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Board of Directors

Myrth York, Philanthropist {CHAIR}

Myrth York was the first woman Democratic candidate for governor in Rhode Island, running in 1994, 1998, and 2002. Before that she was a Rhode Island state senator and chaired the Senate Health, Education, and Welfare Committee. A recipient of the Claiborne Pell Award for outstanding service to the arts and people with disabilities, Myrth earned a law degree and a master of laws in taxation from Boston University School of Law. She has taught at URI and been a Fellow at the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She is currently chair of the Providence Zoning Board of Review.

Susan Smulyan, Professor, Department of American Studies, Brown {VICE CHAIR}

Susan Smulyan has taught courses on media history and popular culture in the Department of American Civilization at Brown since 1988. She was active in starting Brown's MA Program in Public Humanities, has been on the board at the Slater Mill Historic Site, and written on-line curriculum materials for middle and high schools. Her latest book is Popular Ideologies: Mass Culture at Mid-Century.

Michael Tanaka, Former Director of Public and Community Relations, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, RI {SECOND VICE CHAIR}

Michael Tanaka most recently served as the Director of Public and Community Relations in the Office of Rhode Island's Lieutenant Governor, Elizabeth Roberts. He was previously a television producer and writer, working for MSNBC cable news, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and ABC "Good Morning America," among others. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is a graduate of Northwestern University, attended graduate school at Brown University, and has lived in the Friendly Community section of Cranston, Rhode Island for more than twenty years.

Tom Fitzgerald, Vice President, The Washington Trust Company {TREASURER}

Tom is vice president and commercial lending officer from The Washington Trust Company. He is responsible for developing and maintaining commercial banking relationships throughout the Bank's market area. He has an M.B.A. from Providence College with a concentration in Finance, graduate certificate in Finance from the New England College of Finance, complete the Advanced Leadership Development Program at Babson College and has a bachelor's degree in management from Rhode Island College. In 2009, Tom was selected as one of Providence Business News' "40 Under 40." He and his family life in Coventry.

Derek Schusterbauer, Graphic Designer {SECRETARY}

Derek Schusterbauer earned a BA in Art History at SUNY Plattsburgh and a Certificate of Study in Print Design Process and Production, RISD CE. Derek worked in the art department of local product design company Judy Vilmain, Inc. for eight years and has been a volunteer educator and graphic designer for New Urban Arts. He is currently the Graphic Designer at the RISD Museum of Art and he teaches graphic design in RISD's continuing education program. Over the summer of 2007, Derek helped found the Providence Community Printshop at AS220.

Teal Butterworth, Director of Annual Giving Appeals and Recognition, Moses Brown School

Teal Butterworth is a native Rhode Islander, daughter of two professional artists, and a graduate of Connecticut College. After college she lived in San Francisco for a few years and returned to the Ocean Stater. Teal works in Moses Brown School's development department and manages Annual Fund solicitations.

Lisa Carcieri, Media and Advertising Manager, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island

Lisa Carcieri is employed at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, a non-profit organization that provides low cost health insurance to vulnerable populations who might otherwise be left behind by the current health care system. As Media and Advertising Manager, Lisa is responsible for project managing the organization’s marketing and communication materials including all advertising creative and placement.

Peter Crump, Owner, Site Specific

Peter Crump is an artist and builder. His company, Site Specific, is a design-build firm and general contractor, the mission of which is to streamline and harmonize the construction process. Founded in New York City, the firm moved to Providence in 2005. Since then Site Specific has performed major renovations for Brown University, Johnson and Wales University and RISD.

Peter is a graduate of the New School for Social Research, NYC and Parsons School of Design, Paris, France. As an artist, he has exhibited in solo and group shows in Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles and New York City. His wife, Tina Cane is a poet who runs the educational program “Writers in the Schools,” which places poets in public schools in Providence. Peter and Tina have three children.

Holly Ewald, Community Artist

Holly Ewald is a studio and community artist who works in a variety of media, including artist books, collage, monoprints, mail art and installation. Originally from Michigan she lived in Brooklyn for 15 years and moved to Pawtuxet Village, RI so her twin boys, then two years old—now twelve—could literally dig in the dirt. She was an artist in residence at New Urban Arts from 2002-03, loved the family feel of the place and initiated a mail art exchange between NUA artists and established artists in Rhode Island. Holly has been working with folklorist Michael Bell to develop hands-on community arts and humanities projects that can be seen at www.voicesandvisions.org. She is founder of the Urban Pond Procession, which celebrates and promotes stewardship of Providence ponds.

Heather Kilmartin, Attorney, Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman, LLP

Heather is a Rhode Island native and amateur arts enthusiast. Heather earned her BA from Swarthmore College and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She served as a judicial clerk for two years at the Rhode Island Supreme Court before joining the Providence office of Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman, specializing in civil litigation.

Maryclaire Knight, Knight Consulting LLC

Maryclaire Knight founded Knight Consulting in 2006. Maryclaire brings twenty years of non-profit leadership and management experience to her consulting work. She began her career teaching in the Boston and New Orleans public school systems, instructing children with moderate special needs at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. This experience created the opportunity to enter the private non-profit arena securing a leadership position as the Executive Director of the River Street School in Hyde Park MA. Leading a team of eighteen professionals, this school served a high school population with education and clinical services to address the behavior and emotional disturbance issues that prevented these students from succeeding in a traditional public school setting. The challenges inherent in addressing the needs of this population propelled a decision to work in a community based setting to learn how services could be organized to support children and families and prevent the crisis in family life that often led to alternative placements for students.
 
Maryclaire led the Dorchester branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston for the next fifteen years. During this time period this YMCA grew from a small organization serving less than five hundred members to a 3.75 million dollar organization with 125 employees, 3100 members and six community based sites in addition to the main facility. In 2000 she became the Senior Executive of Urban and Community Development for the YMCA of Greater Providence, a position she held until beginning her consulting business.

Maryclaire is married to Daryl Wright and the mother of Maxine Wright a senior at Classical and an alumni of New Urban Arts. As an active member of her community she participates on the School Improvement team at Classical, a board member of Rhode Island After School Alliance and Community Works RI.

Sharon Lloyd Clark, Regional Development Director, Brown University Advancement Office

Sharon Lloyd Clark is Regional Development Director in Brown University's Advancement Office. Prior to this she served as Director of the Equity Assistance Center at Brown University and as the Assistant Director of Secondary School Redesign at the Education Alliance at Brown consulting with schools in the Northeast as they implement school reform. She also served as Executive Director of High Schools at the Providence School Department where she worked to have the high schools in Providence accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Sharon has also been head of school of two Massachusetts independent schools.

Andrew Oesch, Artist Educator, The RISD Museum and The Learning Community

Andrew sees learning as a space for expansive collaborative making. Past projects with students have ranged from exploring oral histories of families and communities transforming the classroom environment through costumes and temporary installations. He is interested in moments when many meanings pile up, particularly through social and art/design media. The Processes and work surrounding these moments are messy, ephemeral, ambiguous, and a great deal of fun. Currently, he is working at The Learning Community in Central Falls as a 7th and 8th grad teaching artist in addition to being an artist educator at the RISD Museum. From 2006-8, Andrew was an arts mentoring fellow at New Urban Arts, and the year prior, was an artist mentor. He returns to New Urban Arts after a year working on boats and an installation in Southern Utah. You can see past projects and updates at andrewoesch.com.

Leticia Tejada, Lead Designer, Stauch, Vetromile + Mitchell; Owner and Founder, Studio South

Leticia was born and raised in Providence, a graduate of Providence Public Schools with a degree in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Most recently, at Brown University's Swearer Center for Public Service, she worked to communicate the work, philosophy, history, strategy, and outcomes of the Center's initiatives to the Brown University community by creating event publicity, developing new publications, and maintaining/designing their web presence. Prior to working at the Swearer Center, Leticia worked as a Web Designer for Brown University and with several non-profit organizations, creating marketing campaigns, and with local graphic design firms, servicing national and international corporate clients. She continues to work with various non-profits as a designer and consultant.