Arts for LA is a 501(c)(3) arts advocacy organization. Our mission is to foster a healthy environment in which the arts and culture may thrive and be accessible to all in Los Angeles. Arts for LA is led by Executive Director Danielle Brazell in partnership with a dedicated governing board of directors comprised of arts professionals and representative of the diverse artistic, cultural, and geographic communities of our vast region.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Alexander -
Michael Alexander is the Executive/Artistic Director of Grand Performances. This appointment followed a twenty-two year career in the arts working as a performer, manager, and curator of programs for non-profit dance companies as well as his own artist agency, and as the Director of Performing Arts for the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. Michael is also the Chair of the California Arts Council.
Leni Isaacs Boorstin -
With 35 years of experience in the arts management field, she is the Director of Community and Government Affairs for the L.A. Philharmonic Association and has worked with them since 1991. She has also worked as the Development Manager and the Public Affairs Manager for the L.A. Philharmonic, and has worked in various managing positions with the Coro Foundation, KPFK, and the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco.
Cynthia Campoy Brophy -
Cynthia Campoy Brophy is the Executive Director and Founder of The HeArt Project. She began the program 16 years ago by bringing arts workshops to one teen community center; the organization now brings its yearlong programs to 20 continuation high schools throughout LA County. Prior to founding The HeArt Project, she was publicist for The Museum of Contemporary Art from 1986-1990.
Jessica Cusick -
Jessica Cusick is currently the Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Santa Monica. In 1998, she established Cusick Consulting to build upon her more than twenty years of experience working in the arts for governmental agencies, the private sector, and non-profit organizations. The firm specializes in civic art, cultural policy and community development through the arts.
Jay H. Dick -
Jay H. Dick holds the position of Director of State and Local Government Affairs for Americans for the Arts where he is responsible for building working relationships with state arts advocacy and service organizations with state elected officials, and works closely with fifty State Arts Advocacy Captains to accomplish this goal. Prior to joining Americans for the Arts, Jay was an account manager at Capitol Advantage (Capwiz) and helped enable clients to fully use online legislative action to build strong grassroots advocacy programs; he also worked for the public policy department of the Society of Plastics Industry, was the field director for a congressional campaign in Iowa, and worked for Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey as a legislative assistant.
Ruth L. Eliel -
Ruth L. Eliel is the executive director of the Colburn Foundation, a Los Angeles-based foundation dedicated to supporting classical music performance and education in greater Los Angeles. Prior to her appointment to the Foundation in 2008, she held the positions of associate executive director and executive director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for 11 years. She serves on the board of advisors of the USC Thornton School of Music and has been involved extensively with the League of American Orchestras' Learning and Leadership Development Programs.
Charmaine Jefferson -
Charmaine Jefferson has been the Executive Director of the California African American Museum (CAAM), as well as Executive Vice President of Friends: the Foundation of the California African-American Museum, since June 2003. With more than 28 years in the arts and culture industries, she has served on numerous committees and boards and currently serves as a Board Trustee for the California Institute of the Arts, a member of California's Minerva Award Selection Committee for First Lady Maria Shriver, and a Gubernatorial appointed member of the California Arts Council.
Terence McFarland-
Terence McFarland is the Executive Director of LA Stage Alliance, and he serves on both the board of directors for Edgefest: The Edge of the World Theatre Festival and the California Institute of the Arts Alumni Association. He has led workshops on corporate volunteerism in the arts sector and arts marketing; directed, produced, and performed in many international film festivals and renowned performance spaces; and has worked in the fashion industry in New York in show production, public relations, creative services, and publishing.
Michael McDowell -
Senior Director of Cultural Tourism for LA INC., The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, Michael McDowell serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the LA Stage Alliance, is a member of the Board of Directors for the 24th Street Theatre and is also a member of the Downtown Breakfast Club. He regularly serves as a marketing consultant and writes articles and opinion pieces for publications such as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Danielle Brazell
For the more than fifteen years Danielle has been an active leader in the arts community as an artist, presenter and teaching artist. She is a Getty Visual Arts Fellowship recipient for her performance work and a teaching artist whose workshops in community and university settings earned her the support of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the California Arts Council, the City of Santa Monica, and the ASTRAEA Foundation. From 1999-2003 Danielle served the arts community as the Artistic Director of Highways Performance Space.
CONSTITUENT MANAGER
Camille (Brown) Schenkkan has served as the Development Director for Circle X Theatre Company since 2004 and is a member of Emerging Arts Leaders LA. She graduated from Scripps College in 2006 (BA in Honors English/Theatre, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa), where she won the English Senior Thesis Award for her exploration of the work of playwrights Tom Jacobson, Sarah Ruhl and Carson Kreitzer. Camille was a National Merit Scholar and a Scripps New Generation Scholar. In addition to her jobs at Arts for LA and Circle X, she is currently pursuing a Master of Arts Management at Claremont Graduate University/Drucker School.