SAN JOSE, CA .- The Board of the
ICA San José welcomes six new incredible people to the Board of the museum.
Aldo Billingslea is the Father William J. Rewak S. J., Professor of Theatre Arts at Santa Clara University. A member of Actor’s Equity Association and the Screen Actor’s Guild, Billingslea has appeared in numerous theatrical productions in the Bay Area and across the country. Aldo has served on the Board of The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, and PlayGround. He resides in Santa Clara with Renee Billingslea, his visual-artist wife who also teaches at Santa Clara University.
With over 25 years of experience in intellectual property and corporate law, throughout her professional career, Michelle Branch (she/her) has provided expert legal counsel in areas such as organizational structure, fundraising, and strategic transactions. As principal of Branch Law Group, she has served as lead counsel to Twilio (now a NYSE company), Founders Fund, and Avestria Health VC, among other organizations. She began her legal career at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto as lead corporate associate for Google.
Branch has over 15 years of experience as a nonprofit board member. She currently serves on the boards of Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture and United Way Bay Area and on the National Advisory Council for Theatre Communications Group. She is also a founding board member of SIRUM.org, a TED Audacious Award winner. From 2018 to 2022 as its Board President, Branch steered San Francisco Camerawork though a strategic restructure process and the COVID-19 pandemic. Outcomes included establishing SF Camerawork at its new and current home on the San Francisco waterfront at Fort Mason and garnering increased institutional funding and recognition for emerging photographic artists and their practices.
A former chair of the United Way Worldwide Women United Global Leadership Council, Branch is a sought-after speaker on the topics of philanthropy and nonprofit arts governance. In 2020 United Way Bay Area awarded Branch the AFP Spirit of Philanthropy award. In 2018 United Ways of California acknowledged Branch with its inaugural Carol Jackson Advocate of the Year award.
Branch holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in United States History from the University of California, Berkeley, a B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. For several years, she taught as a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley and at New York University Law School. In her free time, she enjoys learning about visual art and artists, attending performing arts events, researching history and reading historical fiction, and traveling to explore various cultures, all of which further deepen her connection to and understanding of arts and cultural communities.
Chris Burkhart is a Senior Director of Engineering at Lam Research Corporation, a leading manufacturer of silicon wafer processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. His work-related passion is lean product design through innovation and collaboration, and he derives great joy from recruiting and mentoring engineering interns and new college graduates.
Exposure to art began in Chris’ childhood, when his mother took him to art galleries and museums. When she became a full-time art writer at the San José Mercury News, she brought Chris to numerous press openings. Most relevant, thirty years ago she sent Chris and his wife, Karla, to the ICA for their very first art auction. Chris is most passionate about contemporary art that either triggers human empathy, engages intellectual curiosity, or demonstrates creative and clearly refined techniques. He and Karla have recently been drawn to works that highlight social, political, and climate issues. They enjoy collecting, for which ICA auctions and art trips over the years have been a primary source.
John Green retired after spending more than 30 years in software development - the last 20 of those at Adobe Systems. He has a PhD in Mathematics from UC Berkeley with an undergraduate degree from UC Davis. Little did he know what was going on in the Art department during the time he was at Davis - Thiebaud, Wiley, Arneson, Neri, DeForest, and others.
John traces his interest in art to his father who was something of a Renaissance man. From an early age there were always art books around, museum visits, oil paintings in progress, and an understanding that art was an important way of looking at the world. The ICA has been a way to extend this interest to a more active involvement in the wider world. There have been opportunities to learn about art in all its many forms today and make connections with artists, gallerists, and art venues. Perhaps finding so many other like-minded people has been the greatest benefit. John resides in San Jose with his partner Martin Fox. Both have written software for a number of the artist Chris Eckert’s projects. This has provided another perspective on the art world and reinforced the understanding that the arts and sciences have a great deal in common.
Jackie Whittier Kubicka treads a long path in Silicon Valley nonprofits. In 1999 she started familiesCAN, an organization which served the local cancer community for 23 years. The program helped more than 700 families with financial assistance, educational programs and counseling as they maneuvered medical treatment. With continued support from the Ronald Whittier Family Foundation, she’s shifted her focus to the arts, underwriting programs that draw new voices into the fold. Projects range from theatre for new playwrights of color, formerly incarcerated individuals and neurodiverse adults to a museum training program geared to underrepresented students and communities.
Jackie is one of twelve in her family to have graduated from Cal. A Cornell business school grad, she worked as a marketing communications manager for many years and supports this function on the board. She also holds a college counseling credential and teaches a summer workshop on careers in STEM to underserved high school women. An ardent supporter of the California Community Colleges system, she’s studied theatre, writing and art history (Humanities AA) with excellent local instructors. Free time finds her pondering art that pulls at our seams and opens our minds.
Liz Waldo has been involved with the ICA for thirty years in multiple capacities – as a volunteer, a former Board member, and as Assistant Director for nine years. She watched the ICA grow from an under $400K budget, operating in a storefront with no heat or A/C, to owning their own building and a budget of nearly a million dollars. After the ICA she served as Development Director at Montalvo Arts Center for 2 and a half years. Post-retirement she was an independent development consultant working with MACLA, Arts Council San Jose, Museums of Los Gatos (now NUMU) and the ICA. She feels that her recent appointment to the Board completes a full circle of engagement with an organization that she has valued for most of her adult life. Liz is an avid enthusiast of contemporary art and the artists who create it. The art historian and curator Peter Selz once talked about “the river of art” with its many modernist movements being tributaries that will sometimes become rivers of their own, sometimes rejoin the mainstream or sometimes shrink into a trickle that goes nowhere. The fun is in following along.
