Richmond Art Center Richmond Art Center

Welcome New Board Members!

We welcome a mighty group of five who join RAC’s Board of Directors: John BoychukJane DiokasNettie HogeSusan Kuramoto Moffat, and Rachel Sommovilla. And we salute Michael Dear as he steps up to become the new Board President. 

Lastly, a huge thank you to departing Board Members for their active and meaningful service: Donna BrorbyMarguerite Thompson BrowneCarlos Privat, and Catherine Waller.

Top Image: Folk at the Annual Members Meeting on June 18, 2022 elect new Board Members.


New Board Member Bios

John Boychuk
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. He is a new teaching artist at Richmond Art Center. 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.

Jane Diokas
With her Master’s in printmaking from Illinois State University and background in teaching art at schools in underserved communities, as well as starting and running two successful design-based businesses, Jane Diokas’ qualifications provide real world solutions that bridge the gap between idealism and financial necessity. She believes that art can be first and foremost a joyful pursuit that naturally expresses a higher truth. She hopes to help carry on the mission of the founder of Richmond Art Center – who believed there was an artist in everyone and that art was as vital as breathing – while aligning it with both contemporary values and needs.

Nettie Hoge
Nettie Hoge is an East Bay resident who is deeply grateful to the staff and faculty at Richmond Art Center for her cultivation of self-expression and personal growth in and as a result of Richmond Art Center’s painting and drawing classes. Nettie 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. She served as Chief Deputy Commissioner at the California Department of Insurance during the term of Dave Jones. She provided legal assistance to victims of domestic violence as a Legal Services lawyer. While working for Consumers Union, she served on the advisory board for Health Access and litigated to establish funds for community health efforts as nonprofits like Blue Cross converted to for profit institutions. She was Executive Director for six years at TURN, a nonprofit, legal organization advocating at the Public Utilities Commission for utility consumer rights, and fare rates.

Susan Kuramoto Moffat
Susan Kuramoto Moffat melds the arts and the humanities and environmental design disciplines to study urban life. She is Executive Director of Global Urban Humanities Initiative and Creative Director of Future Histories Lab, two grant-funded interdisciplinary programs at UC Berkeley. She has worked in organizations ranging from small advocacy organizations (Greenbelt Alliance) to large bureaucracies (UC Berkeley) and has served on Albany’s City Council-appointed Waterfront Committee and Arts Committee in Albany. She founded a small non-profit community arts organization called Love the Bulb that brings outdoor music, dance, and theater performances and public art to non-traditional audiences. She brings an anti-racist and equity lens to all her work. Susan earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and master’s degrees at UC Berkeley (City Planning) and Columbia (Journalism). She has lived in Albany since 1997. 

Rachel Sommovilla
Rachel Sommovilla was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, and received her B.A. degree in biological anthropology from Harvard University. She earned her law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law, practiced law in San Francisco and clerked for numerous Federal District Court judges before joining the Richmond City Attorney’s Office in 2012. As a Senior Assistant City Attorney and Interim City Attorney, her duties included the handling of complex litigation and land use matters for the City, and advising the City Council, City Departments, and various boards and commissions. Rachel currently serves as Assistant County Counsel for Alameda County. While in the Richmond City Attorney’s office, Rachel and her two sons participated in various Richmond Art Center classes and summer programs. Rachel lives in El Cerrito with her two sons, husband and dog.

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