Douglas Dale is a textile artist and member of the first ACC Emerging Artists Cohort in 2021, now working as Associate Director at Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis, MO. Their work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, collaborating with Fiber Art Now, The American Craft Council, Craft Alliance, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts California, The Galesburg Civic Art Center, The North Dakota Museum of Art, The Center for the Visual Arts of Wausau Wisconsin, Blue Line Arts, The Missouri Arts Council, Lambert International Airport, and the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

Ayumi Horie is a full-time studio potter in Portland, Maine. She is recognized as a leader in craft, through her work pushing the ceramics field to be more expansive and politically engaged. She has won numerous honors including a Distinguished Fellow in Craft grant from United States Artists in 2015 and an Honorary Member of NCECA in 2020 for her contribution to the field. Horie’s work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Museum of Art and Design and the Farnsworth Art Museum. Horie is currently Board President at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Rachel Saul Rearick has a demonstrated commitment to creating inclusive spaces in the arts, with a career that has focused on building public and private partnerships in ways that leverage support for the advancement of individual artists.

Rachel rejoined Contemporary Craft in 2021 as the Executive Director, having served years ago as the Assistant Director for Education. Her strategic focus is on the artistic merit of the exhibitions; while also increasing opportunities for artists to engage in both the studios and retail components of the organization. In addition, Rachel is an Adjunct Faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching in the Masters of Arts Management program.

Previously, Rachel served as the Arts and Culture Manager for Allegheny County Airport Authority; the Arts, Culture, and History Specialist for the City of Pittsburgh and; was Co-Founder of KuratedPgh, a retail gallery that focused on fine art and functional craft. She is Board President at the Office for Public Art, sits on the Art Advisory Committee for the Sports and Exhibition Authority and is an active member of both the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Print Group. Rachel holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Gannon University and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Edinboro University with a Minor in Art History.

Katie Johnson, associate director of Creative Business Accelerator, has more than 15 years of experience in diverse creative business and nonprofit leadership roles. She comes to her current role as associate director of Bridgeway Capital’s Creative Business Accelerator from Braddock Tiles, where she was the director of a no-profit workforce development project that produced small-batch architectural tiles with youth to teach job readiness skills.

Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith is ACC’s Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships and specializes in craft entrepreneurship and creative economies. She has worked with both rural and urban communities, teaching her professional development and creative entrepreneurship workshops across the country over the last 27 years. Gwynne believes in helping artists and small business owners expand their markets and create sustainable businesses, and in the power of a strong craft ecology.