Gustavo was appointed as Arts for LA’s Executive Director in December 2018.  Prior to working with us, he was the Western Regional Director for Young Invincibles (YI), where he was responsible for leading YI’s California offices, including its West Coast expansion. As director, he set strategic direction and advanced YI’s policy priorities on health care, higher education, jobs, and civic engagement for the region.

Before starting at Young Invincibles, Gustavo was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of L.A. 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 strategically developing three acres of additional museum campus. From 2010-2012, Gustavo led the Maestro Foundation, a classical music and performance arts foundation, as the Director of Organizational Development. 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 served on the Board of Directors of the Create: Fixate Arts Organization (2006-2010). He is a current Strong Workforce Implementation Advisory Board Member for the California Community Colleges, Advisory Board Member for the California Physician’s Alliance and founding Board Member of Silverlake Forward.

Quetzal Flores (he/him) is a Chican@ musician, producer, cultural strategist, and organizer raised in East Los Angeles. He is the founder and musical director of the Grammy Award–winning Chican@ band, Quetzal. Shaped by his family, mentors, and the vibrant Chican@ arts and cultural community—as well as his work in prison education—Quetzal has been part of transformative cultural movements on local, transnational, and international levels.

Through his work with Community Power Collective and across broader movement networks, Quetzal helps reconnect communities with ancestral and diasporic cultural practices that foster interdependence, joyful embodiment, accountability, and resistance to systems of oppression.

He is deeply committed to cultivating strong, trust-based relationships within and beyond his professional circles as a foundation for collective healing and transformation.

Hataya Tubtim (she/her) is an arts leader, educator, and social practice artist committed to equity, access, and community-rooted cultural work. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation, where she supports the museum’s strategic initiatives to expand arts access across historically underrepresented communities, particularly those within communities of East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. 

Her earlier work as an educator and public and socially engaged artist centered on public pedagogy, creative collaboration, and social empowerment in various contexts including business districts, public schools, public health, and other community-based settings. Drawing from a career that bridges nonprofit work, teaching, and community practice, Hataya brings an artist-informed perspective to arts advocacy and policy. Her work reflects a deep belief in the power of the arts to transform institutions and advance cultural equity in Los Angeles.

Morenike Dosu serves as Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) for DreamWorks Animation. In this role, she draws upon her 20+ years of Animation & VFX experience to develop and execute DEI initiatives aligned with DreamWorks’ goals to recruit, retain and cultivate their inclusive workforce.

With a love of animation and a genuine passion for the people that create this artform, Morenike is a key strategic partner to DreamWorks’ business leaders and HR. By diagnosing opportunities and analyzing data related to DEI, Morenike builds strong relationships within all levels of the studio’s workforce and partners with multiple DEI stakeholders across DreamWorks and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) to foster collaboration, connection, and professional growth – nurturing a studio culture where storytellers can craft universal moments that make dreamers around the globe feel seen and welcomed.

Prior to DreamWorks, Morenike has worked across the world at top-tier global studios such as Animal Logic in Sydney, The Moving Picture Company in London, and Framestore in Los Angeles. She holds a Masters of Design Science at the University of Sydney and has been credited on a multitude of blockbusters such as ‘Prometheus’, ‘The Jungle Book’, and ‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish’.

Combining deep expertise in finance, marketing, and operations, Malindi is committed to advancing the missions of growing organizations. With over 15 years of experience in luxury ecommerce and media, Malindi has a proven track record of driving operational excellence and scaling businesses for sustainable growth. In leadership roles including GM, COO, and CFO, Malindi has led cross-functional teams, streamlined complex operations, and built scalable systems that fueled multi-year triple-digit growth. A lifelong supporter of artists, Malindi has also contributed to fostering creativity and innovation in the arts sector. Previous roles include GM/CFO at Saatchi Art, Advisor to Briony Raymond NYC, and COO/CFO at Tamara Mellon Brand.

Evonne Gallardo serves as Senior Program Director for Community Partners’ Intermediary team and leads arts and culture regranting efforts for foundation, government and corporate clients. Evonne is dedicated to advancing and resourcing artists and the entities that serve them and has over 20 years of leadership experience in multiple functional areas of arts and culture management. Specialties include approaches to cultural equity including funding and trust-based philanthropy, policies and strategies; community engagement strategies; and centering the artist/creative through mutual benefit practices and thought partnerships. In addition to her role at Community Partners, Evonne serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. Evonne received a B.A. in American History at Columbia University and an M.A. in the Sociology of Art from the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Skirball Cultural Center
Pamela Kohanchi brings deep experience engaging both internal and external partners to move the arts and legal world forward. In her role as LACMA’s Deputy General Counsel, she advised on myriad strategic initiatives and complex projects, including large-scale public art installations, international partnerships, a planned $650 million new building, major acquisitions and gifts of art, and technology collaborations. Her expertise in a broad array of complex legal issues􏱒from corporate governance and copyright to employment and nonprofit matters􏱒coupled with a collaborative approach to policymakers and staff alike, facilitated iconic, wondrous works for Los Angeles such as Levitated Mass, the promised gift of the Sheats-Goldstein Residence, and Art + Technology Lab partnerships with innovation leaders such as Google and SpaceX.

Prior to LACMA, Kohanchi served as an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles and worked for the American Bar Association’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities in Washington, DC. A member of the California State Bar, Kohanchi holds a JD degree from Stanford Law School and a BA in political science from University of California, Los Angeles.

Nahal Jalali is a visual artist, writer, and strategy consultant focused on advancing social change through the arts. She is a Manager within the Monitor Institute by Deloitte, a social change consultancy that provides strategic support and services to nonprofit organizations, corporate foundations, and other entities seeking to create social change. Currently, Nahal manages strategy and sourcing for Deloitte’s Purpose Office. In this role, she helps source equity-focused investment opportunities in the areas of education/workforce development, health equity, and financial inclusion to fulfill Deloitte’s 10-year, $1.5B social impact investment. Nahal also spent five years in Deloitte’s Government and Public Services practice where she supported dozens of public, private, and social sector organizations with strategic services focused on growth and innovation.

Nahal has been involved with Arts for LA since 2020 – including as a Laura Zucker fellow, ACTIVATE Delegate, and most recently, as a member of AFLA’s Policy Committee. Nahal earned her Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University where she wrote her graduate thesis on individual preferences for public funding of the arts in the United States. She also has a personal ceramic arts practice and is a member of the CLAY CA studio in Chinatown.

Vice President for Human Resources and Development, Otis College
Karen Hill is an accomplished human resources leader with over 20 years’ experience. In addition to her exemplary degree qualifications, she holds an M.B.A. from UCLA with an emphasis in Marketing, a B.S. in Business, a Senior Professional Human Resources Designation, Leadership Certification from the Center for Creative Leadership, and a Strategic HR Certification. Her prior senior leadership positions – at such firms/institutions as Sony, USC, and DeviantArt – include Senior Vice President, Human Resources/Diversity & Inclusion; Vice President, Human Resources and Development; and Executive Director, Human Resources. Hill also serves on several non-profit boards. Throughout her career, she has focused holistically on organizations, and developed congruent people strategies to produce positive results. She brings a verifiable record of leading workplace culture and employee engagement initiatives, along with expertise in designing diversity and inclusion strategies and integrating them into organizational culture. Hill’s expertise also includes fiscally minded and data-driven human resources perspectives that add efficiencies through such areas as business development, employee relations, risk management, and vendor relationship contracts.

Under her guidance, the Arts District has commissioned over 25 DOT boxes, painted by professional artists, 8 storm drains, 2 asphalt art crosswalks and 4 large murals in downtown San Pedro. In the summer of 2019, the Arts District launched another new pilot program, “Adventures in Public Art”, aimed at giving students public art experiences. The second Adventures in Public Art mural was painted on the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s Building G in June of 2023, by the Revival Murals team of Alonsa Guevara and James Razko. This mural features one of three augmented reality activations, designed by the CTE classes at the Port of LA High School, led by  Snap Lens Lab/Otis Teaching Artist Raul Moreno and funded by an NEA grant.

In August 2021, Linda was part of a squad, aimed at engaging the San Pedro Arts and Culture District Partners (now called Arts United Cultural Coalition), the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the San Pedro Property Owner’s Alliance to bring back the pandemic shuttered FirstThursday ArtWalk. In November 2025, the First Thursday ArtWalk will celebrate its 28th Anniversary and the Arts District continues to lead Guided FirstThursday ArtWalk Tours 10X/year.

In 2017, the Arts District launched a new arts appreciation series, called “Cuatro@Cabrillo”, hosted by the preeminent arts scholar, Gregorio Luke and in collaboration with one of the Arts and Cultural District Partners, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Now it is called Culture TALKS! this series was relaunched in the fall of 2022 at the Aquarium and included an LA-ist, 89.3 Retake Live John Horn conversation with Culture Clash’s Richard Montoya.

In 2017, San Pedro was named as a California Cultural District by the Sacramento based California Arts Council. San Pedro is one of 14 initial Cultural Districts and has been recertified for another five years, helmed by an expanded group of coalition partners. This was Linda’s Arts for LA ACTIVATE Program 2016-17 project.

Linda’s past community involvement includes – Board President of the Palos Verdes Art Center, Arts for LA Advancement Committee, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Harbor Communications Committee, communications assistance for the Beacon House Men and served on the Board of the Little Italy of LA non-profit. Linda also served as the Arts for LA Advancement Committee co-chair and is now a proud member of the Arts for LA Board, as well as a San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Board member and co-chair of the Quality of Life Committee and a Member-At-Large of the San Pedro Property Owner’s Business Improvement District.