Board of Directors

Cyra HobsonCyra Hobson, President

Cyra Jane Hobson is a multi-media artist who runs a group stone carving studio at Equinox Studios in West Georgetown. She has extensive experience in arts administration, grant writing, and large event production in addition to just being pretty darned rad. She’s excited for the first years’ efforts and formation of the GTAAC and to work with this wonderful team.

Neal PatelNeal Patel, Vice President

Neal H. Patel is a Principal Product Manager at Amazon. Previously, he led Human/Social Dynamics, a Google team studying emotional computation. He was a founder & Technical Project Lead with Google Advanced Technology & Projects (ATAP). Neal’s work appears in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and The Handbook of Anthropology in Business.

Kerry GatesKerry Gates, Secretary

Kerry is originally from Nebraska but has always had an urban beat in her heart and has lived on the Westcoast since 1988. After many years in the Bay Area, she relocated to Seattle in 2007 to continue her career in tech. However, the loud beat of all things creative lured her to Fogue Studios in 2020. Kerry retired in 2023 from her “day job” to focus solely on the gallery and the arts, specifically in Georgetown. Fogue Studios & Gallery was founded in 2018 and designed to give a voice to artists over fifty.

Virginia WrightVirginia Wright, Treasurer

Virginia owns Scarlet Ibis Gallery in Georgetown and she also works professionally as an administrator for multiple arts, culture, and heritage organizations in Seattle and South King County. She has a degree in music, and her interests include visual arts, historic preservation, and working to dismantle the structures behind social inequities.

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