Erin Belieu (Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Writers' Conference) is the author of three collections of poetry. Her first book, Infanta, was a winner of the National Poetry Series, selected by Hayden Carruth. Infanta was also chosen as a best book of the year by The Washington Post and Library Journal. Her second collection, One Above & One Below, was the winner of the Midland Authors Prize in poetry and the Ohioana prize, and her most recent collection, Black Box, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She is presently Director of The Graduate Creative Writing Program at Florida State University.
Gigi Callaizakis (Director of Human Resources) – Gigi joined Centrum in May of 2011. She relocated to Port Townsend from Denver in 2006 with her husband. Gigi’s Human Resources background includes independent consulting for higher education, medical manufacturing and non-profit human services organizations. Beginning her HR career at ADP’s payroll service processing unit in Denver, she also went on to lead the HR Departments in the pharmaceutical, casino and youth services nonprofit industries. Gigi holds a PhD in psychology and an MA in Organizational Management. She currently consults in Human Resources services and offers coaching, mediation, energy work services and particularly enjoys working with the Enneagram of Personality to facilitate teamwork and personal growth. Email: gigic@centrum.org.
Lucinda Carver (Artistic Director for Chamber Music) was appointed in late 2009. Called “a first rate conductor” by the New York Times, she is active as a conductor / pianist and her orchestral appearances have included the National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Opera conducting credits include the Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Lucinda received her doctorate in musical arts from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California where she currently teaches piano, harpsichord and conducting. She served as music director of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra from 1991 to 2002.
John Clayton (Artistic Director of Jazz Programs) leads Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend festival and workshop. A Grammy-winning 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.
Karen Gose Clemens (Director of Development) joined Centrum’s staff in late 2009. She has been an arts administrator and fundraiser for 23 years, eleven of those years devoted to major gift work in annual fund, capital and special fundraising campaigns. She served under the Honorable Mike Lowry as Executive Director of the Washington State Arts Commission; as fundraising consultant with C.W. Shaver & Company; in consulting and executive capacities to regional cultural organizations including The Capital Theater in Yakima and Northwest Sinfonietta; and as Major Gifts Manager at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and loves her cockatoo, dogs and family; giving people presents; mysteries (reading and writing); and travel. Email = kclemens (at) centrum (dot) org
Daryl Davis (Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival) is a celebrated vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and composer; and author of, “Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan,” the story of his quixotic journey into the heart of the KKK. As a performer, Davis has worked with Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Percy Sledge, and many others. He was the featured pianist on Cephas & Wiggins’ 1992 album, Flip Flop and Fly. In 1985, boogie-woogie pioneer Pinetop Perkins selected Davis to succeed him in the piano and vocal slot of the Muddy Waters Legendary Blues Band. In 2005 and 2006, Davis served as the Artistic Director for Centrum’s School of Rock workshop.
Jordan Hartt (Director of Programs) joined Centrum in 2006. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Idaho. He believes that the Seattle Mariners will win the World Series during his lifetime. Email = jhartt (at) centrum (dot) org.
Mary Hilts (Program Manager, The Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival/Development Manager) joined the Centrum staff in 2003. Mary manages all administrative aspects of the PT Acoustic Blues Festival; and assists with aspects of resource development, Centrum's donor database and coordination of donor events. A graduate of Washington State University, Mary also completed Jazz Studies at Shoreline Community College, and holds a degree in Music Performance from Los Angeles Harbor College. Prior to working at Centrum, she was in artist relations and management, coordinated booking and promotions, as well as contract negotiation, public relations, and tour management. A musician, artist, and advocate for social justice, Mary moved to Port Townsend in 1980. Email = mhilts (at) centrum (dot) org.
Lisa Johnson, (Finance Manager) joined Centrum in 2010. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance. She has spent her past working in many diverse accounting positions at a CPA firm; a gourmet potrack manufacturer; a utility company, and family owned businesses in the lumber, seafood and trucking industries. Born in Port Townsend, Lisa is a local “Islandgirl” , raised on Marrowstone Island, where she enjoys her family’s roots and the peace of island living. She loves working in the garden, and her menagerie of animals which includes her Arabian horses, dogs, cats and chickens. An avid outdoor enthusiastic, you’ll often find her hiking in the Olympics, rowing with the Tuf as Nails Port Townsend's master women's rowing team, biking the STP, (Seattle to Portland), and even the spontaneous thrill of skydiving. Email = ljohnson (at) centrum (dot) org.
John MacElwee (Executive Director) joined Centrum in 2009. John's career started 25 years ago in the field of orchestra marketing, fundraising, and community relations with symphony orchestras, including the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, Calif., later with the Houston Symphony, and then with the Detroit Symphony, where he served as Vice President for Marketing and Communications. He later moved to the directorship of the Arts Council of Sonoma County, where he worked with a broad array of community arts programs. Most recently, John was lead consultant in developing the business plan for the $120 million Green Music Center at Rohnert Park, Calif., scheduled to open in 2011 and served as an organizational consultant to the Healdsburg, Calif. Jazz Festival. Throughout his management career, MacElwee continues to perform as a bass player with varied jazz ensembles, as well as orchestras and bluegrass groups. Email = jmacelwee (at) centrum (dot) org
Peter McCracken (Program Manager, Fiddle Tunes, Voiceworks) has served at Centrum 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 = pmccracken (at) centrum (dot) org.
Gregg Miller (Program Manager, Jazz, Classical Music) 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 became Program Manager for Jazz and Classical Music and now runs Jazz Port Townsend and the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival. Gregg is active as an adjudicator and frequently serves as a grant panelist for the NEA, Chamber Music America, the Washington State Arts Commission and other organizations. He enjoys skiing, motorcycling and working with his hands, including driving and repairing wheat combines in eastern Washington. Email = gmiller (at) centrum (dot) org.
Susan Randolph (Administrative and Finance Assistant) has been with Centrum since 2010. A native of the Olympic Peninsula, Susan was raised in Port Ludlow, and attended school in Chimacum. Susan is an avid gardener, and continues to operate her own farm on Marrowstone Island, where she has proudly raised fruits, vegetables, chickens, mini-donkeys, peacocks and 3 children. Email: srandolph (at) centrum (dot) org.
Hali Kalae Ransom (Registrar, Hospitality Coordinator) came to Centrum in early 2008 after managing the classified and circulation departments 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 = hransom (at) centrum (dot) org.
Ken Stuart (Technical Director) has been with Centrum since 1999. He graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Theatre Arts, studied in London, England for two years and has designed and taught at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, and Seattle Central Community College. For many years he freelanced in the Seattle area as Director and Designer. In the summer of 2006 Ken accepted a position as Technical Director at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, for a year and in 2007-2011 he worked and taught at Coker College, Hartsville, South Carolina, as an Adjunct Professor of Theater and Facilities Manager for the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center. He spent the summers of 2009 and 2010 at Centrum resuming his Technical Director duties on a seasonal basis before returning as the full time Technical Director in fall of 2011. Email= kstuart (at) centrum (dot) org.
Suzy Thompson (Artistic Director for Fiddle Tunes) has been a leading force in many influential roots music groups, including the California Cajun Orchestra, the Blue Flame String Band, Klezmorim, the all-woman Any Old Time String Band, and most recently, the Bluegrass Intentions. She has also worked with Laurie Lewis, Maria Muldaur, Jody Stecher, Del Rey, Geoff Muldaur, Alice Gerrard, and the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, among many others. Suzy is one of just a handful of active players who have mastered the blues violin, and the power of her laser-beam voice rivals Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, and Memphis Minnie. Suzy currently records and performs in a duet with reknowned flatpicker Eric Thompson, with the Aux Cajunals, and with the Thompson String Ticklers.
Lisa Waipio Werner (Director of Operations) Lisa moved to Port Townsend from Hawaii in 2008, where owned and managed diverse businesses from location catering to exotic flower export. After attending Centrum's Jazz and Blues festivals, Lisa applied and was hired as Centrum's volunteer coordinator and artistic residency program manager. She and her partner hope to build soon on their Discovery Bay lot. Email = lwerner (at) centrum (dot) org
Martha Worthley (Program Manager, Young Artist Project) 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. Martha has been deeply involved in changing attitudes towards arts education. She began working in the Port Townsend Schools in the early 1990s teaching Talented and Gifted classes in visual arts for elementary students. This work evolved as the Port Townsend School District and PT Artscape, funded by Washington State Arts Commission, worked to develop sequential arts education for the district, aligned with state academic learning requirements in the arts. For Centrum, she designs the Young Artists Project with a vital, contemporary and diverse group of artists who will guide and inspire young artists throughout the year. Email = mworthley (at) centrum (dot) org.
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