Asian Arts Initiative’s Board of Directors provides leadership, evaluates programs and raises funds. Its members — including Board chairwoman Sophia Lee, senior counsel for Sunoco Inc.; treasurer Avik Roy, principal, RES Partners; former Board chairwoman Eva Ray, retired director of education at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; Sally Munemitsu of TCC Group; and Gerry Givnish, founder and executive advisor to the Painted Bride Art Center — also act as ambassadors for the organization.

 

”Our Board plays an important role in building relationships with the multiple facets of Asian Arts Initiative’s constituencies — in the arts, Asian-American and other communities, for-profit and nonprofit sectors,” says Gayle Isa, Executive Director. 

 

This new Board member recruitment is a key focus of the capacity-building partnership between the Asian Arts Initiative and PECO Energy, participants in the pilot phase of the Arts & Business Council’s “Adopt an Arts Organization” program.

 

 

Pamela Bridgeforth, director of programs for the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC), brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in nonprofit cultural arts management, with particular emphasis on strategic planning, fundraising, collaboration and community outreach.  Prior to joining PACDC in 2007, she worked at the Walt Whitman Arts Center, serving as executive director for nearly 10 years. Bridgeforth currently serves as the Board president for Camden Repertory Theatre. In her role as director of programs for PACDC, she develops and oversees a range of services and learning opportunities for small and large neighborhood revitalization agencies. 

 

Julie Hawkins joined Drexel University as an assistant professor of arts administration in the fall of 2011, and will become the graduate program’s director in July 2012. She came to Drexel after serving as executive vice president for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, where over the course of 12 years she led the organization’s advocacy, field research, community engagement and grant-making efforts.  Her notable advocacy wins include the creation of arts platforms by mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, the restoration of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, and the defeat of a proposed state sales tax expansion that would have levied an additional 6 percent on all arts and entertainment admissions. She also led groundbreaking research projects including the creation of Portfolio, a comprehensive report on the depth, breadth and health of nonprofit cultural organizations using regional data from the Cultural Data Project. At Drexel, she conducts research, advises students and teaches graduate courses in arts administration, helping to mentor the next generation of arts leaders. Hawkins is secretary of the board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the advocacy committee chair of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania. She holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from Temple University, and was recently named one of the region’s “Creative Connectors” by Leadership Philadelphia. Hawkins lives in East Falls, Philadelphia, with her husband and daughters.

 

Ronald Kim is the vice president and head of information technology for “Exelon Utilities”: Baltimore Gas & Electric, ComEd (Chicago) and PECO (Philadelphia). Collectively, Exelon Utilities represents 6.6 million electric customers, 1.2 million gas customers and approximately $15 billion in revenue. Prior to coming on board with Exelon, Kim was with Accenture for 18 years, where he was a partner supporting many major utility companies. Kim is a Michigan/Detroit native and currently resides in Pennsylvania with his wife and three children. Kim received his bachelor’s degree in computer science and his MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.