Robert Abbinanti - Board Member
Born in Chicago, Illinois
B.S. in Photo and Cinema from Southern Illinois Univ.
Extended studies In Printmaking
(really never wanted to leave college)
Married for 32 years
2 children
President QUE Imaging
In business for 25 years
Trustworthy
Linda Alardin - Board Member
Linda Alardin Aguilar is Vice President, Business Relationship Manager, for Amegy Bank. With a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston, she has over 23-years experience in finance, banking and small business. She is a long time member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, served on the Texas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary Board and the Assistance Fund. She has lived in the Heights for over 17 years and currently lives there with her husband, Mark.
Michelle Arnold PHD. - Board Member
A native of the greater Houston region, Michelle Cruz Arnold joined the Greater Houston Partnership in January 2008 and currently serves as Vice President of Public Policy in the Public Policy Division.
Michelle brings over a decade of public policy experience to her role at the Greater Houston Partnership. She began her career working in the Texas House of Representatives where she served as a legislative aide to State Representatives Joe Deshotel and Rene Oliveira, and as chief of staff to State Representative Aaron Pena. Michelle also worked at the Texas Education Agency, serving as the agency's liaison to the Texas Legislature. Most recently, she served as District Coordinator of External Affairs for the Clear Creek Independent School District. In each of these experiences, Michelle analyzed legislation, developed public policy positions and strategies to implement them, and worked directly with public officials and policymakers on related issues.
Michelle earned a B.S. in Communication Studies, a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.P.A. from Texas State University. She also received a graduate certificate in Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies from the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the University of Texas at Austin.
Steve Astrich - Board Member
Steve Astrich is the founder and president of Houston's Copy.com (Copydotcom, Inc.). He has been in and around graphic design and print production his entire life as his father was graphic arts director for a major corporation and his mother was executive assistant for the owner of a large local ad agency. Steve has been in the graphic design and printing field himself for 27 years. Early in his career he helped develop the first desktop publishing processes for a major national printing company beginning with his little store in Austin, and later created and managed the flagship store for that company here in Houston, where both of his parents are native. Steve founded Copy.com in 1996 as the premier digital printer in Houston. Copy.com has succeeded in surviving as an independent in an industry being swallowed by corporate giants, partly because of the interest and involvement it shows to our community. Steve has established Copy.com as a consistent and caring source of support for arts-related, education-related, and other non-profit organizations in Houston for 13 years and counting. Steve joined the Spacetaker board with a goal of becoming better educated in how all the pieces of Houston's art community fit together, and how he can most effectively continue to support that community.
Steve is single and even while founding Copy.com, his primary role the past 13 years has been as dad to 4 amazing kids - 2 girls now in high school and 2 boys currently attending the University of Texas at Austin. These 4 kids are truly Steve's most important legacy and he believes everything else from here on is a bonus. Steve currently serves on the board of directors and as a committee chair at Congregation Emanu El in Houston.
Jonathan Beitler - Board Member
Jonathan Beitler grew up most of his life in Houston, but isn't a native, and that makes him sad. He received his undergraduate degree from Furman University in Greenville, SC with a BA in Communications, tested the waters in a few cities after graduation, but finally deciding that Houston has everything he needs, including one of the most flourishing arts communities in the nation. Deeply interested in the sociological interaction between corporate entities and the general public, he joined the team at Pierpont Communications, the largest public relations and creative marketing firm in Houston, and held positions within their marketing, PR, crisis management and public affairs departments. He honed many of his skills by working for a variety of industries, from Fortune 500 energy companies to tech startups to fashion lines. In 2006, he was awarded the Most Valuable Communicator of the Year award by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for his work with post-Katrina disaster assistance.
David A. Brown - Founding Director
David Brown is a Houston-based photographer and the founding director of Spacetaker, an artist resource center, located in the historic sixth ward in Winter Street Studios. He studied at the University of Houston under Paul Kittleson and Luis Jimenez, and he received his BFA in 2001, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions at Darke Gallery, DiverseWorks, Fotofest, space125gallery and Deborah Colton Gallery. He is head-over-heels in love with his wife Christa and their two children Clara and Diego.
David currently serves on the board of Spacetaker, The Catastrophic Theater and the Advisory Board for River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. He also sits on the Greater Houston Partnerships Culture and Tourism committee, The Marketing Committee for the Avenue CDC and the Cultural Bridges committee for the Holocaust Museum Houston.
Elaine Conway - Board Vice President
Elaine Conway is an attorney with the law firm of Jackson Walker and focuses her practice on employment litigation and counseling. Elaine has lived and worked in Germany, Slovakia, Budapest, Arizona, Seattle and is currently reacquainting herself with her Texas roots. Elaine, a native of Austin, moved to Houston in 2007 and has enjoyed becoming active in Houston's expansive arts scene. Despite not having an artistic bone in her body, Elaine enjoys using her legal training to assist artists in their endeavors.
Carlos Go Boncan - Chief Technology Officer
Carlos Go Boncan attended Vanderbilt University and graduated with a B.E. in Biomedical Engineering. Along the way, he picked up an interest in graphic design and web development. After graduation, he worked as a freelance designer on various projects ranging from a website designed for the doctors in the TexasENT offices to the media kit for Houston's DJ group the Kracker Nuttz. His focus shifted when he began working as a Safety & Mission Assurance Engineer at Johnson Space Center but still continues to develop his design skills through projects like Spacetaker.org
Amy Ell - Board Member
Amy Ell is a woman who wears many hats.
Amy graduated from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts dance department in 1983. She went on to attend Texas A&M for one year where she danced and choreographed for the Texas A&M Dance Troupe. In 1984 Amy transferred to Texas Woman’s University where she acquired a B.S. in Exercise Science. While attending TWU she danced and toured with the TWU Dance Repertory Theater (she was asked twice to enter the program by the department head….there was a problem with her daddy’s idea of a proper profession so it was a no go). In 1989 Amy returned to Houston and had the privilege of working for the next 5 years with Sarah Irwin and NovoMama Dance along with Joan Kaarf Dance, Chrysalis Dance Company, and Several Dancers Core (Houston and Atlanta). Also during that same time Amy began collaborating with artists of other disciplines setting up structured improvisation. She worked with several new music artists including Chad Salvata at DiverseWorks and Elise Kermani at The Kitchen in NYC. Amy also worked on two of the Alchemy House performances with Kelli Scott Kelley and Dan Havel not just as a performer but also as a contributor. From 1996 – 2007 Amy danced with Jane Weiner’s HopeStone, Inc.. While dancing for Jane she formed a short lived dance company, Isadora’s Dish, with three other local dance creators, Leslie Scates, Susan Blair, and Sandy Marcello. Amy has been sporadically creating choreographed dance since 1996. She received a grant from DiverseWorks to produce a full nights work in 2004 and an Individual Artists Grant from HAA in 2007. Amy is about to give birth to her newest baby, Vault, a dance company utilizing space in all its capacity….in the air, on the wall, and on the floor.
Amy’s college degree has an emphasis in cardiac rehabilitation and corporate fitness. She has run health clubs, performed contract exercise testing for large corporations, set up exercise testing regimes/reports for work hardening facilities, mastered Pilates teachings, become the first Gyrotonic®/Gyrokinesis® Master Trainer (teacher trainer) in Texas, and learned and now performs the ancient art of Thai Yoga or Massage. She has worked for several Pilates studios in town. In 1998 she formed her own business, Core Fitness (that 5 years ago became Gyrotonic® Houston). She started by herself in a 200 square foot space teaching only Pilates. She now operates a 3000 square foot space that houses 10 teachers of various disciplines. She teaches Pilates, Gyrotonic®, Aerial arts including aerial dance on silks and aerial yoga. She is adding static trapeze, dance trapeze, and aerial dance on the pole (a mix of stripper and Chinese Pole). Amy is the first to bring both Gyrotonic® and Aerial Arts instruction to the Houston area.
Amy is a single parent to a fledging ballerina (her daughter is in level 8 of 8 levels at the Houston Ballet Academy). Amy also works with several of the Houston ballet dancers to keep them in tip top shape. Oh, and one more thing…..Amy has been trained to be a Mahout….an elephant trainer….but can’t figure out how to work that into her current profession. Hmmmmm.
Carey Kirkpatrick - Board Member
Nicole Laurent - Board Member
Nicole Laurent is extremely active in the Houston arts world and has a profound understanding of the workings of the arts community. She has served as the Civic Art + Design Project Manager for the Houston Arts Alliance as well as Director of Architecture Center Houston for AIA Houston/ArCH Foundation where, among other duties, she was responsible for ArCH programs and exhibitions. Currently, Nicole is the Director of Communications and Special Projects at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston.
Nicole holds a Master of Public Art Studies from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College.
David Mackie - Board Treasurer
David graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1999. He completed his undergraduate study at the University of Virginia. He has worked with clients ranging from the retail and residential to the industrial and medical sectors on matters relating to, among others, investment, development, management and disposition of real estate. Prior to starting his own law office, David worked with national law firms and with a national restaurant corporation in Houston. David is a native Houstonian and dedicated father of two great children.
Jessie Mann - Board Member
Jessie Mann is the executive producer of Freeway Films in Houston, Texas. He specializes in developing online video for clients such as Chloe Dao Lot8, Hometta magazine, and Houston Modern Luxury. Freeway Films has been nominated for a Webby Award in 2007 for the best in online documentary video. Jessie studied at NYU and the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to pursuing film and video projects he co-owns, develops and manages real estate projects in Houston.
Lester Marks - Board Member
Lester Marks is President and mover and shaker of International Art Advisory Services, Ltd. He is art collector extraordinaire and unsurpassed patron/supporter of the arts in Houston. He has been listed by ART NEWS Magazine as one of the Top 200 Collectors in the World, and by ART & ANTIQUES Magazine as one of the Top 100 Collectors in the United States. He contributes monthly to ArtsHouston Magazine where he offers the art enthusiast and general reader alike his expertise on collecting art.
Grace Rodriguez - Board Member
Grace Rodriguez is President of AYN Brand, a Branding Strategies and Promotional Solutions company based in Houston, Texas. An accomplished media and communications professional, Grace has achieved recognition as an award-winning Producer of the “Destination Houston” television series, Editor of Rice Addict Magazine, and a sought-after speaker on Social Media Strategies and Community Development. She specializes in leveraging new technologies and grassroots strategies to brand and build engaged communities for growing businesses, non-profit organizations, artists, professionals, and political candidates.
Grace is a passionate community advocate who has served on the Board of Directors for diverse arts, cultural, and business organizations, such as Spacetaker, the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Texas, and OCA-Greater Houston. She is responsible for coordinating a number of events, programs, and initiatives – like Charity:Water Twestival, YouthVote/APIAVote, and the Houston Asian American Film Festival – in the Greater Houston area that benefit the arts, youth, cultural, and political communities. Grace Rodriguez has lived and worked in New York, Houston, Chicago, and Austin; and continues to share her knowledge and expertise as a social media consultant, writer, and speaker at conferences, workshops, and events throughout the country.
Ed Schipul - Board Member
Ed Schipul has successfully and profitably grown Schipul - The Web Marketing Company by building a great team of people focused on results.
Ed believes in the emerging field of social software, which helps users connect and collaborate online. Focused on the power of collective action, he is working to harness the anarchy of creative trends such as wiki-enabled “distributed authoring” that make it possible for Web users to add and edit content online.
With experience in marketing, advertising and public relations, Ed is focused on the profitable business application of current technologies. He is a political science graduate of Texas A&M University, an Army brat and an Eagle Scout with more than 15 years experience in software programming. Most of his writings are posted on schipul.com with some on his blog at eschipul.
Jim Stevens - Board Vice President
After earning his BA in Marketing from the University of California at Fullerton, Jim moved to Houston to pursue a career in energy trading. Once in Houston, his appreciation for the local art scene flourished as he realized his new home in The Heights was surrounded by an amazingly talented community of people.
After living in Houston for several years, Jim decided to join the art scene and began creating metal sculptures which have been featured in several charitable auction events around town. In addition to this, he occasionally teaches basic welding classes for the beginning welder / hobbyist. Jim currently works for a technology company specializing in developing software for the gas and power trading business.
Amy Tanner - Board President
Amy Tanner currently serves as Director of Development at CanCare, Inc., a Houston-area non-profit organization that provides one-on-one emotional support to individuals and families experiencing cancer. She began her work in not-for-profits with Habitat for Humanity in 1998. From there, she moved to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where she worked in administration, fundraising, donor cultivation, and special events. In 2003, Amy accepted a position with AIDS Foundation Houston (AFH), where she began as a grants writer. Shortly thereafter, Amy became AFH’s Development and Marketing Manager, where she oversaw the agency’s special events, arts series, donor management, marketing materials, websites and public relations.
Amy is an avid supporter of the Houston arts community. She is passionate about the arts as an arena for expression, open dialogue, and personal and cultural investigation and discovery. She is trained in acting, classical cello, Pilates, voice, and Ballroom and Latin dance. She graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas with minors in Studio Art and English.
Tina Zulu - Board Member
Tina has over 11 years of sales and marketing experience, most recently focused on interactive brand marketing for Continental Airlines. At Continental, Tina provided strategic marketing leadership in the areas of marketing communications, online advertising, email marketing, promotion, product development, site analytics and market research. Tina's unique combination of creative and technical were an invaluable asset in facilitating the complete re-launch of Continental's OnePass Online Auction site, including a improved user interface, navigation and feature set.
Tina's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish Urban Sugar Productions, an event production and promotion company, catering to clients in the lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion industries and was instrumental in attracting and maintaining a loyal audience during the revitalization of Houston's downtown nightlife community.
Tina holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Houston with Honors and is a graduate of the Center of Entrepreneurship, Class of 2000. She was also the Lifestyle Editor for Yellow Magazine, a Houston-based fashion, lifestyle and arts publication.
