Commissioners

Commission Chair, Dawn Wallace (Phoenix) oversees the Flinn Foundation’s statewide civic-leadership program that prepares emerging and established leaders to enter all levels of public service. A public-policy expert who has advised governors and guided policy development in the Arizona Legislature for the last two decades, Wallace joined the Foundation in March 2020.

Wallace directs the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation. The Center’s cornerstone initiative to strengthen civic leadership in Arizona is the nonpartisan Flinn-Brown Fellowship, launched in 2011 under a partnership between the Flinn Foundation and Thomas R. Brown Foundations of Tucson.

Wallace previously served in the office of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey for more than four years and led the development of the governor’s P-20 education agenda. She also served as a liaison to executive departments and planned and managed large public events, including Ducey’s second inauguration ceremonies and the memorial service for U.S. Sen. John McCain. Her previous experience includes serving as director of government relations for the Maricopa County Community College District and policy-advisor roles in the Arizona House of Representatives and State Senate. Earlier in her career, she was a budget analyst for Govs. Jane Dee Hull and Janet Napolitano.

As part of the 2012 Centennial Celebration, Wallace collaborated with the Flinn Foundation to produce the “Kids at the Capitol” DVD that included civics education modules for Arizona middle school students.

Wallace holds an MBA, with an emphasis in accounting, from the University of Phoenix, and a bachelor’s degree in history from Arizona State University.

Monica Buckle (Camp Verde) is an Arizona Humanities Scholar and the Executive Director of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center and Museum in Camp Verde, the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service for Montezuma Castle National Monument and Tuzigoot National Monument. She is also a board member of the Mesa Verde Foundation. She received her BA from Lynn University and her MA from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Nicole Dahl (Tucson) is a writer, creative and advocate for the arts living in Tucson, Arizona. In 2018, Dahl launched Tucson’s first art hotel and developed a commission-free art gallery program that has supported the work of hundreds of local artists. With over 70 murals commissioned and numerous creative projects under her advisory, Dahl has consistently championed art as vital to Arizona’s cultural identity and growth. Presently, she serves as Executive Vice President at the Tucson IDA and Groundswell Capital, Arizona’s inaugural Green Bank, with a focus on community development, affordable housing, pathways to prosperity, and sustainable initiatives.

Ash Dahlke (Bisbee) is a mixed media artist and educator currently living in Bisbee, Arizona. She serves as the 2D Instructor of Art and Curator of the Union Gallery on the Cochise College Douglas campus. In 2019 she received her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Arizona and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2015. Her work has been exhibited at the University of Arizona Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, Tubac Center of the Arts, and The Land With No Name. She is currently a volunteer programmer at KBRP 96.1 a community radio station in Bisbee and previously served on the board of Border Arts Corridor a local arts non-profit that serves the communities of Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, SON.

Commission Vice Chair, Dr. Pamela Hall (Phoenix) is a professor of Art History at Glendale Community College (GCC) where she has taught since 1998. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Maryland, and has taught at the Smithsonian Institution, the American University, the University of Maryland, and Trinity College. She is past district coordinator of the Art Masterpiece Program for the Madison Elementary School District, and currently serves as curator of GCC’s Art Collection. She served as advisor to Phi Theta Kappa honor society, has been recognized as GCC’s Honors Professor of the Year, and is a regular lecturer to docents at the Phoenix Art Museum.

Art Harding (Phoenix) currently serves as the Chief of Operations for the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). In this role, he ensures ADE is focused on being a service-oriented organization. Before joining the ADE, Art served as the Chief of Operations for the State of Arizona, under Governor Ducey. He also worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the Executive Secretary of the Office of the Executive Secretariat. Prior to his service at USDA, Art served as Director of Policy for the First Lady of the United States. In that role, he focused on policy development, engagement strategies, and youth advocacy.

Art has also been involved in multiple community and professional associations, including the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team, the Arizona Fallen Correctional Employees Memorial Committee, and more. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Arizona.

Angelia Hill (Phoenix) is the President & CEO of OneMillion Entrepreneurs nonprofit organization with a mission to transform the economic landscape for all people to one million sustaining entrepreneurs by 2036. For the past 17 years, she has been inspiring entrepreneurs with the motivation needed to succeed through the journey of creating and refining businesses in Arizona. Consulting economic development campaigns for the United Nations UN Women (WEP) council and national companies she is the former, Senior Vice President of the Arizona Small Business Association. Currently serving on the Arizona Dept of Education CTE Board Commission, Angelia provides guidance on programs for entrepreneurial students and community engagement of arts industry businesses at many levels. Angelia and her husband live in the Biltmore area of Phoenix and enjoy cultural emersion travelling around the world. Updated June 2021 

Chelsea Lett (Phoenix) was born and raised in Bullhead City, Arizona, and attended Northern Arizona University earning degrees in American Political Studies and Public Relations. She moved to D.C. and worked a year on Capitol Hill prior to joining the Washington National Opera and The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Lett spent three years with WNO and The Kennedy Center in the press and development departments working on  projects promoting the opera in the community. In 2012, she moved back to Arizona and began working for U.S. Senator Jeff Flake where she currently serves as Regional Outreach Director.

Regina Ortega-Leonardi (Globe) is deeply rooted in her rural upbringing and brings a strong small-town sensibility to everything she does. Proud of where she comes from, Regina believes that the values instilled in tight-knit communities—collaboration, resilience, and rolling up your sleeves to make things happen—are the foundation of effective leadership.
A dynamic community builder, arts advocate, and visionary placemaker, Regina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Journalism from the University of Arizona. She has spent her career using creativity as a catalyst for revitalization, blending public art, environmental stewardship, and civic engagement to breathe new life into rural spaces.

In 2020, Regina co-founded I Art Globe, a public art initiative that sparked the creation of the Stairizona Trail—a network of stairways transformed with murals and mosaics into vibrant public art experiences. To date, the project has brought more than 99+ artworks and events to life, generating almost $350,000 in value for the rural Arizona arts scene. Building on this success, she co-founded Love Where You Live, a nonprofit where she now serves as Creative Director. The organization leads projects like the Globe Trash Mob and the Cathy Sanchez-Cañez Memorial Foundation, transforming everyday spaces into centers of beauty, pride, and connection.

Whether she’s working on community development, building partnerships, or navigating complex challenges, Regina draws on her rural perspective to find practical, people-centered solutions. For her, success is measured not just in outcomes, but in relationships built and communities strengthened along the way.

Wilana Ortega (Yuma) is an enrolled member of the Cocopah Indian Tribe. Her parents are the late Will Ortega Sr. and the late Marie Faye Coyote Ortega. Wilana comes from a rich legacy of artists with her late father being an accomplished painter and her late mother a renowned traditional beaded cape maker. She also comes from a long line of storytellers, which she gives credit to her pursuit of obtaining a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theatre from Arizona State University. Her love for arts and culture has led Ms. Ortega down many paths such as over ten years co-creating a phoenix theatre company called Theatre In My Basement, working in ASU’S costume shop in fibers dyeing and costume designer, writing and producing her own plays, directed and dramaturged many plays and performances, as well as working with students and artists in Theater for Social Change. Currently, Ms. Ortega works for the Cocopah Indian Tribe as a Substance and Alcohol Abuse Counselor. She works with the Cocopah Youth in promoting Culture as Wellness. She is a potter, beader, bird dancer, and seamstress of traditional regalia for her Yuman speaking community. She sits currently as Chair for the First Things First Cocopah Regional Partnership Council and is a member of a Cocopah founded non-profit. Wilana is a certified Full Spectrum Indigenous Doula and has had the honor of assisting several families as a birth worker. Last but not least, she is a proud mom of a son who carries the legacy of playing a traditional handgame called Peon and singing traditional songs as a Bird Singer.

 

Pats Shriver (Flagstaff) recently retired as the Regional Director overseeing the Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff as well as the Page/Lake Powell Community Fund, Greater Williams Community Fund, and the Tuba City Community Fund. In addition, Pats worked with the Native American Tribes on the Colorado Plateau, including the Hopi Foundation, and worked with donors throughout the White Mountains. Pats worked with donors and fundholders as well as other community partners to grow charitable assets and enhance community impact through strategic grantmaking. Pats joined the organization in 2011 as the grant’s operations coordinator for the Northern Regional and was named Northern Regional Manager in 2013.

Pats came to ACF from the Museum of Northern Arizona where she served as the Human Resources Director, Events and Trip Coordinator during her five-year tenure. She has over 20 years of experience in educational and consulting services in the Silicon Valley software industry, and holds a degree in Business Administration.

Colleen Steinberg (Paradise Valley) grew up in the Valley of the Sun. She attended the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art in 1990. In partnership with her mother and sister she founded a graphic design firm serving local and national clientele. For fifteen years she was a principal, working with clients to determine strategies and design for marketing campaigns and translating concepts into visuals for media outreach. She currently has her own commission-based animal portrait studio and teaches painting classes at various valley venues. She serves on the Paradise Valley Arts Board and has been active with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Simon Tipene Adlam (Mesa) has over 25 years of experience in arts and culture, having worked on major museum projects all over the world, including the State of Qatar, Germany, Cuba, the United Kingdom and here in the United States. As director of the Arizona Museum of Natural History (AZMNH), Simon has worked tirelessly to bring the museum’s extensive collection and scientific contributions to the forefront and support the growth of the arts in underserved communities.

Simon is an integral part of our community, serving locally in the Rotary Club and working with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community to forge new relationships and garner tribal input on how AZMNH might best present indigenous stories which are so valuable to Arizonans. Simon is also a person of tribal heritage, making these relationships essential to his work as director of AZMNH and near to Simon’s heart and family history.

With 40 years of nonprofit experience, John-Peter Wilhite (Tucson) became a staff member in Housing & Residential Life at University of Arizona in the spring of 2023. In his work with nonprofits, he accumulated experience as both a staff and board member. He has also helped to found two nonprofits which still thrive today.

John-Peter Wilhite has been engaged in diversity and inclusion work throughout his career and has developed and led workshops for many years. He has also been involved as a staff member and volunteer with nonprofit arts organizations for much of his career.

He earned an MA in Communication Studies from Texas State University and a BFA in Fashion and Art from Pratt Institute in New York City. John-Peter calls Tucson home, having lived here for over 22 years. He gained his work and life experience while living in Indianapolis, New York City, San Francisco (twice), and Austin prior to moving to Tucson.

Ruben Alvarez (Phoenix) is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Molera Alvarez, LLC, a government relations and public affairs firm based in Phoenix. Molera Alvarez, represents a wide range of Fortune 500 companies, non-profit groups and governmental entities. Prior to forming Molera Alvarez in 2003, Alvarez worked in the State of Arizona’s Executive branch for 12 years. Notable is his role as the Governor’s Policy Advisor for Mexico and Hispanic Affairs. In this role, Alvarez managed the state’s relationship with Mexican government officials and provided leadership direction on key bi-national issues, cross border trade activities and initiatives targeting the needs of the Hispanic community. In addition, before becoming Policy Advisor, Alvarez served as the Governor’s Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity where he was responsible for implementing and overseeing outreach efforts to develop greater communication links between state agencies and underrepresented communities to disseminate information on contracting and employment opportunities. Updated June 2020