Listing

Tony Manfredi – Executive Director
tmanfredi@nevadaculture.org | 775.297.5955

Sapira Cheuk – Artist Services Specialist
scheuk@nevadaculture.org | 951.223.1297

Krista Ficken – Grants Program Assistant
k.ficken@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7102

Brad McMullen – Folklife Specialist
bmcmullen@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.3739

Stephanie Montgomery – Grants and Projects Analyst 
smontgomery@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7104

Maria Moreno – Administrative Services Officer
mmoreno@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7118

Michelle Patrick – Community Arts Development Specialist / ADA Coordinator
mpatrick@nevadaculture.org |702.486.3732

Rhonda Peña – Account Technician
rhondapena@nevadaculture.org |775.687.7112

Stephen Reid – Artist Services Specialist/ Art Installer
sreid@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7108

Shereen Choudhury – Arts Learning Specialist
schoudhury@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.6680

Vacant – Administrative Assistant
775.687.7117 

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Bios

Tony Manfredi

Executive Director
tmanfredi@nevadaculture.org | 775.297.5955

Tony Manfredi joined the Nevada Arts Council as Executive Director in 2017. Manfredi provides the strategic direction and leadership for the organization, assessing and overseeing current programming, optimizing business development opportunities for artists, arts organizations and the public, representing the agency and state in regional and national forums, and managing the staff and budget housed within state government. His professional background combines 30 years of strategic planning, management, marketing, creative, and fundraising services for both local and international businesses and organizations. Manfredi is a graduate of the University of San Diego with degrees in Communication Studies and Art with a dual emphasis in Graphic Communication and Painting. 

Sapira Cheuk

Artist Services Specialist
scheuk@nevadaculture.org | 951.223.1297

Sapira Cheuk joined the Nevada Arts Council as an Artist Service Program Specialist in 2022. Her duties include providing support for current artists’ services and programs, as well as assist in developing new initiatives. In addition to her role at the NAC, she also serves as an Art Commissioner for the City of Las Vegas and Art Editor for the museum of americana. She is a practicing artist, has taught at the Art Department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has over ten years of experience in public administration with the State of California. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at University of California Riverside, and Master in Fine Art from California State University, San Bernardino. She is based out of the Las Vegas office.

Krista Ficken

Grants Program Assistant
k.ficken@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7102

Krista Ficken joined the Grants Program team of the Nevada Arts Council in 2019 and assists in overseeing and managing all aspects of the agency’s granting opportunities.
Krista is a native Nevadan who, since childhood, has been involved in the arts and fascinated by the beauty and craftsmanship of ‘old things’ and the complex simplicity of this world that we all move through each day. This has translated to her exploration of several artistic disciplines such as performance, visual and literary art. Her multi-disciplinary practice includes sketching, poetry, photography, multi-media upcycling and textile restoration, as well as stage, window display and interactive 3D photo shoot designing and construction.

For decades Krista has salvaged, restored, repurposed and re-sold an array of vintage and antique treasures. Her poetry and photography works have been published at both local and national levels, and her modern retail product photography reaches a global market. She also spent several years working in performance art, initially as a performer, then later as an assistant coach and choreographer to a team of youth performers. The Arts have always been a therapeutic and highly rewarding avenue of self-expression for Krista. And it is her hope to have a positive impact on increasing the accessibility of the arts to all ages, but especially to children, so that they too can enjoy and perhaps find passion, in the arts and their individual journeys of self-expression. She strongly believes that access to creative outlets is imperative during a time in life when the mind is simultaneously innocently curious and openly creative.

Brad McMullen

Folklife Specialist

bmcmullen@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.3739

Brad McMullen joined the Nevada Arts Council as a Folklife Specialist in 2023. Previously he was the Programs and Gathering Manager at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada where he oversaw planning of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other events. He arrived in Elko in July 2018, after graduating from the University of Oregon with two master’s degrees – one in Public Folklore and one in Arts Administration. He also has a master’s degree in Welsh from Cardiff University. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Stephanie Montgomery, Ph.d

Grants and Program Analyst
smontgomery@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7104

Stephanie Montgomery joined the Nevada Arts Council as a Grants and Projects Analyst in 2023. She earned her B.A. in History at the University of Nevada, Reno, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A former educator who grew up in rural Nevada, Stephanie is passionate about making the arts and humanities accessible for all. In her downtime, she is an avid reader, writer, crafter, gamer, and hiker.

Maria Moreno, CIA

Administrative Services Officer
mmoreno@nevadaculture.org |775.687.7118

Maria Moreno joined the Nevada Arts Council in 2022 as the Administrative Services Officer.  She has been in State service since 2007 honing her skills in the auditing and accounting fields.  Maria is a UNR graduate and a Certified Internal Auditor. Her years of experience as a state auditor have given her a wealth of knowledge in the areas of fiscal accounting, internal controls, and state and federal guidelines.  She serves as the lead fiscal contact overseeing the day-to-day accounting processes for the agency.  Maria is a Carson City, Nevada native who enjoys spending her free time outside hiking the Tahoe trails or tubing down the Truckee River during the summer months.

Michelle Patrick

Community Arts Development Specialist
mpatrick@nevadaculture.org |702.486.3732

Over the past decade, Michelle Patrick has worked at the intersections of theater, dance, film, arts programming, and public speaking. Her work currently focuses on non-profit arts organizations, cultural institutions and individual artists.  Originally from Queens, New York, she is also a facilitator, voice over artist and has a varied background as an arts administrator that includes the City of Las Vegas, Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the Sundance Film Festival. Michelle helped launch the Nevada Basin to Range Exchange, a program dedicated to promoting rural and urban arts-based collaboration. She also implemented IDEAS Through Reconciliation, an initiative designed to evaluate bias in creative spaces through the NAC. Patrick continues to serve as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts as well as a board member for the Nevada Women’s Film Festival. She previously served as a board member for the 18b Arts District Neighborhood Association, as an adviser for the City of Henderson’s Arts & Cultural Advisory Council, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, City Park Jazz, and is an alumna of WESTAF’s Emerging Leaders of Color initiative. She is also a YoungArts alumni and outreach presenter. Michelle enjoys reading, traveling and shoe shopping in her spare time.

Rhonda Peña

Accountant Technician

rhondapena@nevadaculture.org |775. 687.7112

Rhonda Peña joined NAC in the summer of 2021. She has been in State service since 2006, gaining knowledge from different agencies and brings many administrative tips, tricks, and tools with her to NAC. Rhonda serves as the agency administrative assistant, travel coordinator, and backup for the Accountant Tech and provides general agency support. Rhonda takes great pride in her work and makes a point to always greet everyone with a smile as well as keep up the office moral. Rhonda is a Carson City, Nevada native. She grew up playing many different sports, but soccer has always been her favorite.  She is a dedicated soccer mom of three boys who bring her such joy and happiness as they grow up and become productive young men of society. Rhonda is also a die-hard Las Vegas Raiders fan and an animal lover, especially dogs of all breeds. She enjoys outdoor recreational activities with her family and friends. To relax, Rhonda enjoys kicking back and reading a good book, drawing, or coloring.