The Center is a program of Humanities Washington, presented in partnership with ArtsWA/the Washington State Arts Commission. It is supported by the staff and governing boards of both organizations.
Day-to-day operations, research, and special projects are led and carried out by the Center’s Director, and are informed by a special Advisory Board.
Thomas Grant Richardson
Director
Thomas Grant Richardson, PhD directs the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions. In this role, he oversees the center’s Cultural Traditions Survey and Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program as well documentation and archiving activities. Thomas and the Center serve as resources for folk and traditional arts research, documentation, and programming across Washington state.
Thomas moved to Washington state from Santa Fe, New Mexico where he worked for several years as a folklife fieldworker, writer, and consultant. His clients included the state folk and traditional arts agencies of Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. He also has worked with national organizations such as The Association of Cultural Equity, The American Folklore Society, The National Assemble of State Arts Agencies, and PBS Education.
Prior to working as an independent folklorist, Thomas was the Curator of Education and Outreach for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol TN/VA.
Thomas received his Ph.D. in Folklore & Ethnomusicology from Indiana University in 2019.
As a researcher and writer, his interests include African-Americans in old-time music, Indigenous arts and culture, and community-based self-documentation.
Contact Thomas at (206) 682-1770 x107 or by email.
Violeta Martin
Grant and Outreach Manager
Violeta Martin has a Bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and the history of ideas from Willamette University and a Master’s in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University. Violeta has previously worked in higher education supporting first-generation students via college access and success organizations.
Contact Violeta at (206) 682-1770 x111 or by email at violeta@humanities.org
Advisory Board
Julieta Altamirano-Crosby Founder and President of WA-GRO (Washington-Guerrero) Foundation
Julieta received a Ph.D. in Social Communication and a Master of Communication Science degree from the University of Havana in Cuba, as well as a Museology & Exhibits Certificate from the University Complutence of Madrid (Spain) before emigrating to the U.S. from Mexico. Here she began the WA-GRO (Washington-Guerrero) Foundation, an organization that assists Latino/a/x and indigenous Mexican students and families bridging barriers to academic success in Washington State as they navigate life in their new home. She has since earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Seattle Pacific University, and joined the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs in June 2018. Julieta believes that individuals’ identity and growth are closely tied to their understanding and appreciation of culture and language; consequently, she has run several arts and culture programs for students of all backgrounds that increase cultural awareness of and among Mexican/Latino/a/x immigrants. She also is the host of the radio program “Conexion Contigo” at KSVR 91.7FM Skagit Valley Community Radio and is a member of the American Anthropological Association.
Makaela Kroin Folk & Traditional Arts Program Coordinator, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Makaela moved to Washington from Oregon in 2018 to begin work as Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission’s Folk & Traditional Arts Program Coordinator. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies from Smith College, a Master’s Degree in Information and Communication Science from Ball State University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Folklore from the University of Oregon. She began working in the field of public folklore as the program manager at the Oregon Folklife Network. At Washington State Parks, Makaela oversees a statewide Folk and Traditional Arts program and related community partnership development efforts.
Linley Logan Director of the Northwest Heritage Program at the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at the Evergreen State College; ArtsWA Commissioner
Linley, Onondowaga (Seneca), is a multi-disciplinary contemporary artist/designer and art consultant. He has attended four International Indigenous Arts Exchanges, curates contemporary Native American art exhibits, and serves on local, state, and national arts boards. Linley’s employment experience includes the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American, and the Office of Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies for the Festival of American Folklife. He has taught printmaking at Hawaiian Ohana for Education in the Arts, Hawaii. Linley has served on grant review panels for the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, First Peoples Fund, Ford Foundation – Leveraging Investments in Creativity, NEA – Folk and Traditional Arts, All Roads Film program for the National Geographic Society, National Initiative to Preserve American Dance, Artists Trust -Artist Innovator Awards,and the Washington State Arts Commission grants. In the early 1990s Linley founded and directed a Cultural Retention Program in his home Tonawanda Seneca community. He currently serves as a Washington State Arts Commissioner.
Mark Miyake Assistant Professor of Music and Society at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Mark has been teaching and advising students at Fairhaven College and leading their program in Audio Technology, Music, and Society since 2015, in which time he has also served as President of the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology and on national award and funding panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Prior to joining Western Washington University’s faculty, Mark served as Assistant Professor of The Arts and Social Sciences at Empire State College of the State University of New York and as the college-wide faculty convener for their Arts programs. During his time on the East Coast, Mark also served as the Chair of the Folk Arts Panel of the New York State Council for the Arts and as the President of the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association. He holds a MA and Ph.D. in Folklore and Ethnomusicology from Indiana University. Mark’s family immigrated to the U.S. when he was two years old; this has greatly influenced his approach to understanding the arts in their cultural contexts.
Latha Sambamurti Festival Director
Latha Sambamurti is the producer and Artistic, Outreach and Development Director of several large-scale arts and culture festivals in the State of Washington. She has been a Washington state Arts Commissioner and a Redmond Arts and Culture Commissioner. She is an educator, community leader, trained musician, and band leader. She won the Kirkland Performance Center’s You Rock award for community service and an award from Women of western Washington Forum for promoting Indian festivals with positive thinking and outreach. She serves as a board director for several state and regional cultural organizations. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature.
Willie Smyth Independent Folklorist
Willie is currently an independent folklorist working in Washington. For over two decades he led Washington’s state folk arts program as Folk Arts Coordinator the Washington State Arts Commission/WSAC. Prior to that he managed folk and traditional arts programs for the State Arts Council of Oklahoma for over four years. He holds a M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; and an M.A. in Folklore and Anthropology, and Ph.D. in Folklore and Theatre Arts, from the University of California, Los Angeles.
(Image: Skagit Valley tulip fields. Photo by Selbe Lynn via Flickr)