Meet our team
General contact questions?
Call 541-754-1551 or Email The Arts Center
Executive Director
Cynthia became a member and volunteer of The Arts Center soon after moving here in the 1980s. After 20+ years of sharing her pottery through galleries, art fairs, and online she became Director of the Corvallis Fall Festival and then ED of The Arts Center in 2014.
As a professional artist, Cynthia understands the challenges of leading a creative life and running a business.
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Community Engagement Coordinator
Jen has a B.S. in Human Development from Northwestern University and returned to The Arts Center in 2017 as Community Engagement Coordinator. She’s a seasoned community volunteer and enjoys improving each volunteer’s experience. Jen has lived in both hemispheres where she’s milked cows, sold fancy Oregon wine, and written biographies of stuffed animals. Jen thinks Willamette Park has the best recreational opportunities for dogs and humans.
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Curator, Public Programs Manager
Jennie has been curating for The Arts Center since 2022. She returned to the PNW after earning an MFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2017 and currently lives in historic neighborhoods of Albany, OR. If you ask her, The Brass Monkey has the best fries in Corvallis, OR!
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Arts Learning Assistant
Jenny is a self-taught oil painter and ceramic artist. She has a great passion for creativity and fine art and loves seeing how it can unite a community. The Art Center has been a place of inspiration and connection to other artists for Jenny in the last three years, and she is so excited to contribute to what makes The Art Center so wonderful.
Aside from painting, in her free time, Jenny loves to explore the PNW, tend to her garden, read, spend an afternoon at a coffee shop, and go to the farmer’s market and The Dark Side.
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Arts Learning Coordinator
Carl Conner (they/them/theirs) is incredibly excited to be part of the team as the Arts Learning Program Coordinator.
They combine their love for the arts with their passion for community & youth engagement. They moved to Corvallis in 2016 from Southern Oregon to pursue an education at OSU and graduated in 2020 with an Honors degree in Psychology.
Carl enjoys yoga, drawing, painting, cooking, baking, tabletop role-playing games, and spending time with their sweet dog, Almond.
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Artist Accelerator Program Director
Claire joined The Arts Center in 2017 as the Artist Accelerator director supporting professional development and community for artists through career-building workshops and meetups. Claire comes to The Arts Center with a diverse background in non-profits, startup sustainability, and a BFA from Bennington College in Painting & Ceramics.
She also enjoys backpacking and learning about behavioral sociology. Claire thinks that the view from Chip Ross Park is pretty great.
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ArtShop Manager
Dawn has a BA in Visual Communications. She worked with several university museum collections over the past 18 years. She also managed small businesses selling artifacts and beads.
The Corvallis community has been a great source of inspiration for Dawn’s work as a painter. She enjoys walks with her dogs, and gathering at the table making art with her creative family. Dawn recommends a walk through Willamette Park.
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Business Manager
In 2015, Ellen brought more than three decades of government, government contracting, non-profit, and small business owner experience to a Business Manager position at The Arts Center. She attended Oregon State University and graduated from Linn-Benton Community College with a Certificate in Supervisory Management. She has volunteered at the state and local level for over 40 years with various Boards of Directors, the 4-H Program, and Boy Scouts.
She enjoys photography, cooking, reading, and spending time with her family. Her favorite places in Corvallis are the plant nurseries.
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Membership
Barb, an economics graduate from UCSD, moved to Benton County in 1995 in time to see the 75-year flood. She loves the rivers and trails. We appreciate the experience she brings from her time as Benton Community Foundation’s Operations Manager.
She appreciates this creative and generous community, enjoys volunteering, sings in a choir, loves nature hikes, and paddles rivers and lakes.
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Graphics
Vanessa has a strong background in fine arts and graphic design and is a true asset to the organization.
She enjoys spending time with her partner and their dog Oblio, as well as learning to play the violin.
Vanessa has been involved in the progression of art throughout the surrounding communities.
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