Diane Brigham joined Ryman Arts as Executive Director in 2002. She has led the expansion of the program, raised its profile as the leading pre-professional artistic training program for talented teen artists in Southern California, strengthened its fundraising capacity, and built awareness of the value of quality artistic education for youth. Committed to public engagement in art, Diane and her team at Ryman Arts recently launched The Big Draw LA, a collaborative regional initiative to celebrate the value of drawing with more than 60 public drawing activities during the month of October. The Big Draw is an international project now in 22 countries.

Prior to Ryman Arts, Diane was Head of Education at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she was part of the planning group for the building of the Getty Center and led the team responsible for the Museum’s interpretive programs for the public. She has more than thirty years of experience in art and museum education, beginning as a public school art teacher. She holds a B.S. and M.Ed. in art education from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Diane was Assistant Curator of Education at the Philadelphia Museum of Art prior to moving to California in 1987.

Diane has served on the board of directors of the National Art Education Association, the education committee of the American Alliance of Museums, and Museum Educators of Southern California. Diane has been a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Diane completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Leaders in the Arts. She was selected as a 2011 Fellow in Leadership LA, in which leaders in business, government and non-profit sectors study critical civic issues together. Diane completed the Annenberg Foundation Leadership Seminar, Alchemy+ and now served as a community champion for Annenberg Alchemy, advising the foundation and training other non-profit leaders in effective board governance, leadership, and fundraising strategies to strengthen organizational impact.

Ana Garcia, Site & Outreach Coordinator, joined Ryman Arts in 2014 as the program completed its expansion to a second site. Ana K. Garcia received her BFA in Photography and Media from California Institute of the Arts in 2012. She is a Los Angeles based artist with an interest in community arts education.

Shannon Huang, Development & Communications Manager, joined Ryman Arts in 2014. With a background in development and special events, Shannon has worked in the non-profit sector with organizations including The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, America SCORES LA, and the Orange County Museum of Art. Aside from her work in the non-profit world, Shannon spent 8 years at a biochemistry production laboratory and did a harvest internship at the Robert Mondavi Winery. Shannon earned her Master of Arts Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Humanities and Arts from UC Irvine.

Ginny Kokubun, Administrative Coordinator, has been delighted to be a part of Ryman Arts since June 2011. With a strong background in administration and having studied Interior Design, she has worked in numerous industries including retail, fashion, special events, and hotel administration. More recently, she has worked at Warner Brothers and DreamWorks Animation.

Walter Marsh, Operations Manager, joined Ryman Arts in 2007. Walter earned his MFA in Classical Guitar Performance from UCLA in 1995 and has worked in non-profit management since 1996. His experience includes non-profit accounting and financial management, operations management, event production, and music education.

Marilyn Nguyen, Development Coordinator, is excited to be part of the Ryman Arts team as of 2018. Passionate about the arts and its ability to bring about community engagement in Los Angeles, Marilyn has worked in various art organizations, including MOCA and the Marciano Art Foundation. Moreover, Marilyn prides herself on being an avid museum-goer as well as an addicted coffee-fanatic. She graduated from Ryman Arts in 2011 and earned her Bachelors of Arts in English and Fine Art from the University of California, Irvine.

Rebecca Tuynman, Education Manager, oversees all Ryman Arts classes and student activities. She has over 20 years of experience in art education, having worked prior to Ryman Arts in a variety of community organizations, schools, universities, and museums. Rebecca is a graduate of the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI), produced by the National Guild for Community Arts Education. She earned her MFA in Studio Art from UC Santa Barbara and a BA in History of Art from Bryn Mawr College. She has been with Ryman Arts since 2005. Rebecca received the Outstanding Visual Arts Supervisor/Administrator of the Year for 2017 from the California Art Education Association in 2017.

Kaleeka Bond joined Ryman Arts in Fall 2012. She teaches drawing at Saddleback College and Cal State University, Long Beach. She is a graduate of Laguna Beach College of Art and Design, where she received both her BA and MFA. A Southern California native, she is widely recognized for her exceptional skills in pastel drawing and is known for her large-scale compositions (which she frames herself)!

Holly Boruck has an MFA in Painting from Cal State University Northridge and a BFA from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She is an Adjunct Professor at Cal State University Northridge and Moorpark College. Highlights of her awards include the City of Pasadena Individual Artist Grant in 2014, a USA Projects Funding Grant in 2013, a Durfee Grant and a George Sugarman Grant. She is the director and curator of Surrogate Gallery Projects, part of the Pasadena Arts Council's fiscal sponsorship EMERGE Program. Holly works in painting, drawing and sculpture and exhibits in local, national and international venues. To learn more about Holly, please visit: www.HollyBoruck.com

Rochelle Botello is a Los Angeles based visual artist working across mixed media collage, sculpture and site-specific installations. Her work has been exhibited in both the United States and internationally, extending Berlin and South Korea. She has exhibited with Holter Museum of Art, Torrance Art Museum, Jaus, Coagula Curatorial and Summer Camp Project Projects, to name a few, and her work resides in many private collections from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and San Francisco to New York. Her exhibitions have also been reviewed in the LA Times, The Huffington Post and Coagula Art Journal. Botello holds a MFA from Claremont Graduate University and a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz. She is currently an instructor at Citrus College and Workshop Coordinator at ArtworxLA. To learn more about Rochelle, please visit: www.rochellebotello.com

Manny Cosentino is a nationally exhibited figurative painter and accomplished draughtsman. He paints on glass and from 2009 to 2015 he was the lead stained glass painter for the Judson Studios in Los Angeles. Manny’s own work consists of contemporary portraits, figure compositions, urban landscapes and still lives. He has always enjoyed studying the art and painting/drawing practices of the past to find techniques and approaches that best suit his artistic vision; he is especially fond of Flemish and Venetian painting. He is a dedicated instructor and mentor to young artists and over the last couple of years he has taught Life Drawing and Life Painting at California State University Long Beach and Advanced Painting for Ryman Arts. He also teaches privately in Los Angeles and Malibu. To learn more about Manny, please visit: www.mannycosentino.com

Ichiro Irie was born in Tokyo and raised in Los Angeles. Ichiro received his BA from University of California, Santa Barbara, and his MFA from Claremont Graduate University. In 2001, Irie went to Mexico City on a Fulbright fellowship and has maintained an active relationship with the visual art community in Mexico. Irie has exhibited his work internationally in galleries and museums such as Bank Gallery in Los Angeles, Hendershot gallery in New York, CSW Museum in Warsaw, and Museo Carrillo Gil in Mexico City. As a curator he has organized more than 30 exhibitions. Between 2002 and 2006 he founded and edited the contemporary art publication RiM magazine. Irie currently lives and works in Los Angeles, owns and operates the artist-run space JAUS in Los Angeles. teaches at Ryman Arts and Oxnard College, and is an artist in residence at 18th Street Arts Center.

Marc Kompaneyets is a Los Angeles based fine artist and writer/illustrator. Born in Moscow, USSR, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania. His fine art work, informed by his classical training and inspired by the European masters, spans a wide range of subject matter, from the observational to the psychological and the surreal. He is the writer/illustrator of The Squishiness of Things (Knopf 2005) and The Troll-Control Expert (self published 2010). Marc is an adjunct professor at Santa Monica College and a senior lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design. To learn more about Marc, please visit: www.Mkompan.squarespace.com

Malaika Zweig Latty is a Los Angeles based painter. She received her BFA from California College of the Arts (1999) and her MFA from Massachusetts College of Art (2005), with additional studies at L’ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Her work has been exhibited publicly since 1997 and is held in private collections throughout the US and in Paris, France. Malaika has spent the past fifteen years teaching students from teens to adults both privately and in an array of local institutions such as UCLA, Otis College of Art & Design, Ryman Arts, and Citrus College. Most recently she served as Chair of the Visual Arts program for the LA County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) from 2013–2016. To learn more about Malaika, please visit: www.malaikalatty.com

Michelle Mary Lee received her double major BA in Art and Art History from UCLA and her MFA and EdD from USC. She holds a teaching credential in Art. She is currently a lecturer at UCLA and USC. Dr. Lee has been an AP Studio Art teacher at various high schools. In addition to teaching, she is a working artist. Her selected solo exhibitions include 16 Summertime Paintings, eat.on sunset, Metropolitan Water District (Los Angeles), USC Interdisciplinary Center (Irvine), and Combes Gallery, Paris. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at LA Weekly: Emerging Artists Biennial, Bergamot Station (Santa Monica); SuperSonic: MFA Exhibition, Municipal Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park; Kay Nielsen Drawing Show, UCLA Hammer Museum, Grunwald Center for Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, CA.

Ronald J. Llanos teaches figure drawing and painting to both adults and children at his alma mater, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He has also run art workshops in different schools including Polytechnic, Flintridge Prep and has also taught art at McKinley School and Pasadena High School. Asides teaching, Ronald is a practicing artist who regularly creates artwork and exhibits. Ronald has exhibited in galleries throughout southern California, Oregon and Washington. His works are in the collection of many art collectors. He has also done various commissioned portraits for private individuals. Recently, Ronald was selected and commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to design 24 mosaic panels for the Western Station of the new Exposition Lightrail line that opened to the public in April of 2012.

Robin Palanker, BFA, California Institute of the Arts. Robin exhibits nationally and is represented locally by the Lora Schlesinger Gallery. Her motion-centric work can be found in numerous art collections. She has taught at Art Center College of Design, California State Summer School for the Arts, H.O.L.A., University of La Verne, Laguna College, Vermont College, and Loyola Marymount University and has been a guest lecturer at Santa Monica College, Cal State University, Long Beach, UC Riverside, and UCLA, among others. She was awarded the Sharon Disney Lund Master Teaching Award in 2007. Robin has worked extensively as a publication designer and also trains dogs, specializing in dog tricks. She has collaborated on diverse performance projects, including the award-winning Nijinsky Speaks. She joined Ryman Arts in Fall 2003.

Sergio Rebia is an artist and professor of visual art born and raised in California. He obtained his BFA in 2004 and his MFA in 2008 from Laguna College of Art and Design. Sergio has taught in colleges and universities all over Southern California including Cal State University Long Beach, Mt. San Antonio College, Saddleback College, LCAD, and Rio Hondo College, where he currently teaches. He now dedicates his time to teaching, raising a family, and developing a body of work in his studio in Santa Ana. There is only one thing that Sergio enjoys more than painting in his studio and that is teaching and being part of the passing on of a legacy that has existed since the very first works of art created on the walls of the Caves in Lascaux. 

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, veteran instructor David Schoffman has spent the brunt of his labors in wrathful pursuit of the perfect painting. The wages of his endurance have garnered their fair share of awards and exhibitions but it is at Ryman Arts where fulfillment reaches its truest sense of eudaimonia. In addition to painting and teaching David is a mischievous master of media inundating the Internet with screeds, manifestos and subversive YouTube videos. Indifferent to pets and actively hostile to TV David spends most of his scarce spare time with his family and friends.

Luis Serrano earned his BFA from Otis Art Institute and his MFA from Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design in Painting and Drawing. He has taught painting, drawing and three-dimensional design at two Los Angeles community colleges and landscape drawing at UCLA Extension and holds a credential for junior college teaching. His work has been exhibited nationally. He currently draws and paints landscape from direct observation. He joined Ryman Arts Fall 2013.

Cathy Stone lives and works in Los Angeles where she is the director of the gallery Another Year in LA. She was an artist in residence at Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, France, and an Affiliate Artist at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California. Internationally she has shown in Berlin,at the Zweiter Berliner Kongress fur Performance und Visual art . Ms. Stone has been a mentor for Transart Institute for the past two years, an MFA program in Austria, where she works with students individually here in Los Angeles. She joined Ryman Arts in 2007.

Natasha Carovska graduated from Otis College of Art and Design majoring in Digital Media with an emphasis in film. She graduated Ryman Arts in 2012 and aside from being a full time student, still participates in various projects and events including: The Pasadena Chalk Festival which she has been a part of for the past 6 years. She is now working in film distribution at Indican Pictures in West Hollywood. To learn more about Natasha, please visit: www.natashacarovska.com

Martha Fernandez-Grijalva graduated from Ryman Arts in 2013 and pursued a degree in animation at California State University, Long Beach. She is now a college graduate and has dedicated her time towards refining her portfolio by attending portfolio review events and taking courses at the Animation Guild. Martha has a passion for creating characters that are fun and relatable to our diverse society. She hopes to later become an Art Director for an animation studio in the states or abroad! To view more of her work please visit: https://marthaferngri.wixsite.com/mfgportfolio

Daniela Gonzalez graduated from Ryman Arts in 2015.

Jamie Ang Lee is a current full-time student at California State University, Fullerton, majoring in Illustration and Graphic Design. A 2013 Ryman Arts graduate, Ryman Arts has helped her hone her skills and encouraged her to pursue higher education in the arts. She plans to pursue her goals of obtaining a MFA in Art Education, becoming a background illustrator in the entertainment industry, and having her own gallery one day. She currently does freelance work in illustration and design and has showcased her artwork in exhibitions and galleries in both Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Christine Marcelle is a recent graduate of the University of California, Irvine where she studied Studio Art and Psychology, Cognitive Science. In 2013, she interned with Jean Shin for her show at the Korean American Museum and was a film Teaching Assistant in 2015. She enjoys painting and illustrating. She has a soft spot for video games, cartoons, sleeping, and eating.

Raquel Martinez is a full-time student at California State University, Fullerton and is working toward her BFA with a concentration in Animation. She graduated from Ryman Arts in 2016 and aims to become an animator for Disney or Pixar and to create her own cartoon show.

Petrina Mina has worked as an artist, painter, and illustrator for the past 10 years. She is a California State University, Long Beach alumna with a BA in Studio Art and a Ryman Alumna (’00). She has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for the medical and animation industry. In her spare time, she attends many life-drawing events in Los Angeles and takes courses at the Animation Guild. To learn more about Petrina, please visit: www.petrinamina.com

Stephanie Petteplace is a full-time student at California State University, Los Angeles studying to earn her BFA degree with a concentration on Animation. She graduated high school and Ryman Arts in 2016 and is now working toward her goal of becoming an animator for Disney.