Brenda is Hartford Public Library’s Executive Director, Culture and Communications, and oversees HPL’s museum and archive, its ArtWalk gallery, and its Digital Library Lab, in addition to heading the Library’s Communications team. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Connecticut and a M.A. in American Studies – Museums, Communities and Archives from Trinity College, Hartford.
Peter Waite is an artist who has been a supporter, occasional exhibitor, and curator at RAW since its founding in 1975. His studio/home is in nearby Glastonbury.
Olu Oguibe is an internationally recognized artist, writer, and curator in Rockville, Connecticut. Oguibe is a Professor at the Institute for African American Studies and the Departments of Art and Art History at the University of Connecticut, where he teaches studio practices and art theory. He graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian at the University of Nigeria in 1986 and received his Ph.D. in the history of contemporary art from the University of London in 1992. Since then, he has taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies and Goldsmiths College, both of the University of London, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of South Florida, where he held the Stuart Golding Endowed Chair in African art.
Tara is a partner at Locke Lord LLP, where she represents clients in complex disputes throughout the country with a specific focus on privacy and cybersecurity issues and financial services litigation. Originally from New York City, Tara moved to the Hartford area in 2006 for law school and has never left! Tara has served on the RAW Board of Trustees since 2016.
Jon is the principal of Jon L Schoenhorn & Associates, a Hartford law firm specializing in criminal defense and plaintiffs’ civil rights cases, including employee discrimination, police misconduct and freedom of speech and expression. He lives in Farmington and has been a an active member of RAW since the early 1990s.
Marc is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ironwood Capital, a private equity firm in Avon. He’s been an enthusiastic member of RAW for over 25 years and a board member the last four.
Dr. Yedalis Ruíz is a first-generation Puertorriqueña scholar-practitioner and has been involved with Real Art Ways since she was 13. She serves as the Chief Workforce Development Officer and Executive Director of the Tania M. Barber Learning Institute at Caring Health Center in Springfield, MA, where she leads the development and implementation of a workforce development model designed to enhance the success, retention, and personal development of a diverse employee body in community health. Dr. Ruíz holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a graduate faculty affiliate at UMass Amherst and has been an adjunct professor at Bay Path University since 2013.
Diana has been with Real Art Ways since 2008, acting in a variety of roles. She received her Bachelors degree in Audio Engineering Technology with a minor in Film from the University of Hartford. Outside of Real Art Ways, Diana is pursuing her Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Central Connecticut State University and interning in Old Saybrook. She is the founder of the Knitty Gritty Committee, a local knitting group, who have collaborated with the Wadsworth Atheneum, Dirt Salon, and Hartford Arts Council. Diana has an affinity for her cat Jake, gold boots, muffins, and adventures. Her passions include building community, advocacy, and gender politics. She is also a huge film nerd.