Arts Commissioners

The Arts Commission is comprised of fifteen citizens (three from each of the five districts of Alameda County) appointed by the Board of Supervisors,and seven ex-officio members representing three major County departments and four leading Alameda County educational and cultural institutions. The Arts Commission's Executive Committee is comprised of three officers – the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary, plus one to two ex-officio members who may be appointed by the Chairperson. The Arts Commission's staff person, the Executive Director, reports to the Executive Committee and implements all programs.

Arts Belief Statements

Starting in 2007, the Arts Commissioners began writing Arts Belief Statements to articulate their personal belief in the arts and creativity.  This project is part of the Artist Statement initiative of Art IS Education, a project of Alameda County Office of Education’s Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership. 

Appointed Members

Representing Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 1
Theodore Bresler, Fremont; Vice-Chairperson (Arts Belief Statement)
Rudolph Johnson, Pleasanton (Arts Belief Statement)
David Judson, Pleasanton (Arts Belief Statement)

Representing Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 2
Valerie Caveglia, Hayward
Diane La Mountaine, Union City
Valerie Snart, Hayward (Arts Belief Statement)

Representing Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 3
Tomyé Neal-Madison, Oakland; Secretary (Arts Belief Statement)
Neil B. Sinclair, Oakland
Svea Lin Soll, Oakland (Arts Belief Statement)

Representing Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 4
Lazane Jobe, Oakland
Scott Miner, Castro Valley (Arts Belief Statement)
Ravi Sodhi, Dublin (Arts Belief Statement)

Representing Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 5
Donald Greene, Oakland
Brian Laczko, Oakland; Chairperson (Arts Belief Statement)
Karin C. Nelson, Albany (Arts Belief Statement)


Ex-Officio Members

Aki Nakao, Director
Alameda County General Services Agency (Arts Belief Statement)

Chris Bazar, Director
Alameda County Community Development Agency

Daniel Woldesenbet, Director
Alameda County Public Works Agency

Lori Fogarty, Director
Oakland Museum of California, Oakland

Phillip Hofstetter, Art Department Chairperson
California State University East Bay, Hayward

Lawrence Rinder, Director
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley

Stephen Beal, President
California College of the Arts, Oakland

Damien Gossett, Assistant Deputy Director
Community Development Agency (designee representing the CDA) (Arts Belief Statement)

Julie Muniz, Associate Curator of Crafts and Decorative Arts
Oakland Museum of California (designee representing the OMC)

Elizabeth Thomas, Phyllis Wattis MATRIX Curator
Berkeley Art museum/Pacific Film Archive (designee representing BAM/PFA)

Ann Wettrich, Associate Director of Education, Center for Art and Public Life California College of the Arts (designee representing the CCA) (Arts Belief Statement)

Vicki Winston, Management Services Administrator
Public Works Agency (designee representing the PWA) (Arts Belief Statement)



Public Art Advisory Committee

Brian Laczko, Chairperson
Carin Adams
Lynne Baer
Larry Chang
Steve Jones
Karin C. Nelson
Nancy Selvin
Elizabeth Sher



Arts Education Committee

Ann Wettrich, Chairperson
Patricia Hannum
Scott Miner
Louise Music
Belinda Taylor
Svea Lin Soll



Alameda County Arts Commission Staff

Rachel Osajima
Executive Director and Public Art Program Manager (Arts Belief Statement)

Amy Stimmel
Public Art Program Coordinator

Rosa Valdez
Program Administrative Assistant