Centrum Staff
Thatcher Bailey became Executive Director in February 2004, after serving as interim director for a year. He has served on staffs and boards of nonprofit arts, social service, and social change organizations since 1977. Email = thatcher (at) centrum (dot) org.
Rebecca Brown (Artistic Director for Literature) leads Centrum’s Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. She is the author of nine books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently, Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary, and is a winner of the 2003 Washington State Book Award. Among her other books are The Gifts of the Body, The Dogs: A Modern Bestiary, Annie Oakley’s Girl, and The Terrible Girls.
Helen Callus (Artistic Director for Chamber Music) is an international recording artist and the first elected female president of the American Viola Society. She is a regular performer on radio and television as a recitalist, chamber music collaborator, and concerto soloist. Her debut recording, Portrait of the Viola, and her subsequent recordings have met with wide critical acclaim. Callus currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
John Clayton (Artistic Director of Jazz Programs) leads Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend festival and workshop. A Grammy-nominated bassist, composer and conductor, Clayton has written and arranged music for Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Whitney Houston and many others. He served as the Artistic Director of Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl from 1999-2001. His compositions have been performed by ensembles throughout the US and Europe, including the American Jazz Philharmonic and the Carnegie Hall Big Band. Clayton is the co-leader, along with his saxophone playing brother Jeff, of the Clayton Brothers Quintet.
Sue Cook (Ticket Manager) A native of Berkeley, CA, Sue Moved to Port Townsend in 1999 from the Napa Valley, and has been involved in the entertainment business on and off throughout her adult life. For 12 years, she worked as an adoption facilitator. Sue’s hobbies include sewing and baking. She joined Centrum in 2001. Email = sue (at) centrum (dot) org.
Keven Elliff (Managing Director) joined Centrum in January, 2002, and was previously the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Signal Consulting, Inc. in Redmond, WA. Keven brings a broad array of experience with community non-profits. In addition to spending time in the mountains, Keven is an avid potter, musician, and gardener. Email = keven (at) centrum (dot) org.
Kendra Golden (Development Manager) joined the Centrum Staff in spring 2001, beginning her association as a volunteer and becoming invaluable during the summer season, then acting as liaison for the Centrum Gala Auction. Her previous careers included law and teaching. Email = kendra (at) centrum (dot) org.
Jordan Hartt (Communications Coordinator and Port Townsend Writers' Conference Program Manager) joined Centrum in January, 2006. He holds degrees from Western Washington University and the University of Idaho and taught college English in the Pacific Northwest for several years. Email = jordan (at) centrum (dot) org.
Mary Hilts (Development Associate) joined the Centrum staff in 2003. Mary assists in all aspects of resource development, maintains Centrum's donor database, processes donations, performs research associated with charitable foundations and other funding sources and assists in coordination of donor events, including the Centrum Gala. A native of Los Angeles, California, Mary moved to Port Townsend in 1980, is a musician, artist, and advocate for social justice. Email = mary (at) centrum (dot) org.
Hali Johnson (Registrar) came to Centrum in early 2008 after managing the office at The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader. She was packed up at the age of five and relocated to Port Townsend where her father, Bill Ransom, founded and directed the Port Townsend Writers' Conference. Hali has been a PT "local" ever since. Email = hali (at) centrum (dot) org.
Orville Johnson (Artistic Director for Slide and Steel) came up on the St. Louis music scene, where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He moved to Seattle in 1978. Johnson, known for his dobro and slide guitar stylings and vocal acrobatics, has played on over one-hundred albums. He has appeared on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and was featured in the 1997 film Georgia.
Kim Jons (Sales Manager) an accomplished senior sales manager and marketing professional, serves as the contact for all advertising and creative sponsorship opportunities with Centrum. She joined Centrum in 2007 after eight years with the Peninsula Daily News. Deeply involved with everything peninsula, she is particularly passionate about Rotary and the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce. A voracious reader, her interests include enjoying the fruits of culinary and musical genius; canine companionship; and anything on, or of, the water. Email = kim (at) centrum (dot) org.
Anne Kearson (Production Director) joined Centrum in the fall of 2007. She is a third-generation member of the entertainment industry, and comes from a family of singers, dancers, musicians, producers, and promoters. In her own career, she has had the pleasure of working in regional theater (South Coast Repertory, ACT Theatre, the Seattle Repertory Theatre), and with arts festivals (the Los Angeles Festival of the Arts, Latino Laugh Festival). Anne's great joys in life are her three children, her husband, and her 38-foot sailboat, Aleeska. Email = anne (at) centrum (dot) org.
Bill Kiely (Jazz Program Manager) comes to Centrum with a mix of experience in business, teaching, and the performing arts. After years spent in private business and in public school teaching, Bill re-focused his goals and formed UpWest Arts, a concert production company based in Port Townsend. He enjoys managing Jazz Port Townsend and being fully engaged in Centrum's heady mix of concerts, business, and teaching. Email = bill (at) centrum (dot) org.
Tina McCleese (Finance Director) joined Centrum in 2006. She graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BA in Accounting. Tina owns Clarity Enterprises and serves as a financial consultant and guide to several Pacific Northwest non-profit and for-profit organizations. Her Port Townsend clients include Centrum, Swan School, the Boiler Room, and Jefferson Land Trust. Tina's passions include her two kids and her fabulous husband, learning to sail, and exploring her creative side. Email = tina (at) centrum (dot) org.
Peter McCracken (Program Manager, Blues, High School Creativity) was on staff at Centrum from 1987 to 1998, serving in various capacities, including Arts Program Director and Traditional Arts Program Manager. In 1992, he started the Blues workshop and festival, bringing five National Heritage Award recipients to Fort Worden to perform and teach. McCracken led the initial curatorial project for Centrum's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes Preservation and Stabilization project in 2000, producing Volume 1 of the Fiddle Tunes Archives. The CD "A 20th Anniversary Festival Sampler" captures twenty-two performances from the festival's twentieth gathering. The long-term project received initial funding from the National endowment for the Arts, along with generous donations from individual donors. Email = peter (at) centrum (dot) org.
Gregg Miller (Associate Director) first came to Centrum in 1978 as a student in the Chamber Music camp. In the early '90s, he returned for three years as a faculty member at Jazz Port Townsend. In the fall of 1999 he began organizing the educational and performance components of Jazz Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, and other concerts. In November 2003, he became Director of Programs, and assumed his current position in 2005. Gregg is active as a professional clarinetist and educator. He enjoys working with his hands, including driving and repairing wheat combines each summer in eastern Washington. He lives with his wife and son on Bainbridge Island. Email = gregg (at) centrum (dot) org.
Kisha Palmer became Director of Business Development in February, 2008. She is a Seattle native and first came to Centrum as a high-school participant in the Young Artists' Program. Kisha was previously employed in Community Benefit of Kaiser Permanente as a Program Coordinator for Education Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Her most recent projects include the Summer Arts and Life Skills Program for middle-school students and a training conservatory for health educators and actors. Kisha is happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest. Email = kisha (at ) centrum (dot) org.
Dirk Powell (Artistic Director, Fiddle Tunes) has expanded on the deeply rooted sounds of his Appalachian heritage to become one of the preeminent traditional American musicians of his generation. In addition to acclaimed releases on Rounder Records, he’s recorded and performed with artists such as Loretta Lynn, playing several instruments on her Grammy-winning release “Van Lear Rose,” Sting, Jack White, Levon Helm, Jewel, T-Bone Burnett, Ralph Stanley, and Linda Ronstadt, among others. His ability to unite the essence of his culture with modern sensibilities has led to work with many of today's greatest film directors, including Anthony Minghella, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, Victor Nuñez, Steve James, and Edward Burns.
Tom Scharf (Development Director) has worked in public relations, marketing, writing, and editing for museums and nonprofits in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He has also authored numerous articles, reviews, and columns for many publications. Before moving to Port Townsend, he spent seventeen years with public relations at the Zoological Society of San Diego, editing a monthly magazine with a circulation of half a million. Tom holds BA and MA degrees from the University of San Diego and is a graduate of a number of management and administrative programs and seminars. Email tom (at) centrum (dot) org.
Diana West (Bookkeeper) came to Centrum in 2006. She is originally from a small northern Wisconsin town, Solon Springs, and previously worked as a bookkeeper for a large marine dealership and a newspaper group. She and her life partner Dick Zinn relocated to Port Townsend to enjoy the milder climate and the outdoor activities. They have two grown children and enjoy gardening, hiking, and travel. Working at Centrum has provided wonderful opportunities to learn about education, music, art, and the people.
Phil Wiggins (Artistic Director of Blues Programs) leads the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival. One of the nation's most gifted harmonica players, Wiggins began his musical career with some of Washington, DC's leading blues artists, including the noted slide guitarist and gospel singer Flora Molton. As part of the duo of Cephas and Wiggins, he is recognized as one of the leading exponents of traditional Piedmont blues. Wiggins is a multiple W.C. Handy Award Winner, and in addition to appearing in theater and feature films, has toured the world on behalf of one of America's great art forms.
Martha Worthley (Program Manager Youth Education Programs) joined Centrum in 2007. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, she studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA 1977) and also studied textile design and printing at the Rhode Island School of Design and Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. Worthley recently returned from a year in Mexico where she lived in Guadalajara and taught at the American School Foundation. While there she took the opportunity to travel in order to pursue her interest in Mexican arts and crafts.
Note: We apologize for the inconvenience of having to type out our staff email addresses. Having direct links brought us staggering quantities of spam every day.
