Staff & Board
Staff
Heather Holt Villyard, Executive Director
joined ArtSpan in April 2010. Using her ten years of experience in arts management, she oversees all aspects of the organization's operations. Before coming to ArtSpan, she worked at SFMOMA managing the SECA membership auxiliary and special museum events. Heather currently serves as the Chair of the SECA 50th Anniversary on the SECA Council at SFMOMA and was formerly the Chair of the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery Advisory Board. She runs a contemporary art gallery with her husband out of her home in Noe Valley called TrueSilver SF. Heather studied as a fine artist at the School of Art Institute of Chicago.
Lindsay Barrick, Associate Director of Communications & Operations
joined ArtSpan in 2006 and manages ArtSpan's printed and online communications. She produces the monthly eNewsletter, web content, and social media posts, and is the main web site administrator. As the Managing Editor of the SF Open Studios Guide, Lindsay oversees ArtSpan's print collateral. Lindsay works to develop and implement effective and efficient operational procedures and systems to support and strengthen the SF Open Studios program, as well as ArtSpan's artist, donor, member, and volunteer relations. A native San Franciscan, she is an avid Giants fan and enjoys salsa and modern dance classes. Lindsay holds a BA in English Literature and French Language from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY.
Cristina Ibarra, Program Manager, Youth and Adult Education & Community Partnerships
joined ArtSpan in 2010 and manages ArtSpan's Art for City Youth program, in addition to curating the Professional Development Workshop series and the artist networking Flash Friday mixers. In recent years, both domestically and abroad, she has dealt extensively with artists, media makers, and educators in non-profits, such as SF-based Independent Arts & Media, ActiveVoice, and the Red Poppy Art House. She has worked with diverse youth in the Education Department of the Orange County Museum of Art, as an ESOL teacher in Salvador, Brazil, and as an Instructor and Media Developer in Kerikeri, New Zealand. She enjoys dancing tango, learning new languages, and singing with The 3 Soulbirds. Cristina holds a BA in Humanities and Arts with an emphasis in Film and Media Studies and Studio Art from the University of California at Irvine.
Allison Snopek, SF Open Studios Program Coordinator
joined ArtSpan in 2013 to assist wtih all aspects of facilitating SF Open Studios. As a praciticing oil painter and arts enthusiast, Allison is involved with various projects and local arts organizations. She is a cooperative member at City Art Gallery and a teaching artist with Leap Arts in Education. Allison is also the Volunteer Coordinator at the Red Poppy Art House and a Membership Services Assistant for the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. In her free time, Allison can be found riding her bicycle throughout the Bay Area, brewing beer with friends on her rooftop, or cooking up a feast! Originally from the Midwest, Allison has a BA in Studio Arts and Spanish Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Board of Directors
Dan Teree, Chairman
is the founder, President and COO of Ticketfly, the fastest growing social ticketing company. Prior to founding Ticketfly, Dan was COO and business unit head of TicketWeb, a division of Ticketmaster. Under his leadership, TicketWeb grew revenue six-fold and profit ten-fold. Prior to joining TicketWeb, Dan was a Senior Associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at NationsBank Montgomery Securities and a Senior Research Analyst at the Advisory Board Company in Washington, D.C. Dan holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.A. in Political Science from Colgate University. An avid art collector, Dan joined the Board in 2008 and is particularly interested in aiding ArtSpan's social marketing, event promotion, and Art for City Youth initiatives.
John Melvin, Treasurer
is a SF Open Studios Artist and former public finance banker with a major investment bank. He has participated in the SF Open Studios program since 2001, is a member of Oakdale Studios, and began service on the Board in 2002.
William Gilmartin III
began his Board service in 2011. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he has over 30 years of experience in Construction Management. He is involved in many real estate investments throughout the Bay Area as well as South America and has an evolving art collection. William is also the Founder and Creator of Art Space 712, which strives to cultivate a following for local and emerging artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not only does it host a personal collection of art with pieces from African, Oceanic, North and South American influences, but it allows new artists to showcase their most recent art through public exhibitions.
Sevilla Granger
began her Board service in 2011. She is a SF Open Studios Artist. Born and trained in Asheville, North Carolina, Sevilla has been painting the natural world for most of her life. With a grandmother who painted landscapes, a photographer for a Father, and the daughter of Sallie Middleton as her best friend, art was omnipresent and encouraged in her formative years. In the summer of 2003, after 15 years as a Costume Designer in the film industry, Sevilla was inspired to return to painting after an intense creative awakening on Palatine Hill in Rome. The work she makes today isn’t far from the original inspiration there, just being constantly refined and focused. Sevilla currently lives in San Francisco, and works in the vibrant artistic community at the 1890 Bryant Street Studios.
Leslie Lowinger
is a SF Open Studios Artist and printmaking member of Graphic Arts Workshop, a printmaking cooperative. Per Ms. Lowinger: "Why am I so devoted to ArtSpan? Because artists may languish unseen in other cities, but here we provide a way for artists, art viewers, and collectors to meet." She has been an SF Open Studios Artist and Board Member since 1998. She serves as chairman of the Nominating Committee and served on the Youth Program Steering Committee during ArtSpan's five-year AmeriCorps VISTA grant.
Paula Marcheschi
began her Board service in 2006.
Matt McKinley
was Chief Curator at ARTworkSF Gallery prior to creating his own consulting business, Matt McKinley Art Solutions. He has been an invited speaker for the Small Business Association of San Francisco, consultant for the exhibit, "Reversing Vandalism" sponsored by The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, juror for 7th and 8th Altered Barbie exhibits and the Fairfield Visual Arts Association's 45th Juried Exhibit (in 2008), panelist on contemporary abstraction by artists of color at 40 Acres Art Gallery in Sacramento. Currently, Matt is a working member of the Bay Area Model's Guild and Curatorial Associate with BorderZone Arts, an international non-profit art and program organization, and a member of the board at ArtSpan since 2011. Matt has also concepted, curated, juried, and designed exhibits for the Queer Cultural Center, SOMArts Cultural Center, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Asian American Women Artists Association, San Francisco Sex Information and Lambda Legal, The San Francisco Artists' Resource Center, Project Open Hand, and San Francisco Women Artists Gallery. He joined ArtSpan's Board in 2011.
Brian Owens
joined Il Fornaio in 2002 and has been the Co-President of the Bakery Division since he was promoted in April 2010 from Vice President of Business Development, Bakery Division. Prior to joining Il Fornaio, Mr. Owens was Founder, CEO and President of Rising High Natural Bread Company in Columbia, South Carolina. From 1993 to 2000, he grew the company to $2.5 million annual sales and directed three units and a central production facility. Prior to starting that company, Mr. Owens worked at Bain & Co. from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Owens is a graduate of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and received his BA at the University of Virginia where he was an Echols scholar. He joined ArtSpan's Board in 2011.
Eric Rewitzer
began his Board service in 2011. He is a SF Open Studios Artist and acts as the SF Open Studios Committee Co-chair.