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.
Katherine Lacaze
Vice Chair
Katherine is a writer, content marketer, and children’s theater advocate. She currently works as the communications coordinator for North Coast Land Conservancy, in addition to directing theater at Astoria High School and freelance writing for local news publications and commercial clients across the country. Katherine's educational background is communications, with a focus on print journalism. She performs with the Coaster Theatre and directs summer productions with the children’s theater group she organized. She is also a member of the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition.
Lorri Thompson
Treasurer
Lorri has an extensive background in visual arts administration, technical project management, and the art of yoga. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Washington and is currently a member of the Astoria Ukulele Orchestra.
David Ambrose
David has been a member of the Arts Council since it was founded in 2014. He served as its vice-chair and chair during the past five years. He has been a Clatsop County resident for 33 years. David has a background in engineering and also has been a practicing musician and acrylic visual artist for the past 13 years.
Sarah Andrews-Collier
Sarah is a professional stage/film designer and academic. She retired after 35 years at Portland State University as resident designer and stage director, director of the School of Theatre & Film, and associate dean of the College of the Arts. She has guest designed for a number of theatre companies, designed television commercials, and lectured at other colleges. She holds master's degrees in the history of architecture and in theatre and is Chair of the Costume Society of America, Western Region.
Patrick Willis
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.
Danyelle Tinker
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.
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.