Board Members

Stewarding the Corps movement.

John Boylan

John is a writer, editor, and activist in Seattle. He runs an ongoing series of roundtable conversations about art, politics, science and technology. These monthly conversations take place at the Capitol Hill Arts Center and have been happening at various locations around Seattle since the mid-1990s. He was an editor of Reflex Magazine, the Northwest's major visual arts publication for many years. He has also been active in a number of community arts organizations, including the Fremont Arts Council and Art of Resistance. He works at Microsoft.

Shavondelia Brown

Shavondelia is the Director of Corporate Counsel for Starbucks with a Law Degree from The University of Texas and a BA in Political Science from Spelman College. She brings a performing arts background as a tap dancer and a passion for inspiring and enabling youth to discover their own creativity and talents. In addition to Arts Corps, Shavondelia volunteers with the Seattle Public Library and is involved with Johnson & Peters Tap Dance and Northwest Tap Connection.

Sara Lawson

Sara is a management consultant and nonprofit professional with 15+ years experience in a range of nonprofit organizations, including the arts, higher education, health care, and community radio. She is passionate about the role that mission-based organizations can play in strengthening communities, and has served in a variety of capacities: as executive director, program staff, front-line volunteer, and board member. Based on these experiences, she brings a collaborative, analytical, and strategic approach to board development, capacity building, fund development, and community relations for small-to-midsized nonprofit organizations. In addition to happily advocating for Arts Corps and the tremendous work of its teaching artists, students, and staff, she is involved with the Springboard program of Executive Service Corps, the Membership Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (WA Chapter), and the Volunteer Chore program of Catholic Community Services. She relocated from Alaska to Seattle in 2007 with her husband, Forrest Gibson. In her free time, she can be found knitting, rowing, reading, and hanging out with her family.

Vivian Phillips, President

Vivian is an independent arts consultant and producer, and co-founder and managing director of The Hansberry Project at ACT Theatre, a professional African American theatre program. Vivian has worked extensively for local TV and radio production outlets, in addition to hosting and moderating events and conferences. She has served on numerous boards and as a Seattle Arts Commissioner.

Shannon Rankin

Shannon is a principal at SkB Architects, Inc. She and her two founding partners created SkB Architects in February of 1999. Shannon is also known as an expert in workplace design and strategy. She has engaged clients such as Microsoft, Eddie Bauer, Omnicom and Philips in innovative pilot projects focused on key learning concepts to promote more teamwork and collaboration. Her work has been published in Interior Design, Residential Architect, Metropolitan Home and Sunset Magazine.

Paul Rucker

Paul Rucker is an interdisciplinary artist (cellist-bassist-composer-visual artist-creator of interactive sound/video installations) who has released two critically acclaimed CDs of his compositions. His pieces have been on display at Consolidated Works, Motel Motel Motel, Jack Straw New Media Gallery, the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, and On the Boards. Rucker has received numerous grants for the creation of visual art and music from 4Culture, Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, South Carolina Arts Commission, Washington State Arts Commission, King County Site Specific, Photo Center NW, and Artist Trust. He has also been awarded residencies to Blue Mountain Center, Ucross Foundation, Art OMI, Banff Centre, and the Rockefeller Foundation study center in Bellagio, Italy. As a musician and director Rucker plays in various situations from solo cellist to leading his LARGE ENSEMBLE of twenty-two musicians. Rucker won Best Emerging Artist of 2004 from Earshot, and Jazz Artist of the Year 2005 from the Seattle Music Awards and Outside Jazz Ensemble of the Year in 2008. In January 2007, he was invited by legendary filmmaker David Lynch to perform for the opening of Lynch's latest film, Inland Empire. Paul was an Arts Corps Teaching Artist for two years and is honored to now serve on the board.

Welling Savo Justin, Vice President

Welling is journalist and senior project manager at Pyramid Communications, directing the Active Living Network for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national campaign to tackle childhood obesity by promoting healthier, more walkable communities. She also recently helped to create and launch a college and career readiness campaign with the College Success Foundation. Her other clients include the Wildlands Project, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and PAWS, among others.

Liza Sheehan, Treasurer

Since 2000, Liza has been operating as an independent organizational development and strategic planning consultant, working with a wide range of clients, including MeyerWells and Bodycenter studios, as well as Bold Hat Productions, Silverstein-Thomas and Associates and Arts Corps, among others. Before then, she was on staff at Starbucks Coffee Company and PCC Natural Markets. Avid yoga practitioner, and mother of two young children, Liza describes herself as a "humble student of life."

Bryan Syrdal

Bryan has been a resident of Seattle for over 35 years, the last 20 of which as an advisor and developer of commercial real estate, focusing primarily on urban redevelopment. He has actively served on the board of directors or advisors for various not-for-profit organizations including the Seattle Symphony, the University of Washington Alumni Organization, the Henry Art Gallery and currently serves as board chair for Red Feather Development Group, a Native American housing initiative based in Bozeman, MT. Bryan and his wife Kristen live in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.

John Vadino

John is president and co-founder of The Production Network, a Seattle-based company that designs and produces events and exhibits for businesses and museums throughout the world. John concentrates on the global elements of the company, working on current client relationships and building new business.

Ruth White

Ruth has an unusually diverse background of skills and experience including acting as a coordinator in cancer research, caring for and handling exotic animals, and more than eight years in various senior-level technical and business positions ranging from advertising to mobile industry product development. Additionally, she served for three years on the board of directors of Home Alive, a Seattle nonprofit. Ruth's goal has always been to align the world of business more closely with the non-profit world, while remaining firmly committed to positive change in environmental, social, and political causes.

Jeff Young, Secretary

Jeff recently graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle with a degree in animation. A graduate of Garfield High School, Jeff started taking spoken word classes through Arts Corps in its very first quarter, fall 2000. In the nearly seven years of Arts Corps' lifespan, he has been involved every quarter as a student or classroom assistant, making him the first person who has progressed from a student through every tier of the assistants program to a co-teacher. He also went to Brazil with members of Rice Baker Yeboah's hip-hop class, sponsored in 2002 to attend the World Social Forum.