About Us
Our volunteers have the unique ability to work directly with artists and the downtown Los Altos business community and property owners to achieve vibrant, curated public art.
Maddy McBirney
Director of Development & Outreach
Maddy is an artist working out of her studio in Los Altos, CA. She is a mixed media artist using acrylic paints to create depth, texture and transparency with her work. She studied art and graphic design at UC Davis.
Her excitement for public art began with her volunteer position for 7 years on the Los Altos Arts Commission. While on the Arts Commission, she developed a community art project, The Artistic Bike Rack Design Competition. Approximately 10 racks were designed and selected by the community, and then manufactured and installed.
After attending several Public Art and Placemaking conventions across the United States, Maddy was inspired to bring outdoor public art to Los Altos.
Maddy’s volunteer position with Arts Los Altos is to co-lead the group, providing vision and direction for Arts Los Altos. She does outreach and recruiting. Connecting with the downtown, commercial property owners, various organizations in Los Altos, and outdoor artists is her favorite part, inspiring all to work together for a more vibrant downtown.
Karen Zucker
Director of Communication & Development
Karen has lived in Los Altos for 20 years and has been a Los Altos Art Docent for over 15 years, teaching art in the Los Altos School District. Karen served on the Los Altos Public Arts Commission for over 7 years, where she developed her skills to implement public art and placemaking. She met Maddy McBirney when they were serving on the Public Arts Commission and have since shared their passion for outdoor art by co-founding Arts Los Altos in 2019. In her spare time, Karen can be found walking her dog, biking, hiking, or playing volleyball, as well as sewing and making art.
Karen’s volunteer position for Arts Los Altos is co-leader. Karen is the point person for communications with Intersection for the Arts and Arts Los Altos. Karen works with property owners, artists and the Los Altos community in bringing outside art to downtown Los Altos. She helps with grant writing, outreach and recruiting.
Laura Roberts
Advisor, Grants & Nonprofit Best Practices
A long-time Los Altos resident, Laura is uniquely qualified to bring private sector disciplines and low-cost technologies to public-benefit, nonprofit organizations. She has 20 years experience in the nonprofit sector (most recently as Executive Director of the Mountain View-Los Altos High School Foundation), and 10 years experience in the computer networking industry implementing enterprise business systems. She has an MBA from Santa Clara University.
In addition to advising on nonprofit best practices, she writes grants and helps with the website, social media and email marketing as needed.
Laura met Maddy McBirney when she and her daughters took art classes in Maddy’s studio where they developed a love for all types of art. Now retired, Laura enjoys taking painting workshops. She is a member of the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society.
Ray Fernando
Advisor, Technical Support
A longtime Los Altos resident, combines his passion for art and technology to support our vibrant community. With experience at Apple and a local photography studio, Ray brings a unique perspective to his role at Arts Los Altos, where he maintains the website and solves technical challenges.
As a fellow adventurer and nature lover, Ray captures the beauty of our world through his travel and wildlife photography. His diverse pursuits reflect the spirit of our community and its commitment to blending creativity, innovation, and positive change.
Ginny Strock
Advisor for written media, publicity and promotion
Ginny has spent most of her adult life in Los Altos. Her love of art began early with parents who were avid collectors and an art docent mom who dragged her to many art museums and galleries. Ginny has a Ph.D. in educational psychology and worked as a teacher, special education teacher and school psychologist before going into private practice as a child therapist. After retiring, Ginny delved back into the art world by becoming an art docent at the De Young and Legion of Honor museums in SF. She also trained and became a docent naturalist at Ano Nuevo State Park.
Ginny is writing articles about ALA installations, interviewing artists and preparing/leading tours of ALA’s public art installations. She loves hiking, traveling, gardening, playing bridge, golfing, and, especially visiting artist studios, art galleries and attending art shows.
Kelly Sheahan
Advisor, Finance
Admiring, creating and collecting art has been a lifelong passion for Kelly. Besides her creative interests, she is a CPA and business woman with a long career in finance.
She has held positions as CFO and COO and as a partner at an international accounting firm. Currently, she is a partner and CFO of a Bay Area women-owned temporary staffing company. Kelly has a master’s degree in creative writing and she has taken many workshops and classes in painting, sculpting, mixed-media and photography.
She has lived in Los Altos Hills for over 26 years, but serendipitously met Laura at a watercolor lesson on the Big Island.
Joel Bartlett
Advisor, Photography
Joel is a long time resident of Los Altos and a retired computer scientist. Locally, his photography has appeared in the Los Altos Town Crier, exhibits at the Los Altos History Museum, and in Hidden Villa publications. One of the things he enjoys about working with Arts Los Altos is meeting the artists and shooting “in process” photos of them at work.
Alis Whitman
Community Outreach and Fundraising
Alis is a designer, painter and forest school teacher. Alis loves making things, facilitating experiential learning and talking about art. At Arts Los Altos, Alis gets to use her design skills and imagination in the areas of fundraising, community engagement and murals. When not organizing an ALA event, you can find Alis immersed in nature, teaching, painting or hiking in the forests of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara county.
Jess Agarwal
Advisor
Jess is a local artist and dedicated resident of Los Altos, on a mission to foster community and forge connections through the transformative power of art. A seasoned professional, she honed her artistic skills and design expertise at the University of Hartford in Connecticut and Central St Martins University in London. Jess' professional journey has seen her navigate diverse roles, ranging from product design and user experience to branding and marketing, demonstrating her versatility and commitment to the world of creative expression.
With an entrepreneurial spirit that drives her passion for the arts, Jess now lends her insights to Arts Los Altos as a brand and marketing advisor. Beyond her professional endeavors, Jess is a proud parent, with her son attending the local Covington Elementary School. During her leisure time, she finds inspiration by traveling and hiking the surrounding forests and hills. She hopes to help to drive Arts Los Altos as a dynamic hub for artistic exploration, community engagement, and the celebration of creativity in the heart of Los Altos.