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 "Whispers in the Morning Light" Sculpture by Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo) Photo Courtesy Cliff Fragua |
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 SWAIA Staff Executive Director: Bruce Bernstein Bernstein comes to SWAIA as former Board of Directors member (1990-1996 and 2002-2007) in addition to his volunteering as judge, evaluator, and receiver at the Santa Fe Indian Market for the past 25 years. He is a curator at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. From 1997 to 2005, Bernstein served as the Assistant Director for Cultural Resources at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Previously he was the Director and Chief Curator at Santa Fe's Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; his directorship oversaw the building and installation of the Bloch Wing and the permanent exhibition, "Here, Now and Always." He has also held positions at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and the University of New Mexico's Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. He has published and curated exhibitions widely on American Indian art. He and his wife, Landis Smith, have two children, Elliot and Isabel. E-mail: bbernstein@swaia.org Development Director: KC Bitterman Bitterman brings to SWAIA extensive experience in fund development for arts organizations. She also trained as a visual artist at California College of Arts and Crafts and has shown her work in the Bay Area and in Southern California. She holds a BA in English with Highest Honors from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and she is currently finishing a thesis for a Masters in Public Administration with a focus on arts policy from California State University, Northridge. E-mail: kcbitterman@swaia.org Programs Director: Caren Gala (Nambe/Laguna Pueblo) Gala has worked for SWAIA for 13 years. She oversees SWAIA programs and manages all market logistics, including youth market booths, non-profit booths and food vendors. These duties include creating maps of booth layout, securing vendor contracts, and working with Santa Fe City officials to finalize entire set up of Indian Market. She is a member of and resides at Nambé Pueblo. Caren is an artist, as well, and creates a variety of traditional Pueblo textiles and attire. Her education includes Haskell Junior College in Lawrence, KS. E-mail: cgala@swaia.org Development Associate/Executive Assistant: Elizabeth Harris (Mohawk/Ojibway) Harris took a long and winding path from her home in Ontario, Canada to SWAIA. She attended the Ontario College of Arts and Design (OCAD) for 4 years, studying sculpture and bronze and aluminum casting. She did technical work in theatre, film, and television before switching careers. Moving to Nashville, TN, Harris began 7 years of business management before finally moving to New Mexico where she received a BBA in accounting and operations from the University of New Mexico.E-mail: eharris@swaia.org Admin and Finance Coordinator/Human Resources: Cheryl James James comes to SWAIA with 15 years of experience in business management for both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She has a background in development, especially grant writing and reports, and will be graduating in May 2006 with a BA in Humanities from the College of Santa Fe. She also holds an AA from Santa Fe Community College in Fine Art (with a concentration in painting) and has taught arts and crafts for over 20 years, specializing in the fiber arts. Cheryl was blessed with a mentorship in which she worked closely with a Navajo silversmith over a period of several years. She notes that this experience embedded into her a being a love of Native American arts. She has lived in Santa Fe for over 8 years and loves its diverse culture.E-mail: cjames@swaia.org Administrative Asst. for Artist Services: Vanessa Lee (Seneca) Lee grew up on the Seneca Nation of Indians Cattaraugus Reservation in New York. She attended Colgate University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 2002, majoring in Native American Studies and Art/Art History. While attending Colgate, she worked on further recruiting more Native students and making the university a friendlier environment for all students of color. She assisted the director of Native American Studies with two art shows, showcasing Native Artists of North America and Canada. Her contributions can also be seen at the ALANA Cultural Center on campus with her involvement in the mural, and working with the sports program to remove the offensive team mascot name and character that reinforced negative stereotypes of the “Indian." Lee has continued her involvement with the native communities around her by working with pre-teens and teens in archaeological digs sponsored Colgate and the Oneida Indian Nation. To further her art career she applied and was accepted to the Institute of American Indian Arts, relocating to Santa Fe three years ago. In her spare time she draws, paints, quilts, sews, knits and finds new ways of expressing the beauty of life before her. E-mail: vlee@swaia.org Administrative Assistant for Admin and Finance: Sharon Lopez Lopez joined SWAIA with nearly sixteen years of experience working in administrative/office manager roles in banking, accounting, civil and structural engineering, GEO testing, and with construction and development companies. An added bonus for SWAIA is her several years experience in working with the public. Lopez has lived, worked and grown up with American Indian culture and enjoys working at SWAIA to help carry on native traditions. E-mail: slopez@swaia.org Director of Artist Services: John Torres-Nez (Diné) “Nez” comes to SWAIA from the world of anthropology/archaeology. As one of a small handful of Native Archaeologists, Nez has helped move the field away from mere “things” and towards a focus on the People of the past. For 15 years he worked in the cultural resource world for dozens of western tribes, but the longest was with his native tribe, the Navajo Nation. His journey brought him to Santa Fe in 2000, where as a curator at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, he became active in the world of Native art and began volunteering at SWAIA. He brings to SWAIA a breadth of knowledge of Native history and tradition from the ancient past to the living present and remains active in both the Native and anthropological communities. He also serves on the Navajo Studies Board of Directors and is a bead worker, flintknapper, and jeweler. E-mail: jtorresnez@swaia.org Director of Marketing and Public Relations: John Paul Rangel (Apache/Navajo) John Paul holds a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters in American Studies from UNM. He has an extensive background in advertising and marketing. John Paul is currently a doctoral candidate at UNM focusing on issues of representation relating to Native arts and culture through the College of Education/LLSS. Additionally, John Paul has had an ongoing relationship with IAIA working/volunteering in different capacities. As an active member of the Native arts community, John Paul is personally invested in working with artists and the organization to increase public awareness about the diversity and magnitude of Native arts and culture as living traditions, change, adaptation, and innovation. E-mail: jprangel@swaia.org |
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