New Board Members Join Central Florida Community Arts

Central Florida Community Arts, an organization with the mission to serve and build community through the arts, announced the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors: Anna Eskamani, Sara Osborne, Luis Sousa-Lazaballet, and Jed Prest.

As CFCArts continues to see ongoing success and rapid expansion, it prioritizes having a Board of Directors composed of a diverse group of individuals committed to their strong passion for the arts and their community. Board members are elected for a three-year term and can be re-elected for an additional three years.

One of the new board members and Orlando native, Anna Eskamani, is the daughter of working-class immigrants who came to the United States in search of the American Dream. She's known across the state and nation as a leader who's "unbothered, unbossed and a bold fighter for Florida families and everyday people."

In 2018, Eskamani made history as the first Iranian-American elected to any public office in Florida. After winning her re-elections in 2020 and 2022 by an overwhelming majority, she's been championing critical issues like economic justice, environmental protection, climate change, healthcare access, equality for all, funding for public schools and support of arts and culture as a State House Representative in the Florida Legislature.

Eskamani joins the board of directors with Sara Osborne, the Sr. Director of Orlando Health's Community Benefit of External Affairs, a not-for-profit healthcare organization. Osborne is responsible for oversight of the Orlando Health Community Grant Program and Community Health Needs Assessment for Orlando Health. Working alongside medical providers and community partners, she also serves the most under-resourced populations in the community and promotes health and wellness for all residents as a certified community benefit specialist from the Institute for Healthcare Advancement.

As a graduate of Orlando Health's Advanced Leaders program, Osborne serves as Co-Chair of the All4Health Florida Collaborative in West Central Florida, a coalition of health departments and health systems across 4 counties, providing open access to data and improving health by leading outcome-driven health initiatives through community health assessments. She also is a member of the Central Florida Community Collaborative, which promotes a culture of health by ensuring access to healthcare resources through the collaboration of healthcare organizations and providers, as well as ATHENA NextGen Orlando, an organization that strives to support, develop and honor women leaders.

Osborne explains, "As a theater and arts enthusiast from a young teenager, I am thrilled to join the CFCArts board and am looking forward to giving back to the Central Florida community through this opportunity!"

Like Osborne, Luis Sousa-Lazaballet, another new CFCArts board member, has always had a passion for theater, dancing, and "anything related to what happens on a stage" since youth as well.

Sousa-Lazaballet explained he grew up being discouraged from participating in arts and culture but managed to balance both volleyball, which allowed him to come to the U.S. on a full scholarship, and his love of the arts. Through this experience, he realized many of the people he practiced with didn't have the resources it took for him to be successful. At this point, he thought about how much talent was left untapped and undiscovered because of a lack of access to resources.

"I want to support an organization that fosters this type of freedom, joy and self-expression for everyone," Sousa-Lazaballet explains. "CFCArts is making the arts accessible and affordable to all, and making the dreams of many a reality, and I want to be a part of that mission."

Sharing the passion to further CFCArts' mission is Jed Prest, a Principal at Baker Barrios Architects. He was heavily inspired by co-worker and previous board member, Carlos Barrios, who always encourages community engagement among employees. Barrios has been a longtime volunteer and member of CFCArts programming.

With 30 years of experience, Prest has worked on a diverse set of projects, bringing a collaborative vision with a focus on creating sustainable, healthy indoor spaces, and overall responsible design. Active in the industry, he has served as Vice-Chairman of the Orlando Historic Preservation Board and on the Board of Zoning Adjustment for the City of Orlando's National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Baker Barrios Architects has a wonderful history of giving back to the communities that we serve," said Prest, "It feels excellent to be able to continue in the footsteps of my mentor Carlos Barrios, a recent CFCArts board member, and further CFCArts' mission to serve and build community through the arts."

Each new board member brings a unique perspective to the already diverse board, continuing to strengthen CFCArts' organizational values. From Eskamani's political and social leadership experience, Osborne's drive toward health and wellness for all, Sousa-Lazaballet's passion for accessible arts, and Prest's vision for responsible design, the addition of these four board members represents an essential continuation of what makes CFCArts a thriving cultural institution and home for the creatives of Central Florida.

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