Staff Bios

Donna McNeil, Director

As Director of the Maine Arts Commission, Donna McNeil is responsible for overseeing the cultural well being of the State of Maine through support for artists and arts organizations. She joined the Maine Arts Commission staff in 2003 as Contemporary Art and Public Art Associate where she oversaw the advancement of artists through advocacy, grants, professional development and the percent for art program. Donna sits on the board of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Maine Film Commission, the Maine-Aomori Sister City Council and the Governors Quality of Place Council. She has served as a juror for the National Endowment for the Arts and worked extensively with Creative Capital Foundation and is an active lobbyist for the arts in Maine and Washington DC. She holds a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University and a MLA in Art History from Harvard University. Donna has devoted a lifetime to the arts in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, holding directorial and curatorial positions in galleries, museums and the performing arts.

Alison Ferris, Assistant Director

Alison Ferris has joined the Maine Arts Commission as the new assistant director after 12 years as the curator of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art where she oversaw, alongside former director Katy Kline, the installation of the entire Bowdoin Museum of Art when it reopened in the fall of 2007.

Outside of her recent curatorial duties, Ferris was a key leader for the Maine Print Project in 2006, a statewide collaboration of 25 art institutions that organized exhibitions and educational programs celebrating 200 years of printmaking in Maine. She oversaw the production of the accompanying book, The Imprint of Place: Maine Printmaking 1800-2000 published by Down East books. Ferris has also published numerous essays in exhibition catalogues, journals and art magazines; she has also served as a panelist and juror all over the country. Before moving to Maine, Ferris worked in curatorial positions at two alternative art spaces: Film in the Cities in St. Paul, MN, and the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI.

Darrell Bulmer, Communication Associate

Darrell joined the Maine Arts Commission Staff in 2006. Originating from England, Darrell arrived in Maine after four years of studying Marketing Management at the University at Buffalo in New York. While at the university, Darrell earned prestigious awards, among them, the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key and the Adriana Ilyse Thaler Memorial Senior Award in Marketing, presented to the senior marketing student who best demonstrates academic excellence, leadership, marketing professionalism and personal motivation. During his time at the University of Buffalo, Darrell gained experience in the performing arts while interning in the Marketing/ Public Relations department at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, a Broadway theatre in Buffalo, NY. Prior to moving to the United States, Darrell worked in private sector management for six years. Darrell lives in Bowdoin, and enjoys theater and outdoor activities, such as canoeing, hiking, gardening and watching wildlife.

Paul Faria, Arts in Education Associate

Paul manages the Maine Arts Commission's Arts in Education programs. He joined the staff in January of 1989 and managed the Public Art and Percent for Art programs for twelve years. His current arts in education duties include providing resources, technical assistance, and advice to participants in the Arts in Education program, Artists in Maine Communities program, the Early StARTS program and Education Artists Directory. Paul also serves in an advisory capacity with the Arts are Basic Coalition (ABC), the Maine Alliance for Arts Education board of directors, the Maine Department of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Specialist and the New England Consortium of Artist-Educator Professionals (NECAP). Paul earned his BA in Art from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. His experience before joining the Maine Arts Commission staff includes graphic design, preservation, and conservation of fine art and a period of fifteen years in management in the private sector.

Kerstin Gilg, Media Arts and Performing Arts Associate

Kerstin Gilg joined the Maine Arts Commission in 2007 to oversee the agency Public Art programs with his chief responsibilities being to oversee the Percent for Art program and the Arts in the Capitol program. In 2009 Kerstin became the Media Arts and Performing Arts associate, with the mission to build two new programs to support both disciplines. Kerstin has a Masters Degree in Interactive Telecommunication from New York University’s Tisch School of the arts and a Bachelors Degree in Theater Arts from the University of Oregon. Kerstin came to Maine in 2005 after living in Santa Monica California, where he worked on theater, television, film and internet productions.

Keith Ludden, Community and Traditional Arts Associate

Keith joined the Maine Arts Commission staff in the summer of 2001, and formerly served as a News Producer/Reporter for Nebraska Public Radio. Keith is a Nebraska native, and a graduate in Liberal Arts from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Keith’s theater experience includes amateur roles in Lincoln, Nebraska, two years of summer repertory theater in Maryville, Missouri, and a playwright in residence stint at the Great Platte River Playwright’s Festival in Kearney, Nebraska. Keith received his MA in Intercultural and Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University and graduate training in theater history from the University of Nebraska. He conducted folk arts and oral history fieldwork projects in Kansas, Indiana and Nebraska.

Kathy Ann Shaw, Senior Development Associate & Accessibility Coordinator

Kathy Ann’s responsibilities at the Maine Arts Commission are two-fold: management and oversight of all agency grant programs and resource development to provide additional funds and opportunities for Maine's artists, arts organizations and communities. She assists program staff across artists disciplines with such programs of as the Artists in Maine Communities and special initiatives such the New Century Community Program and the Jobs for Healthy Maine Bond funds and grant programs. Kathy Ann staffs the Arts Development Committee and directs and manages the agency's extensive intern program. Kathy Ann served on the New Hampshire State Arts Council's Operating Support and the National Endowment for the Arts multi-disciplinary grant review panels. She holds a BA in Special Studies: Aesthetics, Art History and Philosophy from the University of Maine, Orono, and completed course work for an MA in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy Center for Museum Studies in San Francisco. After returning to Maine, she held the position of Assistant Development Director at the Portland Museum of Art, where she developed successful grant proposals and secured funding from the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and other corporate and foundation sources. Kathy Ann enjoys collecting wine and gardening at her home in Augusta where she lives with her husband and two Newfoundland dogs.

Lisa Veilleux, Administrative and Website Associate

Lisa joined the staff at the Maine Arts Commission in 1999. She provides planning and research work and direct management of the agencies website and other technological needs. In 2004, Lisa received a Silver Arrow Award from the Maine Public Relations Council for her role in the MaineArts.com campaign. Lisa has worked as a Tax Auditor for Maine Revenue Services and previously was office manager at Manchester Dental Associates for over six years. She serves on the State of Maine Web Coordinator Group and the State of Maine Webmaster Group. Lisa lives in Hallowell with her partner and two children. She enjoys traveling nationally and internationally, website design, hiking, boating, dry flower arranging and wreath-making.