Welcome Delia, Hanna, and Chris!

We’re excited to share a somewhat belated update on agency staffing today! This past summer the Arizona Commission on the Arts welcomed two new staff members to our team:

Delia Ibañez joins the Arts Commission staff as a Program Coordinator supporting the agency’s artist programs and arts learning departments. They previously worked for the agency on contract, assisting with artist programs.

Hanna Spence-Schehr was hired as a Program Coordinator supporting the agency’s Organizational Services department. She was previously contracted by the Arizona Commission on the Arts as an Executive Assistant and to provide general program assistance.

Delia and Hanna each possess diverse skill sets, grounded in artistic practice, as well as an impressive depth of knowledge and expertise in arts administration.

Additionally, we’re pleased to report that Chris Elliott will extend his full-time, paid engagement with the agency through Public Allies Arizona for an additional 10 months.

Chris’s initial engagement was focused on the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 Study, a nationwide economic impact study on the arts and culture industry. In his second year, he will provide support to agency programs and special initiatives.

Public Allies Arizona is an AmeriCorps program administered by ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation.

About Our New Colleagues

Delia Ibañez graduated from Arizona State University in 2020 with a BA in Performance and Movement. Since then they have worked steadily in the Dance sector as a teacher, choreographer, performer, and administrator. As a member of several national networks, including Latin Hispanic Dancers United and the Queer Farmer Network, they offer expertise as a community engagement specialist and freelance program coordinator particularly within latinx and rural communities. Delia continues to coordinate an artist retreat center by the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia through A-Ibañez Art Design Inc..

Hanna Spence-Schehr holds a BA in Sociology and a minor in Cultural and Theater Studies from University of Arizona. She was previously employed by The Phoenix Theatre Company, first as a Patron Services and Sales Associate and finally in the dual role of Executive Assistant to the company’s Managing Director and Producing Artistic Director and as director of the company’s summer camp program. Immediately prior to working with the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Hanna was employed by Act One Arizona as Field Trip Manager.

Hanna has an extensive background as a theatre artist and continues to provide dramaturgical services to theatre companies throughout the valley.

Originally from New Jersey, Chris Elliott received his BA in Sociology and Music with a concentration in Health and Medicine from Goucher College, and his MM in Musical Theatre from Arizona State University. A passionate, enthusiastic, and animated creative, he strives to create space for people to feel stimulated, moved, and changed through the usage of music, emotion, and personal storytelling. As a performer, Elliott was recently featured in The Phoenix Theatre Company production of Dreamgirls.