DORF / BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sara Vanderbeek (Founder, Executive Director and Curator) is an award-winning transdisciplinary artist, curator, and advocate for sustainability and affordability in arts infrastructure, based in Austin, Texas. At DORF, she has developed exhibitions that foreground underrepresented voices and create dialogue between local and global contexts. Her curatorial projects balance critical inquiry with accessibility, while her own artistic work reflects a deep engagement with questions of history, identity, artist motherhood, and place and has been exhibited at The Contemporary Austin (TX), Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles (CA), Co-Lab Projects (TX), and NYC Crit Club (NY). Her work has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Austin Economic Development Department, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and was a finalist for the 2022 Artpace International Artist-In-Residence Program. In 2025 she was nominated by Austin Arts Commission to the board of Rally Austin. She received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.
Eric Manche (Founder and Creative Director) is an artist, filmmaker, animator, and creative director living in Austin, Texas. His first feature length film, “Slimed,” was released by cult film company Troma Entertainment in 2018. He is a founder of satirical video collective Basic Cable Television, a group formed in 2006 while a student at Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently finishing Basic Cable Television’s first full-length episode, and recently completed the 10-episode children’s art education series, A Day at Laguna Gloria, in collaboration with The Contemporary Austin. Manche is the Founder and Creative Director at Bingo Bango Creative, a boutique video/audio production house providing visually compelling video, animation, and creative content to help their clients’ brands shine.
Paloma Mayorga is a Mexican American interdisciplinary botanical artist and independent curator born and based in Austin, Texas. Her work draws on ecological stories, sensory experiences, and the memory held in landscapes to reflect how reconnecting with plants can help us become mindful in our connections to others, as well as more responsible stewards of the land. She earned a BA in Painting from the Sarofim School of Fine Arts at Southwestern University, and has gone on to exhibit her work across Texas and nationally. Most recently, her work was exhibited at the 2024 Texas Biennial in Houston, TX, ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI, Artpace in San Antonio, TX, The Contemporary Austin, and Big Medium in Austin, TX. Currently, she acts as Curator for Coronado printstudio and serves on the Board of Directors for DORF and PrintAustin.
Emmy Laursen is the founder of Facing East Therapy and the Curator of Programs & Engagement at The Contemporary Austin. She curates programming that brings audiences closer to the themes of the museum’s exhibitions through performances, artist talks, and other opportunities. Since receiving her BFA in Studio Art at The University of Texas at Austin in 2015, she has served the Austin art community through exhibition curation, event organizing, and artist engagement at organizations including Landmarks, Pump Project, Art Alliance Austin, Print Austin, George Washington Carver Museum, Prizer Arts & Letters, grayDUCK Gallery and Elisabet Ney Museum. She currently serves on the board for DORF. Her experience has reinforced her commitment to advocating for programs and space at the intersection of people and community. She recently received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and runs a private therapy practice.
DORF / ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Lee Ann Scotto Adams brings nearly 20 years of expertise in nonprofit management, higher education, and the arts. She holds a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University.
As the executive director of SNAAP (Strategic National Arts Alumni Project), Lee Ann is committed to promoting the value of arts education and supporting and advancing the arts research ecosystem. Previously, she served as executive director of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and assistant director of programs and operations at the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) - making meaningful contributions to the field in each of these roles. Her career also includes roles in admissions at RISD and as an administrator in the Fine American Paintings Department at Christie’s Auction House.
Lee Ann is deeply engaged in the arts community, having served as treasurer of the Rhode Island Art Education Association and currently serving as Vice President for DownCity Design, an organization that empowers young people to strengthen their communities by harnessing the creative power of design. In addition to her leadership roles, she maintains an active creative practice as a painter and is passionate about strengthening the arts through her professional contributions and board service.
Meg Furey is a creative’s creative and Austin native. She is a pro with wide-ranging expertise who also happens to have 10+ years under my belt across both B2C and B2B industries including medical, tech, real estate, and more in locations like New York City, San Francisco, Austin, Toronto, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Her clients include Outdoorsy, Bain & Company, Reelgood, Broadvoice, Alice, Orion Marketor, Included Health, Delta Dental, The Peak, Discovery Land Company, Den Property Group, Microsoft, IBM, Dell, Noom, Austin Parks Foundation, Monday Girl, The American Nurses Association, Endeavor Real Estate, Zilker Belts, and more.
Alexis Hunter is an identity-based, multidisciplinary artist living and working in Austin, Texas. She earned her BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in painting from Texas State University, graduating summa cum laude in 2022. Hunter’s work explores self-image through the lenses of racial identity, mental health, the female body, and the male gaze. She's exhibited at venues including ICOSA Collective Gallery, DORF, and the Carver Museum, and will present her upcoming solo exhibition, This Is A Wonderful Day. I’ve Never Seen This One Before... at Ivester Contemporary. Her past residencies include Big Medium’s LINE Residency, the Carver Museum’s Small Black Museum Residency Project, and Mass Gallery’s Hot Box Residency. Deeply committed to supporting arts nonprofits, Hunter serves on the Curatorial Advisory Board for Future Front Texas and the Advisory Council for DORF, and is the creator of Big Bad Karaoke, a community art and performance project.
Lise Ragbir is a co-founder of VERGE and independent writer who has dedicated her 20-year career to creating access to a range of art experiences. She has worked with corporate and public collections, non- and for-profit organizations, and organized exhibitions featuring artists Dawoud Bey, Genevieve Gaignard, Jacob Lawrence, and Deborah Roberts, among others. She is the co-editor of Collecting Black Studies: The Art of Material Culture (2020), and her essays about race, identity, immigration, and cultural representation have appeared in Hyperallergic, Frieze, Artnet, The Guardian, Time Magazine, USA Today, The Boston Globe and other publications. Lise is a graduate of Harvard University’s Museum Studies program.
Celina Zisman (they/them) is the Airport Music Coordinator (AUS) and the Former Chair of the Arts Commission. Over their 15+ years in Austin, they have cultivated extensive relationships and an influential network within the creative community, establishing themselves as a trusted resource and guide for professionals at the intersection of arts, music, and career development. Celina is the recipient of the inaugural Oliver Franklin Award, an annual recognition celebrating women leaders in the arts, established by Big Medium and the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum. They served on the City of Austin's Arts Commission for seven years, including two years as Chair, and have held board positions with local nonprofit organizations. In addition to their contributions to the visual arts community, Celina is deeply engaged in Austin's music scene, having partnered with brands including Oskar Blues, United Masters (SXSW), and Creative Mornings to produce seasonal and ongoing music events featuring local and national artists. In February 2025, Celina joined the Department of Aviation as Airport Music Coordinator.