BOARD & STAFF
BOARD
All board members are very active volunteers. You may see one painting pumpkins, loading up tents, driving a cart, hanging an art show, or helping award grants and scholarships. Several board members are working artists, who provide valuable input as part of our efforts to connect with the broad community of arts in the Starkville area.
Officers FYE 2021-2022
Ashia Gandy, President
Christine Rogers-Kelly, Vice-President Mary Switzer, Past President Nancy Lifer, Treasurer Emily Corban-Camp, Secretary Jenna Altomonte, Member-At-Large |
Additional Board MembersAlex Bostic
Patricia Cox Callie Ellis Latalla Harris Thomas La Foe Frank Nichols Rachael Potts Duston Price |
Board appointments are made in July annually.
COMMITTEES
SAAC is supported by hundreds of volunteers each year. CDAF alone requires more than 200 to plan, coordinate, and execute a one-day event (and that’s without a lightning storm, tornado, or global pandemic). We operate through a handful of planning committees (both formal and informal). In FYE 2021, these included:
Administration, Operations, and Finance
SAAC and CDAF are both supported by a number of subcommittees and community partners, who are not listed here. For questions, please contact SAAC.
Administration, Operations, and Finance
- Cookbook (Patricia Cox, ED)
- Executive Committee (Officers)
- Finance (Treasurer, E.D., President)
- Forks & Corks (Rachael Potts, Thomas LaFoe , Terry Long)
- Art in the Park (Mary Switzer, Aisha Gandy, Alex Bostic)
- Outreach (Aisha Gandy)
- Art Partners, Summer Scholarships (Christine Rogers-Kelly)
- AiPP Exhibits (Walter Diehl)
- Business Skills Workshops (TO BE ASSIGNED)
- CDAF (Emily Corban-Camp, E.D.) with subcommittees
- Discretionary Grants (Callie Ellis, E.D.)
- Public Art (Emily Corban-Camp, Jenna Altomonte)
SAAC and CDAF are both supported by a number of subcommittees and community partners, who are not listed here. For questions, please contact SAAC.
STAFF
Executive Director, John W. Bateman
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In 2017, in a strategic move forward, the Board of Directors hired its first-ever Executive Director, John W. Bateman. A graduate of Starkville High School, John is a former attorney and published writer with extensive nonprofit experience. He spent a decade advising more than 100 grant and scholarship-making foundations across a broad range of issues, helping distribute more than $100 million in awards. From 2010 to 2015, John served as the Administrative Officer of The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation in NYC, managing compliance, grant making, and other functions. In 2016, he received his Master of Arts in English from the University at Buffalo’s Innovative Writing program and is an active, award-winning writer. His southern gothic novel, Who Killed Buster Sparkle?, was released June 12, 2019 by Unsolicited Press. John is also recipient of a 2018 Mississippi Film Alliance Emerging Filmmaker Grant. John’s experience as a working artist will help ensure that SAAC continues to build programming that meets the needs of the Starkville arts community.
Email John here. |
AmeriCorps VISTA
SAAC is very excited to have been the recipient of a project assignment with The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University. The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University links community-minded volunteers with community-based agencies fighting poverty, to develop the educational and economic skill-sets and opportunities of citizens who live in poverty, and provide housing, transportation, and food assistance to individuals living in poverty. SAAC was approved as a site location for The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University in Fall 2019.
The AmeriCorps VISTA member for Arts Programming will build capacity by coordinating volunteers for SAAC programming, streamlining communication and promotion, and securing financial resources.
Our current and past VISTAs (in alphabetical order) include:
Our current and past VISTAs (in alphabetical order) include:
Juliette Reid (Fall 2019 - Fall 2021)
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In January 2019, Juliette became an intern at the Starkville Area Arts Council through an Internship in English class at Mississippi State University. Originally from West Plains, Missouri, Juliette graduated from Mississippi State University in Spring 2019 with a BA in English with a Linguistics minor. As an AmeriCorps VISTA for Arts Programming with the SAAC, her role is to help recruit and manage a volunteer pool; manage social media, press releases, and newsletter promotion; and identify financial resources for funding arts education programming in the community. Juliette believes that the preservation of art at the community level is important because of its fundamental importance to human expression. Art was made long before even formal written language to help keep stories alive. Science may improve our health and longevity but art is what makes long life worth living. Juliette hopes to continue work with non-profits, someday working with humane societies to help them build capacity and help animals find their forever homes.
Email Juliette here |
Sabrina Campbell (Summer Associate 2021)
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In June 2021, Sabrina Campbell became a VISTA summer member at the Starkville Area Arts Council. She is from Starkville, MS and a professional Art Educator at West Point High School. She is also a volunteer with Arts in Public Places (AiPP) and will be assisting in various areas of SAAC. She is a member of various art's organizations and is the only recipient of The Congressional Award of Special Recognition for her artwork. She is a proud member of MS Golden Triangle Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. Sabrina graduated from Mississippi State University with a BFA in Graphic Design/Visual Arts, Masters in Art Education, Educational Administration, and obtained her Doctoral degree through Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. As an AmeriCorps VISTA for Arts Programming with the SAAC, her role is to help recruit and manage a volunteer pool; teaching Artist with the summer art programs, work with the Cotton District Arts Festival (specifically South stage), and identify financial resources for funding arts education programming in the community. Sabrina is adamant about "Art is the stART of Everything" and is the key to growth, diversity and therapy within all communities. Each community is a "Cornucopia of Cultural Delight": meaning each one of us is a Masterpiece and has unique qualities to improve our community, our home, and our individual lives.. Sabrina desires to become an Art professor at a university and would love to do so at her alma mater, MSU. She will continue to work within the community to promote through the Arts and share all the benefits from its creativity to Art therapy.
Email Sabrina here |
SAAC Internship & Workstudy Program
Much of our success hinges upon communication with funders, the public, our members, and our volunteers. In Fall 2017, SAAC launched a formal internship program in part collaboration with Mississippi State University's Department of Communication. In Fall 2018, this program expanded to include a workstudy opportunity through Mississippi State University.
Our current and past interns (in alphabetical order) include:
Our current and past interns (in alphabetical order) include:
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Interesting in becoming an intern? Apply below!
Those interested in workstudy opportunities should contact MSU for eligibility. |
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or just feel like saying hello, feel free to stop by our downtown office during office hours, give us a call, or shoot us an email. We'd love to hear from you!
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Location and Mailing Address:
101 South Lafayette Street, Suite 18 Starkville, Mississippi 39759 Email: director@starkvillearts.org arts@starkvillearts.org Phone: 662.324.3080 |
Social Media
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