Staff / Board Members
Staff
Liz Chilsen, Executive Director
Liz Chilsen is a Chicago-area artist, educator and arts administrator. Her artworks explore connections between human spirit and physical place. She has exhibited throughout the US and internationally, and her work is held in collections at Detroit Institute of Arts, Wisconsin Historical Society, Nicaragua Cultural Center, and others. She is recipient of numerous honors including an Individual Artist Fellowship from IL Arts Council, an IL Humanities Bicentennial Action Grant, and multiple residencies and fellowships. Chilsen holds an MFA in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is Director of “Lessons of Place”, a photographic study of endangered places funded by Illinois Humanities.
Liz previously served as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua (WCCN), a non-profit promoting peace and justice between the US and Latin America. While ED, she helped spearhead a microlending project providing micro-financing to women entrepreneurs in Nicaragua, and the organization later underwent a mission change to support this work. Now Working Capital for Community Needs, WCCN creates opportunities for supporting low-income entrepreneurs and cooperatives across Latin America, reaching approximately 25,000 end borrowers each year.
Liz’s book, Friends In Deed: the Story of US-Nicaragua Sister Cities, coauthored with Sheldon Rampton is available on Amazon here.
lchilsen@riversideartscenter.com
Joanne Aono, Gallery Director
Joanne Aono is a visual artist, curator, and holistic farmer. Her research-based drawings and installations address identity, immigration, and the environment. Her solo exhibitions include Boundary (Chicago), Mosnart (Chicago), Lee Dulgar Gallery (South Holland), and the Geneva Center for the Arts. She has been included in two-person and group exhibitions at Firecat Projects (Chicago), the Illinois State Museum (Chicago, Springfield, and Lockport), Terrain Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, and O’Connor Art Gallery, Dominican University. She has received several Chicago DCASE grants, an Illinois Arts Council, and an Artist Run Chicago HPAC grant. Her art has been reviewed in publications such as Hyperallergic, the Chicago Reader, Chicago Magazine, and the Huffington Post. She is Director of the alternative art project, Cultivator - Chicago Art Exhibitions & Farm Art Projects. She has served on the Riverside Arts Center’s exhibition committee since 2016 and maintains a studio at Bray Grove Farm in north central Illinois.
Shawn Vincent, School Manager, Instructor
Shawn Vincent received a B.S. degree from Western Illinois University with majors in both Fine Art and Biology. She spent many years working as an art director for an advertising agency and has also freelanced. Finding her true passion, Shawn has worked in ceramics for over 24 years and has been teaching for 20 years. She has exhibited her pottery at various galleries and venues throughout the Chicago land area and her work is collected nationwide.
svincent@riversideartscenter.com
Maddy Roldan, Administrative and Gallery Assistant. Teaching Assistant
Maddy Roldan graduated from RBHS and is a student at Triton College and plans to School of the Art Institute to complete her studies. She brings her natural acuity in design and arrangement to assist with exhibition installations in RAC galleries and the Town Hall, and to create a welcoming environment for visitors and reception guests. Maddy is lead Teaching Assistant at RAC, helping out with classes, camps, and workshops.
Tariq Tamir, Lead Instructor
Tariq Tamir studied at Columbia College Chicago and has been involved in the fine arts for over 10 years. Tariq has taught young adults ages 14-21 with Chicago’s Gallery 37 and the Boys and Girls Club. In addition to being poetically inclined, Tariq uses art as a medium for self-growth and empowerment.
Alex Brightbill-Velázquez, Instructor
Alex is a Mexican artist who immigrated to Chicago at the age of ten and now resides in Riverside. She earned a BFA from Northeastern Illinois University and has shown at numerous galleries and curated art shows and cultural events. Her artwork embodies the hybridity of growing up with two cultural experiences, her love of animals and nature.
www.alexvelazquezart.com
Allie Lawton, Instructor
Also known as Alejandra Alvarez, Allie was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1994 and moved to Chicago in 1998. She’s had an affinity for photography her whole life with her uncle showing her the ropes at a young age. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion while simultaneously working for a multicultural marketing agency in the city. She now resides in Riverside with her beloved husband and son. Her specialty is family portraiture.
https://alealvarezvisual.wordpress.com
Ameera Pernebsati Lys, Instructor
Ameera Pernebsati Lys is a Haitian-American fiber and mixed media artist creating with textile design, indigo, Japanese Shibori, collage, stamping, painting, ink, sculpture, quilting, jewelry design, photography and graphic design. Ameera’s work is inspired by her Haitian heritage, traditional African culture and spirituality, and the injustices of racism. She has taught indigo and shibori classes for over 7 years at various arts institutions. Ameera has her B.A. from Carleton College and M.S.W. from Smith College School for Social Work.
www.lysarts.org
Jessica Montalbano, Instructor
Jessica Montalbano received her BFA in Art Education with a minor in Art History and Painting at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She also received her Learning Behavior Specialist license at Roosevelt University. Jessica has been actively teaching art and sharing her love to create with children of all ages since 2009. As a native resident of Riverside, she couldn’t stay away and decided to move back to raise her family. Jessica loves all creative endeavors and is constantly exploring new medias and ways of working. From painting to printing, textile arts to sculpture, she is always looking for her next creative adventure!
Board of Directors
Jeremy Black - President
Jeremy Black is a local artist with strong technical skills concentrated in a variety of business environments. He has worked in many fields including project management, education, sales and politics. Jeremy has experience as a project manager in medical communications and previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Commissioner David J. Walsh at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago. He spent two years as the lead art instructor for the RCity Community Development Center located in Humboldt Park.
Laura Husar Garcia - Vice President and member of Exhibitions Committee
Laura Husar Garcia is a member of the Freeark Gallery Exhibition Committee. A visual storyteller with decades of experience, Laura is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Three Story Media, a Chicago-based production company. Laura’s photography has been exhibited widely, including Fotofever at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, The Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Barcelona, The Polish Museum of America in Chicago, Photo Independent in Los Angeles and Fermilab National Laboratory Art Gallery. Laura is a 1st place winner of the International Julia Margaret Cameron Award, the recipient of a 1st place Community Grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, and a Photolucida Critical Mass top finalist. Her photographs have been published widely, including The New York Times, National Geographic Magazine and The Chicago Tribune, where she worked as a Photo Editor. In addition to her volunteer work at RAC, Laura is an Advisory Board Member at FreshLens Chicago and was a member of the Makers Group at Ragdale Foundation. She lives with her family in Riverside.
Jay Van Cura - Treasurer
Jay is a retired physician whose area of expertise is Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He served as the Medical Director of several large companies. In retirement, Jay is a performing musician and volunteer, and sings throughout Chicagoland in an a cappella duet "Acappella Fellas" and also as a soloist "Sing Along with Doctor Jay". He volunteers extensively in the Riverside community and serves as the Director of Communications contact with the local Lions club, is a board member and treasurer of the Riverside Community Caucus, and is a board member and treasurer of the Riverside Arts Center.
Dan Streeting - Secretary
Dan is the founder of Streeting Design, a graphic design studio that focuses on print projects, publications and illustration work for a range of clients, including the BBC, ESPN, Cooper’s Hawk Winery, Arclight Cinema, Navy Pier and the Music Box Theatre. He’s also senior designer for Newcity, responsible for the majority of the magazine’s layout and design. In previous roles, Dan ran a storefront gallery in Berwyn, taught experimental typography and publication, worked in large-scale print production and played in a synth band in southern Michigan. Dan holds an MFA in 2D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Graphic Design from Northern Michigan University. An important component of Dan’s design work is the promotion and interpretation of cultural spaces and events. Since joining the RAC board in 2018, Dan has provided design services for both the RAC’s school programming and its gallery events, and he hopes to continue to expand the art center’s visual presence in the future.
https://www.streetingdesign.com/
Michael Aieta
Michael is a seasoned product leader with 15 years of experience in product ownership, specializing in responsive desktop, mobile web, and native app solutions. He has led teams for a decade, focusing on product strategy, user experience, and analytics in sectors like eCommerce, retail, and financial services. A Certified Scrum Product Owner, Aieta is known for his user-centric approach, significantly enhancing engagement and conversion rates. His contribution to the Riverside Art Center since 2022 has been pivotal in integrating cutting-edge digital strategies, improving user interaction with the Center's offerings, and driving forward its mission with his unique blend of technical expertise and creative vision.
Kendra Curry-Khanna
Kendra Curry-Khanna is the Founding Partner of Reflector Lab, a values-based strategy practice serving organizations nationwide. Kendra has spent her career leading organizations for scale, impact, and authenticity. With two and a half decades of experience in the arts, education, and civic sectors, she leads diverse teams to build value-centered capacity. Kendra served as Executive Director at 826CHI, a youth voice organization based in Chicago that is part of the national 826 network. Prior to that, she led Education at Artpace in San Antonio, Texas. Kendra has served organizations in Marfa, Austin, and San Antonio, Texas; Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico; El Pital, Honduras; New York, NY; and Baltimore, MD. She has worked with various settings, from major institutions like MOMA and the Chinati Foundation to small, community-based organizations like the Shared Beat and Un Mundo. Kendra holds an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.F.A. from the MICA (The Maryland Institute, College of Art) in Baltimore. In addition to her work in organizational development and leadership, Kendra is a regular volunteer and artist. She has exhibited her artwork in galleries nationally. Kendra lives in Riverside, IL, with her partner and two young girls.
https://www.reflectorlab.com/
Joseph Fitzgerald
Joseph Fitzgerald has been active in community based non-profits for over 15 years. He served as President for the PAV YMCA and during his tenure helped them pay off their debt while expanding on capital projects. His interest in art led him to the Art Institute of Chicago, where he served on the Auxiliary Board and chaired multiple high value fundraising and community engagement events. Joseph has worked in municipal government for the past 18 years and also lectures on change management for Northwestern University. Joseph lives in Riverside with his wife Louisa and daughter Emery and is happy to serve his community through the efforts of the RAC.
Amador Valenzuela
Amador is a director, designer, animator and founder of Black Book Studio. He started his career in the broadcast industry and has worked with many of the top studios around the country, creating commercials for brands like Bose, GE, Target, EA, Reeces, Samsung, Budweiser, Key Bank, and more.
In 2014, after many years of working as an independent freelancer, he launched Black Book Studio, which focuses on design & animation for the entertainment, advertising, and independent entrepreneur communities. Their clients include large advertising agencies, film studios, and city museums to smaller brands and Kickstarter inventors.
Recently Amador has been collaborating with Filmograph in LA to design and animate opening titles on feature films like John Wick, Aquaman, Fast and Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean, Insidious, Sinister, and others.
Committees:
Executive Committee: Jeremy Black, Laura Husar Garcia, Dan Streeting, Dr. Jay Van Cura
Development Committee: Kendra Curry Khanna (Chair), Amador Valenzuela (C0-Chair), Mike Aieta, Joseph Fitzgerald, Jay Van Cura
Exhibitions Committee: Anne Harris (Chair), Laura Husar Garcia, Joanne Aono