Anika Tené (she/her) is the Director of Grants, Awards and Programs, where she leads initiatives that empower artists, arts organizations, and communities through equitable funding, resources, and learning experiences. She is fueled by her passion for connecting with diverse networks of artists and cultural leaders across the region, and takes great pride in the exceptional work of her team, highlighted below. Tené has significantly expanded the organization’s flagship Leaders of Color Network, launching the Leaders of Color Network Professional Development Fund, the National Leaders of Color Fellowship Program, and the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Artist Fund. Additionally, she has co-designed national programs with five other U.S. regional arts organizations, including ArtsHERE and Cultural Sustainability, prioritizing equity goals in every endeavor. Prior to her current role, Tené managed national learning programs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she focused on ensuring equitable access to arts education for public school students. Her diverse experience in the arts also encompasses roles as a music and arts director, stage manager, producer, as well as work in art galleries and in subscription sales. Tené is a dedicated community leader, having served as a local arts commission chair and past board chair of the Arts Administrators of Color Network. Currently, she sits on the board for Mason Arts at George Mason University. Tené is also a certified life coach, specializing in empowering creatives. She holds degrees from Howard University, American University, George Mason University, and a diploma from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Josh Ellis plays a key role in facilitating and managing Creative West’s BIPOC programs and initiatives using equity-based grantmaking practices to foster national impact. His previous roles include being an orchestra manager at multiple organizations, where he managed youth orchestras with over 500 students, handled faculty and guest artist contracts, and created and implemented programming schedules. He also held positions at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Patron Services and at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts as an opera arts administration intern, where he developed artist information for the program season and conducted research on opera artist relief during the spring of 2020. Ellis’s volunteer work reflects his commitment to arts advocacy and equity. He has been an active member of the Arlington Commission for the Arts, contributing to increased arts funding for the county and lobbying the VA legislature. Additionally, he secured funding and co-hosted awards ceremonies for the Prince William County Arts Council. Most recently, he was offered a position to be on the Planning Committee for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Conference – the world’s premier gathering of the performing arts presenting, booking, and touring industry. Ellis holds a Master of Arts in Arts Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from George Mason University.

Marcelina is a seasoned professional with a diverse background spanning higher education administration, arts advocacy, and community engagement. With experience as a former higher education administrator at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Ramirez brings strategic insight and community-oriented leadership to her work. As the inaugural artist-in-residence for Colorado College, Ramirez played a pivotal role in educating Southern Colorado on critical issues such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and the pandemic’s impact on Women of Color. Her initiatives underscore her commitment to using art as a tool for social change and education. An accomplished Latin dancer, Ramirez is a respected member of the Latisha Hardy Dance company, contributing to the vibrancy and diversity of the dance community. Through her leadership, she fosters a welcoming and inclusive space for cultural expression and collaboration. In the theater world, Ramirez is actively involved in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives (most recently on an advisory board for PHAMALY theater company for a more diverse accessibility space) while performing in theaters across the Rocky Mountains. Ramirez is also a published poet, with a focus on themes of love, magic, and family. Her writing reflects her Indigenous Latina identity and serves as a powerful medium for storytelling and connection.

Dr. Ivonne Chand O’Neal, Founder and Chief Research Officer at MUSE Research, is a researcher and cultural strategist specializing in arts impact evaluation with a focus on equity, access, and belonging. As Co-Founder of the Greater Good Group, she crafts data-driven boutique retreat experiences for marginalized contributors to the arts and culture sector. Trained as a Cognitive Psychologist, she has pioneered research platforms for prestigious organizations such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, analyzing global arts impact. With strategic roles at Crayola and VSA: the International Organization on Arts and Disability, she chaired the Arts, Culture and Museums Division at the American Evaluation Association.

ivision at the American EDr. Chand O’Neal serves on board for the Minnesota Opera, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education.. Additionally, she advises the University of Pennsylvania’s Human Flourishing Initiative and serves as a federally-appointed reviewer for institutions like the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for National and Community Service, advocating for quality creative education. Her impactful work, recognized by media and government bodies, foreshadows her upcoming 3-book publication, “The Impact of Arts on Human Flourishing” (Springer, 2026).

Salvador Acevedo has over 20 years of experience helping organizations link their design and innovation strategies with various cultures within the U.S. Being bilingual and bicultural gives him the ability to recognize the cultural markers that signal inclusion, and he’s committed to open opportunities for all.

For the last 15 years, Acevedo has been professionally invested in helping organizations increase diversity, deepen inclusion, and advance equity, in a broad range of fields, from arts and culture to informal education and urban planning.

Acevedo is a founding faculty member of WESTAF’s Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC) program and Leaders of Color (LC) network, with the goal of increasing BIPOC leadership in policy and arts administration. He is invested in understanding the forces that shape the future of the arts field and how we can realize an inclusive and equitable one. Acevedo is a regular speaker at

conferences on DEI topics and is a TED Talk speaker with the talk I’m Mestizo.

Margie Johnson Reese is a founding faculty member of WESTAF’s ELC and current faculty of LoCF. She has a 40-year portfolio as an arts advocate and arts management professional. She received a B.A. from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington and an MFA in Theater from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is an adviser to the International Council of African Museums based in Nairobi, Kenya and is a Fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. She continues to serve as an advisor to the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture in Wichita Falls, Texas, a local arts agency that seeded and developed under her guidance as its first Executive Director.

Her work in the local arts agency arena also includes a six-year tenure as Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs for the City of Dallas and General Manager for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. She held that position under three mayoral administrations managing grant making, arts education, festival production, cultural facilities and public art staff teams. She is credited with launching the Los Angeles International Cultural Exchange Program leading artist delegations to represent the city in Italy, Germany, Greece, France and Brazil. Her visionary city-wide music education program, Music L.A.! continues to provide music instruction, instruments and performance opportunities for young people.

Margie continues to contribute to the field of Arts Administration as a consultant to national, regional and local arts agencies, helping them develop inclusive arts policies that respond to contemporary civic goals. Recent clients include The Houston Arts Alliance, The Sacramento Metro Arts Commission, One Columbia (South Carolina) Mid-America Arts Alliance and Americans for the Arts. She is an adjunct professor in the graduate school of arts administration at Goucher College. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Madalena Salazar is a creative focused on issues of cultural equity with extensive experience as a nonprofit administrator, DEI consultant, educator/facilitator, organizer, and cultural producer. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director for Working Classroom, and the Principal of 3rd Space Vision LLC. She is also a faculty member for WESTAF’s LoCF and predecessor program, Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC). Madalena is community lead for Coffee + Creatives in Albuquerque. She values engaging creatively as one’s whole self, collaboratively, and intersectionally across generations, in relationship. Madalena was born, raised, and resides in Tiwa territory aka Albuquerque, New Mexico (after returning from several impactful years in Denver, CO). She loves music, cooking (and eating), tarot, nature, traveling, reading, gardening, and the healing arts. Madalena received a B.A. in Anthropology, and an M.A. in Art History from the University of New Mexico. Madalena is most proud of being a mother, and spends her remaining time with her children, partner, and her extended and chosen familix.

Joy Young, Ph.D. has more than 25 years of experience in the arts as an entrepreneurial performing artist, arts administrator, and academic. Joy’s work as a performing artist included owning a successful music studio and performing as a recitalist, sanctuary soloist, studio and background vocalist. Her 14-year tenure with the South Carolina Arts Commission was highlighted by serving on the executive leadership team as the agency Director of Administration, Human Resources, and Operations. Joy also implemented a variety of programs at the South Carolina Arts Commission to include arts/artist entrepreneurship; nonprofit leadership and organizational development; cultural tourism; statewide conferences and convening; and the AIR Institute. Joy’s contributions to the arts at the national level include service as a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts, member of the Committee for Individual Artists with Grantmakers in the Arts, and a mentor for the NASAA DEI Mentorship Program. She is also a Faculty member in LoCF and emphasizes leadership strategies.

Most recently, Joy served as the Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. Her work saw her committed to a team who worked together implementing innovative programs, developing and executing proactive and quantifiable arts and culture initiatives, and broadening relationships with new networks and stakeholders. Joy found tremendous success capitalizing on the power of public-private partnerships as a strategy to significantly increase the Cultural Council’s earned revenue.

Joy enjoys sharing her experiences from the field in the classroom by preparing the next generation of arts administrators in the Master of Arts in Arts Administration at Winthrop University to be adaptive leaders. Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Arts in Voice Performance, and the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. Her research interests include arts leadership, program assessment and evaluation, and organization and leadership adaptations amid dynamic environmental paradigms.

David brings over 20 years of experience as a strategy consultant and leader in arts, culture, and the creative economy for nonprofits, higher education institutions, philanthropy, and businesses globally. As the Deputy Director at Creative West, he guides advocacy and public policy programs; leads external relations and fundraising; and spearheads consulting services to organizations throughout a region of 16 states and jurisdictions and nationally. Since joining Creative West, he has co-developed Creative West’s Pacific Initiative; co-designed Creative West’s Arts and the Rural West gathering; co-directed the development of the state of Washington’s Creative Economy Strategic Plan; launched and maintained the Creative Vitality™ Summit, a global conference on the creative economy; authored the Creative Economies and Economic Recovery report in partnership with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; established the Western Arts Advocacy Network; developed relief, resilience, and other special grantmaking programs for artists and organizations in the West and the Pacific; joined the faculty of the National Leaders of Color Fellowship; and secured multi-million dollar private and public investment for Creative West’s programs. David also serves as the Co-Chair of the Creative States Coalition, a national coalition of citizen advocacy groups and their partners. Holland previously served as associate director of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston. Other prior roles include leadership and senior management positions with VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation, VCU School of the Arts, ART 180, the Latin Ballet of Virginia, Arts & Business, and the UK innovation foundation Nesta. Holland also served as a senior consultant with BOP Consulting, a global research and consulting practice for culture and the creative economy, and worked as campaigns officer for the UK’s National Campaign for the Arts. For more than 13 years, he has served as an independent management consultant for clients from Salzburg Global Seminar and the Inter-American Development Bank to United States Artists and Think of Us, a research and design lab on child welfare. He is currently on the faculty of the MA in Arts Administration program at Goucher College. He has served as a panelist and on steering committees for the National Endowment for the Arts, Colorado Creative Industries, and the Oregon Arts Commission among others. He is a Salzburg Global Fellow, Evan Carroll Commager Fellow, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Holland holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and Asian studies from Amherst College and masters degrees in international studies and diplomacy and the history of art from the University of London, SOAS.