Meghan Wells

Cultural Arts Division Manager
512-974-9314 | Email

With 20 years of experience in nonprofit and cultural programming, Meghan Wells currently serves the City of Austin as the Economic Development Department’s Cultural Arts Division Manager and is responsible for developing arts, culture, and creative industries as economic development strategies.  She oversees a staff of 20, and a portfolio of programs including Cultural Funding, Art in Public Places, Civic Arts Planning, Creative Space Development, the People’s Gallery Exhibition, and the African American Cultural and Heritage Facility.  Wells holds a B.A. from Rockhurst University, and M.A. from Texas Tech University.

CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAM

Alberto Mejia
Cultural Funding & Investments Program Manager
512-974-7875 | Email

Alberto develops & manages the City of Austin cultural funding programs as well as creative space development, capacity building, cultural equity and public-private partnerships and initiatives to serve creative communities. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington and a BA in American Cultural Studies and Political Science from Fairhaven College.

Previously he has served as the senior director of Community Programs at Creative Action, Manager of the Dougherty Arts Center, Executive Director of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in Seattle, WA and Community Engagement Manager at MoPOP in Seattle, WA. 

He is also an alumnus of the National Association of Latin@ Arts & Culture Policy Advocacy & leadership institutes and has served as panelist for local to national grant making programs including ARTPLACE and NEA Our Town.  Alberto is active in cultural policy issues & dialogue. Alberto is an artists in the in hip-hop genre and devotes time to the practice of indigenous cultural tradition, community building & dance.

Jesus Pantel
Cultural Funding Contract Management Specialist III
512-974-9315 | Email

Jesús Pantel manages the almost $13 million Cultural Arts Funding Program and is familiar with both sides of arts funding, having worked as a Grant Writer for Pittsburgh’s multidisciplinary Squonk Opera. Jesús’ artistic background is in theatre, he is a Board Member of Texas Nonprofit Theatres, and he has reviewed funding applications for the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the States of Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Cities of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

Laura Odegaard
Contract Management Specialist II
512-974-6345 | Email

Laura Odegaard is an international arts manager with Master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (Arts Management/Public Policy) and the Università di Bologna (Cultural Economics and Innovation). Laura has worked with artists, curators, and museums in the U.S., Europe, and the Caucasus Region developing exhibitions, innovative community engagement, and sustainable business strategies. At CAD, Laura dances between the Cultural Funding team (Capacity Building and Core F-O) and Special Projects (Faces of Austin, Playable City Austin, and Federal Grant initiatives).

Peggy Ellithorpe
Cultural Funding Program Associate
512-974-7978 | Email

Peggy manages cultural contracts as a member of the Cultural Arts Funding team. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and has over 20 years’ experience working with artists of all kinds, in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She’s been a Burning Man participant since 2001, and serves on Art Support Services Team at the annual event in Nevada.

Barbara Horowitz
Cultural Funding Program Associate
512-974-9312 | Email

Barbara Horowitz is a marketing communications industry veteran known for distinctive, resourceful and responsible creative project solutions in collaboration with independent designers, design studios, advertising and PR agencies, commercial printers, educational institutions, museums, galleries, artists and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining the Cultural Funding team, she was a project manager with Austin’s Art in Public Places program. Barbara is CAD’s go-to gal for print production management expertise. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

Anne-Marie McKaskle-Davis
Contract Management Specialist II
512-974-7854 | Email

Anne-Marie McKaskle-Davis joined the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division administering the Cultural Arts Funding program in 2015. In her role as with the Cultural Arts Division she assists the Cultural Arts Funding Program Team in the management of nearly 500 cultural contracts totaling over $11 million dollars annually in cultural funding. She provides in-depth training and guidance to new and current applicants and assists in the development, implementation and management the Cultural Arts Division's nine Cultural Arts Funding Programs. Previously, Anne-Marie was the Membership Services Director at Austin Creative Alliance (ACA), Austin’s largest Arts Service Organization. As the Membership Services Director, she provided grant writing support and training, and arts non-profit consulting services to ACA members.

In 2012 Anne-Marie co-founded Austin Emerging Arts Leaders, an organization that provides professional development opportunities and continuing education scholarships to Austin’s early career arts administrators and artists. She served as the Board Chair from 2012 to 2016.

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES (AIPP) PROGRAM

Sue Lambe
AIPP Program Manager
512-974-7852 | Email

Sue Lambe manages the City of Austin's Art in Public Places Program, and is responsible for the existing public art collection of over 300 pieces and for the active permanent and temporary art projects underway throughout the City of Austin. Prior to leading the program, she spent five years as a public art project manager. She is a licensed landscape architect in Maine and Texas, with over 20 years of experience designing public spaces. Lambe holds a BFA in Landscape Architecture from University of Illinois CU. She believes in public art as a meaningful way to connect people to their community – art can spark the ‘aha!’ moments that bring people together.

Anna Bradley
AIPP Project Manager
512-974-7841 | Email

Anna Bradley has extensive project management experience in negotiating contracts, budget allocation, communicating client and stakeholder needs, managing multiple projects, public art research and current trends, construction and installation solutions, and public presentations. She holds a BFA in photography from The University of the Arts and studied furniture and industrial design at California College of the Arts.

Curt Gettman
AIPP Project Manager
512-974-9310 | Email

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Curt brings over 14 years of arts management experience to AIPP. The last book he read was Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrique and his favorite color is none.

Frank Wick
AIPP Collection Manager
512-974-2576 | Email

Frank Wick is AIPP’s Collection Manager. He joined the City of Austin in 2013. His focus is maintaining the city’s public art collection with an emphasis on prevention and preservation.

Marjorie Flanagan
AIPP Project Manager
512-974-8706 | Email

As a project manager with AIPP, Marjorie Flanagan enjoys facilitating the art selection and commissioning process, as well as working with artists, fabricators, community stakeholders, other city departments and staff.  Previously she helped private sector businesses, educational and healthcare facilities grow their art collections and worked with artists all over the country.  Marjorie holds a Master’s degree in Art Education and raises two young children to enjoy and value art as a public amenity, economic driver and creative personal outlet.

THE PEOPLE’S GALLERY

Suzanne Burton
Exhibition Coordinator
512-974-6456 | Email

Suzanne manages and coordinates the annual People’s Gallery exhibition at Austin City Hall. With over twelve years of gallery management experience, her true passion is to help artists, and to promote their work.

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL & HERITAGE FACILITY (AACHF)

TJ Owens
AACHF Program Manager
512-974-2444 | Email

T.J. Owens is the Program Manager & Facility Director of the African-American Cultural & Heritage Facility (AACHF). With over 13 years of commercial and residential Real Estate assessment experience and 10 years of experience with the City of Austin’s highly innovative Economic Development Department, T.J. realizes that for communities to prosper you must have vehicles for education, inspiration, and financial stabilization in place.  Also, by working with various commission boards, universities, and advocacy groups, the AACHF has become a cornerstone of the community underneath the stewardship of T.J. Owens. 

Brenda Malik
AACHF Program Associate
512-974-2445 | Email

Brenda Mims Malik manages the front office of the African American Cultural & Heritage Facility. As a native Austinite, her career has included teaching media to high school students, project manager for a federally sponsored development initiative, City Council Aide, and television news producer and anchor for (2) local stations.