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The Distinguished Alumna Award from the College of Arts and Letters
is being presented
to Elisa Crystal
Callow, who received
a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Fine Arts
from San Jose State
University, and a
Master of Arts
degree in Art from
California State
University, Los
Angeles in 1990.
The majority of Elisa’s professional life has been in the service
of non-profit
organizations. She
was greatly
influenced by her
father, a Peace
Corps director, and
lived in the
Philippines and
Malaysia during her
early teen years.
Elisa worked in the philanthropic sector, first as program officer
for the Ahmanson
Foundation and then
as arts program
director for the
James Irvine
Foundation. More
recently, she has
served as a
management
consultant in the
nonprofit sector on
strategic issues
such as Board and
program development
and organizational
governance,
community mapping,
organizational
design, and planning
and evaluation.
Among her clients
are the Auckland
Museum in New
Zealand, The San
Francisco Symphony,
and the L.A. County
Natural History
Museum. Her recent
work with the
Natural History
Museum’s
Education and Arts
Roundtable
resulted in the
American Association
of Museums 2009
Committee on
Education Excellence
in Programming
Award.
In 2011, Elisa organized and facilitated a series of cross sector
conversations,
The Imaginative
Commons,
designed to promote
the sharing of ideas
among arts leaders
and peers from
education, health,
science, government,
and community
services.
As founding director of the Armory Center for the Arts, Elisa built
upon the reputation
and history of the
Armory’s predecessor
organization, the
Pasadena Art
Workshops, through
the development of a
number of
groundbreaking
partnerships with
schools, city
departments,
grassroots community
organizations, and
established arts
institutions. Under
Elisa’s direction,
the organization
completed a
successful capital
campaign, resulting
in an unprecedented
expansion in program
scope and audience.
The reputation of
the Armory became a
national model for
excellence in
community arts
program development.
Elisa has served on the Boards of a number of arts, environmental,
and education
organizations,
including the
National Guild of
Community Schools of
the Arts, the Los
Angeles Municipal
Art Gallery
Associates, and the
California Greenways
Foundation.
Elisa is married to Eric and is the proud mother and stepmother of
three grown
children: Nori,
Kathleen and John.
In her free time, Elisa enjoys reading, hiking with her husband
Eric and friends,
and writing. She is
a serious cook and
master jam -maker
who values her
family, a circle of
close friends, and
the opportunity to
travel. |
