| Kristina Young | Acting Executive Director |
| Kate Demarest | Office Manager |
| Kristine Cummins | Marketing, PR, Webmaster |
| Swinder Cooper | Events Coordinator |
| Christy Bors | Office Administrative Assistant |
| Azalea Aguilar | Calendar Mgr & Hispanic Cmnty. Outreach |
| Louisa Hufstader | Marketing Copywriter |
| Hugo Corro | Office & Web Maintenance Assistant |
| Marie Shelley | Office Assistant |
| Cintia Arevalo | Summer Intern |
Ten years involvement with Arts Council Napa Valley, Kristina has become a staple within the arts community in Napa Valley. For those who know and love her, know that her committment to growing the arts in the county will bring a stronger arts and culture community in 2010 and beyond!
Some of her contributions to the Council include expanding and creating a more robust Arts Education program, developing Revolving Door Art, and integral roles with developing the Cultural Plan. In addition to her contributions to the Council, she also has been a Visual Art Teacher and Program Coordinator for On the Move's ArtLinks---an innovative, collaborative arts education program that integrates all of the arts into the current elementary school curriculum.
Kristina studied fine art, design and art history and received her degree in painting from Richmond College in London, England. After working on her own as a muralist and graphic designer for several years, her passion for creative and socially conscious work lead her to Arts Council Napa Valley in 1999 as Program Manager and in 2009 became Acting Executive Director.
Her work at the Arts Council continues to deepen her commitment to building a strong local arts and culture community.
Kate transferred to the Bay Area as a software developer in the early days of the Silicon Valley boom. Over the next few years, she developed her career from software programming and sales support at Digital Equipment Corp. to executive management at Interlink Computer Sciences. In the late 1980's Kate made the personal decision to place her career on hold while raising her children. Although not pursuing her professional career, Kate remained involved through volunteering and business consulting. Over the years she has shared her skills with numerous schools and non-profit groups. In September, Kate's youngest child entered the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music as a music education major. Shortly thereafter, Kate decided to return to the workplace full-time but in a way that provided the satisfaction of using her skills in ways that can make a difference. Bringing her varied skills and experience to ACNV has allowed her to do just that.
With over ten years Web design experience, Kristine Cummins has developed over 135 custom-designed websites. Her experience also includes marketing and branding, logos, custom-designed blogs, and e-newsletter design. Even though her body has almost conformed to the shape of her office chair, her passion for Web design keeps her there!
She got her break in Web design contracting for Microsoft in 1998 which brought her to Silicon Valley during the dotcom boom as an online Marketing Designer. The dotcom bust did not slow her down, but gave her the tools for a strong future in Web development and marketing. She is known for her dedication to quality-coded websites, loyalty to her clients, and creative implementation of current Web design technologies. She is a member of the International Webmaster's Association and continually updates her skills through online classes.
Kristine champions the arts as her start in life was painting and drawing as soon as she was able to hold a paint brush. She chose Arts Council Napa Valley, a non-profit organization, to partake in community service since 2003. She developed the Council's first online Artist Registry, and the Arts & Culture Event Calendar. In 2009, she designed one of the state's most distinct Open Studios website.
Kristine is dedicated to promoting the arts in Napa Valley. She actively promotes and supports local arts organizations including Wandering Rose and Artist Tree, helping to transform downtown Napa into a more vibrant arts and cultural community.
Kristine is no longer the mysterious Webmaster behind the scenes. She has since come out of her cave to join the human race as many of you have noted! You''ll be sure to see her shooting photography at arts events just for fun. To reach Kristine, you may email her at design[at]kristinecummins.com, or call 707-227-0758. Visit her website at www.KristineCummins.com.
Swinder Jheeta Cooper brings to Arts Council Napa Valley, professional experience in arts programming and arts education. As an advocate for the arts, she works collaboratively with diverse community groups to develop and strengthen art education, programs and cross-cultural understanding through the arts. She has coordinated the countywide Imagination Celebration Festival for Arts Orange County and as the Associate Director for Arts Brings Cultures Together; she assisted with the coordination of professional development teacher training seminars, workshops and conferences.
Swinder also has broad based experience in Human Relations. She has developed and coordinated professional development training programs; conducted retreats to develop student leadership skills, and assisted schools and organizations in developing long-term strategic plans to improve inter-ethnic relations. She has organized Walk in My Shoes Conferences for middle/high schools for the Orange County Human Relations Council; researched and developed academic training programs for University of California, Irvine and instructed classes at the University of British Columbia. In addition to developing counseling programs, she has designed and implemented seminars on cross-cultural counseling and communication skills.
Swinder received her Master of Arts Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has presented at state and national conferences and is currently on the Napa Valley Education Foundation Board.
ACNV's Administrative Assistant Christy Bors holds a B.A. in studio art and art criticism from University of California, Santa Cruz. While in University, Christy was selected for the U.C. Educational Abroad Program in Rome, Italy. In her final year of study, she was awarded the Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Scholarship, acting as Educational Outreach Coordinator for The Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery.
Since returning to her hometown of Napa (alumni of Mt. George Elementary, Silverado Middle School, and Vintage High School), Christy has worked as an art educator, docent, collections manager, assistant curator, and arts writer for various organizations in Northern California; she is currently developing her role as Marketing Manager for Music in the Vineyards, a non-profit chamber music festival.
In her spare time, Christy enjoys quiet moments painting in her studio, playing with her chocolate labrador, Bella, and daydreaming about taking another European backpacking trip a la Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love.
Arts advocate, long-time supporter and volunteer of Arts Council Napa Valley, Azalea joined the team as the official "Calendar Gal!", an important point-person for the NVarts.org Arts & Culture Event Calendar---helping to bridge the non-profit and the Hispanic community together. She assists in fulfilling an important role of the Community Cultural Plan, "To Ensure Enclusion". Her objective is to communicate the benefits of Arts Council programs including the calendar to the Napa Valley Hispanic community.
Born in Mexico City, Azalea grew up in the state of Sinaloa where she obtained a degree in education and a MA in History. She moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and graduated with a double major in Spanish and Art, a minor in Chicano Studies, and an MA in Spanish Literature.
Azalea then moved from Los Angeles to Napa Valley in 1998, and started her career as an Educator teaching Spanish to Spanish-speaking students at Vintage High School for over twelve years, and Spanish as a foreign language at Napa Valley College for over nine years.
Azalea's involvement in the arts comes not only from her educational background, but from being the wife of Napa Valley artist, Oscar Aguilar Olea. As an educator, the arts are part of her curriculum; a way to enhance and help the lives of individuals, crossing the barriers of race, culture, language and beliefs. You will find her representing the Council at Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce mixers, Napa County Hispanic Network meetings and at special events. Please feel free to email her with any questions!
After beginning her arts career as a teenage jazz broadcaster on the Harvard University radio station, Louisa Hufstader went on to become a well-known voice on several Boston-area radio stations in the 1980s and 1990s. The Boston Globe has called her both "Boston's premier female jazz d.j." and "the ubiquitous Louisa Hufstader." She also wrote about music recordings for the Globe and for Number magazine, and spent many years working as a salesperson and staff producer for Rounder Records.
Since moving to California, Louisa has edited a book of plein air landscape paintings and environmental essays ("Native Grandeur: Preserving California's Vanishing Landscapes," 2000) and curated a traveling museum exhibition, based on the book, which opened at the Napa Valley Museum in 2002. A regular contributor to several newspapers and magazines in the North Bay, she often writes about the visual and performing arts.
In 2004, Louisa was an associate producer and music supervisor for the feature-length documentary film "Debate Team," www.debateteamdocumentary.com, and she's also an associate producer for the upcoming World War II documentary "The Signalman."
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.
Marie is a recent grad of Lewis and Clark College, with a BA in Studio Art and an emphasis on Drawing. While in Portland, she was a volunteer at the Portland Children's Art Museum. After returning home to Napa, she worked with The Napa Nest gallery (now closed), and as a studio assistant for various local artists. Marie is a local artist herself, and is currently working on building up her portfolio. When she isn't volunteering at the ACNV office, she can be found sketching, riding her bike, or volunteering at the diRosa.
