Sheila Martin
Chair
Sheila holds a B.A. in music and a Ph.D. in Spanish. In addition to teaching, primarily at the university level, she has served other communities as an arts council president, orchestra director, volunteer tutor, grant administrator, and director of state-level education organizations. In Astoria, she has volunteered with the SMART Reading program at Astor Elementary and the ESL tutoring program at Clatsop Community College. She also founded and directs the Astoria Ukulele Orchestra.
Danyelle Tinker
Vice Chair
Danyelle was born and raised in Portland and graduated from Western Oregon University with a degree in theatre arts in 2000. After graduating, she performed in theaters throughout the Willamette and Yamhill Valleys before co-founding Twilight Theater Company in Portland in 2013, where she served as their executive managing director until relocating to Astoria in 2018. Danyelle is the executive director for Ten Fifteen Productions in Astoria.
Patrick Willis
Treasurer
Patrick has been involved in K-20 education in Oregon for over 40 years. He was an associate professor with Oregon State University managing 4-H youth development programs, executive director of Jackson Bottom Wetlands in Hillsboro, science program manager at OMSI, and adjunct instructor at PSU, PCC, Lewis and Clark College, and Marylhurst University. He has a long history of successful grant funding, creating a wide array of natural science and community/place-based programs for families, teachers, and youth.
Kris Evans
Secretary
Kris has had a longstanding passion for the arts and personally loves trying and working with any medium. She loves helping others get engaged with the arts and advocates for recognition of the therapeutic value she believes the arts hold. Professionally, she has assisted with arts therapy (individual and group) sessions and has volunteered at numerous visual arts events and in galleries.
Hypatia
Hypatia is a retired sommelier and wine educator from Dallas, TX. She spent a few years backpacking the Pacific Coast Trail and traveling the country in her converted Amazon van before moving to Astoria in the fall of 2023. When she is not cooking at the Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe, she spends her time volunteering for our local theaters and working for transgender advocacy. She loves the ukulele.
Katy Menne
Katy Menne moved to Astoria in 2022 to become the education director at Columbia River Maritime Museum. She has taught in informal and formal spaces for over 10 years and has been in maritime museums for seven years. She has a B.A. in history and a master’s degree in teaching, both from the University of South Carolina. Menne was recognized as the emerging museum professional of the year by the Southeastern Museums Conference in 2020. She has won awards for her technology and DEAI initiatives.
Laura Janes
Laura is a painter who has made her living as an artist for over three decades and has also had careers in teaching, sales, and small business. She owned and operated “Iconica,” providing murals, paintings, and decorative work for the interior design industry in Southern California. She has created art workshops and art camps as an artist in residence in the San Bernardino National Forest. She has been actively involved in several arts organizations in both Palm Springs and Portland and now serves on the board of Astoria Visual Arts. Her paintings can currently be seen at the Geezer Gallery in Portland, and her watercolor notecards can be found at locations in California and throughout Oregon.