The nine-member Board of the Nevada Arts Council is appointed by the governor of Nevada. Board members serve terms of four years and are selected for their knowledge of and experience in the arts, and to ensure geographic and ethnic representation of all areas of the state. The art council board advocates on behalf of the arts and arts education in Nevada and promotes policies and viewpoints to benefit members of the creative industry and residents throughout the State of Nevada. The board attends meetings to receive public comment, develop recommendations for cultural policies and priorities for the State of Nevada, and approve grant allocations.

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Claire Muñoz, Chair, Reno

Cl​​aire Muñoz is vice president of museum advancement and deputy director at the Nevada Museum of Art, where she provides strategic leadership across fundraising, institutional advancement, and community engagement. Since joining the museum in 2008, she has been instrumental in shaping its vision and growth, leading educational, philanthropic, and statewide initiatives that connect people and ideas through art.

Throughout her tenure, Claire has held several key leadership roles, including senior director of education and engagement and director of the E.L. Cord Museum School. She played a pivotal role in advancing the museum’s $60 million capital campaign to build the 50,000-square-foot Charles and Stacie Mathewson Education and Research Center, and has developed innovative partnerships that expand access to arts education across Nevada. Her work bridges education, philanthropy, and civic leadership, grounded in her belief that the arts are a powerful catalyst for community transformation.

A frequent presenter and moderator, Claire has led statewide and national conversations on arts education, community engagement, and diversity in cultural institutions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Arts in Urban Leadership from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Board Member since 2021: Term – 6/30/2028

Andy Lott, Vice-chair, Las Vegas

Growing up, Andy Lott wanted to be a dolphin trainer. But when he figured out engaging with audiences and MC-ing the Sea World show wasn’t actually the job, he decided to pursue a career in the performing arts instead.

Andy’s internal monologue is that of a creative thinker, problem-solver, and collaborator at the highest level. His passion for humans and helping people tell their stories means he’s adept at seeing multiple perspectives at once and making space for the power of possibility to work its theatrical magic. A graduate from the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, he went on to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. He toured nationally with “The Wizard of Oz,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” and was the equity guest artist for The Nevada Conservatory Theatre’s 2017 production of “Peter Pan,” playing the title role. Andy previously taught and directed inside the nationally awarded Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, the City of Las Vegas company. It is a program where he spent his youth growing and developing his artistic point-of-view. A public high school arts educator for four years, Andy has a particular understanding of the triumphs and challenges of the Southern Nevada arts education landscape; he believes strongly in the value of collaboration to develop meaningful creative learning opportunities for all students.

Andy continues to work with individuals and groups to help them find themselves in their stories. And while training dolphins is no longer at the top of his list – he remains open to new possibilities for collaboration in our community.

Board Member since 2019: Term – 9/30/2027

Nettie Oliverio, Treasurer, Reno

A citizen of Reno since 1975, Nettie Oliverio was an IT consultant for 40 years and perennial volunteer supporter of the arts in her adopted state. In 2019, Nettie joined a team of visionary developers to create Reno Public Market, a revitalization and adaptive reuse of the beloved Shoppers Square at the south end of Wells Avenue and Midtown in Reno, Nevada. As a partner with Foothill Partners – a street retail development company – in the role of arts and culture director, Nettie collaborates in all the company’s projects to incorporate culture and commerce to build and sustain community.  Representing her new industry on a national scale, she is the Nevada government relations chair for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). A graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and former dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Nettie served 10 years on the City of Reno Arts & Culture Commission and chaired the City’s Public Art Committee and Arts & Culture Grants Panel. She co-chairs the regional Reno Arts Consortium and serves on the board of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Additional activities have included the City of Reno Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board, City of Reno Technology and Innovation Consortium, the Doral Academy School Board and PBS Reno Community Advisory. In 2017, Nettie was the recipient of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada’s (EDAWN) Lifetime Achievement Award for Innovation and Stewardship of the Arts in Nevada.

Board Member since 2023: Term – 6/30/2027

Jerry Schefcik, Immediate Past Chair, North Las Vegas

Jerry Schefcik has been a Las Vegan since 1961. His college career took him to Brigham Young University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design, and on to the University of Denver for a Master of Arts in Art History and Museum Training, where he interned with the Denver Art Museum. He worked as curator of visual arts for the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, Colorado, and then moved to the Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo, Texas, as its curator of art. From Amarillo, he returned to Las Vegas. Jerry joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1989 as curator of the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery; he was promoted to its director in 1991. He concurrently served as exhibitions curator for Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art for more than a decade and curator for the Harry Reid International Airport Arts Advisory Sub-Committee for five years.

As director of galleries, Jerry oversees the Donna Beam Gallery and five satellite galleries throughout the UNLV campus, teaches the three-part gallery practices series and supervises the gallery internship program. In addition to his responsibilities at UNLV, he currently serves as a commissioner for the City of Las Vegas Arts Commission and as a member of the RTC Arts in Transit Advisory Council. A central figure within the ever-growing Las Vegas art scene, he demonstrates his dedication to the past, present and future art endeavors of this city by contributing much of his time as an adviser, juror, and mentor to numerous arts organizations in Las Vegas and the western region.

Board Member since 2013: Term – 6/30/2028

Demetrice Dalton, Reno

Demetrice P Dalton has been a resident and artist of Northern Nevada for more than 35 years. She has an associates degree in fine art and has participated in local art exhibitions and gallery shows. Her community involvement includes supporting arts advocacy at the Nevada Legislature and supporting youth artist. Demetrice is presently a freelance artist and consultant executive director for Our Story Inc.

Board Member since 2022: Term – 6/30/2026

Lori Gilbert, ELKO

Lori Gilbert is a rural Nevada broadcaster who has been writing, performing in community theater, and uplifting other artists for more than 30 years of her profession. She is delighted to join the board with a goal to continue the collaboration and inspiration that art can bring statewide.

Lori serves on the Committee Against Domestic Violence Advisory Board in Elko; the STARS Committee to recognize and elevate Elko County School District staff and teachers; and the RENO PBS Board of Directors.

She was appointed to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors in 2008 and served until 2018 when she retired from the position as chairman.

Lori has been the news director for Elko Broadcasting Company radio stations for many years and is a Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame recipient.

She most recently joined the staff of KUNR Public Radio as host of KNCC Morning Edition broadcasting on campus at Great Basin College in Elko.

Board Member since 2024: Term – 1/30/2028

Javon Johnson, Ph.D., Las Vegas

Javon Johnson is an assistant professor and director of African American & African Diaspora studies and holds an appointment in Gender & Sexuality Studies in the Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his Ph.D. in Performance Studies with a certificate in Gender Studies and Cognate in African American Studies from Northwestern University in 2010. Javon’s scholarly interests include performance, blackness, African American literature, black pop culture, slam and spoken word, black feminist theory, black queer theory, masculinity studies, black sexualities, and ethnography.

Javon’s first book, “Killing Poetry: Blackness and the Making of Slam and Spoken Word Communities” (Rutgers University Press 2017), unpacks some of the complicated issues that comprise performance poetry spaces and argues that the truly radical potential in slam and spoken word communities lies not just in proving literary worth, speaking back to power, or even in altering power structures, but instead in imagining and working towards altogether different social relationships.

Having recently completed his first book of poems, “Aint Never Not Been Black” (Button Poetry 2020), Javon is a creative scholar who has mounted exhibitions at the California African American Museum, where he managed the history department. A renowned spoken word poet, he is a three-time national poetry slam champion, a four-time national finalist, and has appeared on appeared on HBO’sDef Poetry Jam, BET’s Lyric Café, TVOnes Verses & Flow, The Steve Harvey Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, United Shades of America with Kamau Bell on CNN, and co-wrote a documentary titled Crossover, which aired on Showtime, in collaboration with the NBA and Nike.

Board Member since 2020: Term – 6/30/2027

Yale Yeandel, Las Vegas

Yale Yeadel’s unique and detailed sets have been bringing shows to life throughout Las Vegas since the mid-1990s. He has designed the environment for productions from UNLV to College of Southern Nevada and high schools throughout Las Vegas, the outdoor refugee camp in the middle of Sandy Valley’s back roads to Spring Mountain Ranch, and theater companies throughout the valley. Some of his favorite sets have been “Pump Boys and Dinettes” at CSN; “A View From the Bridge” on the Las Vegas Little Theatre mainstage, which was nominated for the Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards Best Scenic Design; “Annie” at Spring Mountain Ranch, a fundraising production, for Super Summer Theatre; “Spring Awakening” at Majestic Repertory Theatre, which was also nominated for Best Scenic Design for the Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards; and the Summer Melodramas for the City of Las Vegas Parks and Recreation.

Yale is a theatre program specialist for the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs and focus much of his time on The Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, a nationally acclaimed, award-winning youth theater group of 40 dedicated students selected annually through open auditions. Serving as an ensemble member requires participants to make a serious commitment to learning the art of theater.

He worked at Le Reve from 2004 – 2020, where his scenic painting, set and prop work was seen five nights a week. His professional work includes innovative magic design with Penn & Teller, and back-stage work up and down the Strip for the Stratosphere, Cher and Debbie Reynolds. Creating the backdrop for great performances offers both artistic and professional opportunities, and Yale has been proud to volunteer at numerous Las Vegas high schools, training students on scenic design, painting, and construction.

A Midwestern transplant, Yale found his way to Las Vegas from South Bend, Indiana, after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Indiana University at South Bend. Yale and his wife, Jennifer, love to travel to see their beloved Chicago Cubs take the field at the Friendly Confines and across the country.

Board Member since 2019: Term – 9/30/2027