Council-appointed
Joël Barraquiel Tan (siya/he/all pronouns) is the Executive Director at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. He is the author of Type O Negative (Red Hen) and various works on identity, AIDS, and queer politics appearing in academic and commercial venues. Joël co-founded LA’s Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team Health Center and was the Director of Community Engagement at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from 2004-2015. Before coming to the Wing Luke Museum, he lived on Hawai’i Island. He helped develop Vibrant Hawai’i, a network of cross-sector leadership working together to connect Hawai’i citizens to needed resources.
Linda Chavez-Lowry‘s creative energy, enterprising spirit, and passion for the arts are evident in her role as Director of Opportunities at Seattle Magazine, her focus on enhancing relationships through connecting community leaders with the private and non-profit sector, and her active participation on advisory boards and committees that work for a diverse, and equitable community. Linda founded the Art Committee at the Columbia Tower Club in 2010, where she has been part of a passionate group that has promoted community engagement of the arts. Linda studied at Chapman University where she was a collegiate athlete in Women’s soccer and received her BA in Political Science/International Law. She is active in the Executive Advisory Council for Providence O ’Christmas Trees and Chair of the DEI Committee at the Women’s University Club. Linda also embraces opportunities to assist like-minded entrepreneurial efforts and women in business and currently serves on the advisory board for PartnerTap. In 2021, Linda was recognized and awarded the “Hometown Hero” award by the Seattle Mariners, for her philanthropic work at Bloodworks NW during the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda is also a stroke and brain aneurysm survivor, and her story of strength and resilience has been featured in the 50/50 Friendship Flow, Ask Yourself This by Shari Leid and on several podcasts, including “Power Moment” with Paula Lamas. She is also part of an all-women’s sailing team.
Diana (Dhyana) Garcia is an International Butoh performer based in Seattle and a holistic movement specialist whose work and research centers on dance and movement as healing and transformative practices. She is co-founder of DAIPANbutoh Collective, former dance faculty at the University of Washington, and owner of Meditation in Motion Pilates and Yoga and Breathing Room Studio in Seattle. She has more than 30 years performing nationally and internationally in Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and the United States. During her professional ballet and modern dance career, she performed with the National Ballet of Mexico, Luna Negra Dance Theater and The Chicago Moving Company in Chicago, and The Chamber Dance Company and BQDanza in Seattle. As butoh artist, her solo and collaborative work has been presented in Seattle, New York City, and Minneapolis in the U.S. and Seoul, Korea, Kyoto, Japan, Toronto, Canada, Santiago, Chile and Mexico City. You can find Dhyana teaching Pilates and yoga at meditationinmotiontoday.com.
Megan Kiskaddon is Executive Director of On the Boards, Seattle’s home for contemporary performance. Previously, she was interim Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer at SFMOMA, where she oversaw artist-driven, socially engaged, discursively-inclined, and educationally-focused initiatives. She served for several years on the Advisory Board for Emerging Arts Professionals, an equity-centered organization focused on empowerment and leadership in the arts. She holds a BA in Sociology from Mills College, an MA from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University, and is an alumna of the NextGen Getty Leadership Institute for executive education.
Commission-appointed
Yolanda Spencer is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Yakama Nation as well as Lummi Nation in Washington. She is part of the Swan Clan and carries her mother’s Lummi name, Cho Phosh Owet. She attended Haskell Indian Nations University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She has served with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation over a decade and has served as its strong leader for the past decade promoting education and employment rights. Her knowledge spans outreach and education for both workers and employers for our Seattle Indigenous community. Yolanda has developed and administered Native Workforce Services Program since 2011. She is currently the new Community Services Director for the Chief Seattle Club that focuses on Reentry, Housing, and Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault need within our Urban Indigenous communities. She previously served on the WorkSource Seattle-King County Employer Outreach Partners and King Central Local Planning Area (LPA) that focuses on best practices and outreach for our underserved job seekers. She also served as a recovery coach for the White Bison Medicine Wheel that supported the incarcerated women at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and participated as a traditional dancer that attended the Department of Corrections Pow Wows across Washington State. She is also certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to administer personality assessment tool, facilitator in White Bison Warrior Down/Recover Coach and Survivors of Homicide. She is an avid Seattle’s sports fan for the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks.
Mayor-appointed
To come.
The Seattle Arts Commission (SAC) supports the City by advocating for arts policy, creating access for equitable participation in the arts, and fostering enriching arts engagement for all residents.
The 16-member commission is made up of citizen volunteers appointed by the Mayor and City Council and supports the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS). Commission members include artists, arts professionals and other citizens with diverse backgrounds and strong links to Seattle’s arts community. The mayor appoints seven of the commissioners; the City Council appoints seven, and a 15th member is selected by those 14. An additional commissioner is selected through the YMCA’s “Get Engaged” program.
SAC emphatically shares ARTS’ Commitment to Racial Equity. As an advisory body grounded in our common pledge to fostering racial and social justice, we leverage our collective strength and breadth of knowledge to advocate for racial equity in arts policy, programming and funding. We do this work by centering communities of color in our united effort with the City to help build a just and liberated society for all.