EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

.As AVA’s Executive Director since 2018, Annie is passionate about fostering the arts to build a strong, diverse, and inclusive community. The former Executive Director of the Union County Art and Culture Center (now “Arts Center East”) from 2012-2015 in La Grande, Ore., Annie was instrumental in bolstering that organization’s community arts education program and helping facilitate a horizontal merger with another, complementary arts organization.

PRESIDENT

Susan Taylor is a Mixed-Media Artist as well as a retired Corporate Business Consultant, Project Manager as well as a Leadership Program Leader.  She is a former Board President and member artist of ACCI in Berkeley, the oldest artist cooperative West of the Mississippi.  She has a passion for supporting the arts as well as a deep belief in the healing that authenticity and creative expression can bring to the world.  Susan is tickled about being able to help continue AVA’s legacy of bringing community and the arts together in fun and meaningful ways.  

VICE PRESIDENT

Rachel believes in the power of art to socially engage and the role of nonprofits for civic vitality. Her creative work includes advocacy and organizing community art projects along with teaching and creating her own artwork. A multi-media and installation artist with a practice incorporating photography, drawing, video, fabric, and artist's books. She began to utilize art as a social tool while an undergraduate student completing degrees in the Practice of Art and Peace & Conflict Studies at UC Berkeley. She lives in Astoria, Oregon, teaches photography online for Portland Community College, and makes art in her home studio.

SECRETARY

Laurie and her husband, ceramicist David Campiche, owned and operated the Shelburne Hotel and Restaurant for over 40 years, along with China Beach Retreat (now Baker Bay Retreat). Laurie has served on several boards over the years, including the Peninsula Visitors Bureau, Unique Inns (a regional consortium of independently owned inns) and Select Registry (a national consortium of inns). Now retired, Laurie spends more time pursuing creative personal interests and believes a thriving arts community is essential to the quality of life for any community,

TREASURER

Ray is a retired Astoria School District teacher. He is a former Board Member of Astoria's Downtown Historic District Association and former Design Committee chair. He is a co-founder of Studio 11'sSidewalk Prism Glass Repair Project.  Ray served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Tillicum Foundation, the governing body of community radio stations KMUN, KTCB, and KCPB in a number of capacities, including assisting in the broadcast of the Fisher Poets Gathering.

BOARD MEMBER

Cindy Price is an accomplished writer, editor, and researcher, with substantial experience in strategic planning and analysis. She has produced numerous public and cultural affairs programs for the regional public radio station, Coast Community Radio. Cindy is a former Astoria City Councilor and since 1999 has served several previous terms on AVA's Board of Directors. She sees Astoria as an excellent example of how arts and culture can transform a community, and is honored to have a part in Astoria’s vibrant evolution.

BOARD MEMBER

Dardinelle Troen is a creative artist, designer, end-of-life doula, and entheogen facilitator. For 25 years, she has served as the Principal and Creative Director of Ditroën, an experiential design studio. During this time, Dardinelle has created various immersive environments, site-specific installations, and public art for clients in the hospitality, corporate, retail, and healthcare sectors. She has witnessed firsthand how art can transform physical spaces by infusing them with meaningful narratives that foster connections and encourage participation. Moreover, art has the power to heal trauma, touch our humanity, and bring soul and purpose to our existence. Ditroen.com Viemort.com @ditroen @vie_mort_doula

BOARD MEMBER

John is an oil painter drawn to Astoria for the arts community. His evocative cityscapes often depict Astoria streets. “When I arrived in 2016, Astoria, and especially the AVA, really embraced me. I was a new painter, yet I felt believed in by this community. Annie and Lisa through the AVA offered me a show in the AVA gallery space. That was a key piece of momentum that led to the wild thought that maybe I could do this for a living. And now I do. I want to help AVA flourish, because I want to do for other artists what AVA has helped me do—to make this art life real.” www.jwesleywillis.com and https://www.instagram.com/jwesleywillis/

FOUNDER / CURATOR

A founding member of AVA and of community radio station KMUN, Agnes has been a practicing artist on the north Oregon coast for over 20 years. In 2013 she was granted a residency in Finland for 40 days, which included presentations at the Pori Art Museum. Agnes was awarded a PICA/ Precipice Fund, funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts and Calligram Foundation, to restore a local historic Astoria city park. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, and can be seen on the coast at the AVA Gallery, the Cannon Beach Gallery, the Fairweather Gallery, and others.

MISS BEA PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Keri has a Masters in Science Education, endorsements in Elementary Education K-8 and Art K-12, and has taught for 20 years. She combines professional experience working with students with passion for art and creative expression to put together exciting art opportunities for the youth in our community.

GALLERY DOCENT COORDINATOR

Carol began studying art in 1998 and for many years took classes at the Glassell School of Art in Houston, the teaching institute of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. During these years her emphases were on drawing, painting, sculpture, and art history. Her art has been shown in group and individual exhibits in Texas. Since relocating to Astoria, she has participated in several shows in a variety of venues.