STAFF
Erin Becker (she/her) | Norma Jean Calderwood Director
Erin Becker (she/her) has stewarded the Cambridge Art Association (CAA), in her role as Norma Jean Calderwood Director, since 2012. Her connection to the CAA’s spans 20 years; she was first introduced to the organization as an intern, and served as an Assistant Director from 2004-2007. During her tenure as Director, Erin has worked to steward existing programs while introducing new opportunities for artists to connect, learn and grow. Her passion lies in creating welcoming accessible spaces for all artists.
In addition to her work at CAA, Erin serves on the Dean’s Community Advisory Committee at Lesley Art + Design; and consults to artists and visual arts organizations. She has served as an exhibition juror and portfolio reviewer with a number of organizations, including Danforth Art, RISD, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and Fitchburg Art Museum. She is a co-founder of the Art Centers Alliance, a group of roughly 25 community arts leaders.
Erin holds a BA in Art History from Boston University (2004); a Certificate from Boston University’s Institute for Nonprofit Management Leadership Core Program at Questrom Business School (2015); and a certificate from the Cultural Equity Learning Community (2021). Erin lives in Dorchester with her husband Andy.
Contact Erin at ebecker@cambridgeart.org
Candice Driver (she/her) | Associate Director
Candice Driver (she/her) holds a BA in Art History from Pennsylvania State University (2017), and a MA from Boston University (2020). Prior to the CAA, she worked at various institutions as a curator, preservationist, gallery assistant, among other roles. Her main goal as a member of the arts’ community is to create an inclusive space for everyone to view and/or create art.
Contact Candice at cdriver@cambridgeart.org
Colin Asquith (he/him) | Art Handler
Michelle Nie (she/her) | Exhibition Fellow
Michelle Nie is a recent graduate and holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Boston University (2023). As part of her studies, she has worked as the lead designer for the 2023 BFA Thesis Show at BU Galleries. In her practice, she is interested in how design can create dialogue around accessibility in art education, while fostering community. Outside of her work, she is interested in documenting her travels through a series of watercolor paintings.
Stacey Foley | Accountant
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Deborah Peeples | President, CAA Artist Member
Deborah (she/her) is an abstract artist who currently paints with molten pigmented beeswax. She holds a BFA from Washington University School of Fine Art and also attended the Lake Placid School of Art. After a long career in community service, political activism, and organizational leadership, she returned to a full time art practice in 2016 after moving to Cambridge. Her work has been exhibited nationally, and in New England at Fountain Street Gallery, Galatea Fine Art, Kobalt Gallery, Jo Hay Gallery, Adam Peck Gallery, Gallery 444 P-Town, Holzwasser Gallery, Truro Center for the Arts, Concord Art Association and CAA.
Stephanie Todhunter | Secretary
Stephanie Todhunter (she/her) joined the CAA board in 2021 and is focused on expanding the current programming. Originally from the Midwest, Stephanie has lived in Medford MA for 23 years with her husband, four children, and a rotating cast of cats, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, snakes etc. In 2011 she opened Jerome Street Studios, a small cooperative gallery and studio space based in Medford. Jerome Street Studios currently has five active studios, a working kitchen, and a small gallery. In 2013 she joined the board of West Medford Open Studios with a focus on social media marketing and artist recruitment. Most recently, she has started swimming regularly in both lap pools and open water, and finds the sport weirdly addictive.
Stephanie received a BA from Bowdoin College and did postgraduate work at the University of Minnesota. She is a self-taught artist who enjoys experimenting with materials and techniques, and uses humor and irony in her work. Her work was recently exhibited at the Kathryn Schultz, Maud Morgan, Galatea, and Abigail Ogilvy Galleries, and in the AREACODE Art Fair and Boston International Fine Art Show. She was awarded the Mozaik Future Art Award in 2020 by Mozaik Philanthropy Los Angeles and Artist of the Year 2017 by the Cambridge Art Association.
DIRECTORS
Paul Beckingham | Paul Beckingham is a contemporary realism oil painter based in New England.
I love realism, particularly landscapes. My work captures the ways in which light falls across a landscape, which can accentuate the interplay of natural and man-made elements. I use this natural and man-made light to create drama and interest within the landscape. I do this to evoke a feeling and add a little mystery to the painting. Contrasts such as fine detail and abstracted texture only add to this effect.
My preferred subject matter is often reminiscent of the past, with nostalgic references, featuring water as a common theme. My inspiration comes from finding calmness in a busy scene, from elevating the ordinary with the application of light. I enjoy creating beautiful compositions from overlooked sources of interest.
My continuous study of the rich and deep craft of painting, materials and techniques, allows me to apply a broad range of skills to create the illusion of form, space and light; to really control the paint. I paint exclusively in oils, mostly using smooth aluminum surfaces to allow for maximum detail where needed. I paint from a variety of sources; from life, from assorted references, from memory, and from an incredible collection of inherited historical photography.
My work is evolving due to a finer sense of composition, growing confidence in bending the narrative, and the acquisition of skills.
I like my work to present a viewing experience that encourages a closer look.
I am self-taught, with significant training from Mark Carder, Alex Tzavaras and Chelsea Lang, and have been painting for almost seven years, professionally for almost two.
Remmi Franklin | Associate Artist Member
Nathalie Jean | Executive Director, Brockton Redevelopment Authority. Nathalie Jean holds a BA in English from the College of the Holy Cross and MA in urban planning and public policy from Tufts University. At the undergraduate level, she wrote plays and performed in them through her year long, first-year program class. Those skills are now long dormant, and Nathalie has been attempting to use them again by journaling and immersing herself in music. Creative cake baking is a new interest that she explores through social media. Her next step will be to take a class that teaches her how to make the kinds of beautiful cakes she admires on Instagram and other platforms. Nathalie joins the board with the goal of helping under-served community residents tap into their creativity through the Cambridge Art Association and its resources. She looks forward to working with the CAA community.
Judy Kamm | CAA Artist Member, Professor Emerita of Management; Bentley University
For Judy Kamm (she/her), becoming an artist is a second, or possibly third, career, which took about a decade to achieve. The first (brief) one was as a writer, first at Harvard Business School and then at what was the Simmons College Graduate Program for Women in Management. My Bachelor of Arts is in English Literature from Emmanuel College in Boston and my Master of Arts in English Literature is from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
The second career was as professor of management for more than 30 years at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. During that time I taught organizational behavior and researched in such areas as management of innovation, entrepreneurial teams, and business ethics. For the 15 years before retiring I moved into administration, serving as Associate Director of the Center for Business Ethics, MBA Program Director, and Associate Dean of Business. My Doctorate of Business Administration is from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Art has been an important part of my life since childhood. Since returning from Colorado all those years ago, I have taken many continuing education courses and workshops on drawing and painting. My work may be found here: http://www.judykammart.com.
Erica Licea-Kane | Erica has had a long career as a studio artist and college art instructor, including 17 years as the Gallery Director at Wheelock College. She received her BFA at the Parsons School of Design, and her MFA at the Massachusetts College of Art, earning both degrees in the field of fine art, textiles. Erica has exhibited her work extensively throughout the United States and abroad.
Recent exhibitions of Erica’s work include The Krakorian Gallery at the Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester MA, The Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA, Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI, Site:Brooklyn, NY, Able Baker contemporary, Portland, ME, the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, the Andrews Art Museum, Andrews, NC, the Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA and the Attleboro Museum, Attleboro, MA.
Erica has been the recipient of several grants and fellowships including the 2018 Artist Fellowship in Painting from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the A.R.T Grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and a Regional Fellowship from the New England Foundation for the Arts of the National Endowment of the Arts.
Her work has been reviewed in several publications with recent coverage in the Portland Phoenix, the “Take” section in the Boston Globe, The Portland Press Herald and Take Magazine as well as past reviews in the Boston Globe Magazine, The Boston Herald, Surface Design Journal and several of the Lark Publications, Fiberarts Design Book, #’s 3, 4, 6 editions. Currently she is a visiting lecturer at several institutions in the Boston area.
Erica is currently represented by SJ Art Consulting in Haverhill, MA.
Dana Rashti |Dana is a business planning and strategic marketing executive with a proven record of accelerating revenue growth, building customer-centric brands, and guiding companies through periods of transformation. He has over 30 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing, corporate communication, product management, and organizational development in the health care and finance sectors.
Most recently, Dana was Chief of Staff to the President at Mass General Brigham Health Plan where he led strategic planning and organizational development, as well as integration initiatives with the Mass General Brigham hospital enterprise. Before becoming Chief of Staff, Dana served for several years as the health plan’s Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer.
Prior to Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Dana served as Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Dana also has broad executive experience in the finance industry, at Fleet Bank and Bank of America, where he had leadership roles in marketing strategy, corporate communications product management, merger integration and delivery network planning.
Dana graduated from Phillips Academy Andover, MA. He earned a Bachelors degree from Wesleyan University, CT in Political Science and Studio Art, and a Masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, MA in International Business.
He has served on the Board of Overseers for the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Board of Trustees for the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, and the Boards of Directors for the Ad Club of Boston and the Boston Public Market Association.
Kristen Sherman | Head of Development & Finance, Rehearsal for Life Kristen Sherman (she/her/hers) has overseen philanthropy, marketing, and administration for many organizations. Currently serves as head of development and finance at Rehearsal for Life, she has worked in museums, public parks, education, and nonprofit foundations in Boston and NYC. Kristen studied Art History at UMass Amherst and received her MBA from Endicott College. A daily dose of art continues to be a connective thread in both her professional and personal life. Kristen believes the arts are a tool for change and serve as an important lens to interpret current events.
COMMITTEES
Budget & Finance Committee |Stephen Molloy, Dana Rashti, Deb Peeples
Governance Committee | Deb Peeples, David Fogel
Exhibition Committee | Nancy Crasco, Kathryn Geismar, Erica Licea-Kane (Chair), Mark O’Grady, Deb Peeples, Edwina Rissland, May Sun
Programs Committee | Paul Beckingham, Sally Bousquet, Nathalie Jean, Deb Peeples, Claire Ryan-Robertson, Iman Aurora Sakkaf, Stephanie Todhunter (Chair)
Membership Committee | Paul Beckingham, Gwen Chasan, Judy Kamm (Chair), Sally Lebwohl, Kristen Sherman
Nominating Committee | TBA
COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
Budget and Finance Committee | The Budget and Finance Committee oversees the fiscal health of the association with such duties and powers as are defined by the Board of Directors. The Chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the Board, and either be a Director or serve as an ex-officio Director. The committee works with the Director to prepare an annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year, prior to May 1 of the current fiscal year. Members of the Budget and Finance Committee include the President, Treasurer, and Norma Jean Calderwood Director.
Governance Committee | The Governance Committee works to actively promote the Association, and seek out potential Directors and advisors for the organization throughout the year. This committee plays a crucial role in vetting and orienting potential and new members of the Board of Directors, including, but not limited to: networking and outreach; in person interviews; in person orientation of new Board members. The Governance Committee will also provide counsel to the Board Chair and Executive Director regarding Board assessment; enhancing Board effectiveness; and in reviewing potential conflicts of interest as regard individual Board members.
Development Committee | The purpose of the Development Committee is to support the association’s fundraising initiatives. This includes, but is not limited to: pursuing new funding streams; inviting potential donors to events; orchestrating sponsorship opportunities with Executive Director.
Exhibition Committee | Composed of members of the Board of Directors, Artist Members of the association, the Executive Director, and Assistant Director, the Exhibition Committee deals in the following: selecting themes and suggesting jurors for 3-4 juried members’ exhibits annually; securing sponsors – both fiscal and in-kind – for such exhibitions as determined by the Executive Director; and promoting all exhibitions, both to members of the Association and the broader public. The committee is also responsible for assessing the effectiveness of each exhibit, based on entry numbers; sales; and overall engagement.
Programs Committee | The Programs Committee will work with CAA staff to plan and successfully implement programs that complement our gallery exhibits, and provide added benefit to both the members of the Association and the general public. Current programs include: demos, artist talks, Sunday Figure Drawing, Feedback Forum, and an annual Portfolio Review.
Marketing Committee | The Marketing Committee will work with the Executive Director to develop and implement a workable marketing plan, and monitor the success of this plan over time. The Marketing Committee will research potential marketing opportunities for CAA shows and events, working within a specific and limited budget.
Membership Committee | Composed of members of the Board of Directors as well as artist members, the Membership Committee will oversee the following: membership-related issues, such as dues increases and member benefits; work to actively recruit new members; and assess member retention rates, and work with staff to create action plans to facilitate retention. This committee works to bridge the needs of the Association with the needs of our growing artist membership.
Nominating Committee | The Board of Directors shall, at least four (4) months prior to each Annual Meeting, appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three (3) Members a majority of whom may not be Members of the Board of Directors. The Nominating Committee shall nominate a list of candidates for offices to be filled at the Annual Meeting, shall notify the Secretary of the persons nominated and shall post a list of such nominees on the bulletin board of the Association at least thirty (30) days prior to the Meeting. Any other ten (10) Members may nominate different candidates by notifying the Secretary in writing and posting the same, over their signatures, on the bulletin board at least fourteen (14) days prior to the Meeting.
Artwork in header courtesy of Natalia Mirabito