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Greater Columbus Arts Council Board of Trustees Welcomes Five New Members

in Press Releases November 23, 2021 2 min read

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council) board of trustees welcomed five new members, approving four people for open positions created by the departure of outgoing members and one additional appointment from the City of Columbus.

The incoming class of board members includes Raj Bellani, Mike Bukach, Robin Davis, Andrew Lippa and Stefan Thomas.

“We’re excited to welcome our new board members and the expertise they’ll contribute to the Art Council’s leadership,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Arts Council. “They offer a diverse mix of backgrounds in the arts, education, law, government and the private sector, and we know their insight and experience will help guide the organization successfully in the years to come.”

Raj Bellani is vice president and chief of staff for Denison University, a position he’s held since 2016. Previously he served as the dean of experiential learning and career planning at DePauw University’s Hubbard Center for Student Engagement. Bellani is also a member of the Geneseo Foundation board of trustees.

Mike Bukach is a director of employee engagement at CoverMyMeds, where he has worked for the past nine years. He previously served as a board member for the Columbus Museum of Art, and was part of Leadership Columbus’ class of 2017. Bukach also writes about his travel adventures on his site www.roamaboutmike.com.

Andrew Lippa is a Tony- and Grammy-nominated composer, lyricist, singer, actor, conductor and record producer. He has composed and conducted work with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as multiple Broadway productions such as Big Fish, The Addams Family, The Farnsworth Invention, Asphalt Beach and The Wild Party.

Robin Davis serves as deputy chief of staff of communications for Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, under whom she previously acted as senior director of media relations. Before joining the mayor’s office, Davis was editorial director at Kenyon College, and an editor and writer for The Columbus DispatchSan Francisco Chronicle and Bon Appetit.

Stefan Thomas is one of the owners of Thomas Ingram Law Group, and has served as an attorney in both the public and private sectors, specializing in domestic and international business, litigation, and arts and entertainment. He’s also active on several community organization boards, and performs as singer-songwriter T.Wong, a featured artist in the Arts Council’s Columbus Makes Art citywide arts marketing campaign.

The Arts Council thanks its outgoing board members Barbara Brandt, Mike Gonsiorowski, David Hetzler, Christine Kullberg, Catherine Lang-Cline, Kimber Perfect and Priscilla Tyson for their years of service.

The 2022 Board of Trustees officers include Michael Bongiorno (Chair), Christie Angel (Vice Chair), David Teed (Treasurer) and Eileen Paley (Secretary).

The committee chairs for 2022 will include Yohannan Terrell (Advocacy & Marketing), Amy Tillinghast (Creative Advancement—Grants & Services), Celeste Malvar-Stewart (Culture & Equity), Matt Satterwhite (Development), Eileen Paley (Festival), David Teed (Finance & Audit) and Karla Rothan (Nominating & Governance).

The new trustees begin serving on Jan. 1, 2022.

Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org

The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners and the Ohio Arts Council.

For translations of this release and other pages, please see the dropdown menu at the top right corner of gcac.org.

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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org