Our Team

Who We Are

Our dedicated Board of Directors and staff are the movers and shakers who work tirelessly to support local emerging artists in their professional and personal growth. We come from various disciplines – the arts, fundraising, affordable housing, business and marketing development, entertainment, finance, and public advocacy. We are passionate about maintaining and creating new initiatives to support emerging artists, and over the years, we have seen countless artists launch their careers from within our walls. Meet our team.

Team Members

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Cheyanne Sauter

Executive Director

Team Members

Cheyanne Sauter

Executive Director

Born and raised in SGV (San Gabriel Valley), Cheyanne Sauter has been a nonprofit professional for over 20 years. Her true calling lies in working with and supporting artists, and in July 2013 Cheyanne joined Art Share L.A. as an Interim Director to revitalize the nonprofit. Over the past 6 years, she grew the organization to the beast it is today, supporting over 700 visual & performing artists annually. Cheyanne loves managing the six staff members to offers diverse programming that engages hundreds of emerging artists to create, exhibit, and share their work with thousands of art lovers annually. Cheyanne has served as a member of the executive team for the Cultural Stakeholders Committee, whose goal was to provide visibility for the arts and preserve and promote Los Angeles’ cultural and heritage. She currently sits on the boards of the Los Angeles River and Business Association (LARABA) and the Arts District Business Improvement District (ADLA).

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Terry Ellsworth

The Ambassador

Team Members

Terry Ellsworth

The Ambassador

Terry joined Art Share L.A. five years ago when it was rebuilding itself from the ashes administratively, financially, and physically. As a long-time Arts District resident and community staple, he brought decades of extensive art experience to the organization and saw the building’s incredible potential in revitalizing the Arts District. Today, he is proud to see Art Share L.A. living up to its mission, and can be found walking the hallways of the building sharing his stories or hanging up artwork for gallery shows. If you have any questions about the Arts District and all its glory, he’s the person to ask.

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Badir McCleary

Associate Director Exhibits & Programs

Team Members

Badir McCleary

Associate Director Exhibits & Programs

Badir McCleary is an independent consultant. He holds an M.A. in Arts Business and Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art (Los Angeles/London) where he focused on creating art markets and with an undergraduate degree in Internet Computing from Cabrini University focusing on e-commerce and digital trends. Badir enjoys working with artists and considers them crucial to informing his practice. Having extensive contemporary art history knowledge and experience, Badir is able to tackle large projects with confidence, protecting and tracking deliverables and ensuring high-level success for clients.

Badir was the Co-Owner and Director of Gallery 38 (Los Angeles), a project that produced exhibitions for emerging artists of color in South Los Angeles and helped contribute to several public projects globally, helping artists transform communities through visual aesthetics.

With informative research and education through cultural exhibitions, hard-hitting writing, and timely strategy, he hopes to educate artists and patrons on a growing cultural marketplace and introducing underrepresented neighborhoods to fine art programming. He assists in facilitating primary and secondary market art acquisitions and sales for beginning and seasoned collectors. He is an extension of his clients, providing strategy based on their personal goals, and simultaneously protecting their interests while preserving their privacy.

“I believe and have been told that my work, although sometimes silent, has a huge impact on the careers of professionals as I try to invoke a new way of thinking and navigating the art world.” – Badir McCleary

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Adrianne Toomey

Associate Director Strategic Partnerships

Team Members

Adrianne Toomey

Associate Director Strategic Partnerships

Adrianne brings over a decade of experience in the non-profit arts and culture sector. Prior to joining Art Share, Adrianne was the Manager of Special Events at SFMOMA where she coordinated special artist projects and produced museum-wide events. After graduating from Eugene Lang College in New York City, she worked for several arts and non-profit cultural institutions including Fleisher Art Memorial, a nationally recognized community art school affiliated with The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Adrianne has worked producing community film festivals for The Philadelphia Film Society, and as an in-school artist-in-residence at The Philadelphia Print Center. She joined Art Share because she believes in organizations that are committed to supporting the creation of art by visual artists that reflect our lives, and think critically about the future we want to build for the Los Angeles community.

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Morgan Barajas

Performing Arts & Facilities Manager

Team Members

Morgan Barajas

Performing Arts & Facilities Manager

A working visual artist and filmmaker, Morgan Barajas is the acting Your Art Here Coordinator at Art Share LA. Acting as a liaison between Art Share and businesses around Los Angeles, he works to bring emerging artists’ artwork into the public sphere. Born and raised in the wilds of SoCal suburbia, Morgan has worked in and near Los Angeles his whole life, and feels a deep connection with the complex city. After completing his studies for a BA in Cinematic Arts at Azusa Pacific University, he ran a music video business in LA for three years before transitioning to the art world and independent filmmaking. As a member of Art Share, he is proud to serve the creative community and help keep art alive in the Arts District of Los Angeles.

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Aldo Gutierrez

Loft Manager

Team Members

Aldo Gutierrez

Loft Manager

Aldo Gutierrez was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. He joined the Art Share LA community in March 2020 just as the pandemic hit Los Angeles. Aldo manages all things Lofts from the waitlist, leasing up, to any tenant matter that may arise. As an art patron, Aldo most looks forward to when the community can be welcomed back into our building.

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Minerva Ho

Marketing Intern

Team Members

Minerva Ho

Marketing Intern

Minerva was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She recently graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and Asian Studies from Colorado College. She joined Art Share L.A. in July 2021 as the Marketing Intern where she will support special events and exhibitions, artist newsletters, social media, and Art Share history documentation projects. Minerva is passionate about the intersection of film, arts, and social justice and hopes to leverage creativity for social and cultural impact.

Board of Directors

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Eddie Navarrette

Board President

Board of Directors

Eddie Navarrette

Board President

Eddie uses his extensive knowledge of the Planning, Building, and Health codes to develop overall project design and strategy for his clients’ projects. He oversees each phase of every project to ensure the level of professionalism and customer service that his clients have come to expect. In addition, Eddie is FE Design’s chief representative at all public hearings and he often meets with Senior City staff to discuss his projects or the overall direction of the municipal code. Because of his knowledge of the industry, Eddie has been featured or quoted in several news stories and articles regarding hospitality permitting in the City of Los Angeles. Since he started FE Design in 2003, Eddie has helped over 500 businesses research their properties and secure Planning Variances and Conditional Uses, Building Permits, Health Permits, Revocable Permits, Industrial Waste Permits, Special Event Permits, Alcoholic Beverage Control Licenses, and Police Permits for Dance Halls and Live Entertainment.

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Shana Nys Dambrot

Board Vice President

Board of Directors

Shana Nys Dambrot

Board Vice President

Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in Downtown LA. She is the Arts Editor for the LA Weekly, and a contributor to Whitehot Magazine, KCET’s Artbound, Flaunt, Fabrik, Art and Cake, Artillery, Palm Springs Life, Riot Material, West Hollywood Lifestyle, Jenkem, and Porter & Sail. She studied Art History at Vassar College, writes essays for books and exhibition catalogs, curates and juries a few exhibitions each year. SND is a dedicated Instagram photographer and author of experimental short fiction, and speaks at galleries, schools, and cultural institutions nationally. Shea sits on the Boards of Art Share-LA and the Venice Institute of Contemporary Art, the Advisory Council of Building Bridges Art Exchange, and the Brain Trust of Some Serious Business.

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Mike Kelley

Board Secretary

Board of Directors

Mike Kelley

Board Secretary

Mike Kelley is a Designer/Art Director with 20 years experience working on campaigns for numerous fortune 500 companies. He’s been involved professionally in the contemporary art world for 15 years as a gallery owner, curator and cultural producer. In 2004 he launched Junc Gallery, that quickly established itself as being a launching pad for noteworthy artists early in their careers. In addition Mike has experience volunteering in the arts non-profit sector, working as a coordinator for exhibitions and events with galleries and museums locally and across the U.S. Mike also teaches design and professional development classes including “Gallery Practices” “designed to help artists navigate the career minefield of exhibiting artists” at the Art center College of Design. Mike earned his BA in Fine Art at the Center College of Design.

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Eric Needleman

Board Treasurer

Board of Directors

Eric Needleman

Board Treasurer

Eric is a principal at The Spirited Group, a hospitality company that owns and operates venues throughout the Western US. Based in Los Angeles, the company currently has 20 locations throughout Los Angeles, San Diego, CA and Austin, TX.

Eric began in the hospitality industry in 2004, with his investment in the Golden Gopher. He then partnered to open Seven Grand, a bar that is largely credited with establishing the cocktail renaissance in Los Angeles, and Caña Rum Bar, which specializes in small batch rum and classic rum cocktails.

Prior to his career in hospitality, Eric was in commercial real estate. He was the asset manager of a 400,000 square foot portfolio of retail shopping centers and participated as a principal in the close of $100 million+ of commercial property transactions. Eric began in real estate with Gilmore Associates as the project manager for the Old Bank District redevelopment, the pioneering adaptive reuse project in Downtown Los Angeles.

Eric is on the Board of Directors of the LA Conservancy and Art Share LA. Eric graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Finance.

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Dave Hunt

Board of Directors

Dave Hunt

Dave Hunt is president and founder of DG Hunt & Associates, an art consulting and project management firm specializing in large scale art-in-architecture programs. With a background in design and architecture, his practice is rooted in the cultivation of relationships and collaborations between the “art world” and the “real world”. Over the years he has worked with a wide range of artists, architects, developers, and public art organizations throughout Southern California and beyond, but his primary focus continues to be in the arts and business communities of Downtown LA. (Started July 2015)

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Alex Poli

Board of Directors

Alex Poli

Man One is an LA native, multi-award-winning artist, illustrator, curator, entrepreneur, and prolific muralist. He has worked with the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the Mexican Consulate in the U.S., and received a Speaker and Specialist Grant by the U.S. State Department to work with the U.S. Embassy in Panama. His work is recognized internationally, exhibited in the LA Museum of Contemporary Art, Pasadena Museum of California, LACMA, Pacific Asia Museum, and Parco Museum in Tokyo. His work is in collections at the Getty Research Institute and the Smithsonian Institute as well. He has exhibited extensively across the U.S., Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland. He also founded Crewest Gallery in 2002, Los Angeles’ first full-time graffiti art gallery which later helped shape the Downtown LA art scene as a member of Gallery Row and the infamous DTLA Artwalk.

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Ashaki M. Jackson Ph.D.

Board of Directors

Ashaki M. Jackson Ph.D.

Dr. Ashaki M. Jackson, a Cave Canem and VONA alumna, is the author of two chapter-length collections — SURVEILLANCE (Writ Large Press, 2016) and LANGUAGE LESSON (Miel, 2016). Currently an Executive Editor at The Offing, she served on the VIDA: Women in Literary Arts Board and mentored for both the PEN USA Emerging Voices program and WriteGirl. Jackson, along with Alyss Dixson and Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, also co-founded Women Who Submit, a national community that supports women and nonbinary writers in submitting their literary works to top tier publications. Readers may find her poetry and essays in Obsidian, 7×7 LA, CURA, Prairie Schooner, Midnight Breakfast, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Bettering American Poetry, among other publications. She earned her MFA (poetry) from Antioch University Los Angeles and her doctorate (social psychology) from Claremont Graduate University.

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