Our Team

Meet the team that makes arts work

AFA Staff

Victoria Long

Operations / Program Manager

Victoria received a BFA from McMaster University. After graduating she worked for the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts (HCA) supporting the Education and Visual Arts department. She is an original faculty member of the HCA Children’s Arts Exploration Program and Culture for Kids in the Arts (now Arts For All) Mentorship program which together introduced over 55,000 children from regional and local school boards to visual arts, dance, drama and music during her practice as a visual arts instructor from 1998 – 2010. Currently, Victoria is the Program Manager for Arts For All, the charitable organization of the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts, dedicated to providing access to arts programming for all children and youth in the greater Hamilton region. In her role at AFA, she supports the City of Hamilton Early Years and Youth Service Agency Network. Victoria has received recognition from the Industry Education Council Hamilton, 2010, accepted a YMCA Peace Medallion in 2011 on behalf of AFA, and received the City of Hamilton Arts Education Award in 2013.

Harold Sikkema

Communications and Branding / Artist-Educator

Harold Sikkema is a new media artist, working with photography and code. He is a Professor in the Interaction Design program at Sheridan College. Harold is energized by the creation of lightbulb moments together with young people at the nexus of arts and technology.

Jane Allison

Community and Marketing Counsel

Jane Allison is an award-winning community advocate and communications professional and is the principal of Dovetail Community, a firm devoted to counselling, connecting and mentoring organizations about community impact and development, as well as media relations coaching and PR/communications strategies. She is part of the extended team of Arts For All, providing counsel and planning in marketing and community building. Jane was the Manager of Community Partnerships at The Hamilton Spectator for more than 11 years, after being at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board for almost nine years in the role of Public Relations Officer. In her role at The Hamilton Spectator, she connected the paper’s organizational goals with the community’s needs and planned programs and partnerships to further mutual goals, working with more than 100 local organizations each year. Jane is an accredited PR practitioner through the APR designation, has been inducted into the College of Fellows for the Canadian Public Relations Society, and has been named a CPRS Diamond Jubilee Mentor of the Year. She is a graduate of the University of Guelph and Humber College.

Alice Boratto

Executive Assistant to the Artistic/Executive Director

Alice received a bachelor’s degrees in International Relations and she used to live and work in Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy before coming to Canada. Throughout her carrier, she worked in small, through medium-sized and large business companies as Executive Assistant and Change Manager. Her professional profile focuses on administrative duties, office management and project supervision and she is greatly passionate for Arts. She is now working as executive assistant to the Executive and Artistic Director of Arts For All.

Charlie Star

Program Coordinator / Administrator

Charlie brings a decade of experience working as a visual artist and arts educator. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing & Painting from OCAD University, she has had the pleasure and privilege of travelling internationally to participate in art studies and residencies, and is now expanding her focus to programming, program coordination and administration with AFA. With a fine eye for detail and a passion for a job well done, Charlie brings great enthusiasm for connecting and supporting others. Charlie currently works as an arts instructor at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts and serves with the New Committee at the Hamilton Artist Inc.

Clover Thursday

Design / Artist Educator

Clover Thursday is an emerging Hamilton and GTA based illustrator, designer. and community artist. With a Bachalor in Design (Illustration) from OCAD University. Mainly working in the digital space, her variety of work explores themes such as identity, representation, accessibility and celebrating lesser heard voices and how it leads to powerful solutions. She focuses on the importance of self expression and story-telling and carries this through her practice and educating. She is currently supporting Arts For All as an artist educator as well the current communications designer.

Setareh Masoumbeiki

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Advisor

Setareh has been working with socially-excluded children and women for the last ten years using different art mediums such as interactive theatre, drama and storytelling in search of social justice, harmony and inclusiveness. Having completed a Masters degree in Education from Oxford University, Setareh has worked with undocumented children in Iran, street children in Cambodia and refugee teenagers in the UK, trying to establish creative ways to transcend prejudice and raise critical consciousness. She is currently supporting Arts for All as an artist educator.

Devon Savas

Social Media Coordinator / Program Support

Devon Savas is an active musician, freelancer, composer/arranger, multi-instrumentalist, producer & educator based out of Hamilton, Ontario. Through an upbringing of musicality & creativity from his family & peers alike, he chose to solidify his passion into a trajectory by immersing himself into a wealth of opportunity within and outside of his postsecondary regiment. Upon completing an Advanced Diploma in Music at Mohawk College, followed by a recent Bachelor’s Degree in Music at Humber College (both as a bass major), Devon served a variety of freelance work & musical duties (Ellis, Leith Ross, Burs, self, etc) in conjunction with his work for AFA. He is honoured to have served as an educator for the Conservatory, is currently enthused to continue said partnership as a Communications Coordinator, and looks forward to what the future will hold!

Vince Soliveri

Digital Content Developer

Since 2014, Vince has been delicately crafting his skill as a producer, recording engineer and mixer. After receiving his diploma from Recording Arts Canada at the top of his graduating class, he started recording local artists at his DIY home studio located in Hamilton, ON. Since then, Vince has had the opportunity to work with artists such as The Dirty Nil, Respire and Brat Poison, amongst others. In addition to his involvement in the Ontario music scene, Vince graduated from the Social Service Work program at Mohawk College in 2018. Vince has always and continues to pursue the arts through a progressive social lens. Vince remains passionate about creating and fostering barrier-free access to music and the arts.