Board of Directors

Regina Smith serves as program officer, arts and culture at the Kresge Foundation in Troy, MI. Before joining Kresge in 2008, she held leadership positions at both public and private arts grantmaking agencies including the Arts & Science Council, Indiana Arts Commission, and Culture Works. Regina studied art history at the University of Pittsburgh and received a M.A. in arts administration from Winthrop University. She is a past board member of The Women's Impact Fund in Charlotte, NC.

Peter is program director at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, where he is responsible for the Small Theater and Dance Company Funding Program, as well as the review of proposals from all program areas. Peter is also a playwright whose plays have been produced in Chicago and San Francisco. He taught playwriting at Columbia College Chicago and directed an artist residency program at the Chicago Park District. In addition to serving on the board of Grantmakers in the Arts, Peter serves on the board of Free Street Theater, an arts education organization in Chicago.

Rose Ann Cleveland is the executive director of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the largest independent foundation focused exclusively on the Washington metropolitan area. Previously, she served as director of programming for Washington Performing Arts Society, where she oversaw a multidisciplinary season of performances and education programs and developed performance series and educational programs for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. Rose Ann holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is the author of a scholarly book on writer Caroline Gordon. She chairs the Board of Directors of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. In recent years, she has also served on the local advisory boards for the Foundation Center and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

Justin Laing is program officer for arts & culture at The Heinz Endowments, where his major responsibilities include leadership in the Endowments' early work in Culturally Responsive Arts Education and management of the Small Arts Initiative, a program supporting arts organizations with budgets of $250,000 or less. He is a member of several cross-programmatic working groups, including teams focused on African American men and boys and the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Previously, Justin served as the assistant director of Nego Gato Inc., an African-Brazilian arts organization based in Pittsburgh. He received his B.A. in black studies and political science from the University of Pittsburgh.

John E. McGuirk is director of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Performing Arts Program. He also assists the foundation president with local grantmaking projects and serves as Hewlett's liaison to the Community Leadership Project. Prior to Hewlett, John was director of the Arts Program of the James Irvine Foundation and director of grant programs for Arts Council Silicon Valley. Before that, he worked at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, CA and held positions at both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Opera. John earned his M.A. in public management, with a concentration in arts management, from Carnegie Mellon University.

A 15-year veteran of the music and arts industries, Kristen Madsen serves as senior vice president of The GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares, charities founded by the Recording Academy. The GRAMMY Foundation is dedicated to cultivating awareness and appreciation of music and its impact on American culture; MusiCares provides a safety net of critical services and financial assistance for music people in need. Prior to heading up the GRAMMY charities, Kristen served for eight years as vice president of member services for the Recording Academy. She began her career in the arts management field working at the Utah Arts Council, where she acted as consultant to nonprofit organizations, and at the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies.

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Michelle T. Boone is Commissioner, City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In addition to her duties there, Michelle is an adjunct professor at DePaul University; serves on the boards of numerous arts and cultural organizations; and has been a reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Cuyahoga (OH) Arts and Culture program, among others. She was previously the director of Chicago's Gallery 37 and began her career working in television, film, and the recording industry. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chad, Africa. Michelle holds a B.A. in telecommunications and a M.A. in public affairs from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Robert Booker is executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and co-chair of the Arts and Culture Committee of the Arizona Mexico Commission, an appointment by Governor Napolitano. Previously, he was executive director of the Minnesota State Arts Board and president of the board of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Bob serves on the boards of the Leadership Council of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, Western States Arts Federation, and the B and L Charitable Foundation. Bob, a painter and art collector, has served as a panelist for numerous state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rohit Burman is director for the Culture and Public Broadcasting program of MetLife Foundation. The Culture program supports major national and regional initiatives with emphases on arts education, community engagement, and access and inclusion. Prior to joining MetLife in 2006, Rohit was program officer for JPMorgan's Philanthropic Services Group. He has also worked as a program manager for the Housing and Health Evaluation Technical Assistance project at Columbia University and for ICF Consulting in Washington, DC. Rohit serves on the board of Philanthropy New York and is co-chair of New York Grantmakers in the Arts. He is a graduate of The College of Wooster, Ohio, and received his M.A. in public policy from Georgetown University.

Arni Fishbaugh is the Executive Director of the Montana Arts Council, a position she has held since 1992. She received her undergraduate degree in theatre from the University of Montana, Missoula, and a M.A. in theatre management from UCLA. Arni has held positions at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Texas Opera Theatre, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Arni is on the Executive Committees of the boards of two national service organizations: the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencie. She has been a frequent speaker on arts marketing and tour marketing for colleges, universities, and state and regional arts agencies.

Derek Gordon is president and CEO of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City and Senior Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC. He has held leadership positions with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Cultural Arts Council of Houston. Derek serves on the boards of directors of Chamber Music America, South Arts, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, and the Louisiana State Arts Council. He is also a panelist and consultant for numerous grantmakers.

Judi Jennings is executive director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, a private foundation supporting feminist art for social change. She is an active member of the Women's Funding Network and the working group of Arts and Social Justice Funders. Judi earned a Ph.D. in British history at the University of Kentucky and is the author of two books on 18th century activists. She was associate director of the Kentucky Humanities Council and founding director of the Women's Center at the University of Louisville. Judi is proud of her Appalachian heritage and brings a concern for rural areas, cultural equity, gender issues, and environmental stewardship to the GIA Board.

Maurine Knighton is the Program Director, Arts and Culture, at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. At NCF, she is responsible for stewarding the Foundation's work at the intersection of art and social justice. Immediately prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Senior Vice President for Program and Nonprofit Investment at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), where she was responsible for overseeing the organization's arts and cultural sector efforts in the Upper Manhattan communities of Central and West Harlem, East Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. Ms. Knighton has served in leadership capacities at performing arts organizations in Minnesota and New York, and on the board of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, among others.

Laura Aden Packer has been the arts program director at The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation since 2001. Laura holds a B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Following stints as a legislative aide in the Wisconsin State Senate and as a paralegal for Western Wisconsin Legal Services, Laura's career turned from the law to theatre. She held management positions at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. In 1988, Laura was tapped to become the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's first executive director, a position she held for 13 years. Laura was also a founding board member of ArtPRIDE New Jersey, the state's arts advocacy organization.

Lori Pourier is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota and serves as president of First Peoples Fund, a national arts fund advancing American Indian arts. Prior to First People's Fund, Lori was executive director of the Indigenous Women's Network and associate marketing director for First Nations Development Institute. She serves as the co-chair of GIA's Indigenous Resource Network and is a board member of Native Americans in Philanthropy. Lori has served on the Board of Directors of the Western States Arts Federation, the Honor the Earth Fund, the Chinook Fund, and the National Indian Business Association.

Margaret Conant Reiser is president of the Harland Charitable Foundation, a family foundation located in Atlanta, GA. She has worked at BoardWalk Consulting since 2002 and has expertise in recruiting senior leaders to key positions in philanthropic organizations and nonprofits. As a volunteer, Margaret serves on the boards of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Columbia Theological Seminary, and the Woodruff Arts Center. She is a past board chair of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Families First, and Georgia Shakespeare. Margaret holds a degree in Economics from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Emory University.

Diane Sanchez is director of grantmaking & donor services at the East Bay Community Foundation. A veteran program officer, she had a consulting practice in organizational development for 14 years before coming to the Foundation in 2000. With much of her work focused on strategic change management and race and gender issues, her clients included a wide variety of corporations and community-based organizations. Diane has held senior management positions with J. Walter Thompson, Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, and Bedford Properties. Throughout her career, she has been active in the community, serving on the boards of La Raza Graphics, The Spanish Speaking Unity Council, The City of Oakland Civil Service Commission, Goodwill Industries of the East Bay, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Felicia W. Shaw is Director of Arts and Culture Strategy and Analysis at the San Diego Foundation, where she oversees a number of strategic grantmaking programs and initiatives that demonstrate the power of the arts to promote community and economic vitality. Prior to joining The Foundation, Felicia served as Program Manager at the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture for 17 years. She is an advisor to the University of San Diego's "Business of the Arts" Program, a continuing education program for nonprofit arts professionals. A graduate of Northwestern University with a B. S. degree in Communications, Felicia also completed post-graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego in Art History, Theory and Criticism. She currently serves on the board of Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists and is a member of the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response.

Edwin Torres is associate director for New York City Opportunities Fund at The Rockefeller Foundation and serves on the foundation's Innovation team. Past positions include director of external partnerships for Parsons The New School for Design and program associate for arts and culture at The Ford Foundation. Prior to joining The Ford Foundation, Torres was Director of Longwood Art Project, the visual art facility of The Bronx Council on the Arts. As a consultant, Torres has conducted team building workshops for the philanthropy division of American Express and strategic-planning workshops for the Laundromat Project, Brooklyn. Torres holds a M.A. in Art History from Hunter College and studies Organizational Change Management at The New School.

Huong Vu joined The Boeing Company in 2009 and manages its Pacific Northwest Region arts, culture, and civic grants portfolio. Previously, she was the senior arts program officer at The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, guest curator at On the Boards, director of grants programs at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and an organizer of visual arts exhibitions. She received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington, a certificate from Stanford University/Graduate School of Business, and an arts administration fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Huong is active in the Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals and Philanthropy Northwest. She is a practicing visual artist and avid gardener.

Laura Zimmermann is program officer & director of Artists Fellowships for the arts at The McKnight Foundation. She oversees grants to more than 75 organizations working in literary, visual, and performing arts. She directs the Foundation's fellowship program for individual artists, which grants awards to 45 artists and ensembles in 12 categories annually. She serves on the steering committee for GIA's Support for Individual Artists Group, the Minnesota CDP task force, and the board of Youth Farm and Market Project, a youth development organization in Minneapolis. Laura is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in philosophy and religion.