Linda Keaton, Executive Director and Chief Curator

lkeaton@svma.org

Linda Keaton has been an arts administrator, curator, and educator for over 25 years. She was appointed to CREATE CALIFORNIA, a task force that developed arts education policy for California schools by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlkason. Linda has been recognized for innovative community collaborations and contributions to arts and culture through numerous awards and grants. She holds an MA in Art with distinction, and a BA in Art history, with a minor in Humanities, with honors. Keaton has curated over 45 museum exhibitions.

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake.”

– Kurt Vonnegut

Margie Maynard, Deputy Director, Engagement & Exhibitions

mmaynard@svma.org , ext. 131

Margie Maynard joined SVMA in August of 2010, and directs the team that is responsible for all aspects of the Museum’s public dimension. Margie grew up in Sonoma before heading off to the University of Oregon where she earned a B.A. in art history. With 30 years experience she has headed the museum experience and education departments at Experience Music Project in Seattle, San Jose Museum of Art, and Laguna Art Museum. She began her career at the Phoenix Art Museum, serving as the education coordinator and then assistant curator of education. A seeker and seeder of the a-ha moment, Margie is a phrase turner, pic snapper, team player, garden tender, sunset watcher, road tripper, producer, mentor/mentee, sister, friend, open-minded museum geek who feels very lucky that it is often difficult to know where her work ends and her life begins.

Art has the ability to connect us beyond the limitations of language. Through it, we get to face our inner world outward, remove the boundaries of separation, and participate in the great remembering of what we came into this life knowing: There is no separation. We are one. 

—Rick Rubin

Rachel Anderson, Visitor Services Associate

randerson@svma.org

For over thirty years, Rachel worked as a production editor and manager for Bay Area book publishers, including Jossey-Bass Publishers, Pomegranate Press, and Insight Editions/Mandala Publishing. Also a long-time student and certified teacher of Sogetsu Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), Rachel has created Ikebana arrangements for the Asian Art Museum and large installations at the Craneway Pavilion, and has exhibited at Ikebana shows at the Cow Palace, the Oakland Museum of California, and the Orinda Community Center, among other venues. When she is not at the museum, Rachel teaches Zoom courses on Mahayana Buddhism and is an Airbnb Superhost.

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.”

—Pema Chodron

Kelly Autumn, Teaching Artist

Kelly Autumn is a multi-disciplinary creative with a passionate focus on painting and printmaking. As a process-based teaching artist, she enjoys guiding her students toward the art of discovery and cultivating the expression of creativity in youth and students of all ages.

Raised in Santa Rosa and based in Oakland, Kelly holds a BA degree from San Francisco State University in Textile Design. Post-under-grad, Kelly pursued an entrepreneurial career as a Bay Area designer for over a decade. Since 2017, she has studied Studio Art at Diablo Valley College and received certification in Printmaking. She joined the Sonoma Community Center as an art instructor in 2020. You may also find her there teaching workshops or working the press in the upstairs print studio. As a visual artist, a nature observer, and a creative writer, she finds inspiration in her work by splitting her time between Sonoma County and the East Bay. Kelly’s art has been featured in various exhibitions throughout the Bay Area. She is a member of the California Society of Printmakers and the Oakland Art Association.

Debbie Barker, Director of Development and Marketing

dbarker@svma.org, ext. 171

Prior to joining SVMA, Debbie Barker was a consultant for The Berry Center and other civil society groups working on food and farming, ecology, trade, and more. She was formerly the international director for the Center for Food Safety, a legal and public policy institute in Washington, D.C. and prior to this was the director of the International Forum on Globalization, a think tank on economic globalization issues.

She’s written on numerous aspects of food and agriculture systems, trade and economies, climate change, and more. Publications include Trade Matters: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Impacts on Food and Farming; The Wheel of Life: Food, Climate, Human Rights, and the Economy; and contributed to the United Nations’ report International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. She has also participated in many international forums such as the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, the European Parliament, U.S. Congressional briefings, and guest lectured at universities.

Annee Booker Knight, Exhibition & Facilities Manager

Annee Booker Knight joins the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art team in June 2023. As a museum collections and exhibitions consultant, she has enjoyed working on project-based initiatives and exhibitions at many Bay Area museums and arts organizations, including the California Academy of Science, Headlands Center for the Arts, the Petaluma Public Arts program, and the Charles M. Schulz Museum. Her strengths include project management from concept to opening and creatively collaborating with diverse groups.  Annee enjoys sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the field of museum collections management through teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses. She holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.A. in Museum Studies, Collections Management from JFKU.

She describes her personal life as joyous when she is keeping a colorful flower garden, setting a table to share a meal with friends, or catching up with her jet-setting daughters.

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

—Bertrand Russell

Mary Byerly, Visitor Services Associate

mbyerly@svma.org

Mary Byerly comes from a long line of female entrepreneurs. Formerly in the restaurant business, Mary joined the team at SVMA driven by her passion for the arts.

“A life well lived is the most exquisite work of art.”

~ Erwin McManus

Jack Etherington, Development Coordinator

jetherington@svma.org, ext. 111

Jack Etherington has been with SVMA since the summer of 2021. Growing up in Sonoma, Jack was heavily influenced by teachers at both Sonoma Valley High School (SVHS) and Woodland Star Charter School to pursue a career in art. Etherington has spent time living in England, studying Photography at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB). With a background in both street and landscape photography, his artworks reflect that of artists he’s inspired by: Wolfgang Tillmans, Kai Man Wong and Martin Parr.

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

– Ansel Adams

Eric Feathers, Visitor Services Associate

Eric Feathers has been in commercial photography for nearly 50 years and has exhibited and published works internationally. He earned a BFA in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute, worked with children in arts education, and has owned and operated three studios/galleries. His other skills include hospitality (you may see him bartending at SVMA events) and custom framing. Eric spent nearly a decade making custom stretcher bars and panels for high-profile clients like David Hockney and the estate of Richard Diebenkorn. After moving to Sonoma in 2021, Eric started volunteering at Sonoma International Film Festival, the Sonoma Jazz Society, and at SVMA.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

-Henry David Thoreau

Gary Griffith, Teaching Artist

Gary Griffith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Sonoma State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Chapman University. He has lived in Sonoma since 1975 and has taught art in third, fourth, and fifth grades since 1988. Gary loves working with watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, and clay. He is a published author and poet. In 2003, Gary was awarded Educator of the Year by the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation.

Donavan Harris, Director of Museum Store & Visitor Services

dharris@svma.org, ext. 191

Donavan Harris joined the SVMA team in 2022; he has over 20 years of retail and hospitality experience. This includes leading retail areas at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and San Francisco Zoo. He has worked for educational programs at Sacramento State University and financial services at San Diego State. He brings his background to provide a unique and authentic experience for the SVMA guests. Donavan holds a B.A. in Art History and an Associate degree in Humanities.

When he is not at the museum Donavan enjoys his time with his family and exploring the trails around the Sonoma area.

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”

– Leonardo da Vinci

Miki Hsu Leavey, Education and Community Engagement Manager

mleavey@svma.org, ext. 151

Miki joined SVMA in September 2019. Ms Leavey is a lifetime professional abstract painter with multiple exhibitions throughout the Bay area, California, Massachusetts, and Shanghai, China. Leavey is also an active Teaching Artist, traveling from classrooms to classrooms in California counties: from Napa to Mendocino to Marin to East Bay and Southern California. Over the last 20 years, she has added Museum Educator to her skills in museums such as COPIA, Napa Valley Museum, and the di Rosa.

Her experiences have led her to Arts Integration and helped her understand the power and connectivity of the Arts to the human creative experience. Leavey has immersed herself in Arts learning and teaching methodologies. She promotes Multiple Intelligences, attended Critical Thinking conferences, earned her certification as an Integrated Arts Learning Specialist, and uses Studio Habits of Mind to engage students in self-assessment. She is also a trained coach and school specialist with Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) since 2011.

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.”

– Pablo Picasso

Ann Trinca, Marketing & PR Coordinator

atrinca@svma.org

Ann Trinca has been in the Arts Marketing field for twenty years after earning a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Golden Gate University in 2000. She has worked with numerous institutions in the Bay Area including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF, di Rosa in Napa, Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, and Berkeley Art Center before becoming a marketing consultant. She has also owned and operated two contemporary art galleries, is a freelance curator and fine art photographer. She loves to travel and take care of plants.

“The self is also a creation, the principal work of your life, the crafting of which makes everyone an artist.“

– Rebecca Solnit