Venice Arts' Founder Lynn Warshafsky among Seven Leaders to Receive Milestone Certificate from National Guild for Community Arts Education

Seven community arts education leaders will be honored with the 2014 National Guild Milestone Certificate of Appreciation for their long-standing, exceptional service to the field. The goal of the Milestone program—now in its third year— is to recognize leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to supporting and advancing community arts education for more than 20 years. Certificates will be presented during the Guild’s Annual Meeting at the Conference for Community Arts Education (Los Angeles, CA) on Friday, November 21, 2014.

The recipients are:

Glenna Avila, Director, CalArts Community Arts Partnership, Los Angeles, CA

Jo Ellen DeVilbiss, Executive and Artistic Director, The Conservatory of Central Illinois, Champaign, IL

Beth Dowd, Founder, Songcatchers, New Rochelle, NY

Robert Gilson, Director, School of the Arts, 92nd Street Y, New York, NY

Jeanne Kelly, Founder/Executive Director, Encore Creativity for Older Adults, Tracys Landing, MD

Robert C. McAllister, Dean, The Colburn Community School of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA

Lynn Warshafsky, Co-Founder, Venice Arts, Venice, CA


Click here for bios.


“The National Guild is thrilled to recognize these exceptional leaders for their vision and their dedication to community arts education,” said Jonathan Herman, executive director of the National Guild. “Through their decades-long work with communities and their service to the field, this year’s Milestone recipients have each made a powerful contribution to increasing equitable access to arts education.”

Venice Arts is a 21-year-old, nonprofit arts organization that is committed to providing high-impact arts education for low-income youth in the areas of photography, filmmaking, and multimedia. In addition to its core Art Mentoring & Education Program, Venice Arts implements regional, statewide, and international Documentary Programs with both adults and children; presents exhibitions, public programs, and workshops for adults centered around documentary photography and film; and consults on media arts, visual storytelling, and arts education locally and internationally. It is the philosophy of Venice Arts that self-expression, particularly through the arts, has the potential to transform and empower young people to see greater possibilities for themselves and for their communities. To find out more about Venice Arts, visit www.venicearts.org.

The National Guild for Community Arts Education supports and advances access to lifelong learning opportunities in the arts. We foster the creation and development of community arts education organizations and programs by providing research and information resources, professional development and networking opportunities, advocacy, funding, and high-profile leadership. Our more than 430 members, located in 45 states, include community schools of the arts; arts centers; and arts education divisions of performing arts institutions, universities, museums, and other organizations. Collectively, Guild members serve more than 2.5 million students, employ 20,000 teaching artists, and reach an additional eight million Americans each year through performances and exhibitions in rural, suburban and urban communities across the nation. In addition to providing classes and lessons within their own facilities, most members also collaborate with senior centers, hospitals, public schools, and other agencies to increase communities’ access to arts education. www.nationalguild.org