Meet the Slate & Save the Date!
Announcing the 2022 Board Election & Annual Membership Meeting
It’s election time!
WAA’s Board of Directors plays a vital role in our capacity to serve you — our members. Our board supports us in fulfilling our mission to advance excellence in the performing arts, through innovative thinking and ground-breaking initiatives, by anticipating the future needs of the field, and through sound governance and stewardship. Board rotations take place each year, and our members play an essential part in the process — from nominating candidates, to approving the slate.
All current WAA member organizations are eligible to vote in the election. The person designated to vote on behalf of your member organization will receive an email with their individual voting link and voting credentials when voting opens on Friday, October 14. Voting closes on Sunday, November 13 at 11:59pm PT.
The results of the election will be presented at the 2022 Annual Membership Meeting which will be held via Zoom on Monday, November 14 from 9am - 10:30am PT. You can see the meeting agenda and register for the meeting here.
If you need to update your organization's designated voter or have other questions about the elections, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Need help renewing your membership? Get in touch with Lucy Taylor, our Membership & Communications Manager — she will be happy to assist you.
Learn more about the nominees below.
*Note: Your voting credentials are separate from your member portal credentials.
Meet the 2022 WAA Board Nominees
Antonio Gómez (he/him) | Tacoma Arts Live
President (two-year term expiring 2024)
Image credit: G Davidson-Gomez
It is a great privilege to continue serving fellow members of the Western Arts Alliance. Your innovation and determination in a time of tremendous change inspires me daily. I first joined the board in late 2019 just prior to the twin pandemics of the following year — one which tested our resilience and the other which challenged our collective sense of justice. Both of which drew us into greater reflection about how the arts can sustain, inspire and even strengthen the communities we serve. Well before the health and racial reckonings of 2020, WAA was anticipating the generational and demographic changes evident in both the publics we serve and within our own professional ranks. This vision helped sustain WAA through the challenges of recent years, not only preparing for the challenges to come, but also helping diversify the organization so that it could endure. Most importantly, it built on WAA’s greatest superpower: cultivating enduring relationships.
Our collective future holds many questions and few certainties. But, among those few is the reality that we are stronger and more innovative together. Even in moments of tension, being together in dialogue, in collaboration, and sometimes in difference is what we need to invent the performing arts ecosystem anew. Relationships are key to inheriting the wisdom and lessons of the past while making room for new and neglected perspectives and vision. Relationships are essential to building a more inclusive infrastructure that addresses inequities, and both sees and reflects the constellation of identities of the West. And, relationships are vessels for the economic health of our industry, across our region and beyond.
Even though our field is in a moment of broad transformation, along with a region that stretches across the Western U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Pasifika, I can’t help but be excited for WAA’s future. This is our chrysalis moment and I’m ready to share whatever I can — experience as a touring musician, years of work in education and community engagement, firsthand knowledge of experiencing and shattering marginality and invisibility — and plenty of humor and humility — to this beautiful if mysterious metamorphosis.
Antonio M. Gómez works across education, the arts and public media. As Director of Community Engagement & Extended Learning at Tacoma Arts Live, Tony focuses on creating economically and culturally accessible experiences for all ages. He is a former K12 classroom teacher, a curriculum designer for PBS and cultural organizations, and a producer of live and public media content. Tony has been a board member of WAA since 2019 and has been a Jubilation Foundation Fellow in Arts Education, an Artist Trust awardee, a speaker for Humanities Washington, and is currently an Associate Folklorist for the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions. A working percussionist who focuses on Afro Latin and Mediterranean genres, he co-founded Trío Guadalevín, and works with Tango del Cielo and Pacific MusicWorks, in addition to curating Deep Roots, New Branches for Early Music Seattle. He completed his MA in Education at UC Berkeley and has studied music and culture in Latin America, North Africa, and Southern Europe.
Image credit: Stephen Drover
Dani Fecko (she/her) | Fascinator Management
Vice President (two-year term expiring 2024)
My name is Dani Fecko, and I am the Founder and Executive Director of Fascinator Management. Fascinator Management is an agency, producer and consultancy based on the stolen and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations.
Fascinator supports Canadian clients whose work is curious, brave, funny, challenging, and informed by their diverse lived experiences. We consult and mentor nationally and internationally and design and deliver professional development and networking events for festivals across Canada.
It has been my privilege to serve on the board of WAA since 2016. During that time I have watched the organization grow in outstanding ways. The commitment to including traditionally underrepresented voices has changed WAA for the better. The organization has been steadfast in its values yet nimble in its delivery of services and access points. The small but mighty team has managed to create a space of care and success for its members, whose needs are many and varied. When I was first interviewed to be a member of the board, I spoke about my commitment to diversity and inclusion. I spoke about my passion for being a Canadian voice at the table. And I spoke about my desire to grow and learn during my tenure. While on the board I have done nothing but learn. My understanding of what equity can and should be has been challenged, has grown, and has been able to consistently evolve. When I first started at WAA my company wasn’t even two years old yet. Now, it is 7.5 years old and has a team of four incredible women in three cities across the globe. While WAA has grown, so have I, and I look forward to continuing to grow together.
I am committed to the health of this organization. I am committed to the health and well being of the staff, new and old, and I am committed to being a support for new leadership as they move into a new role. I pride myself on asking difficult questions, thinking outside of the box and challenging the status quo. But more than that, I listen deeply, admit when I am wrong (it's a lot), and champion the ideas of others. Being a leader means many things to many people. To me, it means moving forward with curiosity and humility, and supporting those around you so that they can, in turn, can grow. Thank you for your consideration. I hope I am able to continue to be a part of WAA’s journey
Dani Fecko is a first-generation Canadian settler of Czech and Slovak descent who lives on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
She is owner of Fascinator Management, an agency and consultancy whose clients’ contemporary performance practices are informed by their diverse lived experiences. Fascinator consults and coaches internationally and nationally, providing curated connections, network program design, tour and producing guidance and strategic planning.
Dani loves work that challenges her ideas of what is possible, her areas of focus being theater, dance, cabaret, and anything that happens in non-traditional ways or spaces. She was a Leadership Fellow with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals from 2016 – 2018 and a Fellow with ISPA from 2012 – 2014.
Dani has served on juries for Creative Scotland, the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council and New York’s Creative Capital and she has served on panels in Sweden, Darwin, Montreal, Scotland, Ireland, Vancouver, and Ottawa; she has hosted workshops in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary.
Dani is a term-lecturer on Creative Entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser University. She trained as a stage manager and worked for multiple companies locally including Theatre Replacement and Neworld Theatre, as well as others across Canada and Europe. She tour-managed across North America, Mexico, and Europe with Rimini Protokoll and in Europe and across Canada with Company 605. She was Managing Producer of Boca del Lupo, and spent four years as Associate Curator at the PuSh Festival. She lives with her piano-playing husband, Angus Kellett, and their fish, Hyfinn as well as many pandemic plants.
Qacung Stephen Blanchett (he/him) | Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska
Director (three-year term expiring 2025)
It is an honor to be nominated to serve on the board of directors of WAA for a third term. The momentum that WAA has made over the years towards bringing equity and inclusion at all levels of the organization has been inspiring. It has been so rewarding for me to be part of the Advancing Indigenous Performance and Black Arts @ WAA programs.
I am a traditional Yup'ik dancer, songwriter, and composer of drum songs. I am a founding member of the contemporary musical group, Pamyua. It has been a privilege to serve in leadership roles with the Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, First Alaskans Institute, and Pamyua Inc.
I have produced many dance, music, and film projects. I am a 2022 USA Artist Fellow, was named The Kennedy Centers’ Next 50, and a 2021 Shift Transformative Change and Indigneous Arts recipient through the Native Arts and Culture Foundation.
I consider myself a global citizen whose Yup'ik and African-American roots guide my leadership and artistic vision. Originally from the small community of Bethel, Alaska, I now live in Juneau, Alaska, where I continue my work advocating for cultural practices as the Cultural Heritage & Education Manager with the Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska.
I am a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Alaska Native Studies. Being born Alaska Native, we have a responsibility to fight for our traditions and heritage. So as an artist I not only have a passion for performing, but I also love to teach and perpetuate Alaska Native traditions and to be an advocate for equity and inclusion in the arts and culture industry. I will continue to work towards these goals if I am elected to continue my service on the WAA board of directors. Quyana! Thank you!
Qacung Stephen Blanchett is a performing artist, a culture-bearer, art and culture educator, and an advocate for equity and inclusion. Earlier on in his nearly 30-year career in performance art, he realized his passion for teaching the beautiful songs and dances of his culture. He has served in leadership roles with the Alaska Native Heritage Center, First Alaskans Institute, Pamyua Inc., and other arts, culture, and community service entities. He is currently in Cultural Heritage & Education Manager with the Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska in Juneau. He is a 2019 Dance/USA Fellowship recipient, a 2019 and 2016 recipient of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Artist Fellowship, and a 2015 National Artist Fellowship recipient through the Native Arts and Culture Foundation. During the pandemic, Qacung launched Rock Áak’w Indigenous Music Festival, Alaska's first international Indigenous music festival.
Blanchett is a global citizen whose Yup’ik roots guide his leadership and artistic vision. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Alaska Native Studies. What pointed him in the direction that he chose academically was a passage in a book that he read from the author Vine Deloria, in which he wrote, "Being born Native is like being born into politics." This passage also influenced Blanchett greatly as an artist, because he truly believes that being born Alaska Native we have a responsibility to fight for our traditions and heritage. So as an artist, he not only has a passion for performing, he also loves to teach and perpetuate the Alaska Native traditions and to be an advocate for equity and inclusion in the arts and culture industry. To sample some of Qacung’s music please visit www.pamyua.com
Joseph Copley-Venturo Díaz (he/him) | ODC/Dance
Director — incumbent (three-year term expiring 2025)
I’m honored to be re-nominated for a position on the Board of Directors of WAA. My hope is to carry on the great work of the board, provide solid support to our new executive director, and ask some difficult questions regarding our place in the world, and our place in this time. The arts, as well as the West Coast, are uniquely positioned during this current political climate. War mongering, humanitarian crises, global pandemics, and environmental catastrophes all deserve our undivided attention. I believe the arts can help give voice to some of the emotions surrounding these issues. Hopefully, the West can put its most innovative thinkers forward in helping to solve some of these challenging problems. How do we gracefully impress upon people the importance of supporting the arts – as well as supporting their political action agencies? With a field of people identifying as “agents” (including myself) – what exactly are we giving agency to? What are we agents of? Change? Hope? Communication?
Thanks to the work of WAA, artists' voices are being heard and celebrated. Points of view expressed, and dialogue among audiences continues. This is where I want to dig in and continue the work. My goals include expanding membership, continuing the excellent work with planning one of the most valuable arts conferences of the year — including work on the Professional Development Committee — building support for our LGBTQ+ colleagues & audiences through QWAA, and to continue the bridge building between colleagues, organizations, and artists.
Joseph Copley-Venturo Díaz (he/him) comes from a performing arts background, having danced professionally with Oakland Ballet, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Dance Through Time, Robert Moses’ KIN, Madison Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, and on and on.
"Blessed with both stage presence and striking technique, he whipped off cabrioles, tour jetés, tours en l’air and a coupé jeté menège with no break. His entrechat quatres and brisé volés were embroidered with épaulement. Even when he was just standing, his back to the audience, his powers of expression were impressive." (Dance Magazine)
"A Greek God." (New York Times)
Joseph received a Next Generation Arts Leadership Grant to attend business school at City College of San Francisco. Hired as Company Manager at ODC/Dance in 2013, he is now the Associate Director of Artistic Planning, and oversees programming ODC’s 52 weeks of artistic activities.
Outside of ODC, Joseph serves on the board of directors for the Western Arts Alliance, Isadora Duncan Dance Awards & Dance Through Time, sits on the Entertainment Committee of the BatterySF, is a member of the Dance/USA Dance Managers’ Council, and is on the advisory committee for Mark Foehringer Dance Project. He is a panelist for the San Francisco Arts Commission, is an alumni of Leadership SF, volunteers for political causes, and produces events at San Francisco street fairs, night clubs, and festivals.
Rob Tocalino (he/him) | Mondavi Center, UC Davis
Director — incumbent (three-year term expiring 2025)
I am honored to be nominated for another term on the Western Arts Alliance Board of Directors. Working with, and learning from, the talented, creative and resilient WAA staff and my fellow board members has been a highlight of the past three years. Even in the darkest days of the pandemic, I was grateful to work through the challenges laid before us with this incredible set of colleagues. And those tough conversations and the decisions they fostered have unified our board — many of whom I’ve yet to meet in person.
Now, we face another critical task with an executive transition that will open a new chapter for WAA. Tim has been an exceptional leader, by every measure, but particularly over these past few years, when he extended his service to provide stability during the pandemic and made the tough decisions that kept the organization afloat.
I hope to carry that positive energy forward through the 2023 conference in Seattle, and beyond. We understand better than ever how important it is to come together as an industry and community. My goals for the next three years are simple: serve the membership; support this remarkable staff through this important transition; and help WAA remain financially stable so it can vibrantly lead our field well into the future
Rob Tocalino is the Director of Marketing at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis. In his current role, he is responsible for all external organizational communications and strategy, including advertising, public relations, and ticket office operations. As part of his work overseeing the ticket office, Tocalino has built successful revenue management and patron loyalty initiatives. He previously served as the Associate Director of Marketing for SFJAZZ, during which time he led a Wallace Foundation-funded effort to attract a younger audience for jazz. The resulting program, SFJAZZ Hotplate, is still in place at the new SFJAZZ Center. Prior to SFJAZZ, Tocalino served as the Managing Director of Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.
Tamica Washington-Miller (she/her) | Lula Washington Dance Theatre
Director (three-year term expiring 2025)
Image credit: Mark Manhauer
In my teens, I followed my parents (co-founders of Lula Washington Dance Theatre — LWDT) around WAA conferences. My father, Erwin Washington, served on the WAA board decades ago. I have participated as a dancer at showcases; in support of our company manager, Renae Williams-Niles — who also served on the WAA board — in the 1990s, and in recent years as Associate Director of LWDT.
WAA has been important for my development as a choreographer/performing artist/producer as well as in my leadership role with LWDT and my peers nationally. Working on the WAA Governance Committee and on the inaugural Black Arts @ WAA sessions in Los Angeles at LWDT has been essential to my understanding of the presenting arena.
I am honored to be considered for the WAA Board of Directors. If invited to serve, I want to help the critical work that fosters diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural understanding within our field and to address systems that hold some of us back, which affects the field. WAA has been a consistent leader in this area. I applaud this work.
I also seek to work with the Finance Committee, because this work supports the bottom line of our ability to serve the field. I look forward to working with board members in continuity with existing initiatives that keep us in deep thought, conversation, and analysis as we move into this new era.
Tamica Washington-Miller is the Associate Director and named successor for the Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT). She is a choreographer, performing artist, and an overall arts leader. Her board experience spans strategic planning, succession, development and fundraising, governance, and bylaws.
She is currently on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD). Tamica helped to produce their conference and festival in Los Angeles five times. She is an active member on the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA, where she serves as Co-Chair of the Trustees Committee. Her work with Dance/USA has included serving on the 2018 Host Committee for their Los Angeles conference, and on the Bylaws Committee, working to more intentionally align the bylaws with the organization’s core values and mission.
Tamica participated in the Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training. She also earned a full scholarship to participate in the inaugural Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Leadership Fellows program, and a full scholarship from the LA County Arts Commission to attend the Southern California Leadership program and the Arts for LA Activate Leadership Development program.