Arts & Culture Manager

Yasmin Ruvalcaba is a Portland-based director, writer, consultant, and arts advocate. She centers her work around advancing equity, honoring mentorship and education, and promoting community outreach and engagement. Yasmin is currently working at Centro Cultural as the Arts & Culture Manager. Previously, Yasmin has worked with Advance Gender Equity in the Arts as the Grants Program Director and Bag&Baggage as the Problem Play Project Manager. She is also honored to be a co-founding member of Moriviví Theatre.
Yasmin has also engaged with her community through directing. Through her time at Williams College she directed El Nogalar and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In Portland, she has directed The Tempest (Bag&Baggage). She was also honored to be the assistant director of Wolf at the Door (Milagro), La Ruta (Artists Repertory Theatre) and La Isla En Inviero/The Island in Winter (Bag&Baggage).
Yasmin is also an active writer in the community. Two of her monologues, Carmelita and Ruega Por Mi, were featured in Theatre Diaspora’s Here on This Bridge: The -ism Project. Yasmin has also had the opportunity to workshop her work with the Northwest Theatre Workshop. Yasmin also premiered a Dia de los Muertos performance, EL JIMADAOR, in partnership with Bag&Baggage and Centro Cultural in 2020.

Grants and Services Manager

Yurika Isoe is the Grants and Services Manager at the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona. Yurika partners with executive leadership, including Executive Director Adriana Gallegos to administer transformative grantmaking to excel recovery, innovation, and growth of the artistic sector to the highest potential in Southern Arizona. Yurika has managed the equitable distribution of over $2.3M of Federal CARES funds in the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated for increased direct investments to artists resulting in a 20% increased investments in artist-led community initiatives. By spearheading applicant service initiatives, Arts Foundation’s grantee profile averages 75%, non-white grantees.

Prior to joining Arts Foundation, Yurika served on the Board of Directors of Warehouse Arts Management Organization (WAMO) as Vice President- a creative spacemaking organization overlooking the acquisition and renovation of commercial property into artist studio spaces and galleries. As an artist, she works in sewing/embroidery through a circular economy lens and organized art events by participating as a cooperative member of SUBSPACE Arts Collective. Yurika has a BBA from the University of Arizona- Eller College of Management. Yurika holds space in an intersection of identities as a Japanese-Okinawan Muslim born in the settler-colonial United States.