ANDRÉA MORALES, M.F.A.

Director of Programming

Andréa Morales (she/her/ella), is an actor, director, educator, and theatremaker who enjoys working across the U.S. Recent regional acting credits include Gloria- A Life (Human Race Theatre Company), Native Gardens (Southern Rep Theatre), Always, Patsy Cline (Swine Palace Theatre) and It’s a Wonderful Life-The Radio Play (American Theatre Company). Other regional theatre credits include Local Theatre, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, Sedona Shakespeare, Mixed Blood Theatre, Teatro Luna, and Adventure Stage Chicago. She had the privilege of touring Tomás and the Library Lady nationally, performing at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and the Sin Fronteras Festival in Austin.  Recent directing credits include Selena Maria Sings, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, and New Kid. She has worked as a member of the Ensemble at Childsplay Theatre Company in Arizona for two decades, where she continues her passion of creating theatre for everyone. As part of her graduate work in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, she created the Today’s TYA workshop, which brought together 7-8 grade students in the community and LSU students to create and perform TYA shows. Andréa enjoys teaching at Wittenberg University, Earlham College, and Northern Arizona University, where she also works as a vocal and dialect coach, movement and fight director, cultural consultant, and intimacy director. She is an Artistic Associate of Magnolia Theatre Company. She is passionate about new play development, and has worked with In Other People’s Shoes, Local Lab, and Halcyon Theatre as a dramaturg.  Her recent voice work includes Cincinnati Bell, GE, and Uber. Andréa is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild. İMi familia es mi vida!

Aleks Hollis

Director of communications

Aleks Hollis (he/they) is a performer, live foley artist, and video editor. They were recently the live video game designer for Space55’s The Hidden Sea. They have worked as the video editor for The Bridge Initiative’s RomeroFest production of The Dalai Lama is Not Welcome Here, UCAT’s production of The Last Five Years/ Los Últimos Cinco Años, and as a live foley artist for Space55’s Night of the Chicken. They have won 3 ariZoni awards: 2 for Artistic Specialization and 1 for Sound Design. 

Brenda Jean Foley

Director of Grants and operations

Brenda Jean Foley (she/her/hers) is a Phoenix-based actor, activist, and producing artistic director of The Bridge Initiative, working to create more professional opportunities for local artists, leading with gender parity. As an actor, she has appeared on stages across the U.S. and internationally. With The Bridge Initiative, she has helmed and been awarded many grants, providing ongoing funding for the organization. She was nominated for the Phoenix Mayor’s Arts Award in 2019. She is currently producing feature-length documentary film See Jane Run: An Indo Story featuring AGE’s founder, Jane Vogel Mantiri. Proud member Actors’ Equity Association.

our board

ELEANOR GIL-KASHIWABARA​

interim Board chair

Eleanor Gil-Kashiwabara (she/her/hers) is a licensed psychologist and an actor.  As a bilingual, Latina psychologist of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, Dr. Gil-Kashiwabara has a passion for providing culturally-responsive mental health care. Much of her work has addressed service inequities and culturally-specific service provision in Latinx and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.  She is Past-President of the Oregon Psychological Association (OPA) and currently serves as the Oregon delegate on the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives. She is the first Latina to serve as president of OPA and founded the OPA Diversity Committee. She was awarded the  2019 American Psychological Association Presidential Citation.  Her private practice is focused on consultation, training and supervision related to culturally-responsive care and organizational consultation related to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Eleanor is the mother to two inspiring daughters who are both actors. It is her hope that they, along with so many other artists of marginalized genders, will benefit from the amazing work being done by AGE. Eleanor is thrilled to serve on the AGE Board, merging her skills and passions at the intersection of art and psychology.

Angela Smith-Lund

Board vice chair

Angela Smith-Lund (she/her/hers) brings a varied skill set to the AGE Board. She has a degree in French and Literature, and has competed in collegiate Track & Field. She currently works in accounting at Arnerich Massena. Angela served as a legislative aid and correspondent for a member of the US House of Representatives. She moved to Portland in 2006 to work as a sports and fashion model. Her life motto is “Be fearless. Be crazy. Win big.” and describes herself as a “fearless contrarian”, Angela has joined AGE because she believes in the mission to effect social change through the beauty of the arts.

Whitney Mam

Board Treasurer

Whitney Mam (she/her/hers) is a founding AGE Board member. She is a management consultant at Accenture, focused on enterprise software implementation projects. Whitney has more than 15 years of progressive business experience and has led transformational programs and business process improvement initiatives in a variety of industries including technology, retail, and home services. She has an MBA from the University of Chicago with a concentration in Finance, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management and a master of science in Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Portland State University. Whitney is passionate about projects that build a more inclusive and equitable world for her daughter’s generation.

Arnie Perlstein

Board Secretary

Arnie Perlstein (he/him/his) is a retired attorney and would-be author of literary sleuthing/analysis about Jane Austen’s feminist “shadow stories.” He was born in NYC, attended Williams College & Michigan Law School, practiced commercial real estate law for 30 years in South Florida, and more recently moved to Portland with his wife. His commitment to revealing Austen’s feminism (suppressed for two centuries) helps fuel his passionate support for AGE’s goals for gender equity in the arts.

Dr. Leroy E. Bynum Jr

Board Member

Dr. Leroy E. Bynum Jr (he/him/his) is the Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Portland State University.  He began his position at PSU in Fall 2017. Dr. Bynum is a performing artist, appearing in operatic roles, as featured soloist, and in solo recitals throughout the United States, Europe and South America. He has maintained a vibrant voice studio which launched students into successful careers as performers and pedagogues.  Dr. Bynum was recently honored by the University of Georgia as one of its Graduate Alumni of Distinction. This award recognized graduate alumni who excelled in their respective fields.

Serena Zilliacus

Board member

Serena Zilliacus (she/her/hers) is writing a novel. She also works with Homeopaths Without Borders, Holland and has travelled to Boukombé, Bénin, West Africa, to teach local people how to prescribe remedies for diarrhea, 3rd degree burns, and childbirth, from 2004-2016. She holds a BA in Stage Management from the Royal Academy of Art, London, working in theatre and television in London, Sydney, and Paris, as an actress, stage manager, producer, and director. When her daughter was born in Amsterdam in ’98, Serena changed careers and became a Homeopath. She has served as Board Member and Chair of the Board for Portland-based, Northwest Dance Project. Serena was an enthusiastic supporter or AGE from its inception and was honored to be asked to join AGE. Serena is proud of AGE’s overriding strength – its team and board working in tandem, plus the fact that AGE can turn on a dime to refocus its activities within the arts world, wherever and whenever they are most needed. 

 

pamela o'hare

Board member

Pamela O’Hare (she/her/hers) is an actor and an advocate for social justice with a background in business management and tax analysis. She holds a B.S. in Business and Leadership from Marylhurst University, and believes that genuine curiosity and kindness are her superpower.Her mother is from the Caribbean island of Dominica, and her father is from Minnesota. Pam is a Military Brat who mostly grew up in San Jose, California before relocating with her employer to Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. After moving thirteen times in twelve years she returned to Oregon, and fully unpacked in the Portland area in 2000.An early supporter of AGE, Pam is inspired by its simple, efficient, effective strategy, and she is honored to help navigate the future of AGE as a board member.

AGE Founder

jane vogel mantiri

Jane Vogel Mantiri (she/her/hers) is an actor, an activist, and a clinical psychologist. She has an extensive history of championing for social justice issues. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon. She served on the Board for the Center for Community Counseling in Eugene, OR for fifteen years, including tenure as Board President. Jane was born in Indonesia, lived in the Netherlands and became a naturalized US citizen in 1967. She recently wrote her memoir entitled See JANE Run: A Primer on Love, Resilience, and the American Indo Dream that is being made into a documentary film. Jane and her husband live in Portland. They have two grown children.