calinativeanthropologist

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The L. Frank Project.

L. Frank Manriquez is my hero.

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The California Indian Conference was like a reunion. Met a lot of new people too! Our panel was great all focused on experiences as Native students at CSULB! GO BEACH! Thanks, Humboldt State for hosting and thanks to the CIC organizers for accepting our bid for the conference at CSULB in 2019.

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What a great event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles on the revival of traditional facial tattoos among California Indians. Special thanks to Loren Bommelyn for being our moderator, to Lars Krutak for putting it together and to Spiritual Journeys Tattoo for their knowledge and understanding of traditional ways and practices (4 Waves). And thanks to Tiffany Adams for traveling from Santa Fe to share this experience with us all.

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Blog Post #4

The Introduction to Cultural Sustainability class has really helped me in the consolidation of and concisely looking at my community and to focus on where I can help. I have also learned that it might be necessary to do outreach into other fields, such as environmental studies to solicit ideas on how to approach sustaining traditional gathering areas. The bibliography really helped me, it encouraged me to reach out to other sources that I hadn’t looked or considered before. In this research, I found other individuals that have done similar research on basket weaving in California, that will be a valuable resource at later date. Weaving and cultural competency is just one aspect of my community that I am interested in researching and I hope that in other classes I will be able to delve into other topics such as the cultural identity issues with the Native American populations or the revitalization of traditional face tattoos and the impact it had on identity. I don’t want my choice in groundwork paper to drive what my capstone project is and I am hoping that this isn’t the case with what I chose. My groundwork paper and several of the readings have caused me to be more understanding to those in my community who don’t follow strictly to traditions and have a better understanding of the evolution of traditions. Lastly, this class finally got me to read Indigenous Methodologies in its entirety, which I had been putting off for lack of time. This book is very good at helping indigenous researchers on how to incorporate indigenous philosophy into their research and the importance of decolonization. This class was a bit overwhelming but overall very beneficial in terms of laying a framework for the MACS program.

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Blog Entry #3

As an anthropologist, I have already encountered many of these challenges that we talked about in class and just the idea of an “anthropologist” going into a Native community throws up red flags.  Some of the other challenges that I know that I will be facing are ethics in the work I do, differences in worldview, consumerism, ecology, the effects of historical trauma, community involvement and negotiating between qualitative and quantitative research in a western world. All of these challenges are possible as long as you establish a good relationship with your community and with organizations that are willing to help.

As an anthropologist, I can into this field knowing that it had negative connotations in the Native community. It is through the premise of changing the paradigm in anthropologic research that I have taken this on. Being aware of many of the past wrongs that have been done on behalf of anthropology is a starting point and to keep in mind the trauma this has created for many indigenous communities helps keep me from making the same mistakes. As Margaret Kovach says to, “looking at things through a decolonizing lens, in conjunction with tribal knowledge, identifies the centrality of voice and representation in research” (Kovach,81). This starts by acknowledging the historic trauma and moving forward from it.  Coming from the emic perspective in the Native community is also to my advantage as I have already established many of the relationships that are required to enter these communities.

When it comes to working outside my Native community, I will need to be very cognizant of the worldview of others and how it relates to others in the work I do.  I often don’t realize how much ones’ worldview plays in our everyday life. Educating myself about new communities is an important part of the process and part of the process of establishing a relationship with the community.

The challenges of consumerism and ecology are concerns that are a high priority for me. After reading “The Gift”, I realized that the relationship of the gift and what the receiver does with it is very important for the future, in regard to how it sustains the culture. I keep going back to the video from the “Global Oneness Project-A Thousand Suns”, on the Gamo people and how the concept of consumerism and ecology played such a big part in how they run their farming. They use the community relationship of the “wogas” to keep order within their community and govern relationships to the people and to the land. This community-based governance of the ecological systems and the limiting of consumerism based on their worldview has helped the community survive. Remembering that the needs of a community are not always consumer based and that the western constructs of consumerism have not completely affected all communities is important.

My last big challenge will be to negotiate academia in understanding and accepting new and important methodologies in research. Methodologies that are qualitative in nature and not just quantitative. “Budd Hall (1998) indicates, universities have claimed a monopoly on what does and does not count as knowledge” (Kovach, 79). The importance of story in the process of cultural sustainability can be an immense tool in understanding people, their beliefs and the future of their culture and community. Without using this qualitative research, the understanding, stories and relational qualities will be lost. Using and teaching these qualitative methodologies and that these methods are just as viable as quantitative methodologies, is an important achievement in reclaiming the monopoly on what counts as knowledge in the academic arena.

Although I have quite a few challenges I am up to the task of conquering them all. This while maintaining ethics and worldview in the forefront. Being able to recognize historic trauma and confront it will still be a challenge that I will have to face as it comes up. Consumerism and ecology, I feel go together and is something that in a consumer-driven world we all have to face with the rise in population density. The move from quantitative to qualitative research is part of why I have chosen this program because the program itself presents itself in a qualitative manner and shows that this type of research is important to have and use in research.  

 Hyde, Lewis. The gift creativity and the artist in the modern world. United States: Vintage Books (NY), 2008.

 Kovach, Margaret. Indigenous methodologies: characteristics, conversations and contexts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010.

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Blog Entry #2- Community

The community that I want to focus my work on is the indigenous community of California. This community is bound together by through a history of flourishing in the diverse areas of California. The indigenous people of California lived very prosperous lives for thousands of years and became well adapted to the environment around them though indigenous epistemologies based on reciprocity. The historic trauma of colonization, the gold rush, Indian assimilation, relocation, and the overall genocide of the indigenous people in California have bound them to a dramatic history and to an effort to survive. It is through the use of ceremony, song, traditional medicine, weaving, foodways, traditional ecological knowledge, lifeways and language that progenitures of these ancestors are revitalizing their story. The recovery of these lifeways of the indigenous people of California is very relevant to me as I am from with the communities I am working to restore. The progenitors of these family groups have left baskets for us to study and learn from. This study, is more than what is on the surface of the basket but with the stories that go along with them and the stories that these baskets can elicit from a descendant. The revitalization of the basketry traditions provides an opportunity for the weaver to re-engage the natural environment and become a steward for their traditional homeland. The health of the indigenous community in California is at risk as well, due to the change in diet from the effects of colonization, to a very high fat, high carbohydrate, high sugar, and high sodium diet. It is through the modification of the diet and a return to traditional foods that these communities can turn around the health harms of a commercial diet.  California was an area that was rich in language diversity. Two centuries ago there were approximately ninety indigenous languages spoken in California, most of these have either lost their last speakers or are endanger of losing them. Time is of the essence for these indigenous languages and it is important that support is given to these communities to help develop a strategy to keep these valuable resources that bind a community together. All of these segments of California indigenous communities are intricately woven together. Through passion, vitality and the use of the Native voice, we can overcome the historic trauma that has come close to eliminating the indigenous population in California, this and the return to indigenous methods and epistemologies can heal and create a sustainable future for generations to come.

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Small Museum Association

 smallmuseum.org

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 This organization provides an opportunity for small scale museums to collaborate through the forum of conference. They offer scholarships to attend their conference and also provide additional information on other organizations providing scholarships. The Small Museum Association provides a list of sponsors in their resource hall to acknowledge their funders and a resource for other funding opportunities. The advocacy section of this site is an important section getting the word out to legislators in your area about the importance of your museum and why it is important for fund small museums like yours.

 Small Museum Association

Small Museums Working Together

About Us

The Small Museum Association is an all volunteer organization serving small museums in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. SMA's mission is to develop and maintain a peer network among people who work for small museums, giving them opportunities to learn, share knowledge and support one another, so that they, in turn, can better serve their institutions, communities and profession.

Board Members

President: Rod Cofield, Executive Director, Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater, MD (Email: president@smallmuseum.org) Vice President: Allison Titman, Accreditation Program Officer, American Alliance of Museums, Washington, DC (Email: conference@smallmuseum.org) Treasurer: Dayna Aldridge, Registrar & Membership Coordinator, Historic Ships, Baltimore, MD Secretary: Kathryn Blackwell, Fairfax County Park Authority, Colvin Run Mill Historic Site, Great Falls, VA Members-At-Large:

Dr. Kasey      Grier, Director of Museum Studies Program, University of Delaware,      Newark, DE

Lindsey Baker,      Executive Director, Laurel Historical Society, Laurel, MD

Mary Helen      Dellinger, Museum Curator, Manassas Museum System, Manassas, VA

Lacey Villiva,      Education Manager, Gunston Hall Plantation, Lorton, VA

Brooke Ashley      Lynn Salvanto, Deputy Director, Tuckerton Seaport & Baymen's Museum,      Tuckerton, NJ

Derek Finn,      Director of Operations, Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, Philadelphia,      PA

Trenda Byrd,      Director of Education and Outreach, Tubman Museum, Macon, GA

Elizabeth      Wilson, Membership and Donor Relations Coordinator, San Jose Museum of      Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA 

Allison Schell,      , Program & Development Manager, Chadds Ford Historical Society

Immediate Past President: Jason Illari, Executive Director, Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle, PA Legal Advisor (ex-officio): Hurst Hessey, Hessey & Hessey, P.A., Baltimore, MD

Conference Committee Members

Conference Committee Chair: Allison Schell, Chadds Ford Historical Society email Speaker Coordinator: Auni Gelles, Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area email & Megan Hutchins, The 1890 House Museum  Resource Hall Coordinator:  Meagan Baco, Preservation Maryland email Conference Registration/ Webmaster:  Kelsey Ransick, email  Hotel & Banquet Coordinator:  Stephanie Lampkin,  Chemical Heritage Foundation email Scholarship & Award Coordinator: Robert Forloney, Program Developer & Cultural Institution Consultant email Graphic Design: Yana Myaskovskaya

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California Humanities-A State of Open Mind

 calhum.org

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This organization offers several grant opportunities including the California Documentary Project focused on the humanities. The initiatives provided by calhum.org are engaging and reach communities on many different levels. Calhum.org has designed a lecture series to help educate about the humanities and the highly diverse communities in California.

History & Mission Statement

To connect Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.

Our Vision

Californians possess the knowledge, understanding, respect, and empathy to create a more thoughtful, open, and just state.

Our Five-Year Strategic Goal

Because the humanities are essential to a vibrant democracy, California Humanities’ five-year strategic focus on education, public engagement, and field-building will amplify our impact and make the humanities even more valued, more visible, and more deeply embedded in the lives of individuals and in our communities.

Our Story

We are an independent nonprofit organization and a partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1975, we have been promoting the humanities as relevant, meaningful ways to understand the human condition and connect us to each other in order to help strengthen California. We produce, fund, create, and support humanities-based projects and programs, eye-opening cultural experiences and meaningful conversations. During the past 40 years, California Humanities has awarded over $29 million in grants across the state, reaching every Congressional district.

What Are the Humanities Anyway?

We hear this question a lot. The question is, in itself, a complicated one. Often we think about them as academic subjects or fields of inquiry that produce knowledge about human activities, ideas, values, norms, and cultural products: history, literature, jurisprudence, philosophy, religious studies, art history and criticism, anthropology, sociology, as well as newer disciplines such as ethnic, cultural, and gender studies.

But there are other ways to think about them, too. One way might be to see them broadly as a range of activities and practices revolving around cultural life, whatever the setting might be. In this sense, anyone who reads a book or listens to a story, appreciates a work of art, reflects upon the meaning of life, records their memories or chronicles an event, passes on a tradition or wonders where it came from, or asks questions about the values and motivations of human actors (past, present, or future) is “practicing” the humanities.

To others, the humanities are skills and abilities that enable us to exchange ideas and impressions, listen as well as speak, read as well as write, and expand our understanding through the use of active imagination and empathy — seeing the world through the eyes of another person or the lens of another set of experiences. They are “tools for conviviality.” The humanities are tools for passing on traditions, values, stories, and accumulated wisdom, but they can also be employed as tools for reflection, analysis, critique, and change.

What is clear is that the humanities mean – and have meant – many things to many people, in different times and places. What is common is the shared focus on knowing, understanding, and communicating about the human experience — our own as well as others.

 Staff

JULIE FRY, PRESIDENT & CEO

Julie joined California Humanities as its President and CEO in 2015. Previously, Julie served as a Program Officer for the Performing Arts Program at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, California. She has extensive experience working and volunteering with arts and culture organizations and philanthropic institutions in the US and the UK, and has been deeply involved in arts education advocacy at the national, state, and local levels. Julie earned her BBA in Economics and French from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an MBA in International Finance from the University of St. Thomas (Houston), and is pursuing an MA in Historic Preservation from Goucher College (Baltimore). She can often be found in libraries, making music, or spending time with her children, one in college and one a recent graduate. 415.391.1474 ext. 302

 Neha Balram, Community Engagement Coordinator

NEHA BALRAM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Neha started at California Humanities in 2014. Prior to joining the organization, she earned her BA in History from the University of California, Irvine, and worked in the music industry, both in journalism and at an indie record label. Neha devotes her spare time to her work as a Commissioner for the City of Hayward Community Services Commission, which provides funding recommendations to City Council for local nonprofits that benefit and serve the city’s residents. 415.391.1474 ext. 301

 Lucy Asako Boltz, Program Assistant

LUCY ASAKO BOLTZ, PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Lucy graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and joined California Humanities as a Program Assistant in 2017. She has been involved in public humanities projects related to the history of urban redevelopment and displacement in Providence, RI and Japanese American wartime displacement and incarceration of her own family from the Bay Area. 415.391.1474 ext.304

 Brett Connor, Database Administrator

BRETT CONNOR, DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR

Brett joined California Humanities in January 2016 to manage and provide ongoing strategy and support for our database system. With over 8 years of database administrator experience, Brett has managed database systems for various industries, ranging from an office product company to a company providing medical services. Born and raised outside of Chicago, Brett received his BA in Business Information Systems from Illinois State University, and a Master of Church Music from Concordia University Chicago.

 Anoop Kaur, Grants Manager

ANOOP KAUR, GRANTS MANAGER

Anoop joined California Humanities in 2017 as Grants Manager. Previously, Anoop served as a Grants Administration Officer at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, managing and administering a large grants portfolio. Along with a passion for baking/cooking, Anoop is an active volunteer with various civil engagement organizations assisting with DACA application renewals and providing translation services. Anoop received her BA from University of California, Davis in International Relations and her Masters in International Policy Studies from Middlebury College. 415.391.1474 ext. 313

 Felicia Kelley, Project & Evaluation Director

FELICIA KELLEY, PROJECT & EVALUATION DIRECTOR

Felicia represents California Humanities in our Los Angeles office, where she has worked on grant-making and other projects since 1997, including California Reads, Community Stories, and Literature & Medicine®. Felicia holds an MA and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California and a BA in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before joining California Humanities, she held teaching and administrative positions in higher education and worked on public programming and community education projects with several Los Angeles–area nonprofit organizations. 213.346.3239

 SHERI KUEHL, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Sheri Kuehl joined California Humanities in 2017. With more than 20 years of experience as a nonprofit fundraiser, she has most recently served as Development Director of The Crucible in Oakland, and prior to that, Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to the Bay Area in 2002, and has since worked with numerous organizations to promote arts education and build access to cultural programs. She holds a BA in economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. 415.391.1474 ext. 315

 JOHN LIGHTFOOT, SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER

John has managed the California Documentary Project grant program at California Humanities since 2007. Previously, he produced, directed, and taught documentary film for over 15 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Minneapolis, Minnesota. John holds an MA in American Studies from Brown University and an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. 415.391.1474 ext. 314

 Renée Perry, Operations Coordinator

RENÉE PERRY, OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Renée joined California Humanities in December 2016 as Operations Coordinator. She has managed operations for small and medium sized nonprofit organizations for over eight years. Born in NYC, Renée grew up in New Jersey, but has been on the West Coast for a long time. She has a BA in Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University. She volunteers with the WriterCoach program in the East Bay when she’s not being bossed around by a bunch of cats. 415.391.1474 ext. 312

 JODY SAHOTA, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Jody joined California Humanities in 2005 as the Organizational Effectiveness Coordinator. She received her BA in English Literature from the University of Toronto, with a minor in Art History. As the External Affairs Coordinator at California Humanities, Jody oversees communications and federal advocacy efforts. Outside of work, Jody’s love of politics has her involved in various election campaigns in the Bay Area. 415.391.1474 ext. 303

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Alliance for California Traditional Arts

actaonline.org

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This organization has opportunities for living cultures grants, apprenticeship programs, community leadership projects, and a roundtable series to engage the diverse community in California. This site is also a great resource to locate specific artists and communities throughout the state. Blog posting with artists via ACTA online is a great way to reach artists in distant place in this large state. Actaonline is a great resource for national, state and local funding opportunities on one platform in addition they have a comprehensive page of resources including service organizations and networks to aide you in your future venture in the field of cultural sustainability.

Mission

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future by providing advocacy, resources, and connections for folk and traditional artists.  From Ohlone basketry and African-American quilt-making to cowboy poetry and Vietnamese opera, California is home to hundreds of diverse traditions. ACTA connects artists, communities, and funders to each other, information, and resources through grants and contracts, convenings, research, and technical assistance.  ACTA also provides advocacy through local and national field-building.  Recognized for its culturally competent leadership, intellectual capital, and excellence in program administration, ACTA is the California Arts Council's official partner in serving the state's folk and traditional arts field. Dedicated to sustaining and fostering the growth of cultural traditions, ACTA ensures that its core values of respect, cultural pluralism, and cultural democracy permeate every aspect of its activity and programming.  ACTA helps people connect to their past and keep traditions a central part of life today and tomorow.  By supporting folk and traditional artists, ACTA supports the health, cultural continuity, and diversity of California. ACTA was founded in 1997 by cultural workers, arts administrators, and traditional artists to address the void in statewide folk & traditional arts leadership.  The organization incorporated in 2001 and achieved 501(c)(3) status in December 2002.

 Staff

 Amy Kitchener, Executive Director, co-founded the Alliance for California Traditional  Arts (ACTA) in 1997.  Understanding California’s unique position as the  nation's epicenter for diverse cultural and multi-national communities,  ACTA's work has focused on social change through grantmaking, capacity and  leadership development, technical assistance, and bilingual program  development. Trained as a public folklorist with an M. A. from UCLA, Amy has  piloted participatory cultural asset mapping in neglected and rural areas of  the state and consults with other organizations and across sectors on this  method of discovery and inclusion of community voices.  She continues to  serve as a consultant for many national organizations and has taken part in  two U.S.-China Intangible Cultural Heritage exchanges. She has published on a  variety subjects involving California folklife, including immigrant arts  training and transmission, and Asian American folk arts. She serves on the  board of the national Grantmakers in the Arts and was recently appointed by  the US Congress as a Trustee of the American Folklife Center of the Library  of Congress.  Amy and husband Hugo Morales are the proud parents of twin  boys who dance and sing with regularity. Photo by Craig Kohlruss.

CONTACT: Fresno Office | akitch@actaonline.org |  (559) 237-9813 and (415) 346-8700

Lily Kharrazi, Program  Manager, has been with ACTA since  2005 managing the Living Cultures Grants Program, the Traditional Arts  Roundtable Series and other initiatives since 2005. She has been an advocate  of culturally-specific art making in the Bay Area for three decades. Lily has  a degree in Dance Ethnology and interdisciplinary Ethnic Arts from UCLA,  training under pioneer of the field, Allegra Fuller Snyder. She worked as  program director with the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival from 1991-2003.  She has served as an adjudicator and consultant to local, regional, and  national arts and culture foundations. Lily worked in the field of refugee  resettlement and arts education prior to her years at ACTA. She continues to study  dance and yoga. 

CONTACT: San Francisco Field  Office | lilyk@actaonline.org |  (415) 346-5200

Russell Rodríguez, Ph.D., Program  Manager, has extensive experience as a  cultural worker, academic, and accomplished artist. Rodríguez received his  Ph.D. from the department of Anthropology at the University of California,  Santa Cruz. In 2007, he became a University of California President’s  Postdoctoral Fellow. Rodríguez worked as a curator for the Smithsonian Center  for Folklife and Cultural Heritage annual festival, co-curating the Latino  Music Program in 2004; and 2005, he co-produced the Smithsonian Folkways  Recordings CD compilation Rolas de Aztlán: Songs of the Chicano Movement.  Rodríguez is an accomplished musician, composer, and dancer specializing in  performance styles of huasteca, jarocho, mariachi, and other traditional  music forms of Mexico.  In 2010, he completed work as the assistant  producer and musical director for the documentary La Danza Escenica: El Sello  de Rafael Zamarripa. Today Rodríguez continues to play music professionally  with Mariachi Mundial de Mexico and Los Hijos de José. He speaks fluent  Spanish. Russell joined ACTA in May 2012.

CONTACT: Santa Cruz Field Office  | rrodriguez@actaonline.org |  (831) 334-5040

Crystal Murillo, Executive  Assistant, has over eleven years of  experience. She previously worked at the corporate headquarters of  Gottschalks, Inc., as an Assistant Buyer serving in the overall management  and day to day operations of the Petites buying office. Crystal also worked  for ITT Technical Institute as an Enrollment Specialist, coordinating  admission for prospective students and at Table Mountain Rancheria, planning  travel arrangements for tribal members and employees and assisting with  administrative support. Crystal graduated from California State University,  Fresno, with a BA in Anthropology. She also holds an MBA and runs her own  photography business. A dedicated community volunteer, Crystal has organized  teams for Relay for Life, Team in Training, The ALS Assoc., and Walk MS. Crystal  joined ACTA in July 2016. 

CONTACT: Fresno Office | cmurillo@actaonline.org |  (559) 237-9812

Beto González, Program Specialist, comes to ACTA with almost 20 years of experience in  the performing arts in Los Angeles. Beto is an experienced musician,  producer, and ethnomusicologist specializing in the traditional music of  Brazil and the African Diaspora in Latin America.  A first-generation  American, Beto was born in New York to Brazilian immigrants who then raised  him in São Paulo before relocating to Los Angeles.  He is a  multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and bandleader and is the founder and  artistic director of Samba Society, a collective of musicians from the Brazilian  community of Southern California. He also performs regularly with MôForró,  another Brazilian group that performs traditional and original music inspired  by forró, the accordion-driven dance music from northeast Brazil.  Beto  holds Masters degrees in both Latin American Studies and Ethnomusicology from  UCLA, is a Fulbright scholar, and is fluent in both Portuguese and  Spanish.  Prior to joining the ACTA team, Beto worked for a number of  performing arts organizations including the Carpenter Performing Arts Center,  Viver Brasil Dance Company, and Levitt Pavilions of Greater Los Angeles and  Pasadena. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Inglewood Cultural  Arts.  Beto joined ACTA in February 2016. Photo by John Bajana.   

CONTACT: Los Angeles Field Office  | beto@actaonline.org |  (213) 346-3285

Patricia Miye Wakida, Development  and Donor Engagement Manager,  Patricia is a fourth generation Japanese American artist, writer, and  community historian based in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the past fifteen  years, she has done editorial, curatorial, or development work with numerous  cultural institutions such as Heyday Books, Cal Humanities, San Francisco  Center for the Book, Intersection for the Arts, the Japanese American  National Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, and the California  Historical Society, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.  She  has studied as an apprentice papermaker in Gifu, Japan, and as an apprentice  printer and hand bookbinder in Berkeley, California; to this day, she still  maintains her own linoleum block and letterpress business under the 'wasabi  press' imprint, handcarving and cranking out whimsical prints of flora and  fauna on 100 year old equipment. She lives in the heart of the Fruitvale  district of Oakland, California, with her husband and son.  Patricia  joined ACTA in May 2016.  

CONTACT: Oakland Field Office  | pwakida@actaonline.org |  (510) 710-7212

Amy Lawrence, Operations Manager, has worked in the nonprofit sector since 1999.   She served as the Education and Tour Coordinator for the Fresno Historical  Society and managed the Society’s museum store.  Lawrence earned a  multiple subject teaching credential from CSU, Fresno, and has taught second,  third, and fourth grade elementary school students.  She holds an M.A.  in History and her master’s thesis, Minnie Eshleman Sherman: Agricultural  Pioneer, Social Activist, City Mother, won a research merit award from CSU,  Fresno.  Lawrence joined ACTA in June 2009.  

CONTACT: Fresno Office | alawrence@actaonline.org |  (559) 237-9812

Kenya Curry, Arts in Corrections  Program Coordinator/Administrative Assistant, has over seven years of experience in administrative  work and customer service.  She previously worked at the Willow  International Center where she served as a student aide in student admissions  and student activities.  Curry graduated from CSU, Fresno, with a degree  in Criminology and a legal studies certificate.  Kenya coordinates  ACTA’s artistic residencies in California Correctional Institutions,  currently in five prisons including Valley State Prison, Pleasant Valley  State Prison, California Correctional Institution, California State Prison,  Los Angeles County, and California Rehabilitation Center. Kenya joined ACTA  in November 2010. 

CONTACT: Fresno Office | kenya@actaonline.org |  (559) 237-9812

Jennifer Joy Jameson, Program and  Media Director, is a public folklorist and  cultural organizer originally from Encinitas, California near San Diego.  Jennifer came to ACTA from the Mississippi Arts Commission where she served  as the Folk and Traditional Arts Director since 2014, administering  traditional arts grants, providing consultation to artists and organizations,  revived and managed the digital publication Mississippi  Folklife, and led fieldwork projects related to a wide range  of cultural arts. Jennifer also works in new media for SPACES Archives,  a non-profit archive dedicated to documenting and advocating for the  preservation of international art environments. With an M.A. in public sector  folk studies from Western Kentucky University and a B.A. in folklore and  ethnomusicology from Indiana University, Jennifer has worked with museums,  archives, festivals, and cultural organizations on the federal, state, and  local level, including positions at the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and  Cultural Heritage, Traditional Arts Indiana, the Kentucky Folklife Program,  the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and Tennessee’s historic  Highlander Center. Jennifer joined ACTA in March 2017.

CONTACT: Los Angeles Field Office  | jjameson@actaonline.org |  (760) 805-8002

Antonio Delfino, Program Manager, has worked in various correctional institutions and  capacities including state prisons, juvenile halls, county jails, college  classrooms, and grassroots nonprofit organizations. He has worked for  California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as both a clinical  social worker and prerelease teacher. Most recently he worked for a Los  Angeles based non-profit, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, as a College Program  Coordinator at two prions in California’s Central Valley. He has worked with  a number of diverse populations including individuals experiencing  homelessness and mental illness, youth at risk, youth offenders, HIV  patients, inmates, and college students. His interest in social justice led  him pursue a career in social work. He graduated from California State  University, Chico, with a Master’s degree in Social Work. Antonio is  committed to working with the most vulnerable and understands the importance  of rehabilitation as the vehicle to positive transformation. 

CONTACT: Fresno Office | adelfino@actaonline.org |  (559) 237-9812

   Jasmin Temblador, Program  Coordinator, is an alumna from the  University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelors of Arts in  Anthropology. She is currently pursuing a dual degree at Goucher College in  Cultural Sustainability and Management. Jasmin is a first generation Chicana,  and a proud daughter of Mexican parents. Jasmin grew up in South Central Los  Angeles, a rich community in history and culture. As a cultural  sustainability advocate, Jasmin has worked alongside diverse communities to  enhance and leverage the voices of underrepresented communities, traditions,  ways of life, and cherished spaces. She has hands on experience working  directly with community members, while at LIFT-Los  Angeles, as a case manager, volunteer coordinator, and operations  coordinator. Jasmin has conducted research in art education as a UCLA  Arts IN Scholar, and has explored the diverse culture and history of South  Central Los Angeles through community narrative. She supported the creation of  community murals within South Central Los Angeles and SPARC Art.  Her graduate research is focused on cultural continuity from one  generation to the next, in support of the sustainability of culture within  families and cultural communities. Jasmin has a passion for learning and  dancing Folklorico, a tradition passed on from her mother. She grew up  singing in choir as a child, and more recently, with the Gospel Choir at  UCLA.

CONTACT: Los Angeles Field Office  | jtemblador@actaonline.org |  (213) 346-3285

[calinativeanthropologist]