Listing

Tony Manfredi – Executive Director
tmanfredi@nevadaculture.org | 775.297.5955

Sapira Cheuk – Artist Services Specialist
scheuk@nevadaculture.org | 951.223.1297

Shereen Choudhury – Arts Learning Specialist
schoudhury@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.6680

Lauren Frick – Community Arts Development Specialist
lfrick@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7119

Yun Ku – Content Marketing Specialist
yku@dtca.nv.gov | 775.220.4385

Brad McMullen – Folklife Specialist
bmcmullen@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.3739

Stephanie Montgomery – Grants and Projects Analyst 
smontgomery@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7104

Maria Moreno – Administrative Services Officer
mmoreno@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7118

Michelle Patrick – Community Arts Development Specialist / ADA Coordinator
mpatrick@nevadaculture.org |702.486.3732

Stephen Reid – Artist Services Specialist/ Art Installer
sreid@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7108

Sogand Tabatabaei – Arts Learning Specialist
stabatabaei@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.6680

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Bios

Tony Manfredi

Executive Director
tmanfredi@nevadaculture.org | 775.297.5955

Tony Manfredi joined the Nevada Arts Council as Executive Director in 2017. Manfredi provides the strategic direction and leadership for the organization, assessing and overseeing current programming, optimizing business development opportunities for artists, arts organizations and the public, representing the agency and state in regional and national forums, and managing the staff and budget housed within state government. His professional background combines 30 years of strategic planning, management, marketing, creative, and fundraising services for both local and international businesses and organizations. Manfredi is a graduate of the University of San Diego with degrees in Communication Studies and Art with a dual emphasis in Graphic Communication and Painting. 

Sapira Cheuk

Artist Services Specialist
scheuk@nevadaculture.org | 951.223.1297

Sapira Cheuk joined the Nevada Arts Council as an artist service program specialist in 2022. Her duties include providing support for current artists’ services and programs, as well as assist in developing new initiatives. In addition to her role at the NAC, she also serves as an Art Commissioner for the City of Las Vegas, as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as art editor for the museum of americana. Cheuk is a practicing artist, and an occasional instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the College of Southern Nevada. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at University of California Riverside, and Master in Fine Art from California State University, San Bernardino. She is based out of the Las Vegas office.

Shereen Choudhury

Arts Learning Specialist
schoudhury@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.6680

Shereen Choudhury joined the Nevada Arts Council as the arts learning specialist in 2024. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Choudhury brings 17 years of experience as a teaching artist with a focus on bringing creative experiences to underserved communities and educators. They earned a Masters of Arts in Education from the University of Southern California in 2012, with additional specializations in K-12 Visual Arts Education from California State University, Long Beach. Prior to joining the arts council, they served as an elementary school art teacher and extended their teaching practice into local communities. As a public artist, Choudhury specializes in facilitating collaborative art projects that emphasize healing justice, community-building, and personal empowerment..

Lauren Frick

Community Arts Development Specialist
lfrick@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7119

Lauren Frick (she/they) joined the Nevada Arts Council in 2024. As the community arts development specialist for northern Nevada, she will help support arts and culture organizations across northern Nevada. Frick graduated with their Masters of Arts in English with a focus in Public Engagement from the University of Nevada, Reno and received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Indiana University Northwest. In addition to their work with the Nevada Arts Council, they co-run the Reno Community Art Closet, a community project that circulates new and gently used art supplies in order to ensure that all artists and aspiring artists have the means to create. Frick is a writer and an artist, and she is excited to be in a position to help support grassroots art organizations continue to serve their communities. 

Yun Ku

Content Marketing Specialist
yku@dtca.nv.gov | 775.220.4385

Yun Ku has been shaping the creative content marketing for the Nevada Arts Council since 2024. Ku drives the public initiative program strategy that brings Nevada’s arts community to life with content that engages and inspires. With experience at Ventrix Advertising, University of Nevada, Reno, and the Reno Gazette-Journal, her passion for storytelling and creativity shines through every project. Ku is a native Nevadan and a University of Nevada, Reno graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science.

Brad McMullen

Folklife Specialist

bmcmullen@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.3739

Brad McMullen joined the Nevada Arts Council as a folklife specialist in 2023. Previously, he was the programs and gathering manager at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada where he oversaw planning of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other events. He arrived in Elko in July 2018, after graduating from the University of Oregon with two master’s degrees – one in Public Folklore and one in Arts Administration. He also has a master’s degree in Welsh from Cardiff University. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Stephanie Montgomery, Ph.d.

Grants and Projects Analyst
smontgomery@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7104

Stephanie Montgomery joined the Nevada Arts Council as a grants and projects analyst in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Nevada, Reno, and her Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A former educator who grew up in rural Nevada, Montgomery is passionate about making the arts and humanities accessible for all. In her downtime, she is an avid reader, writer, crafter, gamer, and hiker.

Maria Moreno, CIA

Administrative Services Officer
mmoreno@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7118

Maria Moreno joined the Nevada Arts Council in 2022 as the Administrative Services Officer. She has been in state service since 2007 honing her skills in the auditing and accounting fields. Moreno is a University of Nevada, Reno graduate and a Certified Internal Auditor. Her years of experience as a state auditor have given her a wealth of knowledge in the areas of fiscal accounting, internal controls, and state and federal guidelines. She serves as the lead fiscal contact overseeing the day-to-day accounting processes for the agency. Moreno is a Carson City, Nevada, native who enjoys spending her free time outside hiking the Tahoe trails or tubing down the Truckee River during the summer months.

Michelle Patrick

Community Arts Development Specialist
mpatrick@nevadaculture.org | 702.486.3732

Over the past decade, Michelle Patrick has worked in arts administration, with a background that includes the City of Las Vegas, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and the Sundance Film Festival. She has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bradford College and is an alumna of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, as well as YoungArts. Originally from Queens, New York, Patrick began her early career as a classically trained dancer with the Feld Ballet. In addition to her voiceover and acting experience, her theatrical credits include Good People, The Overwhelming, Flyin’ West and In The Next Room. She has worked as a director and choreographer on The Witches, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf and Once on This Island. She currently serves as an advisory board member for the Nevada Women’s Film Festival, has published an essay for Nevada Humanities and recently performed in “The Lifespan of a Fact” at the Majestic Repertory Theater in Las Vegas. She enjoys traveling, photography and shoe shopping in her spare time.

SOgand Tabatabaei

Arts Learning Specialist
stabatabaei@nevadaculture.org | 775.687.7103

Sogand Tabatabaei joined NAC in the summer of 2024. As the arts learning specialist based in northern Nevada, Tabatabaei will coordinate and execute K-12 and lifelong learning arts educational programs, such as Poetry Out Loud and Creative Aging. She also will advocate for arts learning in Nevada and partnerships to ensure accessible arts education for all Nevadans regardless of age and background. She will work with the Nevada Arts Council’s roster of teaching artists to ensure the high-quality delivery of programming throughout the state and to improve their own teaching practices. Tabatabaei earned her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of Nevada, Reno, and her Bachelor of Arts in Painting from Tehran University of Art.