About Nevada County Arts & Culture
We are the hub for information on the arts in Nevada County, and the go-to place for ways to get involved.
By resolution of Nevada County Board of supervisors, Nevada County Arts & Culture is State-Local Partner with California Arts Council, and part of a coalition of County Arts Agencies serving diverse populations in every county across California. A 501c3 not-for-profit organization, Nevada County Arts & Culture facilitates collaborative efforts that promote and sustain the visual, literary and performing arts of Nevada County to advance the cultural, social and economic life of all community members.
Nevada County is a preeminent West Coast cultural destination. It is rich in arts and it is unspoiled. Did you know that three Nevada County townships are among a small pilot cohort representing just fourteen State-designated California Cultural Districts?
Our Team
Eliza Tudor
Executive Director
Eliza's experience as an arts leader spans three continents. From producing film and theatre in Australia, to opera, Ancient Greek theatre and ballet in the Sierra, Eliza then moved to the UK to complete her masters in Cultural Policy. Working as Senior Commissioner for the UK's National Health Service in one of London's most majority non-White high poverty areas, she then worked as Senior Development Executive—Arts & Humanities at the University of Oxford, while also serving on the Board of Trustees of Magdalen Road Studios and Rosetta Life – working nationally through the arts with people suffering life limiting illnesses. Eliza served the boards of California Arts Advocates and Californians for the Arts between 2017 and 2024. She currently serves the Advisory Cohort for a national research study to understand the role, impacts and ongoing evolution of arts service, intermediary, and regranting organizations in a post-pandemic world. She serves the Capitol Region Leadership Council for California Jobs First, and the Regional Tourism Advisory Committee for Gold Country under Visit California.
Sofia Vivanco Airaghi
Grants Manager
Sofia (she/her/ella) is a quadrilingual geographer, dancer, educator, and arts administrator from San Francisco. Sofia holds a B.A. in Geography from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in Latin American Studies, and throughout her time there worked on cross-cultural programming at UC Berkeley’s Multicultural Community Center. Sofia joined us as Grants Manager for Upstate California Creative Corps and is currently overseeing the Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship, both programs serving 19 counties across rural Northern California. Prior to this, she was the Program Manager of Youth Art Exchange (YAX), a multidisciplinary arts education organization working with San Francisco public high school students using the arts and design as a tool for civic engagement and youth development. She has worked as a cartographer with the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project’s (Dis)location initiative; as a dancer has performed at ODC Theater, Cuba Caribe Festival, San Francisco Carnaval, Berkeley Dance Project, and in Salvador, Brazil; and she has exhibited work at IDEO, Latinos in Architecture’s Perspectivas exhibit and Book and Wheel’s Moving Art House.
Kellie Cutler
Truckee Cultural District Program Manager
Kellie is Program Manager for Truckee Cultural District administered by Nevada County Arts Council in partnership with Truckee Arts Alliance, the Town of Truckee, Truckee Chamber, and Truckee Downtown Merchants Association. Cutler has lived in Truckee for 18 years and worked in the Reno/Tahoe region non-profit sector for 23 years. Non-profit administration is her passion with a focus in strategic planning, community collaboration and creative fundraising. Kellie has helped achieve benchmark goals for Nevada Arts Council, Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation, KidZone Museum, North Tahoe Arts and Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe. She feels most professionally aligned when she is utilizing her Master of Arts in arts administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco. She is committed to a high level of community leadership and engagement through her work serving on the board of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and on committees for Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.
Diana Arbex
GVNC Cultural District Program Manager
Originally from Brazil, Diana Arbex is a seasoned arts administrator and community mobilizer. She joins Nevada County Arts Council from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, where she served as Operations Manager, strengthening connections between artists and audiences. With a BA in Graphic Design from Rochester Institute of Technology, Diana blends creative expertise with strategic leadership. She has championed artists as a gallery manager in rural Brazil, curated cultural programs in Rio de Janeiro, and supported Nevada County’s arts ecosystem as an executive assistant and program coordinator at the Council. In 2023, she was awarded the Individual Artists Fellowship from the California Arts Council through Youth Speaks, recognizing her commitment to cultural advocacy and community-driven arts.
Hannah Mosby
Programs & Membership Coordinator
With roots in both Northern California and Arkansas—Hannah has called Nevada County home for the last decade. She received her B.A. in art history from the University of Central Arkansas with a special interest in museum and gallery studies. There she helped run both the student-led gallery and on-campus museum sparking a life-long interest in curation, artist coordination, and event production. Hannah’s own personal multimedia art practice has helped to inform her work as an arts administrator, which includes painting, drawing, fiber arts, metalsmithing, beadweaving, and film photography. Along with these artistic endeavors, Hannah has years of experience as a fine art framer and a decade of experience curating, coordinating and installing gallery exhibitions. Prior to joining Nevada County Arts Council—Hannah worked at The Center for the Arts managing The Granucci Gallery and western Nevada County’s Open Studios Tour program, along with coordinating vendors, buskers, and workshop facilitators for California WorldFest. As an artist herself, Hannah truly enjoys working with and uplifting Nevada County’s creative community.
Michaelyn Logue
Social Media & Communications
Michaelyn Logue is a musician, visual artist and published poet. She graduated from SFSU Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing focusing on poetry, gender studies and world religions. Michaelyn has an Early Childhood Education credential as Site Supervisor and Master Teacher, receiving certificates in Peace and Anti-bias curriculum, Diverse Families, and Administration. She has taught at the Cabrillo Children’s Center and Lab School, and volunteered at the Children’s Peace Library with a focus on developing emergent curriculum in scientific exploration and creative expression. Her experience and passion now manifest through her position as Nevada County Arts Council’s much sought-after Social Media & Community Engagement Coordinator.
Our Artists in Schools
Back left to right: Shannon Martinez, Lani Hermosillo, Nancy Schaefer, Jill Poole; and front left to right: Cheri Guerette, Kimberly (Kim) Ewing, and Rachel Johnson.
Kim is our Artists in Schools Program Lead. She earned her Multiple Subject Credential through Chapman University and University of San Diego, subsequently teaching elementary and middle school students at Nevada City School District until 2021. She has been recognized by Stanford University’s Instructional Leadership Corp via her work leading the Instructional Coaching Team at Nevada County Superintendent of Schools. From 2018-2022 Kim was the County’s Arts Education Coordinator. Kim is also a theatre and film actor, she dances with Samba Lua, an Afro-Brazilian dance troupe, she hosts a talk show and podcast on KVMR 89.5 FM radio station, and she performs with an award-winning, all-female Comedy Improv Troupe called Meno Posse.
Shelly Covert
Nisenan Tribe Liaison
Shelly Covert is Executive Director of Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe and the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP), whose mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate Nisenan Culture. Nisenan Tribal homelands lay within the Bear and Yuba River watersheds. The Nisenan are the indigenous people who were here before the Gold Rush and they remain in their ancestral homelands today. Shelly is a singer / song writer, artist and tradition keeper within her Tribal group. She works with environmental and social justice causes and advocates for the Nisenan people and the restoration of their Federal recognition and Tribal sovereignty. Having Shelly among us is a reminder. She brings empathy, knowledge, wisdom and meaning to our role as State-Local Partner with the California Arts Council and, in turn, we try to shine a light on the extraordinary work of the Nisenan in restoring recognition for the wealth of truths and traditions that their culture and history offer our California Cultural Districts within Nevada County.
Karen Terrey
Nevada County Poet Laureate
Karen Terrey is a writer, editor, and writing coach, offering marketing and business writing, copy editing, publishing guidance, and creative writing workshops in Truckee through her business Tangled Roots Writing. She has taught at Lake Tahoe Community College, Sierra Nevada College, and Sierra College, and has served as a poetry editor for the literary journals Pitkin Review and Quay. She is a recipient of a Sierra Arts Endowment Grant, the John Woods Scholarship to Prague Summer Program, the Steve Turner Scholarship to Surprise Valley Writer's Conference, and a scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center. Her poems have appeared in Rhino, Edge, Meadow, WordRiot, Puerto Del Sol, Wicked Alice, Canary, and Gray Sparrow Journal, among others. Her poetry chapbook Bite and Blood is now available from Finishing Line Press and local bookstores, including Sundance Books in Reno, NV, and Word After Word in Truckee, CA.
Rooja Mohassessy
Poetry Out Loud
Rooja Mohassessy is an Iranian-born poet and educator living in Northern California. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Narrative Magazine, Poet Lore, RHINO Poetry, California Fire and Water: An Anthology of Poems, Southern Humanities Review, CALYX Journal, Ninth Letter, Bare Life Review, Potomac Review, The Florida Review, New Letters, and elsewhere. Rooja is a 2021 recipient of the MacDowell Fellowship and a student at the MFA program of Pacific University, Oregon. She reads for the journal Prairie Schooner.
Our Board of Directors
Jon Blinder | President
With 20 years of Board experience, Jon was President of the Board of Directors for The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley for almost 9 years out of his 13 in service. He has deep experience working in Public Benefit Corporations, including organizational, fund development and public outreach. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Hospice of the Foothills, and of the Board of Directors at Nevada County Economic Resource Council – representing the arts community through his role with NCArts. Originally from New York, Jon has lived in Nevada County for almost 30 years and currently lives in Nevada City. He is the only remaining founding member of Nevada County Arts Council in its current form. Jon chairs our Executive, Fund Development and Board Development Committees.
Robin Parisse
Robin brings over 30 years of cross industry experience in technology, consumer products, and retail to her work. She helps individuals and organizations bridge the gaps to achieve as they navigate change. As a Media Therapist, Robin helps organizations relieve the disorder and chaos associated with Digital Asset Management (DAM), Media Asset Management (MAM), Product Information Management (PIM), and data management projects. Robin’s client experience ranges from start-ups to enterprise organizations across industries including Hachette Book Group, Mohawk Industries, Illumination Entertainment, Apple, Wells Fargo, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and more. Robin graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She serves on the advisory boards of World Pulse, Land of Verse, and Nevada City Film Festival.
Amber Jo Manuel
Amber Jo Manuel is a visionary nonprofit leader with over two decades of experience advancing major cultural and educational institutions, including Roundabout Theatre, A.C.T., the California Academy of Sciences, and Berkeley Rep. As Executive Director of The Center for the Arts, she led a $6.1 million renovation, guided the organization through COVID-19, and expanded programs reaching thousands. Her leadership includes a $33 million theater project for A.C.T. and groundwork for Berkeley Rep’s $50 million campaign. Amber Jo has grown arts education from 60 to 4,000 students annually and launched initiatives like Shakespeare in the Park and a global Indigenous arts program. Having raised over $100 million, she combines strategic vision, community impact, and contagious enthusiasm for the arts.
Donn K Harris
Donn’s most recent position, prior to moving to Nevada County, was as Director of Creativity at San Francisco Unified School District, and before this, from 2007, was Executive and Artistic Director of the Oakland School for the Arts. Earlier, Mr. Harris served as the Principal of the San Francisco School of the Arts, where he created a sister school, The Academy of Arts and Sciences, offering the arts to students without prior experience. Mr. Harris received his BA and MA in Theatre Arts from CSULA, and holds teaching credentials in English and Special Education. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Mr. Harris to the California Arts Council in January 2014, where he served three successive terms as its Chair. Mr. Harris also serves as the Vice President of the National Arts Schools Network and is on the board of the Engineers Alliance for the Arts. He is a writer and thought leader, and also serves the board of directors for Color Me Human.
Shelly Covert
Shelly is Secretary and Spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council; Nisenan Coordinator at the Nevada County Firehouse No. 1 Museum; and Executive Director, California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP). In these roles, respectively, she nourishes the cultivation of Nisenan culture, ensures the documentation of Tribal histories and genealogies; and oversees research, documentation, preservation and protection of California Indigenous culture more broadly. She is a musician – performing regularly across the county. Shelly is a key consultant for us on a number of our programs, ensuring respectful engagement with our Tribal peoples and key teamwork within our OF/BY/ALL initiative within our California Cultural Districts and across the county.
Abdul Leblanc
Abdul currently works with Telestream as a Support Specialist, but he has a diverse background, in verbal and non-verbal expression, surrounded by artist and with a strong background in music, having been Tour Manager for Manphibian Inc. in Los Angeles. Abdul serves on our internally focused Committee for Cultural Equity, and on our public facing Community of Practice for Equity in the Arts for Creative Sector Leadership, and is an NU Alum.
Catharine Bramkamp
Catharine Bramkamp is Chief Storytelling Officer for various organizations across California, including - closer to home - Nevada County Economic Resource Council. She is also a writing coach, author of 15 books, a poetry anthology editor, and conference organizer. She and her husband Andrew Hutchins, raised two boys in Sonoma County where she worked for United Way of the Wine Country, Sonoma State University, the wine industry and taught at three universities. A world traveler, her favorite countries invariably include a thriving wine and beer culture.
Cassandra Robertson
Cassie is Community Outreach Manager at Bright Futures for Youth, and has diverse experience in hospitality, investment banking and architecture operations. Cassie is widely travelled, but returned home to Nevada County in 2016 with a commitment to community, particularly in the arts and arts education for young people. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature from San Francisco State University.
Jeannie Wood
Jeannie is Executive Director at Community Asian Theatre of The Sierra and founded its Cultural Enrichment programs. Born to immigrant parents in San Francisco’s Chinatown, she was active in many nonprofits in the Bay Area prior to moving to Nevada County. Jeannie has worked as an English as a Second Language instructor and job developer for Asian adult immigrants, and is a torchbearer for Asian-American youth across Northern California.
Brandon Greathouse
Brandon "GR8" Greathouse is a musician, DJ, emcee, dancer, community builder, and all around music lover. His love for music gave him the ability to travel the US as the official host for World of Dance, not only as the man with the mic, but as a headliner and DJ. All while running two dance studios that have brought culture and life to the cities of Sacramento and Truckee. His charismatic way of teaching empowered his students with confidence, self worth, and the ability to work as a team. With six years of festival performances overseas, the stage is his comfort zone, from rocking mics with his lyrical abilities, to making the crowds jump from the energy he brings on the turntables.