Executive Director

Monica Miller
director@gallery-one.org

Monica Miller has worked with arts organizations for over 20 years in fundraising, grants management and professional development for artists. Monica’s primary responsibility is to ensure that Gallery One is relevant to the community it serves. One of her favorite parts of her role is as the co-curator with Renee Adams. Together, they strive to create a dynamic exhibition schedule that represents different voices, skill levels, and that ultimately creates community connections. Before moving to Ellensburg from Seattle, she oversaw artist grants and professional development at Artist Trust and was a member of SOIL, an artist collective. She also had a brief stint as the Fremont Solstice Parade Director. Monica considers her major accomplishment the advocacy of percent for art program with the Ellensburg Arts Commission, but is a daily advocate for artists. She holds a BA from the College of William and Mary and an MA from Johns Hopkins University in Museum Studies. She once set out to be a professional potter but continues to dabble in clay at Gallery One’s ceramics studio.

Exhibition and Publicity Coordinator

Renee Adams
renee@gallery-one.org

In tandem with her position at Gallery One, Renee Adams fosters her own creative studio practice. She is a board member and helped found PUNCH Projects, formerly PUNCH Gallery in Seattle. As a three-time Artist Trust GAP Grant recipient, a 2021 McMillen Foundation Fellow, and curator for ArtWA Art in Public Place Program, she remains active in the regional art scene. Renee received her MFA from Central Washington University in 1999. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling, and exploring the wilds with boots and skis.

CWU Work Study / Ceramic Tech

Kendall Ryan

Kendall is a CWU student majoring in psychology and minoring in ceramics, which is her true love when it comes to making art. Her favorite things to create are hand built vessels of any kind. When she’s not at work or in the studio, she loves to bake, watch documentaries, be out in nature, and spend time with her fiancée and their cat.

Retail & Events Manager

Sarah Haven
sarah@gallery-one.org

As the Retail & Events Manager, Sarah Haven’s primary role beyond creating product displays and managing the inventory, is to cultivate and maintain relationships with artist vendors.  She travels the Northwest attending craft shows and visiting artists in their homes and studios.  As a ceramic artist, she also teaches adult handbuilding and wheelthrowing classes at Gallery One.  Sarah came to Washington after completing her BFA at Ohio State University. After earning her MFA at Central Washington University, Sarah was fortunate to step into the role of visiting professor and run the ceramics program at CWU for 3 years.  As a community member, Sarah served on the board of the Ellensburg Film Festival for five years during which time she was awarded the Promising Arts Leader by the Laughing Horse Arts Foundation in 2010. Sarah was an artist member of Punch Gallery in Seattle for two years and a member of the Culture Lab artist collective, a countrywide group that shows nationally and internationally, from 2009-2014.  She also co-founded the Ellensburg Downtown Community Garden and remains and active member.

Visitor Services Assistant

Clay Maer
clay@gallery-one.org

Clay Maer is delighted to continue her lifetime of connection with the arts and artists in her position with Gallery One. Her education focused on Art History/English, BA, Liberal Arts, University of St. Thomas, Houston followed by years with nonprofit organizations and a certification in nonprofit management.  Working with Shakespeare at Winedale at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin Children’s Museum, Denver Center for the Performing Arts and most recently, Allied Arts of Yakima Valley, brought opportunities to learn from directors whose vision and tenacity made possible celebrations and support for Art: visual, literary and performing. She enjoys watching Washington’s changing seasons, reading the next good book and being with her children and grandchildren.

Community School of the Arts Coordinator

Amy Davison
amy@gallery-one.org

Amy Davison is an active participant in the performing arts as well as the visual arts in Ellensburg, performing music in a community band, as well as teaching art to young artists, and performing with community there on stage or in the orchestra pit.  She enjoys the community outreach that is a part of the Education Coordinators position including helping with our local Kittitas Early Learning Coalition STREAM Events for birth to 5 year olds. She grew her passion for teaching during a year of co teaching home school preschool with a friend for their daughters and then moving into a teaching position here at Gallery One the following fall. Amy grew up in Moses Lake, Wa and moved to Ellensburg to attend Central Washington University where she earned a BA in Graphic Design.  She enjoys reading a good book, baking fancy cakes and cookies for friends and family, and learning new art techniques.

Ceramics Studio Manager & Resident Artist

Crista Ann Ames
crista@gallery-one.org

Crista attended Washington State University where she obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ceramics with a minor in Art History and Disability Studies. After receiving her BFA, Crista attended Utah State University for Post Baccalaureate studies in Ceramics. While receiving her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana Crista began studio dance and movement to help inform the way she sculpts the figure. She has been an artist in residence at A.I.R. Valluaris in France, Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center in Denmark, the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Santa Fe Art Institute, and Red Lodge Clay Center. Crista is currently an artist in residence at Gallery One Visual Arts Center.

Community School of the Arts Instructors

Becky Parmenter
Kathy Guss

Volunteers

Marte Fallshore
Kassandra Eller
Ed Bliss
Mary Tosch

Accounting Specialist

Dina Yook
dina@gallery-one.org