Creative Capital Welcomes New Board Members

Querido Creative Capital Community,

I’m pleased to announce that the Creative Capital Board of Directors has added five new members: Jane Brown, Michelle Coffey, Hasan Elahi, Bill Foulkes, and Penny Lane. These new members bring to the organization their relentless and visionary advocacy for artists, a deep commitment to the intersection of art and social justice, and a shared vision of the importance of investing in artists as catalysts for change.

Jane Brown has guided the Baltimore-based Robert W. Deutsch Foundation’s grantmaking and operations since 1995 and is an outspoken advocate for the positive impact that artists have on communities. Michelle Coffey is the founding Executive Director of the Lambent Foundation, leveraging the critical role of arts and culture to advance social justice movements. As a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design, Bill Foulkes has developed a curriculum to introduce creative thinkers to business concepts that enhance their abilities to bring ideas to fruition. Both Penny Lane and Hasan Elahi are Creative Capital Awardees who are also mentors for new awardees. Penny, who won the Award in 2012, focuses on lesser-known histories as a means of reconsidering issues of today in her documentary and video-essay work. Hasan is a 2006 Awardee whose practice examines issues of surveillance, citizenship, migration, transportation, and the challenges of borders and frontiers.

Creative Capital is fortunate to have these new voices within our leadership. Please join me in welcoming everyone to the Creative Capital board!

Suzy Delvalle
President & Executive Director


Jane Brown (Baltimore) is deeply committed to advancing social and economic justice and works towards solutions to the divides that plague our cities, our nation, and the world. As president of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, she created the Ruby’s Artist Grants program (in honor of Ruby Lerner), sustained support to local arts start-ups, and established the Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation to develop 60,000 square feet of new arts space in Baltimore City: Motor House and Open Works, two spaces that give priority support to local artists and social entrepreneurs of color.



As Executive Director, Michelle Coffey (New York) designs, implements and furthers the strategic agenda, leadership, and vision of Lambent Foundation. Prior to the creation of the Lambent Foundation, she was the Director of the Starry Night Fund and Senior Philanthropic Advisor at Tides Foundation. With a global lens, her areas of focus have included human rights, women and girls, criminal justice reform, arts and culture, and HIV/AIDS.


Hasan Elahi (2006 Awardee, Portland) is an artist whose career as both a practitioner and educator has continued to grow since the time of his award. Hasan’s work focuses on issues of surveillance, privacy, migration, citizenship, technology, and the challenges of borders. In addition to the Creative Capital Award in 2006, his accolades include grants from the Art Matters Foundation, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a residency at Shangri-La/Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, and a Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Prize. He is currently Associate Professor of Art at University of Maryland.


Bill Foulkes (Rhode Island) is a strategic planning and marketing consultant, entrepreneur, and currently a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design. The course he created, Design and Entrepreneurial Thinking, introduces artists and designers to business concepts and enhances their abilities to bring their ideas to reality. Bill was the Executive Director of the Center for Design and Business at RISD from 2006 to 2008. He has over twenty years of experience in strategic planning, people development, marketing, and finance in both high-tech and consumer companies.


Penny Lane (2012 Awardee, Hubbardsville NY) has recently enjoyed a great deal of success with her Creative Capital supported film NUTS! after it won a Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival (where it was acquired by Amazon) and was featured at the Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands. She was recently admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has a regular column called “Notes on Real Life” for Filmmaker Magazine. Penny’s documentaries and video essays focus on lesser-known histories as a means of reconsidering issues of today. She is an associate professor of video art at Colgate University.

View Creative Capital’s full list of Board members here.


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