Regional Arts & Culture Council elects new board members and officers

PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has re-elected Jan Robertson as the chair of the board for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. Robertson is the CEO and a partner of Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies, a full-service commercial real estate company, and an advocate for the arts locally and nationally. She has held leadership roles in Young Audiences nationally for more than a decade. She received the Daily Journal of Commerce Newsmaker of the Year Award in 2012, and the Portland Business Journal’s Orchid Award in 2008 for her business and civic contributions.

Phillip T. Hillaire has been elected vice chair. Hillaire is a member of the Lummi Tribe. He is involved in protecting tribal sovereignty, cultures, arts and traditions. He has coordinated fundraising events for Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and planned conferences and handled communications for the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians.

Eileen L. Day has been elected treasurer. She became a CPA in 1997. In 2003 she joined Portland Center Stage as the Finance Director. In 2005, she joined Holmes & Company and has been the audit partner since 2007. Eric R. Hormel has been re-elected secretary. He works in Perkins’ Legacy Planning group, specializing in working with high net worth individuals and their families.

Verlea G. Briggs, Mike Golub and Susheela Jayapal round out the Executive Committee. Other continuing RACC Board members include Nik Blosser, Robert Bucker, Daryl Dixon, Representative Lew Frederick,Debbie Glaze, Angela Hult, Dana Ingram, Joe Krumm, David R. Lofland Jr., Linda McGeady, and Joanna Priestley.

In addition, six new members have been elected to the RACC board:

  • Katy A. Brooks is the Economic Development Director for the Port of Vancouver USA where she is developing an urban mixed use waterfront directly west of the I-5 Bridge, complete with public and commercial spaces. Katy also co-owns EcoTech LLC, a Portland environmental contracting company.
  • Raymond C. Cheung, CPA is a shareholder with Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based certified public accounting firm.  Raymond serves on the board of a number of organizations, including Sustainable Northwest, Northwest China Council, and the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association.  In addition, he is a mentor at PSU’s School of Business Administration.
  • Osvaldo ‘ozzie’ Gonzalez works at CH2M Hill, where he is the Global Sustainability Director of for Advanced Facilities, a member of the Sustainability Leadership Board, and the NW regional liaison for the small business partnership program. Ozzie is an advocate for sustainable design and is dedicated to implementing project delivery strategies designed that facilitate the adoption of sustainable design principles. 
  • Brenda L. Meltebeke is a Partner and the Firm Chair of Ater Wynne LLP, a Pacific Northwest law firm that has a history of supporting the arts. Ater Wynne’s art collection, with more than 125 pieces, has been assembled over the past 30 years and reflects the firm’s commitment to the arts community. Ms. Meltebeke has been named an Oregon Super Lawyer and recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in her field in Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Steve Rosenbaum is founder and CEO of Pop Art, a digital marketing agency that believes that better interaction is the key to human progress. He believes that arts education is critical to the innovation economy.  Pop Art has participated in the Work for Art program for 7 years. Steve and his company have donated significant resources to PICA, the Oregon Symphony and numerous Portland cultural organizations.
  • Shyla M. Spicer is the Strategic Planning & Operations Manager for Sustainable Business & Innovation at Nike where she builds organizational structures to take innovations to scale.  She has been at Nike for 11 years and has implemented programs and tools for end user optimization and efficiency within the supply chain. She has a business degree from Portland State University in Supply Chain and Logistics Management and is PMBOK certified in Project Management.

Board and staff profiles are available online at http://www.racc.org/about/staff-board.

Jesse Beason, Jennifer C. Cies, Jay Clemens, Kira Higgs, Max M. Miller, Jr., and Lina Garcia Seaboldrotate off the RACC Board on June 30, 2015. RACC greatly appreciates their long and committed service to the organization and the arts community.