The Regional Arts & Culture Council elects new board members and officers

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has announced that Carol R. Smith, Ed. D. will serve as the Chair of RACC’s board for a second year, and Lina Garcia Seabold has been elected as Vice-Chair for FY2011-12.

Carol R. Smith is an active musician in the Portland area. She performs regularly in brass chamber groups throughout the region, and teaches private trumpet lessons. Previously, Carol served as Director of The Oregon Principals’ Center at Lewis & Clark College, which supports school leaders across Oregon and southwest Washington. Prior to teaching at Lewis & Clark, Carol served as both an elementary and a middle school principal in the Beaverton School District.

Lina Garcia Seabold is part owner of Seabold Construction Co., Inc. and Garcia Seabold Investments, LLC, which owns and manages several investment properties including a number of Senior Housing facilities that provide independent, assisted and memory care services to seniors in the Western Region. She is also an active artist and enjoys collage and plein-aire painting. Lina maintains a high profile in the local Hispanic Community and is the immediate past president of MANA de Portland, which provides education and advocacy to Latinas. Of her many accomplishments, one of note includes facilitating an art exchange between Portland and Guadalajara that resulted in a sculpture donated by Guadalajara Artist Alejandro Colunga, currently housed at the Portland Center for Performing Arts.

Joining Smith and Seabold as officers on the RACC Board are treasurer, Jennifer C. Cies, VP of Product Strategies at Umpqua Bank; and secretary, Max M. Miller, Jr, attorney at Tonkon Torp LLP.

In addition, two new members have been elected to the RACC board:

Ethel B. Branch is an associate in the Portland office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and a member of the Public Finance Group. She has experience working in education as an administrator, program coordinator and teacher. She is a member of the Navajo Nation and serves on the board of the Native American Youth and Family Center.

Verlea G. Briggs is the manager of Customer Technical Services at Portland General Electric. She currently serves on the board of Human Solutions. Active in the community, her volunteer service includes the Black Women for Peace, Oregon Food Bank and Portland Opportunities Industrial Center (POIC/Rosemary Anderson High School). She has also volunteered with Oregon Ballet Theatre, where her son performed.

Continuing RACC Board members for FY2011-12 include: Alan Alexander III, Jesse Beason, Gwyneth Gamble Booth, Jessica L. Clark, Jay Clemens, Stacey A. Graham, Kira Higgs, Eric Hormel, Dr. Jerry E. Hudson, Karen Karbo, Joe Krumm, Peg Malloy, Bonita Oswald, Brian Rice, Jan Robertson, and Tad Savinar.

After serving seven years on the RACC Board, including two years as chair and one year as chair emeritus, Carole Morse retires from the RACC Board this month. In addition, Josie Mendoza moves off the RACC Board after serving six years on the RACC Board. Both Mendoza and Morse have agreed to serve on the RACC Resource Council beginning in July 2011, and will continue to support the progress of Work for Art. Morse will serve as the Work for Art Honorary Chair for FY11-12.

Updated 6/20/11: Ethel Branch has accepted a position outside of the state, and will therefore decline her post to the board of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. RACC continues its efforts to ensure a skilled and diverse composition of board members.