Monique is the Director of Portfolio Solutions at VSP Vision Care where her team plans and executes 45 to 50 programs and projects annually encompassing a spectrum of VSP business initiatives. Monique holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley (GO BEARS!)  in both Political Science and Rhetoric.

Monique’s interest in the arts and arts education is due to her children’s involvement in the arts in school.  Both of Monique’s children are graduates of the Elk Grove Unified School District where they were extremely dedicated band members.  Her daughter is planning to graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan as a Fashion Design major in 2021.  Her son begins his freshman year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston this fall.  Both were AP and Honors students.  Band and music created an amazing learning and social environment for her children.  It also taught them that there are a plethora of career choices, including the Arts!  For seven years she as Secretary and President of the Pleasant Grove High Band Booster Board.

Monique’s community involvement is always focused on youth development.  She has volunteered as an instructor for the Junior Achievement program, as a mentor for Rancho Cordova High School students, served as Chair of the T.R.Smedberg Middle School Site Council, as the Scholarship Committee Chair of the Folsom Lake College Foundation Board, and as a member of the Sacramento Unified School District Foundation Board. She is currently an instructor and Steering Committee Member for the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce Young Leadership Collaboration.

Monique is grateful for the arts education her children experienced and, through her board involvement looks forward to helping future students experience the same

Robin has been on faculty with the School of Music at Sacramento State University since 2003,
where she leads the Voice program that inspires young singers for careers in the performing
arts. Robin’s passion for singing was fostered at a California high school and at San José State,
where she was mentored to apply for scholarships and grants to study in Germany and Austria.
After graduate work in Vienna, she led an active career in opera and concert throughout
Europe. Robin returned to California to be a teacher and mentor to aspiring young singers.

Robin’s two sons attended San Juan Unified schools, and she was an active parent-advocate for
arts education. On behalf of teachers and students, she applied for grants to support music and
art in their schools, and she served several years on the San Juan Education Foundation board.
In 2018, Robin founded the Sac State Performing Arts Collective to link like-minded artistmentors
from the university and community with Sacramento school children in performing
arts activities during the summer. She has written and received grants from the California Arts
Council, University Enterprises at Sac State, and the Sacramento Region Community
Foundation. Her greatest passion is to connect professional artists with youth to develop their
creative voice. As a product of the California public schools, Robin knows firsthand the impact
arts education can have to change lives.

Katherine is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and currently works in research at UC Davis Medical Center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy and a minor in Dance and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics from San Francisco State University.

Katherine has always been involved in the creative arts. Growing up in Winters, CA, Katherine spent many hours taking dance lessons at local studios and being involved in theater, including the Winters Theater Company. Even today while working in healthcare, Katherine utilizes creativity gained through her arts education to better connect with patients and the community. Now as a parent of two young boys she is passionate about advocating for the same artistic opportunities and enrichment she enjoyed as a child.

Melanie is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and is a Manager at Gilbert CPAs in Sacramento specializing in financial statement audits of nonprofit organizations. Melanie also sits on the Board of the Washington Neighborhood Center, an arts and culture nonprofit in Midtown, Sacramento.

Melanie holds a BA in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles; an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths College, University of London; and a Master of Professional Accountancy from the University of California, Davis.

Melanie has benefitted from arts and music education her whole life and feels its value even when working in the accounting and finance industry. She enjoys travel, reading, painting, and supporting the arts community in Sacramento whether by sitting on a board, or simply being an attendee at events.

Gerry’s involvement in leadership of Arts organizations began in 1990 as a Board member of the Sacramento Area Dance Alliance. Starting in 1992, he served 8 years as a Commissioner on the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission with 4 years as its Chair. He co-founded and was Board President for 15 years of the Metropolitan Arts Partnership, a workplace giving non-profit and a prelude to Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving. He is currently Co-President of the Sacrament Ballet Association Board and was instrumental in the Ballet’s recent transition and re-organization. He has served on boards for other non-profit and faith organizations in leadership capacities. He is a former Trustee for a private K-8 school and past commodore of the Classic Yacht Association for Northern CA. He is a past recipient of the Arts and Business Council’s Arts Leadership Award, and has served on many conference panels and speaker on the Arts. Since 1990, Gerry is the president of Kamilos Companies, a community developer for both employment and livable master planned communities in Northern CA. Gerry graduated from Cal Poly Pomona-Mechanical and Petroleum Engineering and later earned a MBA from St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga.

Brenda Davis is a natural resources/environmental/highly regulated industries attorney with her own practice in Sacramento that serves clients statewide, in other states and in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Davis is an avid supporter of all art forms and divides her current entertainment selections among live theater, exhibits at museums, art galleries, parks, and expositions, live music, and art house films when home in Sacramento and when traveling anywhere. For several years, she was an enthusiastic Elly Judge for Sacramento regional theater venues. She is also a huge fan of the Crocker Art Museum installations, lectures, family events, and jazz on the patio. She is thrilled to have seen live at the Crocker her first Kara Walker and Kehinde Wiley art pieces.

Alison MacLeod is a Principal at KP Public Affairs and runs a wide variety of local and statewide public relations programs for KP clients. She has extensive experience in strategic communications programs, media relations, content development, coalition building, project siting, grassroots outreach, stakeholder engagement and community education. Her clients include local governments, healthcare associations, transportation agencies, non-profits, businesses and trade groups. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Alison has a strong interest in improving the education and opportunities available for our youth in the Sacramento region. She has two sons in elementary school in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. Growing up, Alison greatly enjoyed and benefitted from participation in drama classes and school theater, as well as community youth theater programs.  She believes that arts exposure helps build confidence and public speaking skills, and is a critical component of a well-rounded education. Alison is eager to help promote the importance of arts education, and work toward improved accessibility for students across the region. She wants arts, music and theater programs readily accessible in our K-12 public schools across Sacramento County – so that all students, regardless of their particular school, or community, or family background – have access to the many social and academic benefits that come from arts education.

Alison is an active member with the Sacramento Metro Chamber, and volunteers as a coach for her son’s basketball teams. She loves to travel, to read, and to walk and bike the trails through Folsom.

Mollie Morrison is a mixed media artist and educator. Fabric, texture, pattern and vivid colors are what drive her watercolor collage artwork. She has been teaching art for nineteen years at various schools and programs including Brookfield School, Leonardo Da Vinci, Crocker Art Museum and I Can Do That. She studied Fashion and Art at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC and worked with DKNY Jeans in both Atlanta, Georgia and San Francisco, CA. She completed her Visual Art teaching credential in 2013. She currently works at CK McClatchy High school as the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Coordinator. The CKM VAPA Program she worked to establish gives students a four-year art opportunity at the high school level. By providing this platform for students, the CKM VAPA program is establishing college and career readiness for young artists in every art form. Mollie’s focus day-to-day is in the sculpture studio, as the 3-D Art teacher for beginning, advanced and AP 3D artists. Mollie finds joy in the many discoveries students make as they explore art history. Teaching young people about the accomplishments of well-known artists, art movements and art happenings gives them permission to take risks in their own artwork. Mollie is excited to join the Friends of Sacramento Arts Board to increase students access to the arts and to amplify the need of arts education.

Brian is the Program Manager for the Youth and Family Collective, an initiative by PRO Youth and Families, Inc in which he oversees the implementation of various programs focused on workforce development (#SacYouthWorks), mental wellness (MindOneSix), and youth marijuana use awareness and prevention (#SacYouthWorks Futures).
Brian holds a deep passion for music since he can remember.

He became passionate about writing songs and poetry after an elementary school assignment. Many classmates and peers at school began purchasing his poems, which encouraged him to continue writing. Throughout his schooling years, Brian signed up for every play, dance group, and choir opportunity he was able to. He learned to play Ukulele and Guitar so he could teach his two children (currently 6 and 4 years of age.) Brian has a creative room in his home where his kids are exposed to various musical instruments, and different mediums to create visual arts (Crafting materials, paint, canvases, photography/video cameras, etc.)

Brian’s decision to join the board came from his desire to increase access to arts programs for youth in Sacramento. Aside from the arts, Brian loves to travel and learn different languages and about different cultures.

Dalia Velazquez is a Branch Manager at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, which is focused on helping school employees and their immediate family members with their financial needs. With over 15 years of experience in the banking industry, Dalia has extensive knowledge in finance, service, leadership, management and talent development. Her passion for Member service and the credit union movement began in 2011, when she first joined SchoolsFirst FCU and since has dedicated herself to helping Members achieve their financial goals. Part of her role includes creating awareness about financial literacy through community partnerships and within local schools.

Dalia’s dedication to the creating financial literacy, supporting local schools and the credit union movement has led her to serve as the Chairperson of the Sacramento Valley Credit Union Network and as a Board Member of the Eureka Educational Foundation. The focus is to give back to communities by contributing to students’ financial literacy programs, STEM and various Art programs. Her son, who is a student at Eureka Unified School District, is also an art enthusiast himself who loves to create visual arts and enjoys playing the piano.

Dalia has a passion for culinary arts, which has led her to participate and win cooking competitions and has a social media following. She enjoys creating new and unique recipes and enjoying them with family. Dalia also shares a passion for industrial organizational psychology and currently attends Penn State University Pursuing her B.S in Psychology.  During her spare time, Dalia loves to travel with her family, build collectable Legos with her son, and write poetry.