|
Commissioners
The Commissioners of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities are volunteers who are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. They represent the various wards throughout the city.
Félix Angel
Felix Ángel is Director of the Cultural Center of the Inter American Development Bank. Born in Medellín, Colombia, Mr. Ángel holds a degree in Architecture from the National University of Colombia. He is also a painter, printmaker and draftsman, author and curator specializing in 19th and 20th century Latin American and Caribbean art. He is also the editor of the Latin American art section of the Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) of the Library of Congress. He has been a member of the DC Commission since 2002 and a resident of the District for 27 years.
Anne Ashmore-Hudson, PhD, Chair
Anne Ashmore-Hudson is the Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. A clinical psychologist and social worker, Ashmore-Hudson was in private practice for more than 25 years. She was the Founding President of Urban Psychological Associates in Brookline Massachusetts before relocating to the District 15 years ago. Ashmore-Hudson has been a Washington Ballet Board member for more than eight years and played a key role in establishing a Washington School of Ballet satellite branch at THEARC, a state-of-the-art arts center in southeast Washington. She also helped establish an after-school visual arts program in Washington for children who had been homeless and had moved into transitional housing. As a writer Ashmore-Hudson has published articles on jury selection, relationships and the psychological impact of language.
Jane Lipton Cafritz
Jane Lipton Cafritz is an attorney specializing in real estate development. She has worked for the Department of Defense, as a staff member of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives and in private practice. She currently is a member of the Smithsonian National Board, a member of the Executive Committee of the Washington National Opera, the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the National Symphony Orchestra, a Trustee of Meridian International Center, and an Associate Trustee of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.
Carl C. Cole
Carl C. Cole is a native Washingtonian with a deep passion for the arts and a committed champion of arts education. Though not a trained artist, he enjoys photography, charcoal on any medium and dabbles in watercolors. He is a member of Foto Craft Photography Club (formerly the 12th Street Y Photography Club.) He also is an avid waterman, with extensive Tall Ship experience, but admits he really loves to drive tugboats. Carl is married to Rise (pronounced Resa) Brown and resides in Fairlawn, but is quick to hasten that he lives in all of Washington.
Lou Durden
Lou Durden retired from the IBM Corporation as Director of Corporate Community Relations in Washington, DC. He was with IBM for 32 years. He has been involved with various community organizations and projects throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area. He was a founding board member of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, former chair of The Choral Arts Society of Washington, former chair of Leadership Washington, former board member of The Washington Performing Arts Society and chair of several campaigns of the United Way. He has served on numerous other boards in our community. Lou is married, has two daughters and is an avid photographer.
Rhona Wolfe Friedman
Rhona Wolfe Friedman works in the real estate field and is also President of a development company. She is an Attorney, has a master's degree in the History of Decorative Arts from the Parsons School of Design/Smithsonian Institution and a Masters Degree in Counseling and Clinical Psychology. Rhona currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Ballet where her focus is the Ballet's outreach programs in public schools and its partnership at THEARC in Ward 8. For nine years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Lab School of Washington, a school that teaches learning-disabled children through the arts. It was at this school that she realized how important the arts are to education and how the many forms of art can foster learning and creativity. Rhona is active in the community, Chairs the ExecWomen's Forum at the University Club of Washington, is a member of the Capital Speaker's Club as well as several professional organizations. She was vice-chair for Mayor Adrian Fenty's Pre-Transition and Transition Arts Committee.
Teresa Ghiglino
Teresa Ghiglino received her Master's in Fine Arts from American University. She has received a number of prestigious awards, such as the 2004 Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Alma Thomas Award and the Glassman Award. In 2005, Ms. Ghiglino was invited to evaluate "Arte Latino: Invention and Innovation" a new educational program at the National Museum of American Art. She was also a Fellow for the Kennedy Center's Arts Edge Program. From 1993 to 1995, the DCCAH, and NEA awarded Ms. Ghiglino multiple grants for her work in the visual arts. Her work has been exhibited in Argentina, Peru and in the United States. Currently, she teaches drawing, painting, and ceramics at Bell Multicultural High School.
Rod Little
Rod Little is a native Washingtonian that graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where he received his BFA in visual communications. He is an accomplished Graphic Designer and Illustrator with nearly 20 years of experience working at two national publications, USA Today and US News & World Report.
Dorothy Pierce McSweeny
Dorothy Pierce McSweeny served as Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities from 1999 - 2007 and as Vice Chair from 1995 -1999. Mrs. McSweeny has been honored with the Mayor's Arts Award Lifetime Achievement, Laura Phillips Angel of the Arts Award, the DC Youth Orchestra Lifetime Achievement Award, National Capital Philanthropy Award, Patron of the Arts Award by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington and was named Washingtonian of the Year in 1995. She is active as founder, officer and trustee of numerous organizations including The John F. Kennedy Center, National Symphony Orchestra, The Washington Ballet, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Federal City Council, DC Chamber of Commerce, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Women in the Arts and Washington Episcopal School.
E. Ethelbert Miller
E. Ethelbert Miller is a literary activist, author and board chair for the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), the nation's oldest multi-issue progressive think tank. Visit Mr. Miller's website to view examples of his prose and poetry.
Marsha Ralls
Marsha Ralls is the owner and director of The Ralls Collection, a private gallery specializing in contemporary American paintings, photography, prints and sculpture. In 1988, she founded the art dealership providing art consulting and curatorial services to both private and corporate collectors. In 1991, she opened The Ralls Collection on 31st Street in Georgetown. In her capacity as dealer and collections consultant, Ralls has traveled both in the United States and internationally, including business ventures in former Soviet provinces, England, France, Egypt and the Middle East. Ralls is very active in her community, several charitable organizations as well as a member of numerous professional groups.
Gertrude Saleh
Having grown up in Washington, DC and attended local schools, the arts have always shaped Gertrude J. Saleh's interest and have been an integral part of her life. Her 30-year career in the federal service was with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She moved up within the ranks from secretary, to senior program specialist and from 1989-1991 was appointed as Acting Director of the Opera-Musical Theatre Program under John E. Frohnmayer, Chairman of the NEA. In semi-retirement, she has worked with institutions such as the National Gallery of the Arts, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Education Programs with renowned artist such as Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem and Suzanne Farrell's Dance Programs. Ms. Saleh is currently Executive Director of Fundraising and Development for Serenity Players, Inc. -- a local community-based theater company located in Ward 7. She is one of the founding members of the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative and served on the Board in 2006.
Maurice Shorter
Mr. Shorter has been active in the local music entertainment scene since 1982 as a band manager, booking agent, event coordinator and recording producer. His passion for music has been relegated to the go-go music genre that's indigenous to DC. Management, bookings and event production have been managed by his company "1Moe Show". Recordings, manufacturing and sales have been managed by his record company "Street Records CDs & Tapes." He is a long-time member of WAMA (Washington Area Music Association) and serves on its board of directors. Over the years, he has been appointed by Mayors Barry, Pratt-Kelly and Williams and their departments to serve on various youth task forces and special projects.
Judith Terra
Judith Terra is a newly appointed Commissioner. Her bio will be posted soon.
David Umansky
David Umansky is an independent consultant specializing in the development and implementation of strategic communications programs for public institutions and private industry. He was the Smithsonian Institution's first Director of Communications, a Senior Vice President of Burson Marsteller and a reporter and columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In public life he has served in the Carter Administration and as Administrative Assistant to a Member of Congress. Umansky has taught at Temple University and George Washington University and has been a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica. He also serves on the boards of Bread for the City, Washington Anti-Defamation League, Dumbarton Concert Series, and the Embassy Concert Series, Umansky also the Chair of the Discovery Creek Children's Museum Advisory Committee, and serves on the National Symphony Orchestra Community Outreach Committee.
Gail Berry West
Gail Berry West is an attorney with over 25 years of government and private industry experience. She held positions in the Carter Administration and with two fortune 500 companies. She has been on the Boards of the Corcoran Museum of Art and Arena Stage as well numerous other Boards in the District of Columbia.
Lavinia Wohlfarth
Lavinia Wohlfarth, a fifth-generation Washingtonian, was born in 1948 in the Ivy City neighborhood. Ms. Wohlfarth enjoyed a successful 17-year career as a Washington DC restaurateur. Following a one-year sabbatical in 1987, she began a new career as a gallerist, and established Wohlfarth Galleries in the Washington DC neighborhood in which she lives. In 1999, Wohlfarth founded The Brookland Community Development Corporation in her Northeast neighborhood, to focus on history, the arts, and the revitalization of the commercial district in her community. She is also the chair of the Brookland Main Street Program.
Monica Wroblewski
Monica Wroblewski has been a District resident for more than 8 years. Her passion for the arts stems from her youth, where at age six she began to perform on the piano and at age nine the French horn. She has also studied the cello and classical voice. She has taken classes in art history, painting in watercolor, pottery and ceramics and photography.
|
