Staff BiographiesArts Commission staff are listed below in alphabetical order:
Laura Becker became a Project Manager in the Art in Public Places program in October 2009. Before her position at WSAC, Laura worked as Operations Director at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in Seattle. She has been managing arts programs and events in the Seattle area since 2001, and has specialized in developing arts programs for young people. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Washington and an MA in Art Education from The Rhode Island School of Design. Laura is originally from Spokane and currently resides in Seattle.
Cathy Cochrane, Communications Manager, joined the WSAC in October 2011. She has more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public relations, and editing and writing. She holds a Masters degree in Communication and Organization Leadership from Gonzaga University. She previously served as Communications Director for the Washington State Redistricting Commission, and as Communications Manager for the Eastern Regional Office of the Washington State Department of Ecology, in Spokane. Other experience includes managing disease outbreak communication for state and international public health agencies and reporting for a daily newspaper and television station in Alaska. Cathy writes poetry and fiction, plays the violin and piano, and knows the arts are essential for a thriving society.
Adam Fah became the half-time Conservation Technician for the Art in Public Places program in September 2007. He facilitates conservation projects, art handling, and partner agency training for the care of more than 4600 artworks located statewide, and helps shape the conservation review process for new acquisitions to the State Art Collection. Since 2000, Adam has owned and operated a studio specializing in conservation and restoration of metal sculpture. He is a professional patineur, and enjoys facilitating bronze castings for artist Philip McCracken.
Janae Huber is the Collections Manager for the Art in Public Places program, stewarding the care of the State Art Collection, as well as our ongoing relationship with statewide partners. Before joining WSAC in 2005, Janae was the Registrar at Tacoma Art Museum. Janae has also held curatorial positions at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, where she completed two undergraduate degrees at the University of Arizona, in Art History and German Studies.
Lisa Jaret joined the WSAC staff as the Arts in Education Program Manager in September 2005. She manages WSAC’s arts education grant programs and other projects related to supporting and strengthening K-12 arts education programs in Washington State. Lisa is currently (2010) serving as the chair of the Arts Education Advisory Group for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Prior to coming to WSAC, Lisa worked at Seattle Children’s Theatre for 13 years, serving as the Administrative Director of Education Programs for the last nine of those years. She was also involved with Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle for several years as a volunteer and a board member. Lisa holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters in Not-For-Profit Leadership from Seattle University.
Lou MacMillan joined the WSAC staff as Deputy Director in December 2005. He has over 25 years of state government experience, mostly in capital budget and finance. He worked as the Capital Budget and Financial Manager for the Legislative Building Rehabilitation Project from 2002-2005, Capital Budget Manager in the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction (2001), and Capital Budget Specialist for the Department of General Administration (1990-2000). Lou holds an MS in International Relations from Troy State University, and a BA from Western Washington University. He enjoys landscape and architectural photography, reading, and travel. Lou and his educator wife, Vickie, have two grown children.
Leslie Pope joined the WSAC staff in March 2007 as an Office Assistant 3 supporting the Deputy Director, and the Community Arts and Folk Arts Program Managers. She has over 20 years of office experience working in both the public and private sectors, and holds a BS in Business Administration from California State University at Chico. Singing in choirs throughout her school years, Leslie toured Europe one summer with America’s Youth in Concert, and has played the piano for many years. She enjoys painting, creative writing, crafts, and gardening.
Christel Ratliff has worked for WSAC since September 1994. She has worked in Administration, Community Arts Development, Folk Arts, Art in Public Places and currently Grants to Organizations and Arts in Education, which completes her journey through all WSAC programs. She moved to the Northwest in September 1992 from Florida, where she was employed by the University of Miami as an Intake Counselor at the International Student and Scholar Services office. She grew up and went to school in Germany. Christel is fluent in English with a proficiency in French and holds a certificate as a Translator/Interpreter from the Inlingua School of Languages in Saarbruecken, Germany.
Deane Shellman came to WSAC in 2002, and now serves as Program Coordinator for the Art in Public Places program. She previously worked at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts as a House Manager, Box Office Assistant and Marketing Assistant, and also at Harlequin Productions as Company Manager. Deane graduated in 1994 from Western Washington University with a degree in Theatre Arts (emphasis in Stage Management and Directing) and worked in the Theatre Department as Publicist until 1997, when she moved to Olympia. Working behind the scenes on many community and semi-professional productions has prepared Deane for the wild ups and downs of the Arts Commission.
Willie Smyth has been the Manager of the Folk Arts program since 1991. Before coming to WSAC, he created and managed the Folk Arts program for the State Arts Council of Oklahoma. In the last six years, he has served on grant panels for the NEA, WESTAF, Idaho Arts Commission, and Oregon Folklife program. He received his PhD in Folklore/Theater Arts from UCLA and has an MA from UCLA in Folklore and an MA from UCSB in Religious Studies/Asian Studies.
Mike Sweney is the Program Manager for Art in Public Places and has been managing public art projects for WSAC since 2007. He was previously the director of Davidson Contemporary in Seattle, the Charles Cowles Gallery in New York, and served as board vice president for the Center on Contemporary Art in Seattle. Mike currently serves on the Tacoma Arts Commission and lives in Tacoma with his wife and their three children. He holds a BA in Art History and Studio Art from Oberlin College.
Kris Tucker is the Executive Director.
Mayumi Tsutakawa started at WSAC in 2002, managing the Arts Participation Initiative, a four-year project to strengthen arts participation in low income, ethnic, rural and disabled communities. She was named manager of Grants to Organizations in 2005. Mayumi formerly served as manager of cultural resources for King County, directing the King County Arts Commission, Public Art and Historic Preservation programs; director of external relations at the Wing Luke Asian Museum; and reporter and editor at The Seattle Times. Mayumi received her Masters of Communications and BA in East Asian Studies from the University of Washington.
Sarah Yamasaki began working as Office Assistant 3 for WSAC in September 2011, after returning home to Washington from a year in Japan, where she taught English, assisted a mushroom farmer, and learned cooking from her grandmother. Previously she worked as a front desk receptionist at KAOS community radio, where she is still active with on-air programming. Sarah is an alumnus of the Carmel Program at the University of Haifa in Israel, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Evergreen State College, where she studied philosophy of aesthetics. She enjoys bicycling, cooking, eating and illustrating.
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