The AEA Steering Committee oversees the broad agenda and actions of the coalition. It sets priorities, evaluates opportunities and needs, and develops plans to achieve the objectives.

• A list of current steering committee team members is HERE. 

This group of arts education advocates (artists, arts orgs, parents, teachers, business and community members) organize community resources and initiate messaging to build public will for arts education. The Advocacy Team offers presentations for parent and community groups, as well as consultations with schools and school districts. If you are interested in learning more or might like to join the Advocacy Group, contact debbie.yarrow@sonoma-county.org.

 The current focus of this group is to connect with parents to share the importance of the arts in children’s lives.

• A list of current advocacy team members is HERE. 

Education leaders meet monthly to develop and organize curriculum, lessons, and strategies in arts integration, social emotional learning, and distance learning.

• A list of Working Group members is HERE. 

Through this working group, several cohorts of leaders in local arts education have been created:  school and district administrative teams, education leaders from arts organizations, and a cohort of community advocates that completed an AEA mini-course in arts education support.

• Examples of local community advocate coalitions are Creative Bridges in Sonoma Valley.
• A list of the 2020 and 2022 Leadership Development Cohort can be found HERE
• A list of the Planning Committee can be found HERE

The AEA provides consultation and offers presentations to school, district, parent, and community groups about options to financially support and sustain arts programming in the schools. 

• Learn about creating sustainable funding for arts in the schools through the Local Control Funding Formula and Title Funding. An example of this work can be found in this AEA June 2020 Webinar found HERE.
• For general information on local funding and other resources, explore more HERE.

Under the leadership of Elizabeth Robertson and Erik Ohlson, the AEA gathered a cohort of individuals who coordinate, organize, and support arts education opportunities in schools across the county. The cohort met four times in 2022 and will continue its work and into School Year 2022-23. The cohort welcomes new participants! Contact Elizabeth Robertson erobertson@wusd.org for more information.

A list of the cohort can be found HERE. 

The Sonoma County Arts Education Alliance has established Youth Arts Leaders to lift students into positions of leadership with their stories, their voices. YAL provides infrastructure to lift up new student leaders. A first cohort of high school students in the arts received training in areas that support advocacy and are available to present to community and school group about the impact of the arts on students. YAL represent different arts disciplines and geographic locations of the county.

To learn more about the program and presentations by YAL, visit HERE

To have a Youth Arts Leader speak to your organization or group or if you are interested in providing similar training to a group of students, contact debbie.yarrow@sonoma-county.org