Vallejo Community Arts Foundation Names New Executive Director

The Vallejo Community Arts Foundation (VCAF) announces the appointment of Renay Conlin as Executive Director. Ms. Conlin is a former executive director of Napa Valley Museum and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and a former director of development at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

"We were seeking an energetic, versatile and enterprising leader for this newly-created executive director role," according to Tim MacDonald, board president, "and we believe that we have found this person In Renay Conlin. Our board of directors was very impressed by her wide-ranging experience and accomplishments in music, theater and other performing arts, along with her passion for painting, sculpture and all the visual arts."

While still a high school student In New York City, Ms. Conlin attended the prestigious Juilliard School and later earned degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. After a 20-year International career as a professional operatic soprano, she embarked on a second career, in arts administration.

Ms. Conlin was Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and executive and artistic director of Toledo Opera prior to moving to Napa in 2010. She is married to Grammy Award-winning symphony and opera conductor Thomas Conlin. Her daughter, Vanessa, is vice president and Head of Wine at the Napa-based online wine distributor Wine Access.com.

"What a privilege it is to collaborate with these visionary supporters of the arts in their commitment to create a vibrant and robust community of artists in the Bay Area," said Ms. Conlin about her new assignment. She continues to serve as fundraising consultant for local non-profits in whose mission she sympathizes, such as Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch.

VCAF has served since 1991 as an advocate for community participation in the visual and performing arts in the city of Vallejo and Solano County. It has facilitated the development of educational programs and support for numerous arts organizations in the region. Among Its ongoing activities are workshops for visual and performing artists on subjects such as "How to photograph your art for your website" and "How to write proposals for grants from foundations," and a summer arts camp where young people work with professional painters and sculptors. The foundation owns and operates the recently renovated historic Empress Theatre in Vallejo, which opened its doors in 1911 and now is home to the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra and other local performing ensembles. www.vallejoarts.org

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