Welcome new Board Members!
We’re pleased to welcome new members Maggie Blanc-White, Claudia Bustos, Ellen Christensen, Seth Corrigan, and Ralph Vazquez to our Board of Directors.
They join continuing board members Nettie Hoge (President), John Boychuk, Matias Eusterbrock, Paul Collins, Tia Foss, Lina Velasco, and Amy Zheng, whose ongoing leadership helps guide and steward Richmond Art Center.
ABOUT OUR NEW MEMBERS
Maggie Blanc-White
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 Bustos
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
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.
Seth Corrigan
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.
Ralph Vazquez
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.
