Staff & Consultants

April Chalay, Executive Director

April Chalay is an accomplished arts nonprofit leader, artist, and experienced director in the nonprofit sector. She received a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, where she developed a strong foundation in interdisciplinary fine art disciplines and conceptual development. She also has a Certificate in Human Resources Management from The ILR School at Cornell University, eCornell. She served as the Director of Operations at the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center and as Deputy Director at the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe before joining the staff of 516 ARTS as Finance and Grants Manager and moving into the role of Deputy Director in 2023. She has lived in New Mexico since 2013.

april@516arts.org

JC González, Programming & Marketing Manager 

Juan Carlos (JC) González is a designer, writer, and artist whose professional history includes various New Mexico-based arts nonprofits. He is originally from Anthony, New Mexico, and re-located to Santa Fe to attend the College of Santa Fe where he acquired a self-designed degree in media arts. Following his education, he pursued a design and communications career which led to working with the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe, CENTER, and as a freelance writer for various publications including the Santa Fe Reporter. Additionally, González works as an artist and self-publishes a regional, annual artist-showcase zine. 

JC@516arts.org

Olivia Ortiz, Curator

In her role as Curator, Olivia (she/her) maintains a passion for reconciling essentialist narratives of identity by advancing relationships to decolonial theory, collaborative programming, cultural revitalization and preservation, and to the poetics of representation. Prior to joining 516 ARTS, Olivia worked for the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) in Santa Fe, NM as well as the Tucson Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA Tucson) in Arizona. She facilitated museum education, community outreach initiatives and oversaw artist programs, including the Native Artist Fellowship Program at the IARC. Previous experience includes working in art journalism, gallery management, art education and she served as an Indigenous Educator Corps (IEC) member at the Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

olivia@516arts.org

Daniel Ulibarri, Programs Coordinator

Daniel Ulibarri is an accomplished professional photographer and educator. He holds BA degrees in both English and Media Arts from New Mexico Highlands University. He develops youth and educational programming at 516 ARTS, manages social media, develops content, oversees interns, creates video interviews with artists and project videos, and in 2022 he curated the photography exhibition Nathaniel Tetsuro Paolinelli: Downtown at 516 ARTS, which received international media coverage. Born and raised in northern New Mexico, he has been a resident of Albuquerque since 2021.

daniel@516arts.org

Claudia Hermano, Engagement Coordinator

claudia hermano (they/them) is an artist and educator, focused in photography and sculpture. They hold a BA in photography from Hampshire College and an MFA in studio art from the University of New Mexico. They were born and raised in New York and Massachusetts but moved to Albuquerque in 2021 to pursue their graduate degree. Their artistic practice employs portraiture and self-portraiture as a tool to understand embodiment and belonging through visual language. 

claudia@516arts.org

About our founder: Suzanne Sbarge

Suzanne Sbarge founded 516 ARTS in 2006 in partnership with the McCune Charitable Foundation and directed the organization for 17 years, building it into a non-collecting contemporary art museum. Her leadership focused on fostering collaboration among artists, art forms, and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. Before 516 ARTS, she directed Magnifico Arts, Inc. and the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. She holds a B.A. in Art History and Studio Arts from Barnard College and an M.A. in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. Sbarge is a visual artist in addition to working as a graphic designer, curator, and arts consultant.