Welcome back! We hope you all have had a fantastic start to your 2018 so far, taking time to make time, spending the holiday season with your friends and loved ones. In that spirit, we thought we’d kick off the first blog of the year with an introduction to our family at the California Arts Council, and give you a chance to learn a bit more about what they do and who they are. Part one begins with our administrative staff.
Name: Bintou Coulibaly
Title: Senior Accounting Officer
Bintou oversees the accounting staff and handles fiscal reporting to state control agencies. Born in the Ivory Coast, she says her move to the United States was one of her greatest life adventures. In addition to speaking English, French, and at least five different African dialects, Bintou has all the qualities of an incredible listener, often topped off with a witty reply. She enjoys reading, cooking, and playing soccer with her three children when she’s not here with us—though if you ask her what she does outside of work … here comes that wit we mentioned: “Sleep.”
Name: Richard Diaz
Title: Receptionist
Richard’s our go-to guy for all the office needs—fielding and directing calls from our main phone line, delivering the mail, purchasing office supplies, and storing CAC records. When he’s not representing at reception, he spends his time off working on model planes and cars, or playing old-school video games. He also enjoys the company of family and friends, furry incarnations included. Richard has three dogs: Scooby, Shaggy, and YoYo.
Name: Jared Hamlin
Title: Accountant I
Jared’s part of our accounting staff, processing payments to our grantees. Some quick math about Jared: His favorite colors (green and orange) + his favorite food (pizza) = Michelangelo. As in his favorite Ninja Turtle, not the Renaissance artist—our interests can sometimes stray from the more obvious, you know! Jared’s also recently married. He and his newly betrothed just moved to a new place in order to add a dog to their current two-cat lifestyle. Congrats, JareBear!
Name: Yurika Jimenez
Title: Accountant I
Yurika is without a doubt the owner of the sunniest disposition of the CAC staff, with a smile that may require UV protection. She also loves the color “pink!” and eating “sushi!” (both followed by enthusiastic exclamation points in the staff survey—you see what we mean?). As one of our accountants, she’s got a head for numbers… and so much more. In a recent staff meeting, we were delighted by this diva’s operatic rendition of the birthday song. Move over, Marilyn!
Name: Mariana Moscoso
Title: Arts in Corrections Program Analyst
Mariana’s administrative specialty lies with our Arts in Corrections program, coordinating contracts, program development and monitoring. Her interests in life, however, are less specialized, more just special. Mariana is deeply inspired by tradition, with her Afro-indigenous roots shaping her understanding and place in the universe. She speaks four languages—English, Spanish, German, Italian—and is working on a fifth, Tz’utujil. Mariana recently participated in the WESTAF Emerging Leaders of Color Cohort, and has an impressive collection of bead jewelry and a cat named Machiavelli. How cool is all of that? We say very.
Name: Nicole Sanchez
Title: Procurement and Contracts Analyst
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” That line, by Robert Brault, is Nicole’s favorite quote, and it sums up her life philosophy well. Nicole’s responsible for agency contracts and procurement activities here at the office, but at home, she’s responsible for her two young sons, ages 8 and 13, who she says inspire her every day to be better. She often serves as Team Mom or even Coach for whatever sport is in season. “Their hobbies are my hobbies!” she adds. Except for her love of skydiving—the boys will have to wait until they are a bit older for that one.
Name: Debra Waltman
Title: Director of Administrative Services
Debra heads up the aforementioned administrative support staff while also handling all things budget, in addition to contract completion, interagency agreements, and purchasing. Outside the office, the music maven makes time to teach herself guitar, check out concert scene and serve on the Girls Rock Sacramento Advisory Board. Debra’s attitude about her team, and of all of the staff at the CAC, is a fitting close to Part 1 of our Meet the Staff series:
“One of my favorite things about the Arts Council is the culture. We are all open and accepting of each other as individuals—not just as co-workers.”
Well said.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Meet the Staff series, coming soon!
The Blog: California Arts Council 