In the absence of in-person networking throughout the past year, Emerging Arts Leaders/Los Angeles and Museum Educators of Southern California invite you to join us for Creative Conversations bringing together arts professionals and emerging arts leaders for intimate discussions around the power of intentional connections and building a professional community. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in small group conversations with established leaders in the field and more.

SCHEDULE
10:00 - 10:15 am Welcome & Land Acknowledgement
10:15 - 10:25 am Breathing Activity with Jimmy Cabrera Jr
10:25 - 10:55 am Keynote by Gustavo Herrera
10:55 - 11:25 am Roundtable 1
11:25 - 11:30 am Break
11:30 - 12:00 pm Roundtable 2
12:00 - 12:15 pm Open Networking

RSVP

MEET OUR MEDITATION FACILITATOR

Jimmy Cabrera Jr

Jimmy Cabrera Jr is a licensed psychotherapist and Reiki Master in private practice. He's also worked extensively with severely mentally ill and chronically homeless people, leading individual and group mindful awareness practices at various agencies. He worked at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility for 5 years, conducting 1:1 mental health assessments for inmate patients.

MEET WHO’S DOING THE LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Tonantzin Carmelo

Tonantzin Carmelo is a SAG award nominated American actress, cast as a lead and supporting actress for feature films, television, video games and theater. Most recent on-screen work includes guest stars on Undone (where she also was the choreographer and cultural consultant) Animal Kingdom, and the Son. She has voiced lead characters in six major Video Games including this year’s Cyber Punk. Most recently on stage she was cast in the Native Voices production of Pure Native and created the choreography for the opera Sweetland by the Industry. Carmelo forged a performing path though native dances and music touring with cultural groups throughout North America, while also developing as a technically trained dancer and performing modern dance. She recorded 3 albums with Canyon records as a percussionist and singer while earning her degree from UC Irvine in Environmental Studies and Dance. She is a documented descendent of the Tongva and Kumeyaaay of Southern California, as well as of New Mexican and Mexican heritage.

MEET OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Gustavo Herrera

Gustavo was appointed as Arts for LA’s Executive Director in December 2018.

Most recently, Gustavo served as the Western Regional Director for Young Invincibles (YI), where he set strategic direction and advanced YI’s policy priorities on health care, higher education, jobs, and civic engagement for the region. Prior to his policy advocacy role, Gustavo was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LAPCA), overseeing the day-to-day operation of a county museum, including the oversight of a master plan committee responsible for developing three acres of additional museum campus. From 2010-2012, Gustavo led the Maestro Foundation, a classical music and performance arts foundation. Between 2007-2010, he assessed and recommended business growth strategies in the US marketplace for the global Fortune 500 Company, American Honda Motors, Co.

Gustavo holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from American Jewish University and a dual Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies with an emphasis in socio-politics and economics and Art History from the University of California Santa Barbara. Gustavo serves on the Board of Directors of California Forward, Mt. San Antonio College Foundation and Californians for the Arts. He is an Advisory Board Member for the California Physician’s Alliance and the American Jewish University MBA Program.

MEET OUR TABLE MODERATORS

Eric V. Ibarra

Eric V. Ibarra is a social entrepreneur and a visionary leader who brings greater resources to nonprofit and for-profit social impact spaces. Through community-based programs and collaborations, Eric aims to prepare youth of color for creative careers resulting in their self-empowerment and life-long economic success. Founder of Las Fotos Project, a mentoring organization that provides free photography classes to teenage girls, Eric executed strategic initiatives, developed branding and marketing campaigns, and designed culturally-relevant programming in his role of Executive Director. His innovative foresight as a leader has bridged together a collaborative, team-building culture that has introduced youth to creative entrepreneurship and economic independence. Eric’s latest social impact venture, The Euclid Company, works with nonprofit organizations to build sustainable creative social enterprise programs that offer transitional-employment and full-time employment opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color (BIYOC).

Esperanza Sanchez

Esperanza Sanchez is the Associate Curator at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. She holds a Master of Arts in History with a focus on public history and a Bachelor of Arts in History with an emphasis on US, Europe, and Latin America foreign relations, and a minor in sociology, both from California State University, Northridge. She previously held archival, curatorial, and educational positions at the Autry Museum of the American West, the Museum of Latin American Art, and California State University, Northridge.

She has co-curated Linda Vallejo: Brown Belongings, ¡Ya Basta! The East LA Walkouts and the Power of Protest and Artists Assemble! Empowerment and Inspiration in Contemporary Comics. She is working on a new upcoming exhibition, Patriotism In Conflict: Fighting for Country and Comunidad.

Her museum work has received mention in The LA Times, KCET Artbound, KPPC, Huffington Post, and many others.

Justen Leroy

LA-native Justen Leroy is a sound artist and curator with a focus on uplifting Black narratives and creating access to contemporary art in inner-city communities. Through his work with The Underground Museum, BLKNWS and his network SON., he has helped bring provoking exhibitions and public programming to Los Angeles that challenge communities to reimagine how they see the many worlds around them. Recently, he produced LEAVE A MESSAGE, a community-driven, interactive soundscape, as part of the Hammer Museum’s Made In LA 2020 Biennial.

Kirsten Schaffer

Kirsten Schaffer is the Executive Director of Women In Film, Los Angeles, the preeminent organization that advocates for women in the screen industries – to achieve parity and transform culture. She has been instrumental in launching ReFrame, an industry-wide initiative to advance inclusivity and gender equity, as well as starting a variety of programs at Women In Film to increase the skill set and opportunity for film and TV makers. Previously she was the Director of Programming and then Executive Director of Outfest. She is widely credited as having grown Outfest into the leading LGBT media arts organization that it is. During Schaffer’s tenure at Outfest, she shepherded three new programs for the organization: The Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, the Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival and OutSet, the Young Filmmakers Project. Kirsten has extensive experience in film programming, small business management and arts administration. She is a graduate of the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, AIM (Arts Innovation and Management), and the Wells Fargo New Executive Director Institute. Kirsten was named one of POWER UP’s “Top 10 Women in Show Business,” and was the recipient of a “Women in Business” Award from Senator Liu. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Maren Dougherty

Maren Dougherty is the Director, Marketing & Communications at the San Diego Convention Center. In ordinary times, she leads public relations and branding activity for the waterfront facility. During the pandemic, she is managing the organization's communications regarding COVID-19 and the use of the building as an emergency homeless shelter. Prior to this role, she was the Executive Vice President of Communications and Visitor Experience at the Autry Museum of the American West. During her six years there, her responsibilities expanded to include oversight of visitor services, public and educational programming, government relations, membership, store, and cafe. She has also served as the Director of External Affairs for the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, a museum technology project serving more than 20 cultural institutions. A graduate of Northwestern University, Maren has written for publications such as Fodor’s San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune, and National Geographic Adventure.

Rebekah Harding

Rebekah Harding has many talents, but her superpower is being able to solve problems quickly and efficiently. As the CEO of Clover Strategic Consulting, she helps transform museums and nonprofits into inclusive and equitable spaces, centering work on valuing people. Rebekah applies a systems-thinking approach, prioritizing how policies and processes interconnect from leadership down to ground level. Rebekah values transparency, curiosity, empathy, and action. Prior to consulting, Rebekah spent 10 years working in museum education and civic engagement in Los Angeles, CA. She currently holds leadership positions with the American Alliance of Museum’s Education Committee and the Museum Educators of Southern California. When Rebekah is not in a museum, she travels the world with her family, exploring new places and culture. She also enjoys debate and passionately believes that raisins do not belong in baked goods.