Aimee Fullman is the Manager of Cultural Relations and Networks for the British Council in Washington, DC where she works with U.S. and international partners to raise the visibility of the British Council's work in cultural relations and to foster increased international connections leading to mutual understanding. Prior to joining the British Council, Aimee gained over a decade of Washington, DC-based and international experience as a cultural policy researcher and practitioner specializing in cultural diplomacy, international cultural engagement and cultural diversity. Her past professional affiliations include American University, American Voices, Americans for the Arts, the Center for Arts and Culture, the Canadian Cultural Observatory, Sister Cities International, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Institute of International Education and UNESCO. In 2011, she commenced her doctoral studies in Business Administration: Marketing and Management in Cultural Management and the Creative Industries at HEC-Montréal. Aimee is a U40 Cultural Diversity Fellow and an Affiliated Researcher at the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy.

Session(s):
Backyard Diplomacy—New Strategies for Supporting International Cultural Engagement in Local Communities

Kathleen Cerveny is responsible for evaluating the impact of the foundation’s grantmaking and leadership initiatives, and for capturing learning from this work for the benefit of the foundation and the community. She remains the Foundation’s Director of Arts Initiatives where, for two decades she has directed its arts and culture programs and led major initiatives in public policy and organizational advancement for the arts. Kathleen has been a working artist, educator, development officer, and award-winning producer of arts programming for Cleveland Public Radio.  A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, she has exhibited her artwork nationally.  She is also a published poet and held the title of Cleveland’s Haiku Champion from 2009-2011.

Sessions(s):
Backyard Diplomacy—New Strategies for Supporting International Cultural Engagement in Local Communities

Mary D. Kane was appointed to the position of President and CEO of Sister Cities International in November, 2011. Prior to joining Sister Cities International, Kane was Executive Director with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where she was responsible for identifying and building business partnerships and strategic alliances for the Chamber. Kane was also a senior advisor to the Business Civic Leadership Center, a nonprofit affiliate of the Chamber dedicated to improving business and society relations. During her tenure, Kane established the U.S. Chamber's military and veterans' initiative and was the spokesperson for the Campaign for Free Enterprise. During the 2010 election cycle, Kane joined Maryland former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's campaign as the candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Before joining the Chamber, Kane was the secretary of state in Maryland and a former assistant state's attorney. As secretary of state, she was a member of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's Executive Council, where she was responsible for his Sub-Cabinet for International Affairs, the entity that coordinates and represents Maryland state and business initiatives around the world, including the Maryland Sister States program.

Session(s):
Backyard Diplomacy—New Strategies for Supporting International Cultural Engagement in Local Communities

Sabrina Pratt has served as executive director of the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission for more than 20 years.  In that time, she has developed a reputation as a knowledgeable resource and advocate for the arts in Santa Fe.  As executive director, Pratt interfaces with the mayor, city councilors, city manager and directors of Santa Fe arts and cultural organizations to promote community-wide involvement in the arts and generate long-term sustainability for Santa Fe’s artists and cultural resources.  Since Santa Fe’s designation as a Creative City of Folk Art and Design by UNESCO in 2005, Pratt has focused much of her energy on developing global platforms for Santa Fe's arts and cultural resources.  Pratt was instrumental in developing and presenting the 2008 UNESCO International Conference on Creative Tourism in Santa Fe, NM, the first conference to focus on the creative tourism industry.  She served as an editor for "Creative Tourism: A Global Conversation," a collection of essays on the topic.  In demand as a speaker on cultural tourism and cultural planning, Pratt receives numerous invitations to speak at conferences around the world. She has also coordinated many international cultural exchanges. Under her leadership, the goal of the Arts Commission is to be responsive to community needs through projects and programs that benefit the community-at-large, artists and arts organizations.   She has guided the development of a number of successful programs during her tenure, including two youth arts education programs and a gallery that exhibits New Mexico artists’ work.  Pratt is particularly proud of the growth of Santa Fe’s Art in Public Places program, for which funding was increased from 1 percent to 2 percent of city bond issues in 2006. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY and a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. 

Session(s):
Backyard Diplomacy—New Strategies for Supporting International Cultural Engagement in Local Communities

Councilor Wurzburger was first elected to the Governing Body in 2002, re-elected in March 2006, and is now serving her third term.

Councilor Wurzburger serves as Mayor Pro Tem and chairs the following committees: Public Works/CIP and Land Use Committee, City Business and Quality of Life Committee, and theCommunity Development Commission. Councilor Wurzburger has long held an active interest in her city and community, and has held positions on and founded several distinguished community boards, including Founding Board Member of Cornerstones Community Partnership, and Co-founder of Santa Fe’s Habitat for Humanity Women Build Program. In recognition of her contributions, she was the recipient of the 17th Annual Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women in New Mexico. Her many years of active civic involvement throughout northern New Mexico have demonstrated her outstanding abilities to work in different communities and with different cultural perspectives.


Councilor Wurzburger holds a Ph.D. in public administration and has more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning and managing complex projects at local state and national levels.

Session(s):
Backyard Diplomacy—New Strategies for Supporting International Cultural Engagement in Local Communities