AGENDA

August 22, 2024

8:00-9:00 am – Registration and Networking Breakfast

9:00 am – Welcome

- Angela Wilson (Facilitator), Executive Director, The AngelWing Project
- Donna Anderson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Arts Center
- April Nyman, President and CEO, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County

9:15 am – Measuring our Progress – Centering the Arts, Evaluation, and Social Change

- Geri Lynn Peak, DrPH, MPH, Principal, Two Gems Consulting Services

10:00 am – Workshop 1 (select one topic)

1. Funding for an Inclusive Future, moderated by Donna Anderson

- Susan Baum, Grants Manager, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County
- Emily Sollenberger Dobbins, Grants Manager, Maryland State Arts Council
- Laura Weiss, Grants Manager, Maryland State Arts Council
- Pam Bowling, Library Associate II, Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library

2. Creating Collaborative Programming

- Donald Owens, Artistic Director, Arena Players

3. Building a Board Representative of the Community

- Asha Smith, Director, Anne Arundel County Office of Equity and Human Rights

11:00 am – Workshop 2 (select one topic)

1. Funding for an Inclusive Future, moderated by Donna Anderson

- Susan Baum, Grants Manager, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County
- Emily Sollenberger Dobbins, Grants Manager, Maryland State Arts Council
- Laura Weiss, Grants Manager, Maryland State Arts Council
- Pam Bowling, Library Associate II, Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library

2. Creating Collaborative Programming

- Donald Owens, Artistic Director, Arena Players

3. Building a Board Representative of the Community

- Asha Smith, Director, Anne Arundel County Office of Equity and Human Rights

12:00 pm – Lunch

We will take a group photo in front of CAC’s Maya Angelou Mural at 12:45

1:00 pm – Presentations

Message from Maryland State Arts Council
- Steven Skerritt-Davis, Executive Director, MSAC
Afternoon Keynote Presentation
- Alysia Lee, President, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund

2:00 pm – Workshop 3 (select one topic)

4. Maintaining and Strengthening Committed Community Connections

- Dr. Genna Styles-Lyas, Director of LAA Community Engagement and Equity in Research, Americans for the Arts

5. Ensuring Accessibility: Practicing Process

- Mital Lyons-Warren, Local Arts Engagement Manager, Americans for the Arts
- Heather Flanagan, Artist Engagement and Accessibility Policy Manager, Americans for the Arts

6a. Building Efficiencies through Technology (small organizations)

- Angela Wilson, moderator. This round-table session is focused on the needs of organizations with less than three paid employees and budgets of less than $200,000.

3:00 pm – Workshop 4 (select one topic)

4. Maintaining and Strengthening Committed Community Connections

- Dr. Genna Styles-Lyas, Director of LAA Community Engagement and Equity in Research, Americans for the Arts

5. Ensuring Accessibility: Practicing Process

- Mital Lyons-Warren, Local Arts Engagement Manager, Americans for the Arts
- Heather Flanagan, Artist Engagement and Accessibility Policy Manager, Americans for the Arts

6b. Building Efficiencies through Technology (large organizations)

- Donna Anderson, moderator. This round-table session focused on the needs of organizations with over three paid employees and budgets over $200,000.

4:00 pm – Closing Angela Wilson

MEET OUR SPEAKERS & PANEL

Click the arrow next to each person’s name to learn more about them!

Donna Anderson

Donna Anderson’s career in nonprofit management includes more than 20 years in the arts as Vice President for Marketing and Development at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts and as Public Affairs Officer for the National Building Museum. In addition to management positions at Goodwill Industries of Washington, D.C., and at American University, she’s operated two businesses, most recently Anderson Creative Solutions, LLC, which provided organizational capacity to area nonprofits in fundraising and marketing. A New Jersey native, Donna received her bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from American University. She was awarded the 2023 “Annie Award” for Arts Leadership from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, “given to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the county’s arts community through guidance, mentorship, inclusivity, and innovation.” he was named by the Annapolis Capital as “One of the 10 Most Interesting People of 2005” for her leadership as President of the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce during a period of transition. A resident of Anne Arundel County since 1990, Anderson is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. She is married and has two grown children. In her spare time, she enjoys watching sports (especially Washington Capitals hockey), music, reading, movies, volunteering, visiting museums, and traveling.

Susan Baum

Susan Baum joined the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County as Grants Manager in 2022 after more than two decades in nonprofit arts management and education. Susan began her career at Arena Stage in Washington, DC where she held the position of Assistant Managing Director at Living Stage Theatre Company, Arena’s social outreach and educational theater company. After taking a hiatus to raise her children, she returned to the local arts community, serving as the Managing Director at Compass Rose Theater, followed by taking the helm at the CChildren’sTheater of Annapolis as Executive Director. Susan has also worked in development for the Annapolis Film Festival and directed student activities at the Key School. Having been on both sides of the arts granting process, Susan brings a unique perspective as both a funder and a grantee. Susan’spassion for the arts is both professional and personal. She has been involved in the arts for her entire life as a performer, director, and designer. She received her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and is a 2024 graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel. In her free time, you can find her hunting for treasures at thrift stores, making jewelry, restoring vintage furniture, and traveling.

Pam Bowling

Pamela Bowling has worked for the Anne Arundel County Public Library as an Information Staff
Member since 1991. She is one of the founding members of the llibrary’sCandid Community
Partners grant team. She currently provides a variety of classes and individual appointments
on how to apply for and obtain Foundation grants.

Emily Sollenberger-Dobbins

Emily Sollenberger Dobbins

Emily is the Program Director, Arts Services at the Maryland State Arts Council, where she works with a team who encourages and invests in the advancement of the arts for all Marylanders. Emily works directly with arts organizations and independent artists across the state through grant programs, including Grants for Organizations, Creativity Grant, Presenting & Touring, and Independent Artist Awards, and specializes in the visual/media arts, multi-discipline, folk & traditional, and arts services disciplines.

Heather Flanagan

Heather Flanagan is the Artist Engagement and Accessibility Policy Manager at Americans for the Arts (AFTA). She started at AFTA in 2019 in the Leadership Alliances department, supporting the team’s relationship-building programs, such as the National Arts Awards, National Arts Policy Roundtable, and other key cultivation events. Heather’s engagement with artists grew exponentially during the pandemic, especially through the creation of our Artist Think Tank. As part of her team’s commitment to “Artists as workers,” Heather helped to advocate for compensation for artists, inside as well as outside of the organization, particularly artists in the disability community—an issue that permeated her work and that of the organization. These two areas came to the forefront in January 2024 when she embraced her new role on the Local Arts Engagement team. Prior to joining Americans for the Arts, Heather worked as the Development Manager for The Ellington Fund, the fundraising arm of Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Originally from Long Island, NY, Heather earned a Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership and Management from Shenandoah University, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Montclair State University, and a Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design from the University of Michigan. Heather enjoys gardening, a variety of fibercraft arts, and spending time with her husband at their home in Warrenton, VA.

Alysia Lee

Formerly the education program supervisor for Fine Arts for the Maryland State Department of Education, Alysia work centers on anti-racism, creativity, and justice. Presently, Alysia Lee is the inaugural President of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF), the bold hyperlocal grantmaker stewarding $14 million in public funds this year to support the success of BBaltimore’syoung people. Lee is also a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist and the Founding Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, the El Sistema-inspired youth empowerment choral academy operating in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Camden. Lee composes music for vocal ensembles and is the series editor of Hal LLeonard’sExigence for Young Voices, the new choral series uplifting Black and Brown composers for young ensembles.

Mital Lyons-Warren

Mital Lyons-Warren is the Local Arts Engagement Manager at Americans for the Arts. In this role, she works to connect resources across the local arts agency field through educational offerings to foster and cultivate competent and informed local, regional, and national arts and culture professionals. Mital’s background in social work has provided her with diverse opportunities to connect communities to resources. She is motivated by supporting individuals and communities to champion their passions. Mital has been involved in creative outlets since childhood, utilizing arts and culture programs in every city she has lived in to express and heal. She holds a Master of Social Work in Community and Economic Development from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Suffolk University in Boston. Mital practices artmaking in and around her home in D.C.

April Nyman

April Nyman began her career as a corporate marketing and events specialist within the hotel and mall industries. Because of a strong belief in giving back to the community, she has served as a volunteer in every community where she has lived. This passion prompted a career change, and she entered the nonprofit management field in a professional capacity. April has previously served as the Executive Director of a number of historical organizations, as well as the Navy League in Florida. Ms. Nyman has led the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County since 2007, initially as Executive Director and now as President and Chief Executive Officer. She was recognized by the Annapolis Capital Gazette as a 2010 Woman of the Year and has served on the boards/commissions of the Community Arts Agencies of Maryland, Maryland Citizens for the Arts, MMaryland’sWomen Commission, Four Rivers Heritage Area, the Yumi Cares Foundation, and the Annapolis and Anne Arundel Visitors Center Board. She is a member of the current class of Leadership Maryland, a graduate of the Executive Leadership Series for Leadership Anne Arundel, served as Treasurer for the Annapolis Rotary, and is active in both the United Way and Combine Federal Campaigns. April is the 2023 recipient of the Leadership Anne Arundel Excellence in Leadership Award.

Geri Lynn Peak

Geri Lynn Peak, MPH, DrPH

Dr. Geri Lynn Peak brings a liberatory lens to transformative community-building efforts, applying spiritual principles to evaluation, research, technical assistance, facilitation, and coaching through Two Gems Consulting Services. She is a Virtues Project Master Facilitator and a member of the ACE Evaluation Network, the Living Well Brain Trust, founder of the Liberator Learning Circle, a space for healing and exploration of social transformation praxis, and co-founded the Center for Applied Research and Technical Assistance and Baltimore Youth Initiative High School. She serves as an advisor to the Wealth Reclamation Academy of Practitioners, Greater Baltimore Arts Council, and CLLCTIVLY, serves on the governing boards of DewMore Baltimore Wombwork Productions, and is on the annually elected leadership institution of the Baltimore BBahá’íCommunity. She is also a crafter, dancer, drummer, organic gardener, and sometimes poet.

Steven Skerritt-Davis

Steven Skerritt-Davis, MMSAC’sExecutive Director, joined the staff in February 2017 as Program Director, then served as Deputy Director for several years, overseeing the County Arts Agencies of Maryland, Arts & Entertainment Districts, and marketing and communications. Steven grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and danced professionally with Tulsa Ballet, American Ballet Theater Studio Company, and Ballet West. After retiring from a ten-year career, he earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Brown University, where he focused his studies on philanthropy and nonprofit management. Prior to joining MSAC, Steven worked as Program Coordinator for the National Dance Project at the New England Foundation for the Arts and as Director of External Relations for Lumberyard Contemporary Performing Arts, where he helped secure grants and partnerships that brought the organization to national prominence. He helped conceive and initiate a creative placemaking effort in upstate New York.

Asha Smith

Asha Smith is an attorney and human resources professional with a wealth of compliance experience in federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity and disability laws. Her experience includes developing and implementing policy, investigating and resolving internal complaints, facilitating staff training, and advising senior personnel. Most recently, Ms. Smith was the Senior Manager of EEO and ADA Compliance at Anne Arundel County Public Schools, where she managed discrimination and harassment concerns, reasonable accommodations, and medical leaves, such as FMLA, for more than 10,000 employees. She led the school system’s COVID-related leave and accommodation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Smith started her legal career as a Staff Attorney in the law enforcement bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. She investigated and resolved alleged violations of the ccity’santi-discrimination statute in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. Ms. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law. She is a proud native New Yorker and resides in the Annapolis area.

Genna Styles-Lyas

As the former AEP6 Director of Community Engagement & Equity, GGenna’skey responsibilities included liaising between community partners and national consultants, developing and implementing resources that support engagement with the research study across cultural and arts organizations, especially those serving and centering on BIPOC communities, and all other aspects of the survey including the post-study evaluation. Genna is looking forward to making an impact in her new title and expanded role as the Director of LAA Community Engagement and Equity in Research. For over twelve years, Genna has worked as a teaching artist for arts organizations both locally and nationally. During this time, Genna served as a Panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council, providing arts expertise to evaluate the Teaching Artist Roster applications, guiding the process with a focus on the principles of equity and justice within teaching artist opportunities. Genna earned her Doctorate in Education in out-of-school learning with a focus on Teaching Artists in marginalized communities from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, with a concentration on arts education, from Northcentral University. With a BFA in Acting and a minor in Musical Theater from Point Park University, Genna became a member of the Actor’s Equity Association, performing regionally, nationally, and internationally. Genna is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Laura Weiss

Laura Weiss joined the staff of the Maryland State Arts Council in 2019. Prior to MSAC, Laura has 13 years of non-profit arts management experience as a long-time staff member at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. During her tenure at Everyman, she served in multiple roles, including Associate Director of Marketing and Media Relations, Special Assistant to the Artistic and Managing Directors, and Development Operations Manager. Laura holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Musical Theatre from The Catholic University of America. She is a Baltimore area native, having grown up in Towson and attending Carver Center for Arts and Technology for high school. The arts have always played an important role in Laura’s life, and she is proud to support individual artists and arts organizations across the State in her role as Program Director for Arts Services at the Maryland State Arts Council.

Angela Wilson

Angela Wilson is the founder and CEO of the AngelWing Project, Inc. She leads this non-profit organization in its mission to positively impact the community by “providing uplifting, entertaining shows and events to inspire appreciation for and participation in the arts.” The AngelWing Project is currently based at the Chesapeake Arts Center, a premier arts center in Anne Arundel County, with which they collaborate on many projects. Since becoming a resident theater in 2017, Angela has produced and directed two to three shows each season, focusing on African American culture. This includes three virtual shows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela passionately believes that sharing these important stories is crucial to our collective history, as many people are unaware of them. She recognizes the numerous efforts over the years to erase African American history in America. Angela is an award-winning playwright, producer, director, and independent artist with a clear vision. Angela excels at bringing together dynamic, artists/casts and delivering performances that captivate audiences. This past season, she directed and produced a play by one of her idols, Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson. She adeptly handled the production and direction of Seven Guitars, set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in the 1940s, earning rave reviews for her casting and direction. Additionally, she is a skilled set designer.

Previously, Angela enjoyed a successful 23+ year career in Human Resources. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Master’s in Organization and HR Development. She was a corporate leader in Learning and Development, as well as Diversity and Inclusion. In 2020, she left her corporate job to start a consulting company and dedicate more time to her writing and independent artistry.

Angela is an active participant in her local community and the theatre community. She was recently elected to the board of the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). A national organization that was founded in 1986, AACT is a nonprofit corporation that serves both individuals and organizations by providing expertise, assistance, and support so that community theatres can provide the best possible theatrical experience for participants and audiences alike. She is a recent graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel, as well as a member of the Baltimore Small Stage Coalition, The Dramatist Guild, and other arts-related organizations.

Donald Owens

Donald Owens has been the Artistic Director of Arena Players, Inc. for almost twenty years. He is also
an actor, director, writer and teacher. Born in Washington, D.C., Mr. Owens came to Baltimore in the
early 1970’s and became a part of Arena Players, Inc. He is a war veteran and has been in many
theaters across this country and overseas. He has always been interested in the arts as a way to deal
with social issues, as he believes that people can be entertained as well as taught at the same time. To
work toward that goal, he started Studio 801 so that social problems could be included in the theatre
program. He is a founding member of the Ohio Theatre Alliance and past president of the Baltimore
Theatre Alliance. He is presently president of the Baltimore Small Stage Coalition.