governance

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the County of Sacramento in December of 2002, Dr. Linda Merksamer brings extensive and varied experience in both the arts and sciences. Linda currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Crocker Art Museum, in addition to serving on the Major Gifts Access Committee for the museum's expansion and the Collections and Acquisitions Committee. In 2005, she served as the Chair of the highly acclaimed Sacramento Youth Symphony Music of the Holocaust Era concert at the Mondavi Center. She has served on the Art in Public Places Committee of the Arts Commission, the Board of Directors of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Sacramento and Northern California and has held numerous leadership positions with the San Juan Unified School District. She graduated from Stanford University. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the County of Sacramento in 2006, Dan brings varied experiences to the Commission. Dan is a retired Civil Engineer and environmental program manager for the State of California. He served as Fund-Raising Chair and President of the Sacramento Youth Symphony and is the current President of the SYS Foundation. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Symphony Association and has been a supporter of the arts in Sacramento for nearly three decades. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the County of Sacramento in 2005, Charles brings a vast amount of business as well as arts experience to the Commission. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University. He served as Executive Vice President of Chrysler Corporation as well as other corporate executive positions. He has served as Chair or Board member on the Fair Oaks Theater Festival, the Arthritis Foundation of Northern California, Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, and many more. He also previously served on the Arts and Education Committee of the Commission. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission in 2007 by the City of Sacramento. Since 2002, Kim Curry-Evans has been St. HOPE's Director of Visual Arts, where she is responsible for implementing art exhibitions and educational programming for Sacramento's 40 Acres Art Gallery. St. HOPE is a nonprofit community development organization established in 1989 by NBA All-Star and Oak Park native Kevin Johnson, whose mission is to revitalize the inner-city community of Oak Park, through public education, civic leadership, economic development and the arts. Curry-Evans has curated numerous exhibitions with such artists as Flo Oy Wong, Cathleen Lewis, Beverly McIver, Mark Priest, Willie Birch, Charles Stewart and Milton Bowens. She has been active with several key art organizations, including the American Association of Museums, the Association for African-American Museums and the Western Museums Association, of which she was a board member until 2003. For two years Curry-Evans was a member of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission's (SMAC) Art in Public Places Committee; she currently chair's SMAC's Visual Art Committee. She also serves on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency's Oak Park Redevelopment Advisory Committee. In 2007, she was honored as the Art and Business Council's (ABC) Arts Executive of the Year Award, and was recognized by Bank of America with a Local Hero Award. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the City of Sacramento in October of 2002, Joanna brings her experience as an Arts educator as well as Administrator to the Commission. She studied music at the Institute of Fine Arts in Columbia, SA, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Cal State Sacramento and received her Masters degree in Educational Management from the University of La Verne. She is currently a Doctoral student at the University of Southern California. She has several California teaching credentials and certificates. She has been a teacher, mentor teacher and administrator for the Sacramento City Unified School District for 19 years. She is an adjunct instructor for Chapman University in the teaching credential program, and a past member of the Sacramento Symphony Chorus and Sacramento Opera Chorus. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission in 2007 to represent the Cities of Folsom, Isleton and Galt. Patrick is a licensed C.P.A working for the California Board of Equalization. He his also a member of the Folsom Arts Commission and his interests include photography and graphic arts. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the City of Sacramento in 2004, Patti brings a lifetime of experience in both visual arts and cultural inclusiveness. She spent her youth in rural Montana. Later she attended Crown College, where she first tutored Southeast Asian refugees. She received her Masters Degree in English Language Development and her Teaching Credential from Sacramento State University. She worked as a Language Development Specialist, teaching English to Southeast Asian refugee children in a model ESL program. After attending art classes at Sacramento City College, she has begun a new career as a visual artist, painting under the name Patris. She is specializing in local landscapes and urban images, with a focus on Oak Park. She is also a founding member of S12, an art venue for artists and art lovers, where art classes, artist workshops, art exhibits and many other activities occur on a weekly basis. (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the City of Sacramento in 2006, Danny brings a strong background in local and regional visual and performing arts. Born and raised in East Sacramento, Daniel attended Sacramento High Schooland California State University at San Francisco. As part of an Interdisciplinary American Studies program, he spent one year traveling through South America where he researched the vast cultural diversity of the region. Upon returning to Sacramento, he helped pioneer many local establishments. In the 1980's he was owner operator of a popular restaurant bar and nightclub with a staff of over 30 people. Through this venue he helped many local performers become nationally known. Later Daniel went on to form a successful catering and event planning business that is still thriving today. In addition to event planning and catering Daniel is currently planning the "Art 4 Peace" world tour to follow.  (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the County of Sacramento in April of 2003, Margi brings extensive experience in education and the arts along with her unmatched sense of humor. She received her Bachelors degree from Binghamton University and her Masters in Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. She has teaching credentials in Health Education and French. She has countless other affiliations with educational and community groups. She was instrumental in launching the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival in 1997. She currently serves as an Educational Programs Consultant at the California Department of Education in Adult Education. She has taught at universities, worked for City, County and State governments as well as non-profit organizations.  (Collapse text)

Appointed to the Arts Commission by the County of Sacramento in September of 2007, Pat brings experience as a Librarian and Arts programs and events organizer. She received her bachelor's degree from San Francisco State College, San Francisco, CA and her master's degree for University of California, Berkley, Berkeley, CA in Library Science. While working for the Sacramento Public Library she produced a media production Teaching Children the Art of Storytelling that aired on KVIE channel 6 and cable TV. She chaired the One Book Sacramento Program, 2006. She currently serves as chairperson of the Fine Arts Festival of Elk Grove, Inc., a yearly event that features visual, literary and performing arts. She has served as Librarian ex-officio to the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Martin Luther King Library, and currently serves in that position with the Friends of the Elk Grove Library. She is currently the Supervising Branch Librarian at the Elk Grove Public Library. She organizes visual, performing and literary workshops and programs for the public. (Collapse text)

First appointed to the Arts Commission by the City of Sacramento in 2003, Jennifer has a strong background in visual arts. She served previously on the board of On the Wing, an interdisciplinary arts group. She has volunteered for many years for the annual KVIE art auction. Jennifer has also served on the board of the Shipyard Trust for the Arts, San Francisco, the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento and as the artistic director of Francis House. She is also a guide at the diRosa Preserve in Napa. In her private life she is an attorney in private practice. (Collapse text)