The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is pleased to announce the election of three new members to its board of directors. As part of a rigorous national nomination process, state arts agencies elected these exemplary leaders at the NASAA Assembly 2018 conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Each will serve a three-year term.
Eduardo Arosemena-Muñoz
Chair, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Eduardo Arosemena-Muñoz is Puerto Rico’s assistant secretary of state for foreign relations & government affairs. From 2009-2012, Arosemena served as assistant secretary of state for the Services division, where he oversaw the transformation of the department’s corporate and trademarks registries. Working closely with the U.S. Department of State and former Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth D. McClintock, he was the principal state public officer responsible for obtaining authorization from the federal government to open the first Passport Services & Consular Affairs Office outside the continental United States. Prior to this, Arosemena served as law clerk at the Puerto Rico Supreme Court at the chambers of former Justice Efraín Rivera-Pérez (2000-2010), and later as a litigation attorney at the law firm of Fiddler, González & Rodríguez, where he was a member of the Products Liability, Aviation, and Federal Practice Group. From 2013 to 2015, he worked for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice as an assistant district attorney, serving as deputy in the International Arrests and Extraditions Unit. Prior to his return to the Puerto Rico Department of State in 2017, Arosemena served as vice president for University Relations & Advancement at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He is one of three of Puerto Rico’s law commissioners before the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Arosemena received his bachelor’s degree in systems of justice from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón and his juris doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. (Board term: 2019-2021)
Carla Du Pree
Council Member, Maryland State Arts Council
Carla Du Pree is a literary artist, a state arts ambassador and the executive director of CityLit Project, a literary nonprofit that nurtures readers and writers throughout the region, featuring regional and transnational authors through two signature events, an award-winning daylong festival and as the CityLit Stage at the Baltimore Book Festival. Du Pree is a recipient of several fellowships, including a Hedgebrook Fellowship (2019), Rhode Island Writers Colony for Writers of Color (2018), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Poetry Foundation (2017), a Rubys Artist Grant (2016) and a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award (2011). Her fiction appeared on the debut of “Words” on Maryland Public Television’s Artworks. Excerpts from her novel have been published in several literary journals and two anthologies. Du Pree has spoken on national platforms with Furious Flower Poetry Center, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, National Women’s Studies Association and Association of Writers & Writing Programs and as a literary consultant for the 2018 Robert W. Deutsch Foundation’s Artist Retreat. She was reappointed for an unprecedented third term to the Maryland State Arts Council, where she was the former vice chair, and currently chairs the Arts Council’s Diversity Outreach Committee. Du Pree serves on the boards of Maryland Citizens for the Arts and Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. She has done contractual work with the National Endowment for the Arts, has served on the Maryland Humanities One Maryland One Book Selection Committee and recently joined NASAA’s Affinity Group for People of Color. Du Pree holds a master’s degree in creative writing from The Johns Hopkins University. (Board term: 2019-2021)
Michael Faison
Executive Director, Idaho Commission on the Arts
In addition to his role as executive director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, Michael Faison is a member of the board of directors of the Western States Arts Federation. He previously served as the Arts in Education Division director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, assistant director of the Oregon Arts Commission, executive director of the Center for Arts Management and Technology at Carnegie Mellon University, and information technology consultant for Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Faison was a high school art educator, teaching advertising design at McCallum High School in Austin, Texas. He has extensive experience as a commercial illustrator, printer, prepress camera operator and photographer. Faison holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in studio art from the University of Texas at Austin, multiple Texas teaching certifications, and a master of arts management degree from Carnegie Mellon University. (Board term 2019-2021)
In addition to these new directors, four NASAA board members were elected to second three-year terms: Monica Guzman, former chair, Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities Agency; Karen Paty, executive director, Georgia Council for the Arts; Omari Rush, chair, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs; and John Strickland, chair, West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
“We are delighted to welcome Eduardo, Carla and Michael to the NASAA board, and are pleased that Monica, Karen, Omari and John will continue their service,” said NASAA President and CEO Pam Breaux. “These experienced leaders bring with them keen policy acumen, dedication to serving the public and a genuine passion for the arts. We are excited to work with this new team and we welcome their expertise and guidance.”
“The 2019 NASAA board continues to represent an exceptionally strong and committed membership,” said NASAA Chair Benjamin Brown. “I am excited to work with these outstanding leaders as we implement NASAA’s new strategic plan and reinforce our dedication to member services and support.”
Per NASAA’s bylaws, the board elected these officers:
1st Vice Chair: Suzanne Wise, Executive Director, Nebraska Arts Council
2nd Vice Chair: Stephanie Conner, Former Chair, Tennessee Arts Commission
Treasurer: Ken May, Executive Director, South Carolina Arts Commission
Secretary: Omari Rush, Chair, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
For more information on NASAA’s board members, visit NASAA Board of Directors.
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies is the nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization that unites, represents and serves the nation’s state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Founded in 1968 and celebrating 50 years of service to state arts agencies in 2018, NASAA represents their individual and collective interests, empowers their work through knowledge, and advances the arts as an essential public benefit. To learn more about NASAA and state arts agencies, visit nasaa-arts.org.