SUSAN CAMPBELL – Community Investment & Development Manager

Susan Campbell is passionate about creating opportunities for artists to share their work with their communities. She has been involved with Arts Administration for over a decade, and is currently the Community Investment and Development Manager for Salt Lake City. She was formerly Special Projects Coordinator with the Salt Lake Arts Council, where she worked closely with the Public Art program. During her time as Executive Director of NEXT Ensemble, a non-profit chamber music collective based in Ogden, she grew the organization’s audience base, diversified its programming, and bolstered its financial health through extensive and successful grant-writing. Susan has also served as a consultant with Union Creative Agency, chair of the Ogden City Arts Committee, Education Development Coordinator at the Ogden Symphony Ballet Association (now OnStage Ogden), and is a Certified Change Leader with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums.

In addition to being an Arts Administrator, Susan is also an active and accomplished flutist. She is principal flute for Chamber Orchestra Ogden and has played in ballet and opera orchestras in the Midwest and Northern Utah. True to her passion, she frequently premieres new works by Utah composers as a soloist and chamber musician. Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of St. Thomas, a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Southern Utah University.

BRENDA ALAVEZ – Public Art Projects Coordinator

Brenda Alavez is the proud daughter of Mexican-Salvadoran immigrants, born and raised in the politically vibrant Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She has a decade of production and management experience in the film and events industry and has always been passionate about creating and consuming art.

Always eager to learn from new cultures and explore new places, Brenda has lived and worked in many cities from Los Angeles to London. But Utah’s natural beauty juxtaposed with its underrated art scene won her heart and she has called Utah her home for the last couple of years. She hopes to bring her global perspective to the Salt Lake City Arts Council and be a voice for the growing diverse communities in Salt Lake City.

She has previously worked for many festivals across the US and abroad such as Iceland’s longest-running music festival Iceland Airwaves and Utah’s very own Sundance Film Festival. Over the years she has held a variety of responsibilities including but not limited to sound mixer, HR coordinator, press lounge manager and much more! Regardless of the job at hand Brenda has always strived to leave the organizations she’s worked at better than she found them while doing her best to encourage open dialogue and communication among her peers. Along with her production background as a freelance filmmaker, Brenda also brings an artistic sensibility as an installation artist for festivals and retail businesses.

Brenda has a Bachelor’s in Media Arts where she specialized in documentary and screenwriting and received her Master’s in Events and Experience Management from Goldsmiths, University of London; Her dissertation focused on how cities and venues can utilize the DIY punk ethos to create meaningful experiences for locals and visitors alike.

Brenda has always been passionate about the impact that local artists and public art can have on an individual and the role of art in shaping a community’s identity. In her new role as Public Art Projects Coordinator, Brenda hopes to help expand the city’s outreach to underrepresented local artists and foster an environment of radical inclusivity within the arts that promotes the exploration, experimentation, and questioning of ideas from the banal to the provocative.

SHAWNEE JOHNSON – Special Projects Coordinator

Shawnee grew up in a house full of music and she has been passionate about music, theater, and the arts since she can remember. She graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater in 2016. She’s now back at WSU, halfway through the Master of Social Work program. She loves helping people and she is enjoying studying new ways to do that. For the last few years, Shawnee has worked with the University of Utah School of Medicine planning all major events for the Department of Student Affairs. She has won the Outstanding Dean’s Office Staff Award for the last five years, voted by the students she has had the pleasure of serving. She is passionate about bringing people together to celebrate one another. She is excited to bring her arts and administrative experience to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.