Steering Committee

Current Members

  • Donna Hancox (Co-Chair) |  Queensland University of Technology; Brisbane, Australia
  • Sharmalene Mendis-Millard (Co-Chair) |  Partners for Action, University of Waterloo; Ontario, Canada
  • Federico Escribal (VSG Co-Coordinator) |  Universidad Nacional de las Artes (National University for the Arts); Argentina
  • Karen Gahl-Mills (VSG Co-Coordinator) | O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, USA
  • Kate Power (VSG Co-Coordinator) | University of Queensland; Brisbane, Australia
  • Sharon Chang | Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY); Singapore
  • Sarah Cunningham | Rhode Island School of Design; Rhode Island, USA
  • Steven Hadley | Moore Institute, National University of Ireland Galway; Galway, Ireland
  • Brea Heidelberg | Drexel University Westphal College of Media Arts & Design; Philadelphia, USA
  • Audrey Yue | National University of Singapore; Singapore

Former Members

  • Kiley Arroyo | Cultural Strategies Council
  • Alan Brown | WolfBrown; San Francisco, CA, United States
  • Greg Burbidge | Calgary Arts Development; Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • William Cleveland | Center for the Study of Art & Community
  • Jean Cook | Future of Music Coalition
  • Christen Cornell (Former Chair) | Australia Council for the Arts
  • Nick Crosson | Cultural Data Project
  • Anh Thang Dao-Shah | Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco, CA, United States
  • James Doeser | Researcher, Writer, Consultant; London, United Kingdom
  • Kim Dunphy | Cultural Development Network and University of Melbourne; Melbourne, Australia
  • Linda Essig | Arizona State University
  • Natalia Grincheva | University of Melbourne, Australia; Melbourne, Australia
  • W.F. Umi Hsu | City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • Leo Hwang | Greenfield Community College; Greenfield, MA, United States
  • Susannah Laramee Kidd | Metris Arts Consulting; Easton, PA, United States
  • Sarah Lee | Sarah Lee Consulting; Chicago, IL, United States
  • Carlos Manjarrez | Institute of Museum and Library Services
  • Bronwyn Mauldin | Los Angeles County Arts Commission
  • Ian David Moss | Fractured Atlas
  • Anna Muessig | Gehl Studio/Gehl Architects; San Francisco, CA, United States
  • Anne Gadwa Nicodemus | Metris Arts Consulting
  • David Pankratz | Creative sector research, PA, United States
  • Brent Reidy | AEA Consulting
  • Michael Rushton | Center for Cultural Affairs, Indiana University, United States
  • Ryan Stubbs | National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA); Washington, DC, United States
  • Robin Sokoloski (Former VSG Coordinator) | Mass Culture 
  • Andrew Taylor | Arts Management Program, American University
  • Karen Yair | League of American Orchestras
  • Gabriel Zamfir-Enache | Canada Council for the Arts; Canada

What is the Steering Committee?
The Cultural Research Network Steering Committee is a group of network members who are charged with:

  1. helping guide conversation and seed relevant discussion topics on CRN
  2. raising visibility and enthusiasm for the CRN within their own professional circles
  3. listserv administration, listserv governance and oversight, and dispute mediation as necessary
  4. responding to partnership requests and opportunities on behalf of CRN with outside organizations, foundations, conferences, agencies, educational institutions and others

Terms are staggered and last one year. There is a limit of two consecutive terms, after which a committee member needs to rotate off the steering committee for at least one full term. The committee meets monthly by conference call at a time decided at the conclusion of the prior meeting.

How do I join the steering committee?
Any current member of the CRN list can apply to join the steering committee by sending an email to crnmanager@gmail.com with the following:

  1. name, affiliation, contact info
  2. very brief (1-4 sentence) description of your research speciality/area with two or three links to examples of your work
  3. very brief (1-4 sentence) answers to at least two of the following questions:
    1. What is your highest ambition for the Cultural Research Network, and how would your skills, interests, and/or connections help make that possible?
    2. Tell us about how you’re planning to use the Cultural Research Network for your own work.
    3. How does your experience and background complement those of the current steering members, given what you know about them?
  4. list of any other committees/boards on which you have served
  5. optional references

New members are added once a year, by a majority vote of the current sitting steering committee.

Are there any specific requirements of Steering Committee Members?
Steering committee members must attend all committee meetings and conduct the business of the committee in accordance with the guidelines below:

Values and Responsibilities

  • To work towards the goal of fostering a forum valued by participants, rotating steering committee members should seed relevant discussion topics and lead by example by making substantive and thoughtful contributions.
  • Steering committee members share responsibility for moderating content for the duration of their term. These duties are expected to be light, since the Google Group does not require pre-approval to post messages. However, if a participant doesn’t understand the group’s purpose or makes unhelpful contributions (continually posts off-topic, engages in excessive self-promotion, abuses other community members, etc.), one of the steering committee members should write a group-wide message to politely educate the participant about the group’s purpose and expectation for participation. If he/she continues to pose a problem, the steering committee may opt to remove him/her from the group.

Committee Governance

  • TERMS. The committee will have approx. 10 members who will serve 12-month terms. There is a two consecutive term limit, after which a committee member needs to take a break for at least one full term.
  • NOTICE ON HOW TO JOIN. The committee will notify the CRN list of the process by which members might join the steering committee twice a year: in the summer and winter. This notice will include a current list of committee members. If there are open seats to be filled, notice will be given with a reasonable amount of time that clearly states criteria for new members and how to apply so that any member who wishes to be considered for those seats may apply.
  • VACANT SEATS. If a member must leave the committee before their term is complete, the committee may by majority vote appoint a CRN member to finish the departed member’s term. An odd number of steering committee members is preferable to an even number. A partial term of 6 months or more will be treated as a full-term with respect to the 2 consecutive term limit.
  • MEETINGS. The steering committee will establish regular meetings, with reasonable notice of the date and time etc. given to each steering committee member in advance of each meeting. Meetings are generally run by consensus, with a majority vote determining outcomes when there isn’t consensus. In the case of a tie, the committee may vote to put the issue before the entire CRN list for feedback.
  • REMOVAL OF MEMBERS. Any member can be removed from the committee by a majority vote of sitting committee members. Any member will be automatically removed from the committee if they miss three consecutive meetings. If the committee is considering removal of one of its members for a reason other than absence from meetings, they will need to give notice to the member in question with a reasonable amount of time in advance of a scheduled vote so the member has the option of participating in any related discussion before the vote.
  • AMENDMENTS. These governance guidelines may be amended with a unanimous vote of the current steering committee.