Richmond Art Center is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Board, which is elected by our members, is responsible for the organization’s financial health and achievement of its mission.
Nettie Hoge is an East Bay resident who brings a wealth of nonprofit experience to Richmond Art Center’s Board. She has served on three nonprofit boards, including a stint as the chair of the Heyday Press Board. She is a retired lawyer who has worked in many governmental and nonprofit organizations including as an executive director and a senior staff member. Her experience includes providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, working for Consumers Union, serving on the advisory board for Health Access and serving as Executive Director for six years at TURN, a nonprofit, legal organization advocating at the Public Utilities Commission for utility consumer rights, and fare rates. Nettie was introduced to Richmond Art Center as a painting student, and believes in the healing and transformative powers of the arts.
John Boychuk is a professional artist and art professor who works with a wide variety of materials and processes, both traditional and digital. Over the course of 20+ years of art making, John has shown and taught internationally as well as in the Bay Area. John grew up in the Detroit metropolitan area and now lives with his family in Richmond. John has taught at Berkeley City College, SAE Expression College in Emeryville, and the University of Silicon Valley in San Jose. His greatest accomplishments as an educator are in supporting multicultural, gender-diverse, and economically challenged students to achieve their academic and personal goals. He is excited to work with Richmond Art Center to increase the creative opportunities for the communities of Richmond.
Amy is a Chinese immigrant and art studio business owner with strong connections to the Chinese community in the East Bay. She is committed to using her connections to engage the Chinese community at Richmond Art Center and to raise funds for the Center. Her valuable media contacts can promote RAC’s events and news. Amy is committed to advocating for diversity and inclusion in board and organizational initiatives. She desires to promote and help to organize exhibitions, talks, and events that will prominently feature Asian artists. Amy also has a strong accounting background that helps the Board interpret financial reports and forecasts. She serves as the RAC’s Board treasurer. In addition, her experience teaching classes and workshops in art help inform the organization’s mission.
Matias Eusterbrock, Secretary
Matias was raised between Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland, and is deeply committed to supporting local art cultures. Matias currently works for the City of Richmond helping administer climate justice grants, and previously worked in San Jose and San Francisco on community planning and racial equity initiatives. Matias is also an active member of Bay Area stagehand unions Local 16 and Local 134, and organizes a monthly dance party in Oakland with over 500 regular attendees. Matias is excited to support Richmond Art Center in expanding its audience and deepening connections to the local community.
Maggie joined the Board of Richmond Art Center driven by her beliefs in the power of art to bring people together, spark creativity, and enrich lives at every age. A seasoned human resources leader with over 27 years of experience in the construction and build space, Maggie serves as Director of Human Resources and Talent Development at Overaa Construction in Richmond. Throughout her career, Maggie has developed extensive expertise in employee relations, talent acquisition, training and development, benefits administration, and crisis management. She brings this strategic leadership and organizational insight to Richmond Art Center, helping to strengthen its programs, expand its reach, and support its long-term sustainability. A longtime resident of the Richmond/El Sobrante community, Maggie is inspired by Richmond’s city motto, “Pride and Purpose.” Her connection to the Art Center is also personal; both of her daughters attended classes there. In retirement, Maggie looks forward to following in their footsteps and exploring her own artistic pursuits.
Claudia is currently Executive Director of Public Engagement at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, and she brings to the Board more than two decades of leadership and cultural engagement experience at museums and cultural organizations. Her background includes revenue development for cultural organizations, strategic planning, fundraising strategy, and community partnership building. Claudia has previously served on arts boards and artistic committees, including Calgary Maker Faire, WP Puppet Theatre, PechaKucha Night Calgary, and public art curatorial committees in both Calgary and Edmonton. Claudia has made Richmond her home since moving from Calgary, Alberta three years ago. She is a Chilean who is connected to the Andean diaspora, and comes from a family of artists. She sees art as a profound form of expression, storytelling, and cultural memory. She brings to her work a cultural lens that supports meaningful and authentic engagement with Latinx and diverse communities across Richmond.
Ellen Christensen is a graphic designer, visual artist, and Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design at San Francisco State University. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BA in American Studies from UC Berkeley. At Berkeley, Ellen created a major concentration in Ethnicity and Visual Representation, and at RISD, her graduate thesis explored community care and local placemaking. Her practice spans mixed-media collage, photography, painting, printmaking, and graphic design. Recent client projects include the visual identity for the San Francisco Arts Commission’s site-specific outdoor exhibition Capturing Treasure Island, displayed throughout downtown San Francisco. Raised in Richmond, Ellen took after school K-12 art classes at Richmond Art Center.
Paul Collins is a native of the East Bay Area and a former resident of Richmond, with a B.A. in business management from San Diego State University. He serves as CEO of Collins Management, supporting communities across the Bay Area, including many in Richmond. Additionally, Paul is the founder and CEO of the Collins Management Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping lower-wage workers and tradespeople in the HOA services sector. He is dedicated to investing in communities and has been on the Richmond Art Center Board for nearly five years. Residing in Lafayette, CA, with his two children, Paul is also a passionate martial artist who coaches children and adults in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his free time.
Seth Corrigan is a researcher, evaluator, and education designer with more than twenty years of experience leading learning design innovations across universities, nonprofits, foundations, and community organizations. He has been a Fellow at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering for applied research into novel approaches to large scale community engagement, and has built a career developing educational programs, evaluation frameworks, and technology-enhanced experiences that center equity, usability, and learning. Seth also brings deep experience and success with fundraising, grant research, nonprofit evaluation, strategic planning, and inter-organizational collaborations. His work in arts education, education more broadly, and youth development focuses on making learning more accessible, fostering creative growth, and supporting organizations in telling meaningful stories about their impact.
Tia Foss brings nearly 30 years of nonprofit fundraising experience to the Richmond Art Center Board, with a career rooted in arts and education organizations. After beginning her career at the newly established Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, she went on to serve in development roles at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo, and the Lawrence Hall of Science. Tia currently serves as Director of Alumni and Donor Engagement for the UC Berkeley School of Information. An East Bay resident, she believes Richmond Art Center is a critical community resource and vital space for arts and arts education. Her lifelong love of the arts began with childhood visits to the Art Institute of Chicago. She holds a degree in Art History from the University of Minnesota and has been an enthusiastic student at Richmond Art Center.
Ralph Vazquez is a teacher-librarian, curator, and energy advocate with experience building programs and partnerships that center storytelling, inquiry, and access for underserved youth and multilingual communities. He brings expertise in cross-disciplinary project design, fundraising and grant writing, public programming, and translating complex ideas (scientific, historical, or artistic) into engaging experiences that invite participation and cultivate belonging. Vazquez’s background in curatorial practice, hands-on art and media education, and culturally responsive programming equips him to support initiatives that bridge studio practice, public learning, and civic imagination. Ralph is committed to strengthening community-driven programming, deepening partnerships with schools and libraries, and nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers. His work fosters spaces where creativity empowers communities, and art serves as a tool for inquiry, healing, and connection.
Lina Velasco is the Community Development Director for the City of Richmond. She has worked for the City of Richmond since 2005. During her tenure at the City, Lina has led various community-driven planning efforts, including mobility plans, specific plans, streetscape plans, and the comprehensive Zoning Update. Her work includes obtaining grants for planning activities, as well as built-environment improvements, such as parks rehabilitations, streetscape projects, homelessness services and housing, and affordable housing developments. Lina believes that the arts are an important component of celebrating culture, diversity, and an integral part of community revitalization efforts. She has a B.A. in History and Chicana/o Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Lina lives in Pinole with her husband and two children.
