Presenters

KEYNOTE

A dancer and ex-marathon runner, John Killacky is the program officer for arts and culture at The San Francisco Foundation. Prior to this, he served as executive director of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for six years and curator of performing arts for the Walker Art Center. He has received numerous awards, including the First Bank Award Sally Ordway Irvine Award in Artistic Vision, the William Dawson Award for Programming Excellence from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Dance USA’s Earnie Award as an “Unsung Hero.” Killacky, who experienced a benign spinal tumor that threatened him with paralysis, has written extensively on the arts, culture, and disability issues. [Remarks]

POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT

Diane Williams has served as the Arts Industry Director and ADA Coordinator for the Mississippi Arts Commission for the past three years.  She works with organizations to expand their capacity to carry out their programs, assure the adequacy of critical resources, and strengthen management skills.  She was previously a full-time professional storyteller and arts education consultant.  Diane serves on the board of the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities and has worked extensively over the years with Mississippi Families as Allies for Children’s Mental Health as an artist. [Remarks]

Ruth Lubbers has been Executive Director of VSA arts of Utah since 1993. Ruth was a member of the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games Arts and Culture Advisory Committee from 1998 through 2002 and is an active member of the Salt Lake Gallery Association, as well as a past president.  In 2004 Utah Business Magazine and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce designated Lubbers one of thirty Women of Vision in Utah for making extraordinary contributions to the Utah arts community.  Ruth currently serves as a Board member for the Utah Arts Festival and the Utah Museums Association. [Remarks]

BENEFITS PLANNING

Molly Sullivan joins us from Portland, Oregon where she is an associate with Griffin-Hammis Associates. Since 1997, Molly has been helping people with disabilities pursue wage and self-employment.  She has worked as a Job Developer assisting individuals to secure and maintain employment and as a Supported Employment Program Manager creating quality services.  More recently, she has worked as a Research Assistant providing training and technical assistance and as a Benefits Specialist helping individuals utilize multiple Work Incentives to achieve employment goals. [Remarks]

James Brown is the Director of the Artists' Health Insurance Resource Center based in New York City.  Since 1998, the center has been connecting artists, craftspeople and entertainment industry workers around the country to health insurance and affordable health care.  The Center identifies alternative routes to coverage and local resources for care for performers, visual artists, stagehands, filmmakers, musicians, artisans, and other self-employed and episodic workers. [Remarks]

Dr. Sharon Liden is a Mental Health Supervisor for the Hawaii State Department of Education and is a school psychologist at Lanai High and Elementary School in Hawaii.  Sharon is also the lead Artist-Mentor in the Lanai Mentorship project which serves more than 200 students. She has continued to build on the career pathway starting with the mentorship project and now two small businesses for students to participate in during high school and transition to after high school.  She will co-lead the Lanai Strategic Youth Transition Planning Day with all the state agencies (DD/MR, DVR) and private cultural and prevention organizations that serve at-risk and other youth with and without disabilities.

MICROENTERPRISE & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Christine Hess is the Nebraska Program Manager for The Abilities Fund.  Christine coordinates comprehensive business planning services and support for Nebraska entrepreneurs who are clients of Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation. Christine comes to The Abilities Fund with over 17 years experience working directly for and with adults with disabilities in higher education and private rehabilitation.  Christine also owns a small home-based business and has operated it successfully for the past six years. [Remarks]

Gail Burke is the Executive Aide, Human Resources Manager, and Accessibility Coordinator of the Minnesota State Arts Board based in Saint Paul.  She has been on staff since February of 1979.  Gail is a member of the Twin Cities Human Resource Managers of Cultural Organizations and the Artists with Disabilities Alliance (AWDA) and has served on the Arts Access Steering Committee.  She has attended numerous workshops, conferences, and seminars on personnel management, laws affecting people with disabilities, ergonomics, and office systems in the course of her career with the state of Minnesota.

Adam Natale has served as Director of Member Services for Fractured Atlas based in New York City since 2005. During his tenure he spearheaded an artist healthcare advocacy/awareness campaign in Washington, D.C., created an innovative audience development program with organizations including the Theatre Development Fund, and currently represents the organization as one of 17 nationally-elected arts leaders on Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leader Council.  Adam is also an Associate Producer with the New York Musical Theatre Festival as well as a freelance theater/musical theater director.