, visibility, professional development, research, and information. For 29 years, he has worked with local arts agencies to strengthen community arts activity and has been a speaker and trainer on leadership, management, creativity, and community cultural planning.
Diane Mataraza
Diane Mataraza, an independent consultant, has 25 years experience in the nonprofit arts field spanning all 50 states: vice president, Arts Market; director, Grammy Awards Foundation; director, National Endowment for the Arts Local Arts Agencies Program; director, Alliance of New York State Arts Councils; and director, Dutchess County Arts Council in New York. She is the 1998 recipient of the Selina Roberts Ottum Award presented by the NEA and Americans for the Arts and also of a NEA Distinguished Service Award in 1996.
John McCann
John McCann is an educator, facilitator, and consultant. The focus of his work is leadership education and organizational effectiveness. He is the designer and facilitator of the Community Arts Leadership Academy (Michigan), lead faculty member for the Orchestra Management Fellows Program of the American Symphony Orchestra League, and is director of the Arts Administration program at Virginia Tech.
Laura Roberts
Laura Roberts is a management consultant in independent practice specializing in strategic analysis and planning, organizational development, and meeting facilitation for cultural nonprofits. She teaches arts management in graduate programs at Boston University, Tufts University, and Bank Street College.
Harriet Sanford
Harriet Sanford heads the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, America’s third largest local arts agency and the largest united arts fund with the highest per-capita, individual, and workplace giving. She won national recognition in June 2002 when Americans for the Arts presented her with its top honor, the Selina Roberts Ottum Award.
Jerry Yoshitomi
Jerry Yoshitomi reads, researches, provokes, and speaks on the “New Fundamentals of Cultural Participation.” He has recently been engaged by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Haas Funds, Arts Midwest, Western Arts Alliance, and several university-based performing arts presenters to develop and present new methods to increase participation in the arts. He was formerly the executive director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles, served on the California Arts Council, and was vice president/director of operations for the Western States Arts Foundation (WESTAF).
