In January 2020, Hesse McGraw was appointed the 10th Executive Director of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), one of the oldest non-collecting contemporary art Museums in the United States. Hesse is a curator, writer, cultural leader, and passionate advocate for the essential role of artists in advancing society. He began his career in Kansas City 20 years ago, and most recently served as Partner of the cross-disciplinary architecture practice el dorado inc.; as Vice President for Exhibitions and Public Programs at San Francisco Art Institute; and Chief Curator of Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Hesse’s curatorial practice and arts organization leadership are acclaimed for shifting organizations into springboards that expand the agency of artists beyond the gallery, reach new audiences, and embrace unexpected contexts. Currently, CAMH and Hesse are engaged in multiple cross-sector projects and public realm design initiatives beyond our walls that position artists as catalysts of cultural transformation by directly engaging issues such as water recycling, health and wellness, social justice, and equity.

Melissa McDonnell Luján is a museum professional with over 15 years of experience planning and managing capital and site-specific artist projects and leading operations activities for cultural organizations and private developers.

Luján was most recently the Director of Project Development at the Menil Collection, where she led capital projects and real estate development for the 30-acre urban museum campus since 2014. In addition to her work at the Menil, Luján has served as the treasurer on the board of Gulf Coast: Journal of Literature and Fine Arts at the University of Houston since 2016. From 2011 to 2014, Luján was Deputy Director and a project manager for Ballroom Marfa, a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Marfa, Texas. While living in Marfa, Luján was an instructor at the Texas Tech University College of Architecture El Paso and served on the boards of El Paso Opera, Amor Por Juárez, Marfa Montessori, and Marfa Public Library. Before working in museums, Luján spent ten years in private design practice, including residential and small multi-family architecture, landscape, and retail design in Texas, California, Japan, and New York.

Luján has a Master of Architecture from Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Spatial Arts and Design from Central Saint Martins in London, and an Associate of Applied Science in Retail and Exhibition Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. 

Sarah A. Atwood is nonprofit professional with nearly 20 years of experience building relationships and community through leadership, advocacy, and philanthropy. She is passionate about the arts, education, wildlife conservation, and experimental music. She is a member of the board of directors for Nameless Sound. Most recently, Atwood was the Director of Development for the Chinati Foundation, living and working in Marfa, Texas. Her past leadership roles include Associate Director of Philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy and Director of Development of the Houston Zoo. Atwood was a publicist before joining the philanthropic sector. She is a 2009 Rice University Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives Graduate. She holds a BS from the University of Houston.

Felice Cleveland has served in leadership at CAMH since 2016. She is passionate about sharing the work of contemporary artists with the community, challenging the role of Museums in civic life, creating dynamic programs, and working to build sustainable partnerships. Prior to her current position she served at the Mattress Factory (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and the American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, Maryland). Cleveland is also the co-founder and co-chair of the Houston Museum Education Roundtable (HMER). Originally from Washington state, she spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in a rural Cameroonian village and earned her Masters of Art + Design Education with a focus in Community Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, Rhode Island). In the moments between work and sleep she draws, makes zines, writes letters to friends around the globe, experiments with dye, supports her husband’s house plant habit, reads, walks around the East End, and plays with her sweet son, Milo.

713.284.8278

Naomi B. Crawford joined CAMH in October 2021, first as the Executive Administrator and Board Liaison and now as the Chief of Staff and Board Liaison. In this role, she works with CAMH’s leadership team and Board of Trustees to help facilitate a cohesive partnership and open up the line of communication for the Museum and its Board members. Prior to joining CAMH, Crawford completed an eight-year tenure as an Administrator for the City of Houston in Library Administration. Before joining the Houston Public Library, Crawford spent over 15 years at USAA working in different capacities. She holds a Bachelor of Administration Degree from the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas) and has accumulated over 25 years of combined experience in both the public and private sectors. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and baking for her husband, family, and friends; loving outdoor activities, she participates in an occasional tennis match and enjoys playing chase with their youngest daughter, Allison Joy.

713.284.8254

Ryan N. Dennis is Senior Curator and Director of Public Initiatives at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). Her recent projects include Leonardo Drew’s City in the Garden (2020), Betye Saar: Call & Response (2021), Dusti Bonge: Piercing the Inner Wall (2021), and organizing CAPE Artist-in-Resident Shani Peter’s Collective Care for Black Mothers and Caretakers with the local Jackson community. She is the co-curator of the critically acclaimed exhibition, A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration. Prior to joining the MMA, she served as the Cura­tor and Programs Director at Project Row Houses (PRH) in Houston, where she worked with over 100 BIPOC artists to exhibit their work in the shot-gun houses, she led the creation of the 2:2:2 Exchange Residency Program with the Hyde Park Art Center in Chi­cago and established Project/Site, a temporary, site-specific, commission-based public art program. In 2017, she launched the PRH Fellowship with the Center for Art and Social Engagement at the University of Houston’s Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. Dennis earned her master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute with a focus in Curatorial Practice. Her writings have appeared in online and print catalogs, journals and publications nationally and internationally. She has been a visiting lecturer and critic at a number of art schools and institutions and has taught courses on community-based practices and contemporary art at the University of Houston. Most recently she was the co-curator of the 2021 Texas Biennial titled A New Landscape, A Possible Horizon (2021) and the guest art editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.

Troy Jasmin, MBA has been a financial/business professional and non-profit consultant with over 30 years of experience between nonprofit and governmental accounting. Jasmin’s passion from the onset of her career has been working with non-profit organizations. She joined CAMH in 2021 and was the Chief Financial Officer for The Brookwood Community (Brookwood-Briarwood, Inc) prior. Jasmin is a veteran who served eight years with the Louisiana Army National Guard and worked for the Louisiana Military Department as a FEMA Grants Manager and Accounting Manager. During her career in Louisiana, she served as Chief Financial Officer for Great Expectations Foundation, In This Together, Inc as well as consulting for numerous non-profit organizations throughout the New Orleans area. When she is not working, she is bowling leagues and competitions not only in Texas, but throughout the United States. She serves as 2nd Vice President on the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee Chairman for the Greater Houston United States Bowling Congress-a non-profit organization.

713.284.8252

Rebecca Matalon is Senior Curator at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), where she has organized exhibitions for artists Garrett Bradley, Mariah Garnett, Diane Severin Nguyen, Cauleen Smith, and Jordan Strafer, as well as the two-person exhibition, Wild Life: Elizabeth Murray & Jessi Reaves (2021). Matalon is currently working on Mary Ellen Carroll: How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (2025), the first major survey exhibition of the work of Mary Ellen Carroll, among other projects.

Previously, Matalon was Assistant Curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), where she organized exhibitions including Tongues Untied (2015), Mickalene Thomas: Do I Look Like a Lady? (2016), Welcome to the Dollhouse (2018), and Décor: Barbara Bloom, Andrea Fraser, Louise Lawler (2018). In 2018, she co-organized Zoe Leonard: Survey, a major mid-career retrospective of the work of Zoe Leonard, which debuted at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York before traveling to The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Matalon was a Co-Founder, and from 2015–2018, Curator at JOAN, a not-for-profit exhibition space in Los Angeles that is dedicated to presenting the work of emerging and under-represented artists. She has contributed writing to multiple publications and regularly lectures on contemporary art and curating. Matalon serves on the board of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) and was on the Organizing Committee of Texas Talks Art, a multi-institutional initiative that launched in January 2021.

713.284.8279

Michael Reed has worked in a variety of capacities at CAMH since 1991 including Administrator/Museum Manager and Assistant Director. His current role is Assistant Director of Facilities and Risk Management. Reed has also worked at Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Science Museum of Minnesota (Saint Paul), and Neuberger Museum of Art (Harrison, New York). He has also been employed by individual artists and galleries in the New York area to build exhibitions, coordinate shipments, design and construct large-scale artist sculptures and environments.

713.284.8271

Patricia Restrepo is the Curator at CAMH, where she has worked since 2014. A native Houstonian, Restrepo co-curated Slowed and Throwed: Records of the City through Mutated Lenses (2020 and 2021), an interdisciplinary exhibition orbiting around DJ Screw’s process of material manipulation and featuring artists including Jamal Cyrus, Shana Hoehn, Tomashi Jackson, Liss LaFleur, and Sondra Perry. She curated Will Boone: The Highway Hex (2019–20), which commissioned site-specific installations and was the artist’s first solo museum exhibition. For Stage Environment: You Didn’t Have to Be There (2018), Restrepo explored CAMH’s 70-year history of championing performances by artists such as Laurie Anderson, James Lee Byars, Joan Jonas, Autumn Knight, and Robert Rauschenberg. Restrepo coordinated the Museum’s presentations of Troy Montes Michie: Rock of Eye (2022) and The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse (2021–22). Currently, she is organizing the first career survey of the work of Vincent Valdez, co-curated with Denise Markonish of MASS MoCA.

Restrepo has managed and contributed to CAMH’s artist-centric publications and orchestrated their digitization to increase public accessibility. Fostering exhibitions as laboratories, her curatorial work focuses on the generative potential latent in archives, interdisciplinary dialogue, and performance activations. She previously worked at international art institutions and publications including the Institute of Aesthetic Research (Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas) of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Restrepo holds a Master’s degree from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium and Bachelor’s degrees from Rice University.

713.284.8256

Marc Armeña is the 2023-24 Rice University Curatorial Fellow at CAMH. He is currently a senior pursuing bachelors’ degrees in mechanical engineering and art history. He has dedicated his time at Rice to various efforts in arts advocacy and research initiatives that have interrogated the linkages between art and architectural practices, environmental injustices, and racialized histories with a focus on modern Latin American art, architecture, and (visual) culture. As a founding member of the Racial Geography Project, he has examined the university’s entanglements with extractive economies of the American South and the role of eugenics within the faculty during the university’s first decades. On the engineering side of things, he is working on a capstone project involving adaptive reuse of end-of-use wind turbine blades, and outside of the classroom, he can be found planning an event for his residential college, caring for his houseplant collection, or navigating Houston’s trails by bike.

Frances Bolger is a current Curatorial Fellow at the CAMH from the University of Houston. Bolger is in pursuit of her MA in Art History. She holds a BA from the University of Houston. With the help of the Islamic Arts Society, Bolger is conducting object based research with modern and contemporary art in the Islamic world. Her other research maintains a cultural historical focus on art of propaganda and resistance. Her current writing explores implications of contemporary video art’s proliferation in social media.

Lorielle Anderson joined CAMH in 2022 as the Development and Membership Manager. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Music Stephen F. Austin State University. Anderson began working in the arts in 2013 and became a teaching artist in 2014. Her work in development for nonprofits began in 2015 in the performing arts. Anderson’s love for the arts goes beyond her work as she is a singer and has had the honor of singing behind Grammy award-winning singers. When she isn’t singing, she enjoys being creative, writing, and reading.

713.284.8264

Faye Hosein is a Houston native who joined CAMH in 2021. She attended University of Houston Central and ultimately graduated from the Marilyn Davies College of Business at the University of Houston Downtown with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management. Hosein has been working in the Houston cultural arts community since 1999 with a focus on development for non-profits since 2003. She has a particular interest and experience in the performing arts. When not at work Hosein enjoys traveling, reading, paper crafts, and spending time with animals.

713.284.8260

Kate Kendall is the Grants Specialist at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). She brings a strong background in grant writing for social justice organizations and varied project management in community engaged contemporary art, public art, design, and events. Her connection with CAMH dates back to her service on the CAMH Teen Council from 2001-2003. Kate is also a conceptual artist exploring time and desire in relation to land, history and the politics of place. In 2019 she started Flow Archive to consider the intersecting flows of time, water, sediment, and humans with projects in Buffalo Bayou Park and the upper Rio Grande. She holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a BA in Studio Art from the University of Southern California which included a year of study at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is married to artist and educator Andres Machin. Together they raise their two awe-inspiring children.

Dawn J. Malone joined CAMH as Assistant Director of Events in August of 2023. She is a seasoned professional with 15 years of experience advancing the vision and strategic direction of events and programs. Most recently, she was the Regional Organizing Director at Battleground Texas, a non-partisan organization dedicated to education around voting access. From 2017-2021 Malone served as Program Manager for Greater Southeast Management District where she developed programs around economic development, public safety and placemaking initiatives. Before working in the government sector, Malone spent 7 years as a sales and event operations professional with the NBA Houston Rockets. Malone holds a BS in Business Management from the University of Houston-Downtown.

Joshua Pierre is a Houston native with a wealth of experience in production, design, branding, operations, and marketing.  During his time in NYC, Joshua worked in the fashion industry as a freelance designer for various brands while developing his own clothing line, Edwige Pierre, that has been presented at Pitti Uomo and Paris Fashion Week.

Joshua earned a Masters degree in Fashion Brand Management from Polimoda Fashion Institute in Florence, Italy, a B.A. from DePaul University, Chicago, IL. While at DePaul, Joshua was also a member of the men’s basketball team (2006-2008). Joshua is a music and art enthusiast that enjoys live concerts and visiting museums around the world. He enjoys staying active by playing basketball, tennis, and running.

Tim Barkley has been the Registrar at CAMH since 1994. Prior to his tenure at CAMH, he worked at Laura Carpenter Fine Art, Inc. (Santa Fe) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). Barkley has worked with a wide variety of artists including Robert Rauschenberg, James Turrell, and Maya Lin. He has also helped to coordinate traveling exhibitions to locations such as The Havana Biennial (Cinema Remixed & Reloaded), Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota (The Old, Weird America), and Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Hovikodden, Norway (Splat, Boom, Pow!). Barkley is a native Houstonian and studied at University of Tampa (Florida), Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts), and Baylor University (Waco, Texas). When not at work you might find him walking his two corgis in his neighborhood, spending time in the garden, or sailing down at Seabrook.

713.284.8266

Marcelina Guerrero is the Exhibitions and Publications Manager at CAMH. She is a native Houstonian and arts administrator with over ten years of professional experience in Museums and non-profit organizations. Guerrero began her career working in local political campaigns, spurring an interest in city politics and the importance of cultural organizations to a city as diverse as Houston. Most recently, Guerrero was Exhibitions Administrator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), where she managed a robust schedule of local and nationally touring exhibitions. Before her work at MFAH, Guerrero served as Marketing Director for the Austin Film Festival and prior to that held administrative positions at the Art Institute of Chicago in the Development and Membership offices. She has been involved in the American Exhibitions Organizers group, dedicated to promoting best practices in professional art exhibition management, since 2017 and in 2022 was invited to serve on the Steering Committee.

713.284.8257

Jeff Shore has worked with CAMH’s installation team since 1996. Shore joined the team as a temporary part-time member of the preparations crew working on individual exhibitions and artist projects. In 2003, he joined the team full-time as Head Preparator. Currently, Shore leads the team on the overall design of exhibitions in CAMH’s gallery spaces, and the temporary modifications needed for an effective presentation. Shore is also an artist with a BFA in Painting and Drawing. He has exhibited in the U.S. and abroad.

713.284.8268

Quincy Berry has been CAMH’s Visitor Engagement Coordinator since 2012. He coordinates training initiatives that enhance the skills and competencies of the Visitor Engagement Team. Berry is responsible for providing high-quality customer service to visitors while interacting with the public. Prior to his current position, Berry served as a Gallery Attendant since 2002. A native of Houston’s historic Fifth Ward community and graduate of the Fifth Ward Enrichment Program (FWEP), Berry was also a student at the Art Institute of Houston where he received a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science. In his spare time, he enjoys science fiction and fantasy entertainment from books to movies and 3D printing and painting models.

713.284.8270

A native of South Carolina, Kenya Evans has a dual role as Visitor Engagement Manager and Preparator for the installation team. He is a multidisciplinary artist who received a BA from Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas) with a concentration in Painting. Evans has exhibited at museums and galleries nationally, including The Menil Collection, Lawndale Art Center, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and most prominently the 2006 Whitney Biennial. His current creative practices include Islamic geometry, music production, and table design in woodworking. Evans enjoys good company and is a longtime leadership team member at Ibrahim Islamic Center.

713.284.8269

Autumn Johnson is the Communications Coordinator at CAMH. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Media Production and English Literature from the University of Houston in 2022, where she fully immersed herself in the arts and entertainment. Autumn has interned with Houston Cinema Arts Society, NBC’s emmy-nominated show Late Night with Seth Meyers, Peacock’s The Amber Ruffin Show, and in the film department at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). In February 2023, Autumn returned to MFAH as a guest programmer for the film series Through the Lens of African-American Women. 

713.284.8251

Jack Morillo was a member of Teen Council’s 2017-2018 cohort, to which he attributes his enduring interests in contemporary creative practice and interpretation. Now he is the Teen Council Coordinator, where he facilitates year long intensive, teen-led public programming, and professional development.

He graduated from the University of Houston majoring in Liberal Studies where he engaged in research to queer the Filipino identity through the lens of “queer art,” ephemera, and collage/assemblage. He previously worked as a tour guide and curriculum-writer for Public Art UHS, an ESL teacher for Spanish-speaking adults at St. Thomas University’s LIFT Program, and as Student Director of Team Development and Outreach at the UH Office of Admissions’ Ambassadors Program. He currently works at Basket Books & Art.

Shavon Morris is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intricate connections between identity, history, and social interaction. With a background in education, working alongside Houston Independent School District, and a genuine passion for engaging audiences, Shavon brings a unique perspective to her artistic practice. Recognized as a recipient of the inaugural 2023 Jones Artist Award supported by Houston Endowment, Shavon’s talent shines through in her innovative use of language, found photography, personally-authored texts, and an array of diverse materials.

Shavon has exhibited her work at The San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, where she contributed to the exhibition, Craft as a Tool for Activism. With her visionary approach and commitment to fostering meaningful connections, Shavon Morris is a valuable addition to our team, providing a fresh perspective to the role of Education and Engagement Manager.

Phillip Pyle, II is the Graphic Designer and Retail Manager at CAMH. He is also a visual artist, photographer, and agitator based in Houston, Texas. Pyle’s primary interests are race, humor, advertising, sports, and popular culture. Mining imagery from sources diverse as mass consumer culture, contemporary advertising, to ephemera, historical imagery, and hip-hop, Pyle introduces a complex vision that derives from a robust comedic foundation while also looking at the abstraction and transience of our values, and beliefs. Pyle has interned for Congress, cut film at River Oaks Theatre, toured the south with a Punk Rock/Rap band, produced a sketch comedy show on Houston Public Media, and most recently was selected for the 2021 Texas Biennial. Pyle is married to Leah Binkovitz who is currently working on her PhD in Sociology at Rice University. They have two daughters.

713.284.8259

Michael Robinson is the Marketing and Communications Manager at CAMH. He previously worked as the Associate Creative Director at Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) from 2018 to 2022. He is a co-founder and current curator for HCAS’ regional short film competition, Borders | No Borders. Michael also co-founded the monthly nomadic queer film series, The Big Queer Picture Show, where he programs short and feature-length repertory and contemporary films. He was previously the Co-Artistic Director and Shorts Programmer for QFest, Houston’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival from 2017 to 2021 and worked at Society for the Performing Arts as the Education Coordinator. Michael received his BA in Anthropology and Film at Rice University.

713.284.8255

YET Torres is the Public Programs and CAMHLAB Manager at CAMH. She holds dual BFAs in Drawing & Painting and Fashion Design from the University of North Texas (Denton), was named one of Houston’s “Top 100 Creatives” by the Houston Press in 2011, and inaugurated into the Houston Music and Arts Hall of Fame in 2016. A longtime educator, professional performer, and model, she has gained extensive experience creating digital content for movement students, through multi-media collaborations, and for performative design work. An active member of the education and public programs team at CAMH since 2013, Torres combines her experience as an arts educator, performance artist, and movement instructor to create approachable hands-on and performative programming.

713.284.8274

Charonda Johnson is the Engagement Manager for HFTC x CAMH. She also holds roles as the Community Liaison and Vice President of both Houston Freedmen’s Town Association and Preservation Coalition; she is also the President of the Fourth Ward Health and Educational Center. She has developed and maintained relationships with the local community, nonprofits, churches, and businesses since 2013, launching and managing several programs such as after-school programs, summer camps, STEM innovation labs, and culture experience tours for Freedmen’s Town. She spends her free time cooking and reading.

Mich Stevenson is a Houston-based artist and creative entrepreneur working as Project Manager for HFTC x CAMH. Stevenson’s expertise spans several fields, including sculpture, outdoor product design, manufacturing, community organizing, and project management. His creative practice utilizes public art, site-specific installations, technical drawing, design, photography, and writing. His sculptural works were featured in Ruby City’s presentation of the 2021 Texas Biennial, Houston Airport Systems’ permanent collection of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Project Row Houses.

Andres Alcoser has served on CAMH’s Visitor Engagement team since 2017. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Art at the University of Houston (UH), and later received his Graduate Certificate in Aquaculture and Fish Health from the University of Florida (UF). In his time studying at UH, Alcoser learned many forms of visual art including ceramics and pottery. He continues to produce artwork on the side of his professional life. Reflected by his later education at UF, Alcoser is also an avid aquarist, who has kept and researched many aquatic animals. He likes to integrate his divergent educational background by frequently incorporating piscine and other marine motifs into his ceramic forms. Aside from this, he likes to sketch, read, and go fishing whenever the weather permits.

Over the last decade, multidisciplinary artist Markus Cone has ardently deciphered analogous liaisons amidst both image and sound. Employing the use of diverse multitudes of auxiliary percussion and electronics both analogue and digital, his aural-visual play a special role in the varied forms of media that it accompanies. Currently, Cone is incorporating speculative transrealism into the visual and sonic arts.

Michael Cox has been working at CAMH since 2009. He has also worked at Writers in the Schools and Communities in the Schools (CIS). He is a writer, actor, and photographer. Under the tutelage of William L. Pope, Michael performed Pope L.’s piece Costume Made of Nothing for the entirety of Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art which was curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver in 2012. A great lover of Instagram, he’s always adding photographs to his page. Cox graduated Summa Cum Laude from The University of Houston – Downtown in 2018 with a degree in English and Creative Writing. He spends his free time viewing Euro Horror films and listening to music.

Yusuf Evans has been around art and the CAMH for as long as he can remember. He is currently a rising senior in high school, spending his time listening to music, honing his soccer skills, and hanging out with his friends. Yusuf Evans is a vital part of the team here at the CAMH and has shown his reliability, and efficiency, time and time again.

Justice has been a part of CAMH since 2022. She is excited to be a part of a community that explores the art of today. Justice is an artist that dives deep into her psyche. Through her art, she provides an opportunity to reflect on contemporary society and the issues relevant to ourselves, the world around us, and for herself. Justice has a passion for self-expression and is a self-taught artist. She’s a poet, an abstract painter, and more. One of her life goals is to explore every possible field that involves art. Justice is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and attended the same art magnet high school as the well-known Southern hip-hop group OutKast. In addition to having been inspired by Outkast and her hometown art community, art is an essential part of her daily life.

Anthony Morales is a Visitor Engagement Team Member and also provides tours of exhibitions at CAMH. He has been part of the CAMH team since 2018. Currently, Morales is pursuing an education in the medical field to become a Medical Assistant with X-Ray. When not at CAMH, he is most likely jamming out on his guitar coming up with different sounds, riffs, and learning to play some of his favorite songs. He also loves to write poetry and attend art shows.

Mia Reyes joined the Visitor Engagement team after graduating from The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She received her BA in Art History & Criticism with a minor in Museum Studies. She has a great appreciation for the arts/fashion and through her studies she regained her love for creating art. In her free time, Mia enjoys watching movies, lallygagging, shopping, and traveling.

Mars W.E. is a Visitor Engagement Team Member and Retail Associate and you may also catch them leading a Museum tour. Mars enjoys talking to people and doing various kinds of arts.

Rosemary Cantu is originally from El Paso, Texas. She has a BFA from Texas A&M at Corpus Christi and received her Masters at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She has been a lifelong advocate for the arts, volunteering at Title One schools, working at art camps, painting murals, and giving back to her community. Cantu has been living in Houston, Texas since 2002. She is an art instructor at Lone Star College and San Jacinto College. She has exhibited her sculptures and drawings in national and juried shows. On Cantu’s free nights she enjoys doing meditative one-hour blind contour drawing of musicians that inspire her work and playing with clay. She dedicates her life to her amazing daughter Gracie and her two dogs, Ruby and Max.

Dre Forgotten is a classically trained artist working and living in Houston, Texas. Dre received a BA in Studio Art & Communication with a minor in Advertising. Experienced in various media including glass blowing, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, painting, drawing, metalsmithing, and photography, Dre utilized her background to start a wearable art clothing line, Forgotten Arts, in 2008. She treats garments like a canvas and makes one-of-a-kind wearable art through screen printing, tie-dye, painting, and deconstruction. In 2013, Dre made her runway in debut as a featured designer and continues to work in the fashion industry while remaining rooted in visual arts. In 2021, Dre shifted her focus to her recycled wedding dress project, taking donated wedding dresses and recreating them into new pieces as an environmental awareness project. Dre continues to take on new challenges and explore new realms of creative expression.

Carlos Mendoza is an artist based in Houston, Texas. Working in the city has allowed Carlos to discover new sides of himself as both a person and an artist. Whether collaborating with Project Row Houses in the Summer Studio Cohort of 2022 or contributing to the Houston Astros’ 2023 Mural, he has always found the experience of making art incredibly fulfilling.
He credits the process of trying new things and learning new techniques to be what fuels his creativity and pushes him to the next level. Now, he aims to inspire the students with the same spirit of exploration. During tours, Carlos shares some of the techniques and processes that have been valuable in his own practice, such as: image transferring, photo dialogue, and painting techniques. He is thrilled to explore new approaches to art-making and experiment with the next generation of artists.

Norola Morgan describes herself to have grown up as “the weird kid who loved to read, draw, write, and ask too many questions.” The local library and voracious reading offered her windows to a wider world. Academic prowess allowed her to trade the dust, cows, and football of small-town central Texas for the bright lights and visible air of Houston. After earning a BFA in Painting at the University of Houston, she stayed in Houston for the vibrant arts scene, cultural diversity, authentic weirdness, and (formerly) low cost of living.
Painting fell by the wayside once she discovered working with 3-D materials. She assembles fabric, found objects and paper into unique art dolls that shock and delight. Combining mixed media with storytelling empower her to create unique art experiences that explore gender, culture, body image, and spirituality in unconventional ways. Her love of multiple media fuels her expansion into performance, cosplay, and prop fabrication. She is excited to see where these experiments take her.

Julia Rossel has been a FAQ Team Member since 2021, the Teen Council Associate since 2022 and is currently a Teaching Artist at Navarro Middle School. She is earning a BFA in Sculpture at the University of Houston, working at Art League Houston as the Weekend Programs Associate, and is a freelance studio assistant. Alongside her usual jobs she maintains her art practice at the studio collective Box13, and through curating DIY art shows, planning markets, and booking live music events at local venues. Her body of work revolves around memorializing ephemerality, using materials that start wet and end dry to hold personal history. Julia’s ongoing collaboration with her community informs every aspect of her life, bringing an empathetic mindset to every space she enters.

Dillon Scalzo is a poet and translator with a passion for working back and forth between the mediums of Spanish and English. While based on the U.S./Mexico border in San Diego, California/Tijuana y Tecate, Baja California, he completed a BA in English and Spanish at the University of San Diego and later an MFA in Creative Writing at San Diego State University. He has studied in México, Spain, and in 2016 completed a U.S. Fulbright grant in Uruguay where he taught Creative Writing in Spanish and English. Dillon is interested in all things transfronterizo, especially the movement of poetry and art across physical and imaginal borderlands. He currently teaches Creative Writing for Writers in the Schools Houston, ESL for adults at Adult Education Center Texas, and is a translator and FAQ Team Museum Educator at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH).

Olivia Vargas has been involved with CAMH since she was a teenager, taking part in CAMH’s Teen Council while in high school. As a current member of the FAQ Team, she continues to foster her passion for sharing and discussing the arts with such a diverse and ever-changing city. As a Houstonian with roots in Miami, Florida, Vargas has enjoyed celebrating and facilitating both contemporary and cultural art events in both communities. She is currently enrolled at the University of Houston, and in her free time can be found practicing a myriad of instruments, growing her private music collection, or loving on her two beloved cats.

Janice McCloud Warren is an art educator, visual artist, and community advocate. Warren is a native Houstonian and earned her BA in Fine Arts from Texas Southern University in 1999 and teaching credentials from LeTourneau University in 2008. In 2018, she successfully completed a 9-month LoneStar LEND (Leadership Education in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Fellowship from the University of Texas Health and Science Center in Houston. Warren strives to be a positive role model and impact her community in a variety of ways which includes ministry leadership, community involvements, and facilitating workshops for audiences of all backgrounds. She loves using her LEND training to assist individuals of all walks of life by spreading the importance of inclusion, creative self expression, and promoting developmentally appropriate art activities for all ages and abilities. Warren has more than 30 years of teaching experience in a variety of settings. In 2005, she founded “Aesthetically Artistic” – Art From the Heart, an adaptive and all inclusive visual arts program that is both therapeutic and exploratory for children, adults, and seniors. Warren believes that creativity and art therapy serves as a vital tool for healing. She continues to produce creative compositions, collaborate with local artists, and participates in various group art exhibitions throughout the year. Warren is most known for creating mosaic artwork and unique mixed media collages and compositions.