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

  • John Burgess is a theatrical designer with extensive arts administration experience. He recently retired from James Madison University (JMU), where he served as associate vice provost for academic effectiveness and evaluation and was a theatre professor. Burgess received a Compass Award from JMU for his leadership in diversity in support of underrepresented graduate students. He also served as chair and vice chair in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s Region 2 Design, Tech & Management area.
  • Zachary Elder is director of Massanutten Regional Library, where he has successfully applied for two ACV Advancing the Arts grants, and collaborated with ACV and other Harrisonburg-Rockingham arts organizations. He brings to the board experience in strategic planning, strengthening organizational sustainability, and fundraising; as well as skills in policy writing; grant writing/evaluation, and knowledge of the nonprofit landscape.
  • Rubén Graciani is Dean of the JMU College of Visual and Performing Arts, overseeing the schools of Art, Design and Art History; Music; and Theatre and Dance—as well as multiple galleries, institutes, and performance venues. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography and Performance from the University of Maryland-College Park, and advocates for the arts as a member of national organizations such as the International Council of Fine Arts Deans and the National Association of Schools of Dance. He continues to present his choreographic work nationally and internationally.
  • Tatiana Roy leads the volunteer artists team currently working to bring Artomatic to Harrisonburg. A community advocate, Roy moved to Harrisonburg from Northern Virginia several years ago after retiring from the US Postal Service where she served as a senior public relations specialist. She earned an undergraduate degree from American University and an MBA from the University of Southern Maine.
  • Virginia Soenksen, director of the Madison Art Collection at JMU, has a background in museum leadership, higher education, community engagement, fundraising, and cross-cultural arts scholarship. She holds a Master of Arts in Art History from Tufts University and an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Mary Washington.

Board officers for 2026-27 are: President and Treasurer Austin Sachs, Vice President Virginia Soenksen, Past President Paul Riner, Secretary Beth Harter, and Members-at-Large Ingrid De Sanctis and Jennifer Kozak. Other returning board members include Leigh Evans, Carol Fleming, Cannie Graham, Nicole Litwiller, Suzanne McCahill Perrine, Katherine Schwartz, and Arnita Taliaferro.

Leaving the board are Ruby Hostetler and Mary Rouse.