Philadelphia-born Sheila Hughes is often mistaken for a Pacific Northwest native, and has been a prominent figure in the Seattle Arts and Non-profit landscape for more than 25 years. She served as Principal, Producer and COO of One Reel, the creative powerhouse responsible for Bumbershoot, WOMAD, Summer Nights at the Pier, Lake Union Family Fourth, and Teatro ZinZanni Seattle & San Francisco, as well as dozens of Northwest and touring concerts, theater and circus arts, youth programs and spectacles.

Following her departure from One Reel in 2010, Sheila served as Executive Director of several important Pacific Northwest cultural institutions, to include Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, Gage Academy of Art, and now, most enthusiastically, Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.

As a volunteer, board member and advocate for several organizations which deliver essential services to our region, Sheila supports the Downtown Seattle Food Bank, Pike Market Senior Center, Path with Art and Earshot Jazz.  Equally passionate about music/art and cooking/gardening, and an unapologetic fan of the ‘festival’ as an art form, she was proud to hear one of her two daughters describe her as a blend of Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart.

Greg grew up in Seattle and went to graduate school in New York City to earn his master’s degree in Public Administration from NYU. His arts career was accidental – while director of facilities planning at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City in the 1980s, he helped launch one of the largest hospital art collections in the country. That’s how he got ‘the bug.’

Subsequently, he held positions including executive director of Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, director of William Traver Gallery in Tacoma, and executive director of the Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) in La Conner.

Greg serves the non-profit art community throughnumerous selection panels for exhibitions and awards, including the Betty Bowen Award Committee of Seattle Art Museum since 1999. Career highlights include several book projects on Puget Sound artists, serving on the board of the American Craft Council, and volunteering as a strategic facilitator and coach for smaller non-profit organizations. 

“If I bring anything to BIMA it is endless curiosity. My job is to mine our regional art world for diverse talent – both long-standing careers that are deserving, and artists that are new (at least to me) in this ever changing landscape.  At BIMA we cook up exhibitions from scratch – we have no real recipe to follow, just great – and fresh — ingredients!”

Before transplanting to Seattle from Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2015, Amy’s experience in the arts had its similarities to many aspiring artists. She worked as a barista, singer/songwriter, book artist and wide-eyed dreamer viewed through the lens of her upbringing in the “buckle of the bible belt.”  She received her B.A. in Art History from the University of Oklahoma and began her museum career as an education assistant at Philbrook Museum of Art. She has always found herself encouraging other artists to show their work in the community and helping them find creative ways to connect people with their work through music, festivals, home shows, etc. All the while, looking for ways an emerging or under-recognized artist connects to a museum. 

In 2014, she stepped through the doors of Bainbridge Island Museum of Art for the first time as a visitor and an artist — on the way to show her art at a First Friday Art Walk event in Winslow. She immediately felt welcomed with the kind of warm hospitality that makes room at the table for you – no closed doors. She was hooked. She began working as an intern at BIMA through the University of Washington’s Museology Certificate program in 2015 and her passion for finding and creating access points for artists’ voices in the museum is what she gets to do every day with the amazing mentorship and collaboration of the BIMA team. As an emerging curator, she strives to bring to light that intersection where life and art connect and is dedicated to assisting emerging and under-recognized artists expand their voices and community at BIMA

Kristin is an artist and educator who grew up in the Puget Sound and Mountain West. She earned an MFA in Metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA in Art History and Sociology/Anthropology from Carleton College and certifications from the Teaching Artist Training (TAT) Lab and Seattle’s Emerging Public Artist Roster (EPAR).

Kristin’s path has consistently woven between making art and sharing her excitement about it with people, and she brings over 30 years of experience to my work at BIMA. She has a firm conviction that beauty can be found in the most unlikely places.

She has received honors from Delta Kappa Gamma, the Island Treasure Award, and numerous residencies from Iceland to Chile. Her public art commissions can be found in parks, libraries and schools around the Pacific Northwest and her studio sculpture and jewelry have been exhibited internationally. She has received recognition for her work from the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the Fulbright Commission, Americans for the Arts, and her work has been published in Fiber Arts Design Book and Metalsmith Magazine.

Peter Raffa is the Director of Development at BIMA since 2017, and an integral member of the leadership team responsible for building a culture of philanthropy around the museum. In addition to raising money through grants and sponsorships, he enjoys cultivating and stewarding donors to support our exhibitions, events, and programs in support of our mission.

Peter is fluent in American Sign Language and has more than 35 years of fundraising experience with various nonprofits in Seattle and throughout the East Coast. He and his wife Christie moved to Bainbridge with their daughter Taylor in 1994.

Shehalee is BIMA’s Membership Coordinator and your go-to resource for all things relating to your membership! She has spent her entire life as a proud Pacific Northwest resident and has always been passionate about the arts, music, and community connection. She was introduced to BIMA in April 2019 when she began interning as the Assistant Event Producer for the 2019 BIMA Bash (our biggest fundraiser of the year!) to complement her academic studies in event planning. However, she just couldn’t get enough of BIMA, so she officially joined the team in August 2019!

Whether sculpting, dancing, or studying midwifery, the art of organic movement and connection has always captivated her curiosity. While in event planning school, she has enjoyed fusing these passions, and is thrilled to plan BIMA’s member parties in such a creative atmosphere. If you see her in the galleries, please say hello—she loves meeting members and talking art, science, or events.

For Georgia, growing up in Alaska, there weren’t many opportunities for rich contemporary cultural experiences, but there was an amazing museum nearby! When it was freezing rain outside, she and her friends would wind up the spiral foyer, soaking up the exhibits of Southeast Alaskan Native art. In school, they had the chance to carve traditional Native designs, and had regular visits from the Chilkoot dancers. That heritage led to a love art, and of the stories expressed through art.

She attended college in Seattle and California, graduating with a degree in English Literature. From there she spent many years working in the education field, and became the director and media spokesperson for a private education center in Calgary. After her return to the Pacific Northwest, she had the pleasure of working with the Bainbridge Park District for 12 years, providing their cultural events programming and meeting their graphic design needs. Concurrently, she was an instructor at a local arts college for five years, teaching digital arts and design production. Her next stop was as publicist and then education outreach manager for Bainbridge Arts and Crafts. More recently she has had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and teach English in Italian schools. Of course, she had to visit the museums of Florence, and yes, she wept all through the Uffizi.

Two decades in the nonprofit world—where budgets are tight and flexibility is key—have given Korum the opportunity to gain a wide range of skills in marketing, branding, public relations, management and event production. His experience as a graphic designer helps bring a strong visual aesthetic to everything he does.

He started his career in arts non-profits at One Reel, working as graphic designer for Bumbershoot, Teatro ZinZanni, and Summer Nights at the Pier. Over time, Korum built up his marketing chops and became Marketing Manager for Teatro ZinZanni where, when not working on the legendary show, he was part of a small team that developed new after-hours projects for the circus tent and developed its education programs. After nearly twelve years, he left the project to become Director of Communications & Events for Bloedel Reserve before finding his way to BIMA which he feels is where he was always meant to be.

Fun to know:
Outside of the 9-5, Korum plays drums for Grammy-nominated family music band Recess Monkey. He has also played with or alongside David Byrne, Jon Hendricks, The Dead Science, Grady Tate, his brother Jherek and many others. For his work as a musician, community organizer, and educator, Korum was the first recipient of the Amy Award for Emerging Artists.

Shawn received her MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle U and a BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting from WWU. In fall 2016, following graduation from her masters program, Shawn found her way to BIMA attracted by the museum’s mission and her desire to work with a small team of passionate art folks. She has worked with a variety of cultural organizations in the Puget Sound area, including Cultural Access WA, Culture PAC, Pottery Northwest, TeenTix, Intiman, and ACT. Additionally, she founded a theatre company that focused on the development of new works through collaborative creation which closed it’s doors in 2016. When she’s not spreading the word about BIMA, you can usually find her with her nose in a book or out on a bike adventure with her husband.

Karen is proud and happy to say she has been at BIMA since the beginning, watching it grow into this remarkable wonderful creative environment it is today. Retired, she works for the love of it in the Administrative Office as Marketing Associate.

Karen’s professional career began in music and ended in the law business, always trying to fit her artwork in on the side. Paper and fabric have always part of her designs beginning with embroidery, quilting, weaving, collage and eventually mixed media art which combined it all.

Jesse Ziebart joined the BIMA family as Cultural Programs Manager in 2018 and is thrilled to return to her hometown of Bainbridge Island after many years away. She is passionate about the performing arts and studied jazz composition and vocal performance at the American School of Modern Music in France, acting at the Lee Strasberg Actor’s Workshop, and is a long-time student of dance.

Jesse has produced events for The Ruins and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and spent the last six years in the world of television production, traveling the country shooting reality television shows for Nat Geo Wild, Bravo, NBC, HGTV, Discovery, and The Food Network among others. She is especially proud of her work on the producing team of Emmy-nominated 2016 season of “Top Chef,” and of her work on the documentary “White Board” (2020) that covered the conflict in Standing Rock, North Dakota. She finds it essential to continually learn from others, to hear their stories and to share them and is grateful to be able to work with so many incredible artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and performers who share their stories at BIMA.

Jesse is fluent in French, so if you speak even “un petit peu” please find her and tell her “bonjour”. She is an avid poetry reader and currently obsessed with Rosario Castellanos who wrote:

“Solitude seeks fulfillment in my tears
and awaits me in the depths of every mirror
and closes the windows carefully
so the sky will not come in.”

Andrea Williams is the Finance Manager at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. Andrea handles all facets of BIMA’s financial activities, including financial analysis, accounting operations and reporting, tax filing, investment monitoring, and external audits. Additional duties include payroll management, HR & benefits administration, IT support, and other operational support.

Andrea is passionate about supporting her colleagues and serving her community. She can be found roaming the island with her daughter and spouse, enjoying the weather and trees that brought them to the PNW.

Bainbridge OG. After getting a Bachelors’ degree from The Evergreen State College in fine Art, Kelly decided her interests really lay in finance. While living a few years in Arizona, she became a Teller, took a bookkeeping course, and interned for a small arts organization there. Upon her return to Bainbridge in 2017, she found the perfect combination of her interests in working at BIMA. Kelly mainly enters our day-to-day financial data, though you may see her filling in at our gift store from time to time!

Kristin was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California. She relocated to the PNW after college. The bulk of her pre-BIMA career was spent in design and product development in the interior textiles and tabletop industries. She tends to invest her whole heart and soul in what she endeavors to do and became very passionate about empowering women in remote areas of the globe. She traveled extensively to work with artisans to help them evolve their village handicrafts into more marketable products for the world stage.

Born in Illinois, Judith lived all over the Southwest as a child including a year in Mexico City. She lived and raised her family in San Antonio, Texas for 30 years, where she owned and ran a folk art gallery called “Flight of Fancy.” Buying for the gallery took her to Central Mexico a lot, and kept her haunting antique shops throughout Texas and New Mexico. While in San Antonio, she volunteered for and was active in the Marion Kugler McNay Art Museum. She has been on Bainbridge Island for 20 years now where she has worked at Lindsley’s, Bainbridge Gardens, and now at BIMA which she describes as “a mind-opening and invigorating place to be.”

Sandy was born in Tacoma and grew up in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, which at the time was underpopulated and gorgeous. At age 17 she was scouted by an agent and started modeling in New York, under heavy supervision by her modeling agency. She had so much fun as it was a lovely era with caring people.

Being an only child, she missed having a large family but did that ever change when she met her husband who had 4 children, the oldest being 10 years younger than Sandy! Suddenly she had three girls, one boy and was off to the Main Line of Philadelphia! They then had two boys who were adored by their older siblings.

She became very involved as a volunteer in the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Pennsylvania Ballet, and Bryn Mawr Hospital. She joined a luxury clothing company and was lucky to have a 15-year career in sales, training new associates, coaching and managing all over the country. She then went on to become the regional manager of Washington and Idaho.

After returning to the Pacific Northwest three years ago, she decided to make my home on Bainbridge Island, where one of her sons and his family live—her geographic circle is now complete.

Since she had no friends here, she ventured into BIMA and was lucky to meet docent Jane Puriton who introduced her to many people and she became a Volunteer Docent. She fell in love with BIMA and is so impressed with all of the varied programs offered and the feeling of family and positive attitude with all involved.

Like many artists, Laurie started out very young, a glorious finger-painter on the kitchen floor. She quickly advanced to re-drawing pictures from coloring books, moving on to painting signs and murals for school plays. Later, with a BA degree in Fine Art from Humboldt State University in hand, she began her twenty-plus-year career as a graphic designer. Along the way she got married and raised two children. When her family moved to Bainbridge island 12 years ago, she decided to leave the hectic world of graphic design and follow her dream of being a fine artist. However, she found she missed the work environment. So, when an ad for a retail sales position at BIMA popped up on her computer screen, she jumped at the opportunity, and became part of the team that helped launch the museum. She loves being part of the BIMA family. In her free time she still freelances now and then as a designer, but she now focuses on drawing, painting, and collage. It is the simple, everyday things that attract her as subject matter… Simple things that we sometimes forget to appreciate.

“I really love working with everyone here at BIMA… there is never a dull moment!”

Scott spent years as a contractor in Maryland before choosing to stay at home with his two kids. Scott used his skills to build playgrounds, organize school events, plan fundraisers, and be a member of the PTO. With the kids in college, Scott turned back to his work in construction management and joined a property management company. The relationships made with local parents and contractors in those years made for a perfect match when the museum was newly finished and needed a Facility Manager to finish punch list items with contractors and oversee new ongoing operations with compliance needs. Working with all departments at the museum along with the art installation and lighting crew, Scott has been part of the woven family that makes BIMA the little museum that could.