2022 Board of Directors
Mission
To Champion, strengthen, and celebrate the arts as an integral part of education for the people of Oregon.
Ex-Officio, Board President: Nancy Carr – Art Education Consultant; Portland
Board President: Shannon Emory – Art Education Consultant & Nonprofit Executive Director; Portland
Treasurer: Elizabeth Eklund – Performer & Philanthropist; Lake Oswego
Director: Karen Deveney – Surgeon & Philanthropist; Portland
Nancy Carr – Ex-Officio & Board President
Nancy has returned to Oregon from years working in Washington state and California. She brings with her experience with all five arts disciplines (dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts) working with the 1,050+ school districts and non-profit organizations in California. Her experience as the California Department of Education Visual and Performing Arts Consultant has her well-practiced in administration, managing programs, working with arts education specialists, classroom teachers, artists and non-profit agencies. She partnered with the California Alliance for Arts Education, the California Arts Council, PTA and The California Arts Project, in her state-wide work and was a board member to the states’ four professional arts organizations. Overseeing a $3,500,000 competitive arts education grant and a $6,500,000 arts education grant, both legislatively funded, had her working keenly with all partners in providing arts education for the public school students. Nancy had previous experience as director of Early Childhood programming in the public schools, as a special education teacher, a classroom teacher at the elementary level and district arts mentor. She is a painter, a lover of art/architecture/history and a believer that it is the right of every student to have arts education in their school life, of a scope and sequenced nature, demonstrating the learning of instructional opportunities and learning experiences.
Beth Unverzagt – Past Board President
Beth has been a business manager, admissions director, after school director and manager of the non-profit based Start Making A Reader Today (SMART) in-school literacy program, overseeing 31 schools. She has been a school budget board member, school board member; president of the Mid-valley Volunteer Managers Association, and has served on the boards of numerous non-profits. She counts as one of her greatest achievements the development of an independent school, Abiqua School. As the director of Oregon Afterschool for Kids (OregonASK) for the past eight years, she has overseen the growth and development of the Oregon Afterschool Network. Ms. Unverzagt has a long history of advocating for Oregon’s children and the integration of the arts in education.