STAFF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
(805) 568-3992 sarah@sbac.ca.gov
Sarah York Rubin joined Santa Barbara County in March 2016. From 2008-2016, she was privileged to serve as Executive Director of the Hillman Center for Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA.
Her international nonprofit, NGO, corporate and event production background comprises founding the Washington DC Indie Music Festival (in tandem with the DC Indie Film Festival), recording cartoon voiceovers for MTV and Comedy Central, developing and hosting syndicated public radio talk shows, teaching at the University of Michigan and Wellesley College, consulting for an international firm and writing wall scripts and a biography gallery for the Andy Warhol museum.
Sarah holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan Honors College, a M.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy. She is the recipient of a National Merit Scholarship, an Academy of American Poets Prize and a William J. Fulbright Fellowship to Hong Kong.
GRANTS & CONTRACTS MANAGER
(805) 568-3990 hannah@sbac.ca.gov
Hannah Rubalcava, Grants and Contracts Manager for the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture, has lived and worked in Santa Barbara County for over 14 years. A California native, Hannah was born and raised on the Central Coast in Arroyo Grande.
Before coming to work for the County, Hannah served as a 4th District Arts Commissioner and spent six years as the Executive Director of the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation.
Hannah has a passion for Arts Education and ensuring that everyone have access to that arts. She graduated with honors from Chico State University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Community and Commercial Recreation Management, and University of La Verne where she received her MBA with a concentration in Organizational Leadership.
Hannah and her husband Walter live in Santa Maria with their three children, Sofia, Xochitl, and Gabriel. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her kids, being outdoors, and training for her next triathlon or other race. (And eating dessert.)
EXHIBITION DESIGNER
Arturo Heredia Soto joined the Office of Arts and Culture in the position of Exhibition Designer in 2016. He is also the Lead Installer Exhibition Designer at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB), a position he has held since 2014.
Arturo holds a BFA in photography and painting from the National School of Fine Art in Mexico; he completed MFA coursework at the Graduate School of Art and Design in Mexico City.
A fine artist himself, Arturo has nearly twenty years of experience working in the field of museography, specializing in exhibition design and installation, as well as in fine art restoration and conservation. For the National Institute of Fine Art in Mexico, he worked on restoring large scale murals by artists such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
Recent installation work includes: Beyond 2 Degrees (MCASB); assume vivid astro focus: avalanches volcanoes asteroids floods; (MCASB); Rimini Protokoll: City as Stage (MCASB); Take Part Make Art (MCASB); Joe Girandola: Ducktape Dreams (Channing Peake Galley - Santa Barbara County); Campos de Ensueños (Betteravia Gallery - Santa Barbara County); and Re[visit] “1925” (Santa Barbara).
CURATOR
(805) 568-3994 julia@sbac.ca.gov
Julia Rutherford Daly, Curator for the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, is a seventh-generation California native. Before joining the Office, Julia spent a combined six years at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) in diverse roles ranging from Annual Fund Manager to serving as the Lead Curator of Ray Strong: Beyond Santa Barbara. At SBMA, she served as staff liaison to support groups including the Museum Collectors Council, smART Families, PhotoFutures, and assisted with Women’s Board activities. Internationally, Daly held a position with the renowned Galeria Senda in Barcelona to promote local and international artists.
Julia received a dual B.A. in Art History and Spanish from UCSB before proceeding to earn her M.A. from USC in Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere. During her graduate studies, Daly worked with the Hammer Museum’s Chief Curator Connie Butler to support the 2014 Made in L.A. biennial. She also worked as a Faculty Assistant at USC’s Roski School of Art and Design.
Julia has been a resident of Santa Barbara for over a decade with her husband, Mike.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
John has enjoyed an extensive career in strategic and community development planning, finance and management, and a lifelong interest in the arts. With a M.A. in International Economics & Finance, he has served a diverse clientele as Vice President of Blythe, Eastman Dillon on Wall Street, as a co-founder, Senior VP and Director of DRG Financial Corporation, and as an independent consultant.
John has worked across several sectors, including: nonprofits, new community development, urban redevelopment, commercial and multi-family real estate, multimedia education & film, retail, advertising and marketing, hotel and housing industries, the IT industry, and telecommunications.
John has assisted a variety of nonprofit organizations and public service projects including workforce training programs for the State of North Carolina, HUD and the National Council of Negro Women, the Kettering Foundation.
John serves on several local boards, including the Santa Barbara County Alliance for Arts Education, and he recently completed a five-year term as the Board President of Art Without Limits.
John owen small publishing and photography company, Dare Wright Media, LLC, with his partner, Brook. Together, they parent two friendly puppies and many friendly (adult) children.
