HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) – Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) welcomes four new members to its Board of Directors.

  • Leigh F. Evans is Director of Research to Impact at James Madison University (JMU) and Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Tech Council. Evans earned a BA in philosophy and psychology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, followed by a law degree with a concentration in business associations and soft intellectual property from George Mason University School of Law.
  • Dr. Cannie Graham, Associate Vice President of Collaborative Philanthropy & Volunteer Leadership at James Madison University and Founder & Principal, Spark Women’s Philanthropy, recently earned a PhD in Counseling & Supervision from JMU.
  • Jennifer Kozak is Founder & Creative Director of That’s KLUTCH, LLC. She holds a BFA in Graphic Design from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA and has served as an adjunct instructor in graphic design at the University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Nicole Litwiller is Annual Giving and Donor Communications Specialist at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). After graduating from EMU with Liberal Arts and Global Development majors, she completed her master’s degree in Conflict Transformation.

Board officers for 2025-26 are: President and Treasurer Austin Sachs, Vice President Ruby Hostetler, Past President Paul Riner, and Secretary Beth Harter. Other returning board members include Ingrid De Sanctus, Carol Fleming, Suzanne McCahill Perrine, Mary Rouse, Katherine Schwartz, Arnita Taliaferro, and Derik Trissel.

Leaving the board are Valerie Smith and Puck Wade. Smith served as an at-large member of the Executive Committee and co-chaired the First Fridays of the Valley/Smith House Galleries Committee. She also assisted with the recent 5x5x25 exhibition, part of ACV’s year-long 25th Anniversary celebration. Wade served on three board committees: Advancing the Arts Grants, First Fridays of the Valley/Smith House Galleries, and Fundraising.

Jenny Burden is executive director of ACV, with offices located in the historic Smith House, 311 South Main Street in Downtown Harrisonburg. Programs are supported in part by ACV 25th Anniversary Presenting Sponsor Kathy Moran Wealth Group, and 25th Anniversary Visionary Sponsor Riner Rentals.