The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) today announced the appointment of Elena Calderón Patiño, Director of the Community Arts program at the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to its Board of Directors. NALAC is the nation's only multidisciplinary Latino arts service organization.
"We are very pleased to welcome Elena to our board of directors," said María López De León, NALAC Executive Director and Board member. "[Her] ongoing engagement with community, cumulative experience with policy and proven arts leadership, as well as artistic practice, will bring valuable insight to NALAC and the field at large."
Elena Calderón Patiño has been dedicated for many years to the promotion and advancement of art and culture as an artist, a designer and an art administrator. In her current role as Director of the Community Arts Program at Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA), she has advocated for artists of color by creating partnerships with art museums, non-profit organizations, universities, and government institutions. Elena is also a visual artist who recently had a retrospective solo exhibit in Costa Rica. Her body of work was based on her interest in theology, philosophy, and science. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Randall Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, congratulated Elena on her appointment. "We're delighted that Elena has been appointeed to the NALAC board, in no small measure because of the excellent work she has done here in Rhode Island. RISCA has benefitted from Elena's work with diverse communities throughout our state, and NALAC will benefit from her involvement at a national level."
The NALAC Governing Board of Directors consists of 16 members, including the chairperson. Nominated by a board committee and appointed by the full board, Directors generally serve two six-year terms. Directors are chosen for their demonstrated ability, good judgment, expertise and profound commitment to Latino arts and culture. Exemplary of NALAC's investment in cultivating the capacity of new generations of leaders, three Board seats are reserved for alumni of the Leadership Institute. NALAC strives to ensure geographic and ethnic representation of all areas of the country. Directors attend quarterly board meetings, ratify grant awards and formulate policy.
In addition to Calderón Patiño and Hernández, the NALAC Governing Board of Directors consists of Chairperson Charles Rice-González, B.A.A.D., Bronx, NY; Vice Chairperson, Evonne Gallardo, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA; Secretary, F. Javier Torres, ArtPlace America, New York, NY; Treasurer, Ernest Bromley, Bromley Communications, San Antonio, TX; Executive Director, María López De León, NALAC, San Antonio, TX; Carmen Castellano, Castellano Family Foundation, San Jose, CA; Anthony Garcia, Su Teatro, Denver, CO; Tatiana Hernandez, Knight Foundation, Miami, FL; Abel López, GALA Theatre, Washington, D.C.; Adán M. Medrano, JM Communications, Houston, TX; Jennifer Mendez, Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City, MO; Michelle Ortiz, The Bartol Foundation, Philadelphia, PA; Rosalba Rolón, Pregones Theater, Bronx, NY; Kinan Valdez, El Teatro Campesino, San Juan Bautista, CA.
About NALAC- The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is the nation's only multidisciplinary Latino arts service organization. For 25 years, NALAC has delivered programs that stabilize and revitalize the US Latino arts and cultural sector by providing critical advocacy, funding, networking opportunities and professional development training for Latino artists and arts organizations in every region of the country. The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion, advancement, development, and cultivation of the Latino arts field. For more info, visit www.nalac.org.
