Californians for the Arts held its annual meeting on Thursday, June 15 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on the eve of the Americans for the Arts Convention.  Victoria Hamilton, Arts & Culture Advocate at The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in San Diego, was elected President (seen above, accepting the gavel from outgoing President Richard Stein, President & CEO, Arts Orange County).  Elected Vice President was Danielle Whitmore, Executive Director, Blue Line Arts & Arts & Business Council of the Sacramento Region in Roseville.  Re-elected as Treasurer and Secretary were Brad Erickson, Executive Director, Theatre Bay Area in San Francisco and Rachel Osajima, Executive Director, Alameda County Arts Commission in Oakland.  Elected to the Executive Committee were:  Julie Baker (Membership Chair), Executive Director, Center for the Arts, Grass Valley; Sofia Klatzker (Advocacy Chair & Representative to State Arts Action Network), Executive Director, Arts for LA, Los Angeles; Debra Lucero (Communications Chair), Executive Director, Shasta County Arts Council, Redding and Friends of the Arts Upstate, Chico; Dalouge Smith (Representative to Policy Council of CA Alliance for Arts Education), President & CEO, San Diego Youth Symphony Orchestra; and Richard Stein – Immediate Past President.

Elected as new members of the Board of Directors are:  Michael Alexander (above left), Executive Director Emeritus, Grand Performances, Los Angeles and a former member of the California Arts Council; and Ron P. Muriera, City of San Jose Arts Commissioner and Director of Development, San Jose Stage Company.