Governing Board

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The Governing Board, established in 2013, holds the fiscal responsibility of the Corporation, sets corporate policy and supports CAG’s mission, goals and activities.​

 

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Bart Doyle,  Chair

​​Bart Doyle is an attorney specializing in real estate, land use, and business transactions. A 31-year resident of Sierra Madre, he was elected to the City Council in 1996 and served two terms as Mayor.  He is the immediate past Chair of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership and currently serves as Treasurer of the Pasadena Educational Foundation. He also serves on the boards of three industry related non-profits: the Building Industry Association of Los Angeles County, the Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation, and the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition.

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Carolyn Ash, Vice Chair

​Following retirement as Director of Student-Faculty Programs at Caltech, Carolyn discovered Creative Arts Group and began taking ceramics classes. She became an active volunteer and also served on CAG’s Guild Board as a member and then as president. A long-time resident of Altadena, Carolyn holds a BA from Mount St. Mary’s University. Her hobbies include pottery, traveling, gardening, reading, and gathering with family and friends.  

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Helen Stepenhorst, Treasurer

Helen Bechtolt Stapenhorst was shaken from Sherman Oaks to Sierra Madre in 1994, following time in Nagasaki and New York, where she met husband Steve. Helen has spent her career as a non-profit administrator, consultant and fundraiser, currently working in Principal Gifts at Huntington Hospital.  As a volunteer, Helen helped lead the Sierra Madre School PTA and Neighborhood Church in Pasadena. She just completed a term on the Sierra Madre Civic Club board. It was the third grade witch project, 10 and 12 years ago, that introduced Helen to Creative Arts Group.

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Maral Gazarian, Member

Maral is a Sierra Madre native. She spent the last decade in Nevada and the east coast and moved back home to Sierra Madre in 2021 following completion of her husband’s military service. She currently works at Huntington Hospital and has served on various medical committees over the years. She has fond memories of CAG from classes there as a child and is excited to join the governing board. 

 

Dana Brandsey, Member

Dana Brandsey, a proud Los Angeles native raised in the San Fernando Valley, has lived in Sierra Madre for nearly four years, where she is an active member of the PTA at Sierra Madre Elementary. With a passion for the arts, learning French, reading, and outdoor activities like family bike rides and long runs, Dana thrives on staying active and engaged with her community. A graduate of Occidental College, she has built nearly two decades of alumni engagement and development experience in higher education and independent schools. Dana now serves as the Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement at Occidental College, dedicating herself to fostering meaningful connections within the college community. 

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John Vandevelde, Member

John was born and raised in Southern California but didn’t discover Sierra Madre until moving into town in 1993 -- the same year he graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Architecture.  John received his architectural license from the State of California in 1995 while working at WLC Architects in Rancho Cucamonga and then moved on to Ewing Architects in Pasadena before starting his own firm Vandevelde Architects in 1999.  He has served several years on Sierra Madre’s Planning Commission, was active coach and board member for Sierra Madre Little League, and volunteered as both coach and referee in AYSO’s Region 2.  John and his wife Shannon have enjoyed taking ceramic classes at Creative Arts Group and hope to find more time for such pursuits as they adjust to life as empty-nesters. 

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Tonja Torres

​Tonja is a graduate of the University of Chicago and UCLA School of Law, is an appellate criminal defense attorney for indigent adults and juveniles. She has served as a board member, officer, and President of California Appellate Defense Counsel. In 2022, the California Supreme Court’s Chief Justice appointed her to the Appellate Indigent Defense Oversight Advisory Committee. A resident of Sierra Madre for more than 25 years, she was active on the board of Sierra Madre Community Nursery School, as well as Sierra Madre Elementary School’s PTA. Tonja also served as a member of Sierra Madre’s City Council from 2002 to 2006. Currently, she is also a Sierra Madre Library Foundation board member. In her spare time, Tonja is an avid knitter, amateur photographer, and aspiring seamstress. Creative Arts Group has had a special place in her heart ever since both her children participated in the third grade witch project and her dear father-in-law enthusiastically created scarecrows for the annual Scarecrow Festival.

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Staff

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Diana Whitten, Executive Director

Diana joined Creative Arts Group in 2026, bringing nearly two decades of leadership experience in media and nonprofit arts. She has built a career centered on storytelling, education, and community engagement, with a strong commitment to expanding access to the arts. She previously served as Director of Communications for the Ford Foundation’s International Fellowships Program and is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been distributed internationally. Her writing and visual work have appeared in the New York Times, Refinery29, Huffington Post, Democracy Now, and The Guardian. Throughout her career, she has combined creative production with strategic fundraising initiatives, cultivating audiences and partnerships in support of socially engaged work. A former teaching artist in the New York City public schools, Diana holds degrees from Tufts University, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The New School. She lives in Sierra Madre with her husband and young son, who loves his clay classes at Creative Arts Group.

 

Hannah Blank, Assistant Director

 

Kim Totten, Volunteer Liaison/ Facilities Manager

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Aurelia Brogan, Program Director/ Graphic Designer

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Jill Field-Duerr, Accounting/Bookkeeping/Financial Managing

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Alyson Brandes, Lab Tech and Social Media ​​

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Joanne Thrane, Gallery and Administrative Assistant

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