The Napa County Commission for Arts and Culture will be the primary advisory body for arts and culture planning for the Napa communities. The Commission will function as the liaison between the arts community, government, business and philanthropic leaders, community developers, county and city planners, and the public at large. The Arts and Culture Commission will advise and make recommendations on matters pertaining to the Cities', Town's and County's arts and culture programs.
Commissioners must be a resident of the County of Napa and the City that makes their appointment. It is strongly recommended that each Commissioner either practices in the field of architecture, visual arts, performing arts, public art, literary arts, art history, historic preservation, arts administration, or has a demonstrated knowledge of and appreciation for cultural and artistic activities. It is also recommended that the Commission Board represent a broad range of artistic and cultural disciplines. In addition, Commissioners should demonstrate an understanding of strategic work, vision and an ability to make change happen. In this capacity, the Napa County Commission for Arts & Culture may:
The Commission is comprised of 8 volunteer Commissioners. One Commissioner was appointed by each City Council of American Canyon, Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga, and Napa. One Commissioner was nominated by the County Board of Supervisors. Three additional at-large Commissioners were appointed by the NCTPA board, based on the above criteria, to ensure as many artistic disciplines as possible are included.
Commissioners | |
Representing & Appointed by |
| City of Napa | Dr. Alvin Lee Block |
| Napa County Board of Supervisors | Diane Damé Shepp, Chair |
| Town of Yountville | Vacant |
| City of Calistoga | Yvonne Henry, Vice Chair |
| City of American Canyon | Hugo Corro |
| City of St. Helena | Sue Wollack |
| Napa, At-Large NCTPA | T. Beller |
| Angwin, At-Large NCTPA | Jon Lail |
| Oakville, At-Large NCTPA | Margrit Biever Mondavi |
| At-Large NCTPA | Vacant |
| At-Large NCTPA | Vacant |
![[Headshot] Alvin Lee Block](../images/associates/Commissioner_Lee_Block.jpg "Commissioner, Alvin Lee Block")
Alvin Lee Block earned his MD from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. He served in the US Army Medical Corps and completed his residency in hospitals in San Francisco, CA and Miami, FL. He is a member of numerous associations, including the Napa County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the American Bar Association, as well a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and the American College of Legal Medicine. Currently, Mr. Block is a Board Member of the Napa Valley Opera House and the Newport North Homeowners Association, an Advisory Board Member of the Junior League of Napa-Sonoma, and a Member of the Senior Lawyer Committee of the State Bar of California. He is a lecturer and consultant to the Napa State Hospital, and his medical writings are widely published. He was the first President of the Napa Valley Wine Train and the founder of The Jewish Community of Napa Valley, a cultural philanthropic organization. His son Kevin is a Napa City Councilmember and his wife Moira is a writer. An active and engaged community member, Block brings to the Board of Arts Council Napa Valley his passion for the arts and his deep belief that arts and culture are a vital component of a healthy community.
![[Headshot] Diane Damé Shepp](../images/associates/Commissioner_Diane_Shepp.jpg "Commissioner, Diane Damé Shepp")
Art is the primary focus of Diane Damé Shepp's professional career as an artist, educator, nonprofit administrator and fund developer. A life-long advocate for the arts, Damé Shepp is a Community Arts Development Consultant and Grants Writer for Sieppe Inc., which she runs with her husband Alan Shepp. They have resided in the Napa Valley since 1984.
Active at the local, state and national levels, Damé Shepp is a founding board member of the Napa Valley Opera House Inc., and the Napa Film Festival; founding board member and Past President of the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies; Past President of the Volunteer Council of the di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature; and on the original faculty of Leadership Napa. She currently sits on the Public Art Committee of the Arts Council of the Napa Valley, and was a former member of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies Leadership Committee. She has held Executive positions with the John Muir Festival Center, the Napa County Arts Council, the Solano County Arts Alliance, the University Art Museum Council-University of California, Berkeley, and the Napa Emergency Women's Services.
In addition, Damé Shepp served on the Napa County Superior Court Grand Jury 2007-2008 and is Foreman Pro-tempore of the 2008-2009 Grand Jury.
Damé Shepp holds a Professional Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and Single Subject Authorization in Art from Chapman University; is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley; and the Getty Leadership Institute, University of California, Berkeley.
![[Headshot] Yvonne Henry](../images/associates/Commissioner_Yvonne_Henry.jpg "Commissioner, Yvonne Henry")
Yvonne Henry comes to the Napa Valley Arts Commission with a daily appreciation of the Napa Valley and a dedication to community service. She looks at the community as a tapestry in progress, with a variety of threads being important to produce a beautiful and strong fabric. The Arts are threads in this tapestry representing creative, social, economic, and cultural aspects. These elements thrive with consistent and organized community support. History has shown that the arts have the capacity to enable humans to transcend fears, ignorance, politics, and language barriers.
After receiving a B.A. in Dramatic Arts and Public Speaking, Yvonne completed a M.S. in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology. Within five years she founded The Communication Competence Center in Mclean, Virginia, which she headed for twenty-five years. Moving to Calistoga in 2001 she was a founding board member of the Calistoga Art Center and chaired three major fundraisers for the organization.
In addition to being an award winning Fine Arts Photographer and member of the Open Studios Advisory Committee, she is a contributing writer and photographer for the Calistoga Tribune, and acts as assistant curator for temporary exhibits at Calistoga's Sharpsteen Museum.
![[Headshot] Hugo Corro](../images/associates/hugo_corro.gif "Commissioner, Hugo Corro")
Hugo was born and raised in the Napa Valley but mainly grew up in St. Helena. After graduating from high school, he attended Cal Poly Pomona and majored in architecture. After receiving his bachelor's degree he moved back to the Napa Valley.
Having gotten his start early in life drawing comics and typical middle-school boyhood imagery, Hugo has always enjoyed being creative. Design school made an impact on his skills and dedication to creative endeavors. When not using his straight edge and drafting table to design architectural projects, he would use them to layout comics and illustrations. Today he continues his personal creative projects, based out of his website, No More Bad Town. The title is certainly a reference to an old Operation Ivy song, but it also refers to his own goal of one day working in urban design and community building, or it might just be a lamentation about being a young person in the Napa Valley. His illustration work has been a part of the Young Folks exhibition at Napa NEST in 2009 as well as the Napa Historical Society's Retrospect show. Professionally, Hugo has interned for architecture firms in St. Helena and Sonoma as well as Healthy Buildings USA in Napa. He continues to work creatively outside of the realm of architecture by running enrichment programs for the children of Boys & Girls Club in American Canyon.
Hugo is an active member of Wandering Rose. Along with his girlfriend, Sierra Minchaca, he coordinates and produces Wandering Rose's monthly publication, the Spinning Compass. Hugo got involved with Wandering Rose with the goal of creating things for locals to do and he strives to continue with that goal by using the Spinning Compass as an excuse for throwing parties with local musicians and artists.
Hugo was recently appointed to the Commission for Arts and Culture as the representative for American Canyon. He hopes to represent the perspective of alternative artists and show the mainstream world of the Napa Valley that young people aren't all that scary.
![[Headshot] Sue Wollack](../images/associates/Commissioner_Sue_Wollack.jpg "Commissioner, Sue Wollack")
Sue Wollack is an avid supporter of the arts in the Valley having moved to St. Helena from San Francisco in late 2004.
Sue has been a volunteer in the non-profit world for over 25 years. She volunteered as a Children's Docent at SFMOMA for 5 years and has co-chaired capital campaigns and annual funds for both the San Francisco Day School and the Urban High School and served as a Trustee and a member of the Executive Committee at Urban High School for 7 years.
Sue trained as a counselor at the SF Child Abuse Prevention Center, SF Jewish Family and Children's Services and the Infant/Parent Program at SF General Hospital. Her work focused on family counseling and parenting support, primarily with lower socio/economic families. In 1996 Sue formed a Board of Trustees for the SF Child Abuse Prevention Center and served as its Founding President for 8 years. Sue also served on the Board of the di Rosa Preserve for 2 ½ years.
She graduated from the Leadership Napa Valley Program in May, '07 and is currently a member of the Planned Parenthood Board of Advocates (St. Helena) and the NARAL Pro-Choice California PAC Board. She also served as chairperson for first Napa /Sonoma Valley Roe v. Wade Anniversary Action Summit in 2006 and is a member of the Renaissance St. Helena committee.
Her education includes a BA in English from the University of Illinois and two Master's Degrees; one in Special Education (1972) and one in Counseling (1992).
![[Headshot] T Beller](../images/associates/Commissioner_T_Beller.jpg "Commissioner, T Beller")
T has been a life-long advocate for the arts and activist for education reform.
She thrives on the challenges of identifying needs within the community, researching issues, and working collaboratively with a broad variety of organizations and individuals to create change.
In 1994, she co-founded River School, Napa County's first charter school, an innovative, award-winning middle school. She has testified before Congress on the benefits and challenges of alternative education models.
In 2003, she launched Napa Valley Arts and Lectures/Napa Valley Film Society, programs that bring to Napa Valley nationally renowned speakers who engage audiences through timely discussion of current affairs, as well as film events and educational programs.
She is principal of T Beller Designs, an art consulting, graphics and interior design firm. She was Project Coordinator and Interior Designer for ubuntu restaurant and yoga studio, a critically acclaimed destination spot, known for its innovative cuisine and welcoming, contemporary ambiance.
T graduated Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology, San Jose State with an M.A. Ed., and has completed graduate courses in the fields of Counseling, Art, and Design. A graduate of Leadership Napa Valley, she was a member of the practicum group responsible for the Napa County Visitor Profile Study & Napa County Economic Impact Study.
As Commissioner, she works as a catalyst to create awareness and impact decisions made in Napa County, by articulating the role that arts play as key elements in creating a desirable place to live, work and play.
![[Headshot] Jon A. Lail](../images/associates/Commissioner_Jon_Lail.jpg "Commissioner, Jon A. Lail")
Jon A. Lail, Executive Principal, CEO and Founder, Lail Design Group. A native of Colorado, Jon has been a practicing designer in California since the 1960's. While establishing ties to the Napa Valley shortly after arriving in California, Jon launched his career in San Francsico. During hs early days, Jon successfully participated in the San Francisco Junior League program "Save the Victorians" and renovated many 19th Century residences. In 1980 Jon was selected as a designer for George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. This project galvanized his reputation in traditional architectural style and design. Over time Jon's expertise has expanded to include historic preservation as well as winery and cave design. During this period his business name and partnerships have also evolved- Wine Country Architecture, Architectural Associates, Lail-Livingston Design, and now Lail Design Group, Inc. As Executive Principal of Lail Design Group, Jon oversees the firm's design and project coordination while also carrying a full workload of clients. Jon adds, "We do our best to give our clients what they want. Everything we produce is permit and code compliant. We are a diversified office and as a result are able to suit any design preference."
![[Headshot] Margrit Biever Mondavi](../images/associates/Commissioner_Margrit_Mondavi.jpg "Commissioner, Margrit Biever Mondavi")
Margrit Biever Mondavi is Vice President of Cultural Affairs at Robert Mondavi Winery. A pioneering woman of the modern-day California wine industry, she joined the winery in 1967, pursuing a life-long interest in uniting wine with fine arts, music and culinary artistry. Under her direction, Robert Mondavi Winery developed original cultural and culinary arts programs that are now benchmarks for the wine world. She founded the winery's popular Summer Music Festival in 1969 as a benefit for the Napa Valley Symphony. This concert series has hosted some of the world's most recognized jazz, R&B and pop artists. Headliners have included Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett.
In 1984, the Festival of Winter Classical Concert Series was created, with the proceeds benefiting local musical organizations like the Napa Valley Opera. Together with Veronica di Rosa, Margrit and a small group of other dedicated Napa Valley art lovers formed a board of directors to rebuild the original 19th-century opera house in the city of Napa. Married to Robert Mondavi since 1980, Margrit travels with him around the world. Upholding the family's philosophy that all the arts contribute to an enhanced quality of life, the couple works together as founding patrons of COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts.
A working artist, Margrit chooses watercolors, crayons and acrylic paints as her media, drawing upon artifacts for inspiration. Applying her talent to commercial design, she created a line of home accessory designs exclusively for Robert Mondavi Winery. The collection includes table and kitchen linens, wine sleeves and bottles containing Robert Mondavi Winery's olive oil and wine vinegar; these items are available at the winery. An accomplished linguist, Margrit often translates her husband's speeches for international audiences. Margrit enjoys bringing the family together with her cooking, and ensures each mealtime is a true celebration.
