ArtsFairfax Board Of Directors Names Michael Liberman As Board Chair

ArtsFairfax, the local arts agency serving Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the City of Falls Church with vital funding, resources, and professional development, has named new members and new officers to its Board of Directors, including Michael Liberman as Board Chair.

“The opportunity to lead as ArtsFairfax Board Chair is the culmination of a decades-long commitment to serve the residents of Fairfax County. My personal and professional life is shaped by my own artistic practice, and I will guide this extraordinary board in a united effort to promote arts engagement in Fairfax,” says Michael Liberman, Board Chair of ArtsFairfax.

A former Fairfax County employee for over 33 years, Liberman retired as the Director of Fairfax County Department of Cable and Consumer Services and Chair of the County Arts Committee in 2022. In addition to his board service for ArtsFairfax, Liberman currently serves on the Fairfax County Public Art Master Arts Plan Task Force and the Board of Directors for Celebrate Fairfax. 

In addition to Liberman, the newly elected Executive Committee includes Leila Gordon as Vice Chair, Julie Carter as Secretary, and Amy Ginn as Treasurer.

Also for FY2026, four civic leaders join the nonprofit board: David Metnick, Managing Director, Accenture; BeBe Nguyen, Executive Director, Reston Community Center; Jay Townsend, Art Director for Photography, Leidos, Inc; Vance Zavela, Fort Belvoir Liaison, Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives.

ArtsFairfax serves the local arts sector in three core areas:

• Funding the arts through advocacy and grantmaking with three major grant programs funded by the County in the categories of general operating support, project support, and ticket and participation subsidy.

• Connecting arts workers to free professional development resources, including skills learning and workshops, job listings, artist calls, and award opportunities.
   
• Cultivating audiences through arts and culture promotion via its online events calendar, arts directory, public art locator, and through partnerships with Capital One Hall, Springfield Town Center, and other civic organizations.

David Metnick

serves as a Managing Director in Accenture's Health and Public Service sector across the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Metnick has led the North America Higher Education Management Consulting Practice, the North America Public Sector Talent & Organization Practice, and served as the executive sponsor for Accenture's Education employee resource group. Additionally, he has contributed to the North America Health and Public Service Management Consulting Development Program and global talent and organization capability development. Metnick has served clients in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  He is also a member of Accenture's Diamond Leadership Council, Global Leadership Council, and Metro DC Office Leadership Council.

Metnick is a proud sponsor of the Arolsen Archives - International Center on Nazi Persecution: Every Name Counts initiative (Accenture's 360⁰ Value 2022 Global Winner, recognized by Fast Company for innovation); Accenture's collaboration with the Student Freedom Initiative; and is Accenture's executive sponsor for The Greater Washington Apprenticeship Network. He is a member of the Lead Virginia Class of 2023, Northern Virginia Curriculum Committee, and Board of Directors. Metnick earned a bachelor's degree in business from The George Washington University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife and daughter.

BeBe Nguyen

is the Executive Director at Reston Community Center (RCC), a CAPRA-accredited agency in Fairfax County, VA, where over a quarter of a million people encounter their 2,000+ programs, events, and activities each year. Originally from Vietnam, Nguyen immigrated to the United States in 1982 and has lived in Fairfax County for more than 30 years. Prior to joining RCC in 2007, Nguyen worked for ExxonMobil as part of their communications team for 11 years.

Nguyen currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and as a mentor for the Leadership Fairfax Institute Emerging Leaders Program. She served on Sharon Bulova's Fairfax County Chairman's Stakeholders Council on Race; lectured on immigration issues at GMU Honors College; and was a panelist for The National Park Service Power of Parks for Health Roundtable to address outdoor access and participation for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. In 2021, she served as the keynote speaker for Arlington County's AAPI Heritage Month Proclamation Celebration. Among her many professional affiliations, Nguyen has long been a member of the National Recreation and Park Association and the Virginia Recreation and Park Society. Nguyen holds a master's degree in public administration from the George Mason Schar School of Policy and Government and a bachelor's degree in international affairs from Georgetown University. She is a 2014 Leadership Fairfax Inc. graduate.

Jay Townsend

is Art Director for Photography and part of the Communications and Marketing team for Leidos. A Mason District resident since 1998, Townsend and his wife earned B.F.A. degrees from the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design and are active participants in the DC Metro arts scene. His wife runs a small arts consulting business, Distinct Studios LLC, which provides a range of services to area artists. Together, they show their own works, organize exhibitions of works by others, acquire works by area artists, and loan works from their collection for exhibitions at local venues such as the Athenaeum, Kreeger Museum, and Kazten Arts Center.

Previously, Townsend spent over 25 years as a consultant, offering his art, design, and marketing experience to commercial publishers, nonprofit organizations, and local businesses. Former clients include cultural organizations like Artomatic, CulturalDC, Source DC (including the Source Festival), Flashpoint Gallery, Mead Theatre Lab, and the Capital Fringe Festival, as well as commercial clients including Pearson Education, Que Publishing, PN Hoffman, Bernstein Management Corporation, Lerner, Madison Investments, Snead Construction, Compass Real Estate, UrbanTurf, EYA, and StonebridgeCarras.  

Vance Zavela

currently serves as Fairfax County's first Fort Belvoir Liaison for the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives. From August 2008 until July 2019, he served as a Partnership Developer for the Fairfax County Office of Public Private Partnerships. Previously, he was Advisory Council Manager for the Fairfax County Office of Partnerships.

Central Virginia Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE LIGHTNING THIEF (The Hurrah Players)

7.4% of votes

2. RIDE THE CYCLONE (Little Theatre of Norfolk)

6.3% of votes

3. THE COLOR PURPLE (Little Town Players)

5.6% of votes

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