2023-2024 Board

Alice Bebbington
President 

Alice is a constructivist educator who teaches at the Museum of Contemporary Art, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and with Visual Thinking Strategies. Her various roles allow her to regularly facilitate gallery tours, teacher training workshops, family art-making activities, and online image discussions. She is fundamentally interested in meeting learners of all ages where they are and facilitating unique opportunities of learning that center around community. Alice is delighted to continue serving on the MESC Board - as MESC's Digital Board Member during the 2017 - 2019 term, she created and grew the digital presence of MESC. She is also an improviser at Upright Citizens Brigade and a teaching artist and actor with Story Pirates. 

Rachel Kilroy
Vice President/President Elect 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, RACHEL KILROY uses her strong foundation in the social responsibility of art and culture to advance the ubiquity of arts education.

Rachel graduated from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) with her Bachelor’s in Fine Art. She has worked with many arts institutions, including Los Angeles County Department of the Arts and Culture (LACDAC) intern at Get Lit – Words Ignite where she grew to full-time staff as Program Coordinator, then the Cayton Children’s Museum as School Program Coordinator, and currently with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as Education Manager. In terms of professional development, Rachel is currently Treasurer & Vice President of Museum Educators of Southern California (MESC). She has her certificate of Nonprofit Management from the Center of Nonprofit Management (CNM), she has been an Arts for LA ACTIVATE Delegate fellow, LACDAC Art of Leadership fellow, served as an Arts Education Exposure & Creative Youth Development grant panelist for the California Arts Council (CAC), as an OGP Visual Arts Education grant panelist for LACDAC, SAIL-CAPE grant panelist for the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), and on the Leadership Council of Emerging Arts Leaders / Los Angeles (EAL/LA)

Lonnie Goodwin
Digital

Lonnie Goodwin has worked as a Museum Educator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the past several years, as well as previously for several years at CAAM. Her work has included developing and teaching in-person and virtual object-centered lessons and workshops, writing online educational materials, as well as creating materials to train new educators. At LACMA, she also produced and edited educational materials that use video as a medium for artists to teach workshops. Additionally, she has been a speaker at a MESC program and LACMA’s Summer Institute, and presented materials she co-developed. Her impetus as a Museum Educator has been a passionate belief in the study and practice of the arts as a transformational force in the lives of students.

Allison Koehler
Secretary

For over a decade, Allison has worked as an arts educator, in both a classroom and museum setting, establishing partnerships and building relationships. In her current position as Lead Senior Educator with MOCA in Los Angeles, Allison works closely with her team to create programming for students and professional development opportunities for teachers. In her previous position as Executive Director of the Paul Gray PC Museum, Allison oversaw all operations of the museum while working closely with the board to develop short and long-term strategic plans. Before transitioning to museum education, Allison taught elementary school Visual Arts for nine years. Allison holds a MA in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University, a MA in Education from Antioch University, and a BA in Studio Art, Spanish, and International/Intercultural Studies from Pitzer College.

Tori Reimann
Outreach and Innovation

Having studied education and art, Tori has worked as an educator at the MFA Boston, Historic New England and Oceanside Museum of Art, Mingei International Museum and San Diego History Center. She is passionate about welcoming visitors to cultural institutions and fostering an inclusive environment of creativity, learning and connection through art.

Janet Lee
Membership Engagement

Janet Lee (she/they) is an artist/arts educator born and raised in Los Angeles (unceded lands of the Tongva). Currently, Janet works at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA) and facilitates tours for 3rd through 12th-grade students using the inquiry-based teaching method, Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). Prior to working with students in contemporary art, they spent time excavating Etruscan sites in Tuscany/Lazio as well as aiding in translation work for the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Roma (MACRO). Noticing countless meaningful connections between varying arts disciplines, languages, and cultures in both ancient and contemporary times affirms their strong belief in the transformative and transcultural power of art as an agent for positive change. Janet studied and received their degree in Art History with an emphasis on pre-Greco-Roman archaeology at the University of California, Berkeley (BA). In their free time, Janet enjoys creating art and playing traditional Korean drums (Pungmul).

Sarah Harty
Web

Sarah Harty is a Museum Professional with a passion for fostering curiosity and learning. She began as an after school programs teacher in Sweden and then moved to the museum field, working as an educator for the San Bernardino County Museum. Currently, as the Manager of Visitor Experience at the Southern California Railway Museum, she has streamlined the membership program, enhanced development, and organizes various events attracting over 100,000 visitors annually. Sarah is dedicated to making an impact on museum education and visitor engagement.

Billie Rae Vinson
Treasurer

Billie Rae Vinson is an experienced museum professional who is the Director of School and Family Programs at Craft Contemporary where she develops programs for schools, teens and families. She has also worked with LACMA, P.S. ARTS, and LAMusArt, to provide creative experiences for a wide range of audiences. Previously, Vinson was the Senior Coordinator of Family Programs at the Whitney Museum, where she managed all aspects of family programming for six years. As a 2011 Brooklyn Museum Education Fellow, she is trained in object and inquiry-based teaching and has an MA in Critical Writing and Curatorial Practice and a BA in Fine Art. Prior to moving to New York, Vinson was a freelancer in the education department at Tate Britain, London.

Kristin Lorey-Nissen
Advancement

Kristin's 15-year career lives at the intersection of education, art, and talent. Kristin has worked in partnership with the Broad Museum since 2015 when she co-created the museum’s founding student programs. She has also worked with the Hammer Museum, Museum of Natural History, and LACMA to design programming for students and adults alike. In addition to her work with arts institutions, Kristin specializes in building sustainable talent programs and equitable people-centric workplace cultures. Kristin currently works at Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, and has previously worked at Young Storytellers, Every Monday Matters, 826LA, Invisible Children, and Liberty in North Korea.

Esperanza Sanchez
Diversity, Inclusion + Accessibility

Esperanza Sanchez is a curator, historian, and educator. She is an Associate Curator at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. She held archival, curatorial, and educational positions at the Autry Museum of the American West and the Museum of Latin American Art. Esperanza holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in History from 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. Esperanza curated a solo exhibition, Patriotism In Conflict: Fighting for Country and Comunidad.

Jeniffer Perales-Garcia
Community Engagement

Jeniffer Perales Garcia (she/her/ella) is a bilingual museum educator. She is currently working at the Fowler Museum at UCLA as Manager of K-12 & Family Programming and Bilingual Educator. As a first-generation, English-learner, DACA-mented Latina, her work strives to create a more accessible and welcoming museum space. Jeniffer received her B.A. in Latin American Studies and B.A. in Spanish from UT Austin.