Diane Asay

Diane Asay has taught in the Art Education department at Brigham Young University for over 18 years and has served as Vice President of the National Art Education Association as well as President of the Utah chapter. She also owns her own art publishing business called Art Visuals.  Diane and her husband, Doyle, have six children and have lived in the Orem area for over 30 years. She hopes to promote direct involvement with the arts which includes hands-on experiences with the visual arts, in addition to exhibits and displays.

Kathie Debenham

Kathie Debenham is Associate Dean for Arts & Humanities and Professor of Modern Dance and Movement Analysis at Utah Valley State College. She holds an M.A. from Brigham Young University where she created The Dancers’ Company and taught from 1976-1994.   She is also a master teacher/artist for the Utah Arts Council and was an artistic director/performer/choreographer for Contemporary DANCEWORKS from 1986-2002. Kathie is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst and completed the Integrated Studies Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Utah.  She is a board member for the American College Dance Festival Northwest Region and a member of numerous professional organizations including the Utah Dance Education Organization.

Debora Escalante

Debora Escalante completed a B.A. and M.A. in Theatre at BYU and has spent most of the last thirty years teaching and directing children and adults of all ages. She has a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from USU where her research focused on the development of models for K-12 curriculum correlation and integration, and educator supply and demand studies. Debora currently works with the BYU Elementary Arts Education Initiative in the BYU-Public School Partnership. She grew up in Salt Lake County, but lived in Southern California for eleven years where four of her five children (three sons, two daughters) were born. Debora and her family moved to Orem in 2006 and love being involved with the arts opportunities available here.

 Daniel J. Fairbanks

Dr. Fairbanks is Associate Dean of the College of Science and Health at Utah Valley University.  He was formerly Dean of Undergraduate Education and the Karl G. Maeser Professor of General Education at Brigham Young University.  He is a geneticist, science historian, author, and artist.  Having been raised in a family of famed artists, he is a recognized sculptor with statues on permanent display in museums, academic institutions, and private collections in the United States and Mexico.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.

 Elizabeth Farnsworth

Elizabeth is a longtime Orem resident who grew up in one of the valley's renowned musical families. The daughter of Ralph Laycock, Elizabeth received a Bachelor's degree in vocal pedagogy and performance, and several years later, a second degree in choral education. She plays the violin and teaches both voice and piano. Several of her students have won prestigious competitions at the state level and have performed with the Utah Valley Symphony. Elizabeth is a member of the Central Utah Valley Piano Federation, and she is particularly active in support of arts education. Elizabeth is also a talented writer who has been active in a local writer's group.

Eric Fielding

Eric Fielding, 57, was born and raised in Orem. He received his BA in theatre from BYU in 1974 and his MFA in scenic design from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1976. He has been a professor of scenic design and resident set designer for the department of theatre and media arts at Brigham Young University for 23 years (1976-83, 1992-present). In addition, he has taught theatre design at the Goodman School of Drama, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Utah. Over his career he has designed the scenery and/or lighting for more than 250 plays, musicals, operas, concerts, pageants, events, films, and television productions. He has been an officer and active member of several national and international professional theatre organizations. He served a mission to Brazil and is active in the LDS church. He is married to another Orem native, Cecelia Harris Fielding, and they are the parents of two sons, Jefferson and Lincoln.

Danae Friel

Danae has also been involved in the arts all her life.  She is the daughter of Peter Myer, a highly respected artist who taught at BYU for 30 years and who was the director of the Harris Fine Arts Gallery.  Danae has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Brigham Young University, and she is a writer of fiction and poetry.  Danae worked for several years as an Administrative Assistant in BYU’s Media and Theater Arts Department, and she herself has performed in live theater.  She currently works as the marketing director of the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo where she does their marketing, publicity, graphic design, and maintains their web page.

Cody Hale

Cody Hale is the youngest son of Ruth and Nathan Hale, the original founders of all of the Hale Theaters. Cody has been on stage since his infancy and still performs when he gets the chance. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors Degree in Art Education, pursued a career in music, became signed artist with MCA Curb Records and co-founded the Hale Center Theater Orem. He currently is a co-manager of the Hale Center Theater Orem and has produced over 144 productions and counting. Cody is married to Linda and they have five children and three grandchildren.

Hagen Haltern

 Hagen was born in western Germany.  After studying art in Cologne from 1964 to1968, Hagan began teaching drawing and etching.  From 1972 to 1977 he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, and in 1978, he began teaching at Brigham Young University where he continues today as a professor of visual art.  Hagen has received local, national, and international recognition for his paintings.  He continues to exhibit regularly at many local galleries, including the Springville Art Museum, the Terra Nova Gallery, and others.  His work hangs in the Museum of Church History in Salt Lake City, and six of his pieces are part of Orem City’s permanent art collection.  Hagen is also a published author, with many credits to his name, including the book Art Integration: The Spiritual Foundation and Anagogical Level of Meaning in the Celestial Style.

Kenneth Linge

Kenneth is originally from Norway, where he was one of Scandinavia's most award-winning photographers. The Osmond Studios brought Kenneth to Orem in 1983 to do their photography. While here, he met his wife and Orem is where they made their home and have raised their children. Kenneth is an extremely talented professional photographer, specializing in portrait and wedding photography. He has many corporate clients, including Mitsubishi, Canon, Modbe Clothing, and Bennett Communications, and he is a regular contributor to Utah Valley Magazine and Utah Valley Business magazine. Kenneth also teaches photography classes in Orem and in Salt Lake. He founded the International School of Photography and he frequently brings photographers of international renown to the area for workshops and classes. He loves all of the arts, but especially photography and music.

Gayla Muir

Gayla Muir recently retired after 32 years with Mountainland Association of Governments as an accountant for 22 years and Director of a Senior Volunteer Program with 1,100 volunteers for 10 years.  For over 20 years Gayla has served on many Boards, Commissions and Committees such as Orem CDBG, Orem Cultural Arts Commission and served as Chair or President for the Crisis Line, American Cancer Society, Women's Division of Provo/Orem Chamber as well as many positions within the Miss America system through Miss Utah and Miss Orem pageants. She was Miss Orem Pageant Director for 10 years.  Gayla has one daughter and three grandchildren who live in the Boise area that she visits once a month, enjoys bird watching, an archeology buff with a passion for Egyptian and Roman history, loves old movies, dutch oven cooking, and the arts. 

Adam J. Robertson’s (Chairperson) Professional, Marketing, Public Relations & Major Events portfolio is extensive. He was the Assistant director of America’s largest Fourth of July celebration, “America’s Freedom Festival.”  As Director of Marketing and the Venue Director at the North American Museum of Ancient Life, the world’s largest dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, Adam coordinated sponsorship, marketing and development with the Discovery Channel, Disney Corporation, NBC Today Show, AT&T and Universal Studios. He has also worked on the domestic and international public relations teams at NUSKIN Enterprises. Adam co-founded and produced “Plays of the Week,” a collegiate athletic segment used by ESPN and television stations across the country. He has also created and managed numerous non-profit and profit companies, and serves as a Corporate Analyst and Consultant.  He is actively involved in many community activities.  Since 2004, He has served as the President & CEO of the SCERA in Orem.  In 2006, Adam was honored as “Business Man of the Year” by the business community.  He has served, and serves on many prominent boards, including Utah Valley State College, The Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce, The National Republican Congressional Committees-Business Advisory Council, and the American Red Cross.  

Ray Smith

Dr. Smith teaches at BYU as the Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Saxophone. He directs the jazz band, Synthesis, and he has led this group to national and international recognition by winning the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, and festivals sponsored by the International Association of Jazz Educators. Dr. Smith is also a performer in both classical music and jazz, playing flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone. He also performs and records frequently on recorders, pennywhistles, and ethnic flutes. He has over one-hundred thirty CD credits and he has recorded on many film scores and television themes, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, and others. Dr. Smith performs periodically with the Utah Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and he is a regular with the Utah Saxophone Quartet and Q'd Up, a faculty jazz quintet. He is considered one of the world's outstanding woodwind artists. Dr. Smith also regularly adjudicates for student jazz competitions and he frequently arranges student performances...anytime and anywhere...wherever he can make an opportunity.

Karen McCandless, City Council representative