Staff

Richard A. Howard |  Nicole Gordillo |  Amber T. Jones |  Board

Jan Williamson, Executive Director

Jan Williamson is the Executive Director of the 18th Street Arts Center. She joined 18th Street in 1995 as the General Manager and from 1996 to 2006, she was Co-Executive Director with Clayton Campbell. During her tenure she has led the effort to purchase the 18th Street property, developed 18th Street¹s model Residency Program and Arts Education Program and and is now leading the effort to envision and plan 18th Street¹s new expanded facility. Through 18th Street she consults on professional development for individual artists and small nonprofit arts organizations and the operation of multi-tenant nonprofits. She holds a certification from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders and a Bachelor¹s degree in Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is an active member of the Santa Monica City Arts Commission, and serves on Commission¹s Artist Live-Work Task Force. Before coming to 18th Street she was a founding team-member for artist Tom Van Sant’s visionary GeoSphere Project, the first satellite composite map of the Earth free of clouds and a state-of-the-art interactive multimedia program for museums and planetariums. As the GeoSphere’s Director of Operations she oversaw the production and licensing of giant globes and maps for Earth Situation Rooms which were installed in the United States, Brazil, Japan, and Spain. Prior to the GeoSphere Project she served for seven years in the museum field as a preparator and registrar.

Richard A. Howard, Business Manager

Business Manager, Richard Howard has spent the majority of his professional career as a director in the nonprofit sector. He has extensive experience running the operations and marketing for agencies that address critical needs of the community.  Richard has worked as the Executive Director of three synagogues, functioning as the CEO & CFO of these dynamic agencies.  These organizations all had extensive programming, accredited schools, and social action activities for the community.

Richard has over ten years of experience in affordable non profit housing working for organizations that address homelessness and the needs of low-income families. He was the Associate Director of Community Housing Management Services, and ran the operations that managed a portfolio of 66 limited-income and special needs properties.  In addition, Richard worked on Los Angeles’ Skid Row with nationally recognized, SRO Housing Corporation.

With the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, Richard contributed to improving nutritional needs through food programs, education and community organizing as the Program Director for the AmeriCorps National Service Los Angeles Anti-Hunger & Empowerment Project. As a Program Director for the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles Richard directed camps and worked yearlong with children, teens and single adults.

In addition to his professional career in non-profit management, Richard is an active lay leader and is currently the Treasurer of Eco-Home Network – a non profit dedicated to sustainable living in the urban environment. Richard has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a Business Administration Certificate, from UCLA and a MBA in Nonprofit Organizations from the American Jewish University.

Richard and his wife, Karin (a Speech Pathologist in private practice) are both native Angelinos and have two children, Rebekah and Max.  Aside from spending time with his family and two cats, Richard enjoys yoga, gardening, attending sport/cultural events, reading and camping.

Nicole Gordillo, Development Associate

Nicole Gordillo is the Development Associate for 18th Street Arts Center. In this capacity, she is responsible for fundraising and grant administration for the Center. She has worked closely with government agencies, non-profit organizations and well-known artists and curators in the installation of works, management of programs, and execution of opening events and exhibitions.

As the Coordinator of the City of Pasadena’s ArtNight Festival, she has implemented innovative approaches to building community and corporate support while initiating fresh marketing strategies, gaining the festival an award of “Best Cultural Event in Pasadena” from the Pasadena Weekly. Nicole also worked with the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs in the development and implementation of a city-wide pilot program presenting temporary public art opportunities in all disciplines for artists and arts organizations. Nicole has held positions in national organizations such as Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C. where she worked closely with research, government affairs, and field services staff to complete projects linking cultural theory, practice, advocacy and policy.  Additionally, she held positions in regional organizations such as Inner-City Arts and L.A. Freewaves, as well as consulted for marketing and PR companies such as Operation PR in southern California and Canada.

Nicole completed her Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts in Theatre through a Presidential Scholarship at the University of Southern California.  She also studied theatre at the University of Miami, Northwestern University and the British-American Dramatic Academy in London, England.  More recently, she obtained her Master’s degree in Public Art Studies also from the University of Southern California, receiving the Director’s Award and the George and Marion Blumenthal Scholarship.

Nicole comes to 18th Street with a strong interest in building more vibrant communities through the arts and contributing to the development and execution of programs and projects that act as catalysts for the creative expression of individuals and communities through active engagement and involvement.

Amber T. Jones, Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator

Amber Jones is a recent college graduate from Bethune-Cookman University located in Daytona Beach, Florida. She attained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in the area of News-Editorial and Public Relations. During her college tenure, Amber played a major role in the event planning and implementation of essential PR tools used for various public relations campaigns on the university’s campus. She served as Entertainment editor of the university’s newspaper, active board member of the campus’ Public Relations Association and was the Public Relations director of S.I.F.E. (Students in Free Enterprise). Amber was also the student chairperson for a large-scale Walt Disney campaign with several major sponsors and over 5,000 attendees throughout Central Florida.
Amber was placed at 18th Street Arts Center through a program with one of our many partnership organizations, Public Allies. Public Allies is a community-based program, sponsored by Americorps, which selects young leaders from diverse communities and instills in them how to be stronger leaders in their communities. The goal of the program is to prepare these young leaders on how to confront social justice issues and influence major change within the community.  Adela Ruelas, Housekeeper

Adela has been with 18th Street Art Center practically from the day it opened in 1988. As a staff member, she ensures that the studios for the visiting artists are prepared for each incoming artist and she beautifies and cleans the gallery, offices and common areas of the Center.

Board

Joan Abrahamson	Joan Abrahamson is president of the Jefferson Institute, a public policy institute that identifies and implements innovative approaches to current policy problems. She was assistant chief of staff to Vice President George H. W. Bush from 1981 to 1985. She has also worked with the U.N. Human Rights Commission and UNESCO’s Division of Human Rights and Peace, where she designed new procedures for the treatment of alleged violations of human rights. She planned and implemented the Vienna International Congress on the Teaching of Human Rights and the International Symposium on the Political Participation of Women. In 1985 she was named a MacArthur Fellow. She is president of the Jonas Salk Foundation and founding chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
Andrew Beath	Andrew is the founder of the EarthWays Foundation in Malibu, California, as well as several other nonprofit social justice and environmental organizations. His foundation has initiated projects to protect wilderness and assist threatened communities in South, Central and North America. Andrew is also author of the book Consciousness in Action. His personal interest continues to focus on potential solutions to our ecological problems by dealing with the issues of poverty in the third world, consumption in our country, expanding human population, specific environmental problems, and the undeniable interconnectedness of all these things. EarthWays projects are meant to be a catalyst for personal & global awareness and social & environmental activism.
Dina Chaco-Dalby	Dina has a diverse career in the commercial and fine arts.  Currently an Art Consultant at Art Source L.A., Inc, she is the former Director of the Karen Lynne Gallery and previously represented commercial photographers.  A painter herself, she also teaches oil painting at the Kline Academy of Fine Art.  Dina has a BA from UCSD and a Masters of Arts Management with a concentration in the Visual Arts from Columbia College Chicago.
Susanna Bixby Dakin	A native California writer and sculptor, she is a co-founder of 18th Street Arts Center and the former publisher of High Performance Magazine. Susanna has also been instrumental and an sustaining figure over many decades in family and indigenous farmer¹s rights, nuclear disarmament and environmental justice movements.
Laddie John Dill	A native California visual artist, he is internationally recognized with work in the permanent collections of over 25 museums. He has extensive teaching experience at Cal Arts, Otis Art Institute and the Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture.
Francine Ellman	Ms. Ellman is the founder and president of Art Source L.A., Inc. a worldwide full service fine art consulting firm. Ms. Ellman is active in the arts community and has given seminars and lectures on the local and national level for organizations such as the San Francisco Art Institute, University of California at Los Angeles, Harvard Business School and California Lawyers for the Arts. She has curated critically acclaimed solo and group shows, as well as numerous exhibition projects for more than thirty-five years. In addition to the 18th Street Arts Center she has served as a docent for nine years for the Venice Art Walk, volunteered for Inner City Arts, Chrysalis and other community organizations.
Lori Harris	Lori Harris is a lawyer for and for the past 14 years has served as a Deputy Public Defender in Los Angeles. She currently advocates on the behalf of youth incarcerated in the state prisons.  Her past experience includes working in the arts as an administrator, producer and board member for Inner City Cultural Center and Kaos Networks.  She was the founding president of Art Against Apartheid.
Meg Linton	Meg Linton is the Director of Galleries and Exhibitions, Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Over the last sixteen years, she has organized hundreds of solo and group exhibitions, published dozens of catalogs and worked with respected artists, curators and institutions. Linton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California at Irvine (1989) and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Exhibition Design and a Certificate in Museum Studies from California State University, Fullerton (1995). In 2007 she completed the prestigious Museum Leadership Program at The Getty Leadership Institute. She was the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum from January 1999-June 2003 and prior to that the Curator of Exhibitions at the University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach. She was co-founder and curator of Griffin Linton Contemporary Exhibitions in Venice Beach and Costa Mesa, California, and has also worked at The New Museum of Contemporary Art, Laguna Art Museum, Newport Harbor Art Museum (now Orange County Museum of Art), and The Severin Wunderman Museum.  In addition to serving on the Board of Directors and Program Committee for 18th Street Art Center she is also a Program Advisory Committee member for the Laguna Art Museum; Executive Board Member for the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the international curators congress IKT.
Vincent Lopez	Vincent is a native Angeleno who truly loves Los Angeles. He is a Branch Manager for Walters Wholesale Electric Co. As a  20-year veteran of the electrical industry in Southern California, Vincent has worked on numerous large projects such as LACMA and the MTA Gold line among many others.  As a long time community advocate he volunteers as a Community Liaison for the Hollenbeck Youth Center in Boyle Heights and has  co-founded Illuminate, which is a summer arts program for children in Boyle Heights. Whether serving the homeless or helping underserved children, the Lopez family takes pride in helping others. Vincent is married to Cecilia Zurita Lopez who is pursuing her Phd.in Biochemistry at UCLA and has two daughters Sarah who is a sophomore at Whittier College and Rachel a Junior at Alverno High School.
Alice Salinas	Alice Salinas is an affordable housing consultant and activist. Her commitment to housing the homeless and very-low income individuals stems from the many years of working with poor families in addressing their needs for decent and safe shelter. She also works with homeless advocates assisting them with permanent solutions to the issue of chronic homelessness. Alice was born and raised in LA, is a graduate of the Occidental College and UCLA. She has one sister, two brothers and is the daughter of a United Auto Worker.
Leslie Labowitz Starus	A green entrepreneur, she is the President and co-founder of Foodology, a natural food manufacturer. She is also a recognized community artist who worked out of the Los Angeles Women¹s Building and is a long-time collaborator with artist Suzanne Lacy.
Pilar Tompkins Rivas	Pilar Tompkins Rivas is an independent curator and arts project coordinator at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, where she is co-curating the suite of exhibitions, L.A. Xicano, to be held at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, LACMA and the Autry National Center. Additionally, she is director of the Latin American branch of the Artist Pension Trust and former Curator of the Claremont Museum of Art. As part of the Getty Research Institute’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, she is curating Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Ms. Tompkins Rivas’ recent projects also include Bas Jan Ader: Suspended Between Laughter and Tears at Pitzer College and Museo de Arte Zapopan, Mexico, Post American L.A., Multiverse, The Passerby Museum and Vexing: Female Voices from East L.A. Punk which represented the City of Los Angeles at the 2009 Guadalajara International Book Fair. In 2006, she was a founding director and curator of The MexiCali Biennial, a bi-national art exhibition and music event transcending the constraints of the US/Mexico border.
Lori Zimmermann	Zimmerman has helped small and mid-size nonprofit and community organizations develop infrastructure and capacity for growth over the past 25 years.  She has held management positions with the Latino Theater Company (General Manager), Venice Community Housing Corporation (Administrative Director) and Los Angeles Theatre Center (Administrative Manager), has served on the Board of The Center for the Study of Political Graphics and the Liberty Hill Foundation, and is a consultant to emerging groups in the Los Angeles region.She has a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts and a MBA from the University of Southern California. She is currently producing THE EINSTEIN PLAN and on the Board of The Fowler Museum of UCLA Textile Council. In addition, she is developing a new volunteer organization that works to identify and connect community resources to public high schools in order to encourage students to successfully prepare for, apply to and enroll in institutions of higher learning.