George Newell
Board President
George Newell has a long history in local government and community organizations. After moving to California from his home in Oklahoma in 1970, Mr. Newell established and managed the Veterans Reentry Program for Vietnam Veterans at Monterey Peninsula College. In 1974, George moved to Santa Cruz to work for Santa Cruz County and in 1978 became the County Administrative Officer. In 1989, he was hired by Sally Reed to be the Deputy County Executive for Santa Clara County, and in 2000 retired after serving as County Executive. Throughout his carrier George Newell has worked with many community organizations in both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties. He has helped organize and govern groups supporting the delivery of programs for at risk youth, organizing neighborhoods for community development and expanding health care for people in need. He has served on the board of the Long Marine Lab Seymour Center and was part of the founding of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County and served as President of the Cultural Council during its 25th anniversary year. Since the fall of 2004 George Newell has served as Executive Director for the Tannery Arts Center. He is currently on the Boards of the Tannery Arts Center, Museum of Art and History, Art Forum, and the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center and is a printmaker in the print shop of the Printmakers at the Tannery.
Michael Watkins
Board Member
Michael Watkins was elected as Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools in November, 2006, and is now in his second term as superintendent. He held the statewide position of President of the Juvenile Court and Community Alternative School Administrators of California and currently holds the position of President-Elect of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA). Michael began his teaching career with the Oakland Public Schools and from there went to work for the Alameda County Office of Education. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology, Life-Time Teaching Credentials in secondary and special education, and a Masters in School Administration. His work with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education began when he assumed the position of Learning Handicapped Program Specialist later becoming the Director of Special Education. Before becoming Superintendent, he served as the Director of Alternative Education where he was honored by both the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Watsonville City Council for his work with at-risk youth and for outstanding achievements in education.
Marlene Pitkow
Board Member
Marlene Pitkow is a lifelong dancer, having trained in modern dance (in the 70’s-80’s) then soon wandered into studies of world dance—Bharata Natyam, Indonesian and Korean dances and Flamenco. A Fulbright in Kerala, South India to study a 400-year-old Hindu dance-drama, Kathakali, led her to pursue a doctoral dissertation. She worked in Arts Management in NYC for the Asia Society; managed and performed with a Pan-Asian dance company in NYC & US festivals and established an arts-in-education program in Brooklyn and Queens. Since 2005, she has been running a bi-monthly speaker series in Aptos and for the past few years she has been teaching fitness to seniors, while sneaking in fun choreography for brain fitness! She’s very proud to serve TWDCC as a board member and wholly supports their mission to bring dance diversity to Santa Cruz County.
Val Miranda
Board Member
Valéria (“Val”) Miranda is the executive director of the Santa Cruz Art League, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. Val also teaches graduate art and museum education at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She is passionate about the power of the arts and culture to change individuals, communities, and society. Val has worked in and with arts organizations since 1992. She was the Director of Education at the San Jose Museum of Art and at the Monterey Museum of Art. She also consults in equity and diversity, nonprofit administration, education, strategic planning, and fundraising. Val is a 2019 Americans for the Arts leaders of Color Forum Fellow, a 2013 graduate of the Multicultural Artists Leadership Institute at the School of Arts & Culture @ Mexican Heritage Plaza, and a 2001 graduate of Packard-funded Arts Leadership for the Future. She holds a MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Val’s artistic practice is in dance, and she was a member of amateur and semi-professional dance companies from middle school to college. She feels blessed by having grown in a family where art was a huge part of her family and cultural environment. Her mother took her to the theater for the first time when she was 5 years old and she has been in love with plays ever since. Her work for 13 years in a contemporary art museum gave her opportunities to not only develop audience-centered programming but to also to develop relationships with San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area artists and art organization leaders. Communities are central to the existence of any cultural organization and an extremely important part of Val’s professional and personal life. She is passionately committed to the sustainable power of collaborations and partnerships in leveraging cultural resources. Since 1992 she has worked with an extensive number of community groups including artists, business leaders, schools, neighborhood associations, artists, professional organizations, universities, city officials, and cultural advocacy groups. In Santa Cruz for the last twenty years, Val is also an avid urban homesteader, and spends lots of time in the art spaces, beaches and woods of Santa Cruz County with her spunky 17-year old son and many friends.
Micha Scott
Board Vice President & Artistic Director
Micha Scott is a dance professional with 29 years of performing, teaching, and choreographic experience. She was a senior member of the world renowned Garth Fagan Dance in New York for 13 years before coming to the West coast. She is currently TWDCC Artistic Director, resident choreographer at Mountain School in Soquel, CA, an instructor at Dancenter, and lead teacher with Tandy Beal's Dance Around the World program. Micha has been a lecturer at Santa Clara University, UCSC, SUNY Brockport as well as a guest choreographer for numerous companies and schools.
Mia Birdsong
Board Member
Mia grew up on the East Coast surrounded by writers, story tellers, educators, artists, and activists. She is co-director of Family Story. She has spent more than 20 years fighting for the self-determination and pointing out the brilliant adaptations of everyday people. Most recently, she was the Vice President of the Family Independence Initiative (FII). Under her leadership the organization expanded and achieved national recognition. Through FII, she created and curated the Torchlight Prize, an award for groups of everyday people working together to strengthen their own communities. She holds a B.A. in African American Studies from Oberlin College. Mia sits on the board of directors of People's Grocery. She lives with her husband and two children in Oakland, CA.
Tiffany Trujillo
Board Member
Tiffany Trujillo grew up in Santa Cruz County and is deeply rooted in the area. She holds her B.A. in Anthropology from UCSC and has a professional background in financial management and the fast-paced world of recruiting. She lived briefly in Seattle, Washington until she settled in the heart of the Mission District in San Francisco, with her husband Ethan. In 2009, their daughter Ava arrived and Tiffany decided to be a stay-at-home mom; a title she proudly holds today. In 2013, Tiffany and her family moved back home to Watsonville to assist her mother with caring for her terminally ill father. Since then, they have settled into life in a multi-generational home in the diverse and inspiring community of Watsonville that she holds close to her heart. In 2014, Tiffany discovered TWDCC and her daughter has been an ongoing dance student and active member of the youth company since. Throughout the years, Tiffany has been inspired by the dedicated teachers, staff, and students at TWDCC. Seeing her daughter’s joy and witnessing TWDCC create a diverse, inclusive, dynamic environment for dancers of all ages strengthened Tiffany's resolve to become involved. In 2020, she was given the opportunity to serve on the board of directors. TWDCC‘s service-oriented mission of building bonds in our community through innovation, the creation of diverse spaces, community outreach, and sharing the artistry of movement uplifted and resonated with Tiffany. She is a proud member of the board and committed to ensuring the mission of service and opportunity continues throughout the community for decades to come.
Debra Feldstein
Board Member
