About the TCA

Board / Staff

Staff

Executive Director - Ronald J. Usherwood

Ron has been the Technical Director at the TCA for the past three years and recently was appointed Executive Director. He has an MS in Directing for the Theatre; Theory and Criticism from Illinois State University and a BFA in Directing for the Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University. Ron has directed productions at the Taos Center for the Arts for the past fifteen years, including productions of Equus, End Game, Cabaret, Hair, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ron is former Executive Director of Taos Local Television Channel 22, former Production Manager for the Taos Talking Picture Festival, and has taught theatre at Blackhawk College in Rock Island, Illinois and at the University of New Mexico Taos branch.

Director of Programming - Dancer Dearing

Dancer began working with the Taos Center for the Arts in 1996 as the Taos Community Auditorium’s House Manager and graphic designer for TCA presents events. She became technical assistant in 2004 and then General Manager in 2005. She has been nvolved in numerous theatre and dance productions as Lighting Designer and Master Electrician as well as Stage Managing and Producing. Dancer has an extensive background in graphic design and marketing and visual arts and was formerly the Art Director of Publications and Communications Director of the Taos Talking Picture Festival. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and also studied fine art at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA. Dancer was gallery director for La Paloma Gallery and Assistant Gallery Director for New Directions Gallery in Taos and has shown her work in galleries in Honolulu, Cape Cod and Taos.

Office Manager - Holly White

Holly has been with the Taos Center for the Arts for 15 years. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University. In addition to her grant writing, Holly manages the TCA office, performs bookkeeping duties, database management and membership/donor record keeping. Holly also chairs the Living Treasures program for the TCA which honors elders in the community.

Taos Community Auditorium Manager - Juniper Purinton

 

Technical Director -  Damon Klassen
Damon Klassen was a co-founder of EMU Theatre Co. in Lawrence, KS in 1998. EMU is still alive and well in Lawrence as a grassroots, non-profit. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1999 with a Bachelor of General Studies degree in Theater. Following graduation, he toured with the Seem To Be Players all around schools and theaters in the Midwest as well as the East Coast. In 2000 he worked as a tech director’s apprentice at Theatre on the Square in San Francisco. These past eight years he spent working at Taos Mountain Outfitters in Taos as the General Manager and Hard Goods Buyer and the past two years as Technical Director for the Taos Center for the Arts. He has also appeared in three shows on the TCA stage.

Projectionist and Film Programmer - Peter Halter

 

Board of Directors

ALFORD JOHNSON, president

Andy is retired from the construction business. He was based in Chicago for many years at The American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.

CARL JONES, vice president

For more than 35 years Carl was a practicing attorney specializing in corporate transactions, financings, international projects and joint ventures. Currently, he manages family investments and he remains available as a business advisor for some of his former clients.

ROSE VARGAS, secretary

Rose is the President of First State Bank Taos.

JAMES DAY, treasurer

James is a dentist by profession who has practiced and ran his own office in California for over 30 years. Jim and his wife share a strong intrest in visual and performing arts. Their artistic focus is in moving image as an art form, they have produced a number of experimental and documentary works.

ROBERT (BOB) BURKE, M.D.

Dr. Burke is a retired biomedical research scientist who worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland for 41 years. He has had a long time interest in classical music and playing the piano. Dr. Burke and his wife moved to Taos in June of 2005. They are active supporters of the arts in Taos and Dr. Burke is looking forward to being an active participant in the advancement of the TCA's programs.

MARY DOMITO

Mary has a lifelong interest in the arts and drama, and the owner of Sleep Sanctuary. She moved to Taos in 2004, with a dream and a plan: to open and operate a business that would meet the needs of the community with competitive prices and exceptional service, utilizing the business skills and experience that she had gained in retail sales.

DAVID GOLD
David is President of Gold Communications, which has been producing award-winning direct mail for successful Democratic campaigns across the nation since 1985. Gold Communications has offices in Valdez, NM; Austin, TX and Washington, DC. In 2004 David and his wife Tibby moved to Taos from Austin where he had served on the Board of the Austin Museum of Art, including a term as Board Chair.

RANDI GONZALES

Randi retired in June of 2004, after teaching for 26 years in the Taos Municipal School District. Since then she has worked with her husband in a retail business that her husband has had for 22 years. Since 2004 they have also had an internet business focusing on leadership development and Randi has also worked for the Discovery After School Program. She moved to Taos in 1966 and has served on various boards locally and at the state level. As a teacher, her focus had been on the children of Taos and serving them as a classroom teacher. She is looking forward to continuing to serve Taos youth through the TCA.

CAROL KALOM

Carol has been involved with the TAA/TCA since 1975. She has served on the board for three different terms and has acted as the TAA/TCA's theater producer for over 15 years. In the 1980's Carol was the first staff performing arts director. As a long-time TAA/TCA fundraiser, she hopes to see the organization's financial status improve. It is her wish that a complete art center located in the center of Taos, be realized. She feels Taos deserves a first-class theater.

GAYLE MARTINEZ
Gayle has served as the Director of Convention and Recreation Services for the Town of Taos for 12 years and the Executive Director of the Taos County Chamber of Commerce for 10 years. Currently she is the Marketing Director for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

HANS VAN HEYST
Hans Van Heyst is an engineer by profession. Born in Rijswijk, The Netherlands, his life’s main work was with Hewlett Packard Company where he worked on the Hydrogen Maser Project (the present US time standard’s clock). Hans would like to develop an arts education program at the TCA.

DELINDA VANNEBRIGHTYN

Delinda brings a mixture of performance and visual arts experience. Her experience includes dance, theatre production, fiber arts, bead arts, community service and teaching. She is an outgoing person who envisions Taos as an art center. She currently owns and operates several art-focused businesses. She has a high energy level and has begun to be involved in arts (especially for children) in Taos.

 JANET WEBB

Advisory Council

GARY COOK

Gary is currently Academy Head of Art at UNM-Taos where he is a highly regarded and a popular print-making instructor.

MATTHEW SPRIGGS

Town of Taos.

KATHY FITZGERALD

Kathy graduated Magna cum laude in English from Harvard University. She worked as an interpreter for a national Italian TV station in Rome, then went on to work at Boston's PBS TV station. She is a co-founder of Ithaca Films, a film production entity.

HUGH GIBSON

Hugh bought a home in Llano Quemado in 1970 and became a permanent resident in 1994. He is now active as principal violinist of Roswell Symphony and is the co-director of Soundscapes Chamber Music, Taos.

NANCY GLASGOW

Nancy first served on the TAA/TCA board from 1996-99, holding the offices of Vice President and Treasurer. Currently she is also a director of the New Mexico Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Harwood Museum Alliance. She is president elect of Los Jardineros, and is a member of several advisory and friends groups in Taos. Prior to moving to Taos, Nancy was Director of Labor Relations at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and has over 20 years of management experience in health care. Nancy is married to John Glasgow, Professor Emeritus.

LARRY MARTINEZ

Larry is a well-known business owner and jeweler, and the owner of Larry Martinez Jewelers in Taos. His unique jewelry has been shown all around the country.

SALLY MAYER

Sally has been active in many community organizations and brings much energy and knowledge of resources to the council.

ROBERT PARKER

Robert Parker (Bob) is an architect and artist living in Taos, New Mexico. He is President of Robert Parker Associates, a small interdisciplinary planning and architectural practice based in Taos. The firm has undertaken projects throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Robert holds a Master¹s Degree in Architecture and Planning from M.I.T. He is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and a member of the American Institute of Architects. He was the founder and former Head of the Environmental Planning Program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he taught for over twenty years. His art encompasses painting and printmaking, and he is known for his abstract, minimalist style which uses fields of color, in a hard edge format. Bob has volunteered with many cultural organizations, and served on a number of boards of directors.

TIM RIVERA

Tim is a member of a longtime Northern New Mexico family, and with his father, Amos Rivera, is owner of the Rivera-Hanlon Funeral home. He has served on numerous regulatory boards for the State of New Mexico. He feels the factionalism, distrust and non-inclusiveness of the old TAA are behind the organization. He feels a community-oriented TCA will succeed.

MICHAEL SUDBURY

Michael has an impressive history of activity in public relations and marketing. She spent ten years as the Director of Development for the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. Her responsibilities there included all fundraising. She has also been active in Junior League, local political campaigns, international visitors' activities, and organizing special events.