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Staff
Sarah Lentini
Sarah Lentini took office as the President & CEO of the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester in June 2000. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Sarah has 20 years of experience in business, education, and non-profit management. She has expertise in designing and managing community initiatives in partnership with government, business, human services, and education. She most recently held the position of Director, Planning & Development, for United Way of Greater Rochester. Locally, Sarah has been Senior Analyst for Monroe County's Department of Planning and Economic Development and Senior Community Housing Planner for the City of Rochester's Department of Community Development. She has also taught English and mathematics, and worked as an Executive Search Consultant. She writes poetry and short stories.
Leah Buttery
Leah Buttery is the Administrative Assistant for the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. Among other duties, Leah is responsible for Arts E-News, the Council’s biweekly email newsletter and she is also the staff contact for the online Regional Events Calendar. She is a graduate of the University of Rochester with a degree in English Literature, having also studied fine arts and film. With a diverse background in creative disciplines, Leah appreciates and participates in many artistic persuasions. Before coming to the Arts & Cultural Council, Leah was employed for four years at a veterinary practice, four years at a creatively-based jewelry and gift boutique, and enjoyed the opportunity to serve as an assistant librarian at the Charlotte Whitney Allen Library of the Memorial Art Gallery as a UR student. Her other interests include horseback riding, cooking, animal rescue and knitting.
Michael Futter
Michael Futter, Director of Development and Grant Programs, joined the Arts and Cultural Council in June 2004. Michael’s duties include coordination of the Community Arts Grants (Decentralization Grants and Capacity Building Grants), Strategic Opportunity Stipends, Culture Builds Communities Grants, Education through the Arts Grants, membership campaigns for Individual Artists, Arts Organizations, Arts-Related Businesses, and Supporting Individuals/Businesses. He is also responsible for the Arts and Cultural Council’s fundraising efforts. Michael earned his bachelor degrees in Theatre and Marketing from the University of Richmond. He also holds an MA and MBA in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati. While living in Cincinnati, Ohio, Michael held positions as Operations Manager of the Linton Chamber Music Series and Managing Director of Theatre IV. He also worked closely with the Fine Arts Fund, the nation’s oldest and largest United Arts Fund.
Gerard Gombatto
Gerard Gombatto joined the Arts & Cultural Council as Marketing and Communications Manager in January 2008. His duties include the coordination of various special events and management of the company’s communication tools such as the website and the quarterly publication Metropolitan. A native of Rochester (Town of Greece), Gerard decided to pursue a career in arts administration after training as an opera singer for over 8 years, both in the US and Italy. He recently returned to the area from St. Louis, MO, where for nearly five years he served as Development Officer and Volunteer Coordinator for one of the nation’s leading opera festivals, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He earned a bachelors degree in Music from Ithaca College and studied vocal performance at New England Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory.
Tracy Kroft
Tracy Kroft joined the Arts & Cultural Council in May of 2007 and in July was promoted to the position of Grants Manager. Previously, Tracy worked for nine years at Barnes & Noble as Administrative Assistant to the District Manager, working especially with customer service and community relations. She also worked as the editorial assistant to a principal investigator at the University of Rochester. She has a degree in liberal arts. An avid supporter of local musicians and musical venues, she is a member of two choirs, writes a music “blog,” is trying to learn to play the guitar (currently having mastered two chords) and continues working on her singing skills. Tracy is a Rochester native, proud mom of one high-school aged daughter and one college-aged son, and is owned by one yellow Labrador retriever.
Diane Lewis
Diane Lewis joined the Arts & Cultural Council as Executive Assistant to the President and CEO on January 2, 2007. She recently retired from Eastman Kodak Company after a long and successful career. She was a founding member of the Kodak News, Education, & Communication Team which schedules events to promote personal development, education, and communication for the business support community at Kodak worldwide. Most of her career was in the Research & Development area where she enjoyed her executive assistant duties along with helping to form and contribute to a cultural activities team and an administrative process improvement team. She is native of the area and enjoys the rich arts and cultural offerings in the Rochester area. She is a craftswoman who enjoys quilting, knitting and basket weaving and is a member and officer of the Finger Lakes Basket Weavers Guild.
Heidi Quinlivan
Heidi Quinlivan, Finance Manager, is responsible for finance and benefits administration, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, generation of financial reports, annual audit, and employee payroll and benefits as well as health insurance for members. Heidi earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the State University of New York, College at Geneseo in Elementary Education with a concentration in Fine Arts and attended Monroe Community College for accounting. She has honed her skills at a diverse collection of companies including: Center for Learning Assessment and School Structure, Kirtas Technology, and Infotonics Technology Center. Heidi has significant on-the-job experience in all areas of business operations and she considers herself fortunate to have worked with some very talented and unique people. Rochester is the Quinlivans’ adopted city, and Heidi and her husband John have lived here most of their adult lives. They consider themselves fortunate to live in an area very rich in the arts. Heidi enjoys walking, reading, poetry writing, dance, and spending time with her family.
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This
site is supported by funding from JP Morgan Chase;
State of New York Grants secured by Senator James
S. Alesi, Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle, and Senator
Joseph E. Robach; and the New York State Council
on the Arts