We are the staff that sustains ACA's vision for the residency field.

Mary-Kim Arnold | Interim President + CEO

A resident of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Mary-Kim is a writer and artist with an active practice and more than two decades of administrative leadership experience in the arts, humanities, and education. Most recently, Mary-Kim served as Dean of the Faculty & Academic Affairs at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), overseeing the college’s six graduate programs. For six years prior, she taught creative and critical writing in the Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown University. With experience in creative nonfiction, poetry, and cultural criticism, Mary-Kim has also taught at Wheaton College, Temple University, Rhode Island School of Design, and in the Newport MFA at Salve Regina University.

Rashad T. Bailey | Director of Development + Partnerships

[Coming soon!]

Ellena Basada | Communications Manager

Ellena Basada is a writer and editor from Oregon based in New York City. A 2024 Periplus Fellow and 2019 Fulbright Scholar in Berlin, she holds an MA in Critical Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her work has supported a range of nonprofit arts organizations, including the Oregon Institute for Creative Research, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Vermont Studio Center, and Hopscotch Reading Room. In addition to editing books for Fonograf Editions, she writes criticism for publications such as BOMB and the Los Angeles Review of Books and practices yoga daily. 

Jessica P. Hoos | Special Projects Manager

Jessica is an interdisciplinary artist and arts worker based in Providence, Rhode Island. When she’s not in the studio shaping clay, she’s thinking about the role of attention, repetition, and community in sustaining creative practice across mediums. She holds an MA in Public Humanities from Brown University and has worked at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is interested in the public life of art and the infrastructures that support it.

Antonio Necuze | Managing Director of Finance + Operations

A resident of Miami, Antonio comes to ACA as a Finance executive with more than 17 years-experience leading high performance teams in the non-profit + arts communities. Antonio opened the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts where he served as their Accounting Director. After a decade in that role, he moved to the New World Symphony, where as their Financial Controller. He also worked as the Senior Vice President at Big Brothers Big Sisters overseeing Finance, HR, and Operations. Currently, Antonio serves as President of A&M Business Consultants, a consulting company that helps small to mid-size non-profits with their financial and operational needs. Antonio holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting from Florida International University.

Claudia Nolan | Manager, Partnerships

Claudia is a dramaturg, producer, and arts administrator who focuses on new play development, cross-cultural fairytales and mythology, and sustainable theater-making. She is a co-founder of the Re/Emergence Collective, which creates community-centered, devised theater in western Massachusetts. Claudia received her MFA at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has worked at Geva Theatre, HERE, McCarter Theatre, MuCCC, New Georges, and Premiere Stages. She currently resides in Rochester, NY.

Flannery Patton | Director, Engagement + Outreach

Flannery joined the Alliance in 2011. She worked previously as a Development Associate at Rhode Island Public Radio, as a Research Coordinator in the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University, as a Life Skills and Computer Literacy Teacher at the Rhode Island International Institute, as a public programs producer for the National Park Service, and as an English teacher and Curriculum Developer at Open Book in Denver, CO. Flannery also worked as Program Coordinator for Greater Kennedy Plaza, a non-profit offering art and culture programming in downtown Providence; and coordinated monthly art activities for The Hive Archive, a feminist art collective. Originally from Colorado, she came to Providence in 2003 for college; she has a BA in psychology and a BA in art history from Brown University. 

Kimba King | Human Resources

Kimba King is the Senior Director of Human Resources at the Adrienne Arsht Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the country. Joining the Center in 2005, Kimba manages employee relations, workers' compensation, and benefits for more than 100 full-time staff. She is also responsible for recruiting talent for a variety of positions at the Arsht Center, from administrative, customer service, and marketing to specialized production staff and fundraising. Kimba has served as the Arsht Center's liaison with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami, leading the School-to-Work program since its inception in 2011. She also co-developed the first registered Technical Theatre Apprentice program in Florida. Before joining the Center, Kimba's experience included working at the Collins Center for Public Policy and the Box Music Network. Kimba is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the National Performing Arts Center Consortium – Human Resources Group.