ARTS, CULTURE, AND CREATIVE ECONOMY COMMISSION MEMBERS
The Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy Commission is made up of 11 members; 8 members representing each district in Sacramento, and 3 appointed by the Mayor.
Rick Gott – District 1
With a Bachelor Of Arts degree and a CTE (California Technical Education) credential, Rick has been teaching Drama and Film at Natomas Charter School for twenty-two years. In that time, he has been honored in the “Who’s Who in American Education” twelve times. Rick also directed Natomas Charter School’s production, of “Convergence,” which was performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. During his tenure so far, Rick has directed and/or produced over twenty-five production. As a playwright, Rick’s work has been produced off-Broadway in New York on three separate occasions, including a piece starring Jane Curtin and Paul Dooley. As an actor, Rick has appeared in over one hundred plays and received two Elly Awards as Best Actor. He has worked at Sacramento Theatre Company and the B Street Theatre as well as being a principal actor for the Sacramento Opera Company for five seasons. Rick has also appeared in five national commercials and has been seen in hundreds of local and regional television and radio spots. He was the campaign voice for Tower Records for seven years. More recently, Rick has created the web series, “Dark Pool,” a Sci-Fi Thriller series shot entirely in and around Sacramento. The series has won five awards from the acclaimed LAwebFest, the first and largest Web Festival in the world. In 2013, “Dark Pool” was honored by LAwebFest with one of the Grand Prizes, an opportunity to be screened in Marseilles, France at the Marseilles WebFest. The series has also been nominated at Festivals across the globe, including Vancouver, Australia and South Korea. Rick is honored to be appointed as a commissioner on the Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Commission.
Kira Bautista – District 3
A passionate and vibrant contributor to our city of Sacramento for the past 20 years, Kira has worked as a photographer, graphic designer, and Creative Director. You’ve likely seen Kira’s work without realizing it. Kira graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. Design. She returned to work at her alma mater and led a marketing team to launch the new Activities and Recreation Center (ARC). Most notably, she helped found “The Buzz” Fall Welcome event, which went on to become a beloved, annual UC Davis staple for thousands of students. Kira developed the brand identity for ASI Peak Adventures at Sacramento State University, and also served on the Advisory Committee for the branding of The Well Recreation Center. Pursuing her first love of photography, she founded Kira Lauren Photography in 2004. She has enjoyed photographing youth basketball, local businesses, the Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco 49ers, and hundreds of families. Kira led Bayside Church, creatively speaking, as Art Director for nearly five years, providing design leadership to its eight campuses and 20,000 congregants. She helped design and produce “City Serve” - the only church service to be held at the Golden1 Center, celebrating volunteerism in our city. In 2021, she embraced the opportunity to work with the City of Sacramento as Media Coordinator and Photographer for former Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby. She designed Angelique Ashby’s victorious 2022 State Senate Campaign, as well as campaigns for other election races. Kira is currently the Director of Creative + Communications for Midtown Church (Sacramento and Elk Grove), whose mission is to bring hope, health, and healing to our city. In addition to her leadership of this fast-growing church, she runs her business: Kira Lauren Creative, LLC, helping purpose-driven organizations create greater impact. Kira enjoys traveling with her husband and kids, photographing her son’s basketball games, and trying out new art projects with her daughter. She has a passion and gift for sharing her
experiences and championing young leaders in the arts, and is honored to continue serving Sacramento through the Arts Commission.
Cruz Naranjo – District 4
Cruz Naranjo is a Sacramento native and has been an active member of the community and a long-time patron of the arts. He graduated from California State University of Sacramento in in 1985 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Criminal Justice and Government and has been a State employee for 35 years. He has been an active union steward for the State Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 for the last 12 years and is also a member of the local Latino Democratic Club that endorses Democratic candidates for public office that are committed to addressing the Latino community’s issues and concerns for socio-economic development. As a patron of the arts, Cruz has performed on stage in local theater for “Teatro Espejo” under Director Manual Pickett and for “Teatro Nagual” under Director Richard Falcon and continues to support the performing arts. Cruz was also a member of Escritores Del Nuevo Sol (Writers of the New Sun) and shared his poetry writings. He is also an active supporter of the “Latino Center for Art and Culture” and helps to promote and support the annual “El Panteon” event, “Posadas”, and other art exhibitions by local artists. As a participant of the Sacramento Latino Community Roundtable, Cruz advocated for the inclusion of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) in city-sponsored artwork which lead to the “Flight” mural at the Golden One Center created by RCAF members Stan Padilla, Juanishi Orosco, and Esteban Villa. Cruz is also an avid art collector and owns an extensive personal collection of artwork by local Chicano artists Simona Hernandez, Juanishi Orosco, Esteban Villa, John Huerte, and as well as by Sonya Fe and Amado Pena. As a commissioner, Cruz will advocate for more public-funded art projects that enhance Sacramento’s transition to a major arts center and reflects its multicultural diversity for greater inclusion by supporting both visual arts and performing arts by local artists to ensure their livelihoods and to sustain Sacramento’s creative economy. The cumulative value of Cruz’s residency, knowledge, and experience enable him to bring history, familiarity, visibility, diversity, community engagement, and a new perspective to the Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy Commission.
Andrea Lepore – District 5
Andrea Lepore founded Lepore Development in 2006, a design and purpose-driven firm producing brands, concepts, and developments with the goal of improving urban neighborhoods and our quality of life. Lepore created the brand and designed Solomon’s Delicatessen in honor of Tower Records and founder Russ Solomon and “The Russ Room” to showcase artists and musicians and support local art and music programs. Lepore co-founded and served as the creative director for HOT ITALIAN pizza bar, originally launched in 2009. Designing the building to become the first LEED Certified (Silver) restaurant in the region, Lepore turned a dilapidated corner into a thriving community hub with innovative art and music events, continuously supporting local artists, designers and musicians. In 2012, Lepore worked with SMAC to create the “Words on Walls” Art in Public Places project, collaborating with poets, graphic designers, and muralists, earning an Americans for the Arts Award in 2014. Lepore served on the advisory committee to establish the “Ray Eames: A Century of Modern Design” exhibit at The California Museum. A UC Davis graduate, Lepore spent a decade with the Sacramento Kings and earned her Masters of Design Studies from Boston Architectural College in 2016. Lepore has been a featured speaker and panelist member for numerous events including Food Funded, Food Tank, Creative Mornings, California Groundbreakers, CMND Shift, Meeting of the Minds, Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Asian Chamber, Metro Edge, Business Journal, and UC Davis. Lepore is also on the Board of Trustees of The California Museum and served on the Planning Commission in West Sacramento (2015-17). Raised in a family of hardworking grandparents from Italy with activists, artists, architects, dancers, and designers, Lepore’s father was a renaissance man (painter, sculptor, musician) and mother was an educator and administrator.
Isela Ortiz – District 6
Isela Ortiz is one of two owners of Sac Dance Lab and has over 20 years of choreography and performance experience including various commercial work and five seasons as a Sacramento Kings Dancer. She is currently the executive director at Sactown Stage, which produces shows including Sacramento Cabaret, Sactown LIVE, community events and seasonal choreography showcases. In addition to developing Sac Dance Lab’s programs and teaching weekly public dance classes, Isela is the Vice-Chair of the Sacramento Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Commission, appointed by District 6 Council member, Eric Guerra in 2020. She earned a bachelor's in Journalism and a minor in Dance from Sacramento State and is the resident audition choreographer for Sac State Dance Team. Isela's mission is to develop the local creative economy so that dancers and performers alike can sustain as full-time working artists in her hometown of Sacramento.
Doni Blumenstock – District 7
Doni Blumenstock is a recognized expert on leadership, coalition building, and community development. She is the author of Community Organizing for Prevention: The First Steps, written for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; and was a co-author for The Community Collaboration Manual. She has led workshops and given presentations for national, state and local groups.Doni is presently a consultant working in leadership training, executive coaching, coalition building, program design, organizational development and strategic planning. She designed and currently runs a training and coaching program for a bio-tech start-up in West Sacramento, Origin Materials, to develop the management and leadership qualities their high potential employees. Now on the second cohort, the members are moving into positions of influence and responsibility with the company. For eight years Doni served as the Program Director of the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program which works to build a diverse cohort of young professionals with the skills, connections and confidence to move up to the tables of leadership in the region. NELP’s nine classes of alumni serve on over 150 regional boards and commissions. She recently completed a six-year term as an appointee on the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. As a volunteer also she facilitates a group of professional arts leaders working to raise the visibility and viability of the professional arts in the region. From 1997 to 2009 Doni served as the founding executive director of the Sacramento region chapter of the American Leadership Forum, a national organization dedicated to joining and strengthening leaders to serve the public good. ALF’s objective is to create a “bone-structure” for the region, building trust and connections among leaders to support transformational change. Doni is the wife of an Episcopal priest, and is the mother of three daughters and grandmother of four.
Luisa Lavulo - District 8
Luisa Lavulo, a California native, was raised in Minnesota and received the majority of her education while living there. Since returning to Sacramento in 2000, she met and married her husband, Ronald Lavulo, and together they have raised their five children for the past 16 years in District 8. With a full house of children, Luisa is dedicated to making her community a more sustainable and future-focused environment. Although she has a strong background in music her passion is her family. She loves serving as a youth leader at her church and has served as chair of TOFA Ambassadors Program for 4 years.
Dr. L. Steven Winlock – Mayor’s Appointee
Dr. L. Steven Winlock, is the Executive Director of the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), School of Education. The SCOE School of Education provides leadership and teacher development for the School Districts in Sacramento County. This is provided through credential programs, as well as through professional development opportunities for educators. Dr. Winlock has been an educator for over 40 years and has served as a classroom teacher, school principal and a school district associate superintendent. Dr. Winlock serves as SCOE art liaison for art education that supports connecting our city, county office of education, school districts and art organizations in the implementation of art education in our schools. Dr. Winlock born and raised in Sacramento and has made Sacramento his forever home. His involvement in the community in the arts and culture has been as a musical performer and has served on many art and culture boards in the city. Dr. Winlock believes in the power of community. A community makes all things possible by working together. Sacramento’s art and culture is very much depended upon the quality of the work that our community does together to make Sacramento a destination point for arts and culture in this state.
Priscilla Enriquez – Mayor’s Appointee, Chair
Priscilla leads the team at the James B. McClatchy Foundation as Chief Executive Officer. With over 20 years in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector, she has curated investments across a wide range of issues that center communities and people seeking better lives for themselves and the next generation. As CEO she provides leadership in strategic philanthropic investments while supporting the bedrock tenets of democracy and advancing equity. Both a servant leader and advocate, Priscilla works to enhance and uphold the foundation’s promise to stand with the people of California’s Central Valley in partnership with her board, staff, and grantee partners. She currently serves on the boards of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), a national philanthropic serving organization advocating for AANHPI communities, and Fairytale Town, Sacramento region’s only outdoor park and arts organization promoting the imagination, creativity, and play for children. As a first-generation college graduate, Priscilla holds an A.B. and an M.A. from UC Berkeley. Her sweet spot is leading for change — to transition systems that divide and separate into ones that build and unite. She leads by innovating with a start-up mindset for community inclusion and systemic change. The arts have always been a focal point in her and her family’s lives, and her role on the commission is to ensure that every community in Sacramento can be uplifted through the arts.
Melinda Wilson Ramey – Mayor’s Appointee
Melinda Wilson Ramey, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of Students and Personnel in the College of Arts & Letters at Sacramento State. She holds an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from Northwestern University, a M.A. in Theatre also from Northwestern, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Vanderbilt University. As a university administrator, she focuses on student success initiatives, faculty/staff development and creative collaborations between the college and Sacramento community. She is the former chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance where she taught courses in theatre history, script analysis, directing, and African American and multicultural theatre.