The Alliance’s Policy Council is composed of allied partners from education, business, arts and parent organizations. Working in conjunction with the Board of Directors, it is charged with authoring the Vision Framework and recommending annual Strategic Priorities, which guide the work of the California Alliance. By engaging a broad cross section of stakeholders, this enables the Alliance to focus on the most pressing issues and concerns facing arts education at the state and local levels.
Membership in the Policy Council is open to all organizations that have an ability to mobilize people and advocate on behalf of arts education. The goal is to build a Policy Council that has a balanced representation among education, business, arts and parent organizations. There is an annual fee for participation on the Policy Council. The fee covers the cost of participation and provides general operating support for the Alliance’s programs and services. The Policy Council meets twice annually, rotating between Northern and Southern California. For more information, email caae@artsed411.org.
Policy Council
Organization | Representative | Title |
PAUL RICHMAN* | Education Policy Consultant | |
Alameda County Office of Education | DEREK FENNER | Arts Learning Program Manager |
Arts Council Santa Cruz County | SARAH BROTHERS | Arts Education Manager |
Arts for LA | GUSTAVO HERRERA | Executive Director |
California Art Education Association (CAEA) | LI EZZELL | President |
California Arts Council | JOSY MILLER** | Arts Education Programs Specialist |
California Association of Museums | MALLORIE MARSH | Associate Director of Education |
California Dance Education Association (CDEA) |
KIM HOJ |
Co-President |
California Department of Education | ||
California Educational Theatre Association (CETA) |
MICHAEL DESPARS |
President |
California Federation of Teachers | GINGER FOX | LAUSD Itinerant Performing Arts Teacher, Dance |
California Labor Management Initiative, CDE Foundation | ED HONOWITZ* | Project Director |
California Latino School Boards Association | JESUS HOLGUIN | Treasurer |
California Music Educators Association (CMEA) | ARMALYN DE LA O | President |
California School Boards Association | XILONIN CRUZ-GONZALEZ | Immediate Past President |
California State PTA | DONNA ARTUKOVIC | Legislative Advocate, Education |
California State Summer School for the Arts Foundation | ||
California Teachers Association | ROBERT BASSETT | Liaison |
Californians for the Arts/California Arts Advocates | JULIE BAKER | Representative |
California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) Arts Initiative | SARAH ANDERBERG | Director |
Cayton Children's Museum | LEONARDO BRAVO* | Chief Program Officer |
Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation | EMILY GARVIE | Program Officer |
Community Arts Partnership, California Institute of the Arts | VERONICA ALVAREZ | Director |
Create CA | PATRICIA WAYNE | Program Director |
CSU East Bay Arts Education Initiative | ERIC ENGDAHL | Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education |
Inner-City Arts | ||
LA Phil | LENI BOORSTIN | Director of Community and Government Affairs |
Latino Arts Network | REBECCA NEVAREZ | Executive Director |
Little Kids Rock | TONY SAUZA | Southern California Regional Program Director |
Los Angeles County Arts Ed Collective | DENISE GRANDE | Director of Arts Education |
National Guild for Community Arts Education | ADAM JOHNSTON | Chief Operating Officer |
P.S. ARTS | KRISTEN PAGLIA | Executive Director |
Performing Arts Workshop | NEELA BENJAMIN GENTILE | Interim Executive Director |
San Francisco Arts Commision | CANDACE EROS DÍAZ | Program Officer, Community Investments |
Santa Clara County Office of Education | SOFIA FOJAS | Arts Coordinator |
Teaching Artists Guild | MIKO LEE | Interim Executive Director |
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | MARK SLAVKIN* | Director of Education |
Walter and Elise Haas Fund | FRANCES PHILLIPS | Program Director |
WAT Associates | WILLIAM TISDALE* | Owner |
Young Storytellers | BILL THOMPSON | Executive Director |
* California Alliance Board ** Government Agency Liaison
Revised 9/24/20
2020-2021 Strategic Priorities Recommended by the Policy Council
Each year, the Policy Council identifies the most pressing issues and concerns facing arts education at the state and local levels and recommends a list of Strategic Priorities. These priorities are approved by the Board and guide the Alliance’s work for the year.
The Alliance’s strategic priorities for the coming year reflect our commitment to advancing racial equity and prioritizing underserved communities in all the work we do, while responding and adapting to the radically-shifting educational, civic and economic environments in innovative ways. Our priorities will address increasing equitable participation in quality arts education through the following means:
Advocating to federal, state and local policy makers to ensure arts education is appropriately funded and sustained as part of the state-mandated core curriculum;
Deepening our collective commitment to racial equity and anti-racism work through the implementation of a new arts education racial equity action plan;
Highlighting evidence of the value of arts education in improving social emotional learning and responding to trauma; and
Demanding equitable student access, teacher support, and professional development in relation to distance learning and ensuring high-quality arts instruction in all disciplines is represented in distance learning curricula.
Ongoing Priorities of the Alliance
Increase Access to Quality Arts Education
Improve the Quality of Arts Education