The Arts & Culture Working Group, made up of community leaders with a high level of expertise in arts and culture issues, oversees grantmaking and donor engagement strategies to meet the most critical needs of San Diego’s arts and culture nonprofits and creates partnerships and initiatives to support those strategies.

Current Working Group Members
Roger Cornell, MD	Victoria Hamilton
Elizabeth Yamada	Judith Harris
Martha Dennis, PhD	Colette Carson Royston, RN, MN
Peter Ellsworth	Linda Satz
Tom Hall	Joyce Gattas
Manuel Oncina	Osborn L. Hurston
Michael Yee	William Virchis

Roger Cornell, MD, Chair
Dr. Cornell has practiced dermatology with Scripps Clinic for 30 years. He has served on volunteer boards including the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture for eight years, the San Diego Performing Arts League, and the UCSD Art Gallery, and is currently on the boards of Mingei International Museum and the Alliance Healthcare Foundation.
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Elizabeth Y. Yamada, Vice Chair
Elizabeth Yamada has served on The Foundation’s Board of Governors since 1999, and was a member of the Board Governance Committee from 1995 to 1999. She currently serves on the advisory boards of the NTC Promenade Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum, the United through Reading Foundation and Charter 100. She also serves on the advisory UCSD Board of Overseers and SDSU Advisory Board for the College of Professional Studies and Arts.

Elizabeth has co-chaired KPBS Auction Week, SDSU Spotlight on Japan, SDSU Gateway Complex, and the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art’s Monte Carlo Ball. Served in the board of the Commision for 7 years.

Elizabeth received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and has her California Secondary Teaching Credential.
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Martha Dennis, PhD
Dr. Dennis is a Venture Partner with Windward Ventures which funds early-stage technology companies in Southern California. Dr. Dennis is President of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Telecom Council and Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Appointed by Mayor Dick Murphy, she also serves as chair of the City of San Diego Science and Technology Commission. In addition, Dr. Dennis is a member of the Board of The San Diego Foundation.
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Peter Ellsworth
Peter practiced law in San Diego for 30 years and served as President & CEO of Sharp Healthcare for 10 years. He has been involved with the San Diego Opera and various institutions in Balboa Park. He also serves as Chair on the Board of Directors of the Legler-Benbough Foundation.
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Tom Hall
Tom served as Managing Director of The Old Globe Theatre for 20 years. He is now a Principal for Albert Hall & Associates, a national consulting firm that specializes in executive search and management development initiatives for arts organizations. Tom has been involved in the San Diego arts community for more than 25 years.
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Victoria Hamilton
Victoria has been the Executive Director of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture since its inception in 1988 With nearly thirty years experience as an arts administrator, she has served in similar positions for the County of Santa Barbara, California and the City of Tacoma, Washington. Victoria served on the executive committee of the Americans for the Arts, formerly National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, was President of the California Confederation of the Arts and Chair of the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies.
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Judith Harris
Judith served as Chair of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture for three years, and was on the Commission for eight years. She has chaired fundraising capital campaigns for the Scripps Memorial Cardiac Clinic KPBS and Chair of San Diego Public Library. Has serves on the boards of the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, Scripps Foundation, La Jolla Playhouse and the Center for Community Solutions. The City of San Diego Animal Welfare Complex. Mayor Susan Golding declared October 2, 2000 “Judith Harris Day” for her activism and volunteer efforts in the San Diego community.
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Colette Carson Royston, RN, MN (Ex-Officio)
Colette has been involved in Cancer Health Care for many years, in clinical practice, research and education. She is currently on the Board of the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art and The San Diego Opera and sits on the Public Art Master Plan Steering Committee for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. She is ex-officer of The San Diego Foundation’s Board of Governors.
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Linda Satz
Linda Satz has been actively involved in the San Diego arts community for fifteen years. She was a trustee of the San Diego Repertory Theatre and has also served on the board of the La Jolla Playhouse. She is presently on the board of Mainly Mozart. For the past three years, Linda has chaired the annual arts fundraiser at The Neurosciences Institute to raise money to support the free use of the auditorium by the arts and culture community. She is a Trustee of the Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust, which donates the majority of it's funds to San Diego's arts organizations.
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Joyce Gattas
Joyce Gattas has served San Diego State University as Dean of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts since July 1988. In her role as Dean, she manages 11 diverse departments that include three research centers, 4,700 majors, and 400 faculty and staff. Before assuming her current managerial position, Dr. Gattas taught at California State Universities and was the Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs at SDSU. She has been active in community and professional organizations, including President of the Board of Trustees for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, International Rotary, Secretary/Treasurer of the San Diego-Baja Communications Council Executive Committee, San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Most recently she served as past Chair of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, a mayoral appointment. She holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Gattas is a resident of San Diego, California.
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Osborn L. Hurston
Osborn L. Hurston, a San Diego resident has served as vice president and senior portfolio manager at Highmark Capital Management, a subsidiary of Union Bank of California since 1981. Prior to joining Highmark, he was an investment officer at Security Pacific National Bank and securities analyst at Ameritrust Corporation. He also shares his expertise in the financial field as a graduate level instructor at the California School of International Management. Mr. Hurston has a long history of community involvement having served as past president of the San Diego Urban Bankers, former trustee of both the San Diego City and San Diego County Employees’ Retirement Systems. His love of arts and culture is evidenced by volunteer service as past president of the San Diego Performing Arts League, trustee and immediate past treasurer of the La Jolla Playhouse and trustee and vice president of the Balboa Art Conservatory. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelor’s degree in economics and University of California, Los Angeles with an M.B.A. in Accounting.
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Manuel Oncina
Manuel Oncina, a La Jolla resident is a well-known and prolific architect who has been responsible for a number of high profile community and municipal projects throughout the region. Projects include: the Tecolate Canyon Nature Center, the Natural History Museum’s Fossil Mysteries Exhibit and Birdrock Area Streetscape. Libraries include the Cardiff by the Sea Branch Library and Earl & Birdie Taylor Branch Library in Pacific Beach. He is also responsible for several public works projects, such as the Miramar Water Treatment Plant and Adobe Falls Pump Station. Currently under construction are the Encinitas Community Library and Carlsbad City Library Learning Center. In addition to his professional career, Mr. Oncina has supported the community through his volunteer service as a member of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and as chair of the Society of American Registered Architects.
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William Virchis
William Virchis, a Chula Vista resident, has served as director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Sweetwater Union High School District for six years. He was formerly a professor at Southwestern College and artistic director of the theatre department since 1973. He earned both his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at San Diego State University wtih post graduate work at the University of Mexico City. Mr. Virchis has directed numerous productions at note-worthy organizations including the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and Civic Light Opera. He is co-founder artistic director of Teatro Mascara Magica a multi-cultural theatre company. In January 2001, Mr. Virchis was honored with the Shiley Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre at the Fourth Annual KPBS Patte Awards for Theatre Excellence. He was also recognized for his service to the community as a recipient of the George W. Bush’s President’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
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Michael Yee
Michael Yee is a 13-year resident of Poway, California. Since 1996, he has served as Technical Lead – Instructional and Information Technology Services at Cal State University San Marcos where he provides database programming, systems analysis and software applications support for the university. Mr. Yee was the lead author and analyst for the procurement of the university’s first administrative software. He received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration Information Systems from San Diego State University, graduating cum laude and Masters of Business Administration from San Diego State University. Mr. Yee’s commitment to community has been demonstrated through service as past president and vice president of the San Diego Chinese Historical Society and Museum, as founding chair of the Asian Pacific Historic Collaborative and as past president of the San Diego Chinese Center. He has served on numerous grants panels and committees, most recently with the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
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