Veteran Program Steering Committee
Path with Art’s Veteran Steering Committee is composed of veterans and community members who work with veterans. The Steering Committee works to develop strategies and tactics to reach low-income veterans and to provide veteran-only art engagement opportunities to support their path to recovery.
laura aguilar
Pathfinder for Veterans of Color AT EL CENTRO DE LA RAZA
Laura Aguilar is originally from Michoacán, Mexico but grew up in Wenatchee, WA. Laura has always loved working in social services and has five years of experience working with the homeless population in King County, including displaced Veterans. She has used her trauma informed practices and motivational interviewing skills to shape the spaces she works in. When she is not out in the field working, she enjoys hiking with her partner in crime, Blue. A few of Laura’s hobbies include attending live concerts and festivals, watching documentaries and spending time outdoors. Laura is working on receiving her Bachelor’s in Behavioral Sciences and wishes to pursue a career as a Social Worker upon completion.
riishaar baker
Pathfinder for Veterans of Color AT EL CENTRO DE LA RAZA
Riishaar is a Veteran Pathfinder with the Veterans Program at El Centro de la Raza (funding provided by the King County Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL). Riishaar’s role as Pathfinder at “El Centro” is to provide Veterans (with a focus on Veterans of Color residing in King County) with culturally competent life affirming resources and support.
Prior to coming back to the Seattle area to be closer to his parents, Riishaar previously owned and operated a successful real estate and contracting company in New York. This success allowed Riishaar the ability to provide operating capital and logistical support for “The Fearless Artist / Fearless Artist Media (a boutique art agency formed in 2011)”. Fearless Artist Media, which Riishaar co-founded, produces art events during Art Basel+Miami Beach and art centered events throughout New York City while providing emerging and mid-career artists with the administrative, marketing, and technical support they need to distinguish themselves, create an audience/marketplace for their work, and ultimately learn the tools and skills necessary for long-term success.
Riishaar is a lover of music and enjoys cooking, camping and cycling in his spare time. Please email rbaker@elcentrodelaraza.org or go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/riishaarbaker/ to contact Riishaar.
jackie delacruz
education consultant, wellenss coach, us air force veteran
Jackie DeLaCruz is an Education & Training Consultant, Certified Mediator and Peacemaking Circle Keeper. As an educator and advocate she creates training that lifts barriers between people and opens fresh possibilities for connection, collaboration, and understanding. This approach allows participants to communicate in honest and authentic ways establishing trust and building positive relationships. By building trust and relationships community members are more inclined to identify issues and solidify actions plans in a more harmonious and beneficial manner. As a Wellness Coach, she helps people make positive and lasting changes to their mental, physical, and spiritual health through holistic mindfulness practices Jackie is a veteran of the United States Air Force. She started her military career as an electrician with the 60th Civil Engineering Squadron. She later earned a special assignment as an instructor at the Non-commissioned Officer Leadership School. Her last years in the Air Force were as a C5 Crew Chief. She is a recipient of the Commandant’s Award and Airman of the Year for Travis AFB, CA.
melodie clarke
path with art student, us army veteran
My name is Melodie Clarke. I’m originally from R.I. I lived in various states across the country before moving to this area in 2007. I was in the U. S. Army in 1978.
I have been involved with Path With Art for about six or seven years. It has helped my life immensely. I have suffered from PTSD and depression and was in a domestic violence situation. Path With Art has been my rock throughout this time. It has saved my mind. It has helped me to become more confident in myself and to to take command of the stage when I am performing upon it.
Path With Art has opened up opportunities for me like becoming a Student Ambassador and a member of the Veterans Steering Committee. I have been able to perform with the Seattle Opera which was a dream come true. I have taken classes in writing, choir, found fashion, Shakespearean acting and improve. Path With Art has been an inspiration in my life and has saved my mental health.
BRENDA MALTZ
Veteran Community Arts Liaison, Military Spouse
Brenda Maltz, M.A. ATR-BC is a military spouse and a member of the NEA-Creative Forces Military Healing Arts Network, supported by the Henry Jackson Foundation. She received her Master’s Degree in Counseling and Art Therapy at Antioch University Seattle and established the art therapy program at the Intrepid Spirit Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD on Joint Base Lewis McChord in 2017. Brenda serves as the Veteran Community Arts Liaison to extend arts programs to active duty military and Veterans across Washington.
Trina mcdonald
VETERAN OUTREACH ASSOCIATE, US NAVY VETERAN
Trina McDonald lives in Puyallup, WA and served in the US Navy from 1988-1990. She was one of the subjects of the award-winning documentary The Invisible War, which focused on the crisis of sexual assault in the military. Trina worked as a Chemical Dependency Counselor in high risk communities including the justice system before her PTSD prevented her from continuing her career in Behavioral Science. Currently she is the Senior Outreach Associate with Minority Veterans of America based out of Seattle. MVA’s People 2 People program addresses the underserved veteran population including LGBTQ, womxn, people of color and homeless. She continues working as an advocate for Suicide Prevention and Reduction of Sexual Violence in the Veteran population. Some media appearances include; CNN with Jake Tapper, The Washington Post, PBS, NPR, LA Times and Democracy Now!
RYAN MIELCAREK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF VETERAN RITES, path with art creative mentor, US NAVY VETERAN
Ryan Mielcarek grew up in the shadows of the Las Vegas Strip and never once dreamed of claiming his belonging in the wilderness, let alone enlisting for three tours to Iraq with the US Navy Seabees after a less than exemplary stint at college at Marquette. After Hurricane Katrina reclaimed his home while stationed in Gulfport, MS he landed in Seattle where for ten years remained in mission mode volunteering for any and all veterans service organizations to feel a sense of self worth and hide from his shadows. In 2017 he was initiated at the first Rite of Return ceremony where he learned to take a walk without an objective and has since dedicated his life to bringing all veterans the warrior’s true welcome home. Work and training in the veteran space has included The Seattle Stand Down, The King County Veterans Consortium, The Mission Continues, ASIST, Seattle Repertory Theater Public Works, the Growing Veterans Peer Support Program, and the WDVA Veteran Peer Corps Mentor program. He received an MPA from Seattle University focused on increasing federal investment for Native American and Alaskan Native military veterans while working on the Mayor’s Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness at HUD. He has deployed to Colombia for international disaster relief with ShelterBox, and none of this comes close the magic of sitting with his brothers and sisters in circle. Ryan participated in The Falling and the Rising Opera and has volunteered as a Path with Art Creative Mentor.
Domenico (Nic) Minotti
Retired physician, US Army veteran
Nic came to Path with Art as a member of the Veterans’ choir in 2018 participating in the Seattle Opera production of “The Rising and The Falling”. Nic studied in Italy on a Fulbright grant in the 60’s and came to Seattle in 1976 with a background in education and social work (Columbia) and medicine (Georgetown). In Seattle he was chief of Primary Care at the US Public Health Service Hospital, now Pacific Medical Center. Later he completed fellowship training at the University of Washington specializing in Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and completed his MPH.
A veteran of the US Army, he served with the Medical Corps for Desert Storm in 1990. He retired from both medical and military careers in 2003. In retirement, he has been instrumental in creating and supporting the Integrated Primary Care clinic at Navos Mental Health and received the Mental Health Leadership Award for Chairing the Major Gifts Committee. He also received the Positive Aging Inspire Award from Sound Generations for Inter-generational Impact for his work with young people, tutoring students with special needs individually and with the Compass program at Seattle Central College.
He volunteered as registrar for many years with the Youth Music Program at St. James Cathedral where he still sings in the choir and is the choir librarian. He has served as Secretary and President on the Homeowners’ Associations of the two First Hill condominiums where he has lived.
He is on the board of directors of the Gay City Health Project, Opus 7 Choral Ensemble, and the Dante Alighieri Society for which he has prepared many talks on Italian culture and history. His interests are music, travel and gardening on his mini deck and for friends. He is committed to the integration of behavioral, physical and spiritual health and is eager to serve on the Program Advisory Board of Path with Art.
Michelle Murray
Path with ARt Participant Artist, US Army Veteran
Michelle Murray is a US Army veteran from Detroit, Michigan who has called the PNW home since 1992. She is a former funeral director AND current hospice volunteer and after care provider. Michelle is a published writer, budding violinist, and outdoor photographer. She shares her home with her "little" dog Sakkara, an English Mastiff, and her betta Bob.
andrew nicholLs
LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER, US ARMY RESERVE VETERAN
Mr. Nicholls earned his BA in Psychology at University of California, Los Angeles, and received his Masters of Social Work from the University of Southern California. He specializes in working with survivors of trauma, persons with chronic mental illness and substance use disorders, as well as crisis intervention as a licensed clinical social worker. Prior to pursuing higher education, Mr. Nicholls spent over 9 years in the US Army Reserve as a Civil Affairs Specialist, Team Leader, and Korean linguist. He was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and is a combat veteran. Currently, he works as a research social worker at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s NW MIRECC.
Mr. Nicholls is actively involved with several veterans groups and nonprofits in the greater Puget Sound including Minority Veterans of America, Veterans Rites, IAVA, and the King County Veterans Consortium. He is on the steering committees for the Forefront Suicide Prevention “Safer Homes, Suicide Aware” initiative at the University of Washington School of Social Work and Path with Art’s Veterans Initiative. He and his wife have two young boys.
jacques pugh
path with art board member, high school teacher, us army and us navy veteran
Jacques is a multi-media operations specialist and an educator with experience in broadcast journalism, documentary production, and playwriting. Jacques is also a veteran, having retired from the US Army several years ago. His military experience took him around the world, including deployments to Antarctica; postings in Europe; and combat deployments to Iraq. During his time as a reservist and as a National Guardsman, Jacques worked as an Anchor Reporter in several television markets including Pittsburgh, PA and Indianapolis, IN. There, he received several awards for outstanding journalism in television broadcasting. Jacques’ family relocated to Seattle from the New York City area four decades ago and he has considered the region home ever since. Jacques is a vibrant patron of the Seattle-area arts community and has written and performed a play addressing the scourge of military sexual trauma. Jacques has a BFA in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production and has studied art and music history extensively. Jacques presently works for Seattle Public Schools as a media specialist and video producer. He also has a teaching certification and teaches video-related courses in Seattle Public Schools.
STEVE SANDERS
PATH WITH ART CREATIVE MENTOR, US ARMY VETERAN
Born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Steve never expected to be in the military himself until he was nearly thirty years old. He has worked in the technology field for most of his adult life beginning with nearly ten years of active duty service in the Army, plus an additional six years as a civilian contractor or Department of the Army Civilian supporting the III Mobile Armored Corps at Fort Hood. Having worked as a computer programmer, a network administrator, a software instructor, a software testing team manager, as well as a variety of management and consulting roles, Steve finds a deep level of satisfaction and fun working to help people through automation.
Steve began working with Path With Art at the beginning of the pandemic when all of the classes had to meet remotely via Zoom and continues to support classes with remote technical support. He has sincerely enjoyed working with a variety of amazing teaching artists, an incredible collection of participant artists and very supportive creative mentors! The good news about working with Zoom is that he can join the classes from his home in central Texas, near Fort Hood.
Besides computers, Steve enjoys genealogy research, spending time with his adult grandchildren, and volunteering his time with a variety of great organizations.
randy schoesler
PATH WITH ART and antioch university STUDENT, VETERAN HOMELESS OUTREACH, US AIR FORCE VETERAN
Randy was born in 1952 and grew up in the eastern Washington town of Ritzville. He went to Washington State University in Pullman and graduated in 1974 with a BA in German. He enlisted in the US Air Force. While in the Air Force he served two tours at the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center learning basic and then intermediate Arabic at the Presidio of Monterey, CA, and two tours on the Greek island of Crete. He then opted for Officer Training School and finished that in the summer of 1979 as an Honored Graduate with a subsequent assignment to the Republic of Korea. For all three assignments, he was in military intelligence. He is currently enrolled in Antioch University’s Seattle campus. For the 2019-2020 school year, he has been assigned to the Seattle Stand Down, a non-profit that works with military Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk thereof. Randy has an interest in his own family history and found out he is descended from a string of men who serviced in various wars of the United States, including Vietnam era, World War I, the American Civil War, the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War. This is a chain of service that he is very proud to be a part of. Randy is a Path with Art student and participated in The Rising and the Falling collaboration with the Seattle Opera.
LUZ HELENA thompson
PATH WITH ART TEACHING ARTIST, professional ARTIST, US MILITARY VETERAN
Luz Helena Thompson is a Colombian artist, Marine Corps veteran and Teaching Artist for Path With Art. She is self-taught and based on the Southern California Coast, best known for her handcrafted, intricate glass mosaic artwork. Thompson enjoys mixed media and painting large scale wall murals. Thompson’s work is inspired by her military service and deep sense of patriotism. She explores elements of the individual and collective identity experienced within the veteran community. Her work highlights topics such as vulnerability, invisible wounds, military sexual trauma and post-traumatic growth just to name a few. Thompson received a BS from the California University of Pennsylvania (CALU) and a Master’s Degree from CALU in 2014. She teaches art professionally and works from her private studio in Oceanside, California. Since 2011, her artwork has been featured in several exhibitions and fundraisers throughout the United States. Venues include museums and galleries in California, New York, Texas and Florida. View Thompson's work by visiting www.ImageryArtworks.com
Mertiss thompson
PATH WITH ART STUDENT, professional WRITER AND CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPIST, US MILITARY VETERAN
Mertiss is a Master Golf Instructor. He is a writer who has authored four books: "The Audacity Of Persistence", Mansion Of Miracles, Tapping Into Bliss, Golf Hypnosis and a contributing writer for the African American Golfers Digest. He is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and facilitated groups at the VA Hospital to Veterans with PTSD.
Mertiss is a veteran and a longtime Path with Art student. He participated in The Falling and the Rising opera collaboration with the Seattle Opera.
robert WHITE
FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY IMPACT FOR MINORITY VETERANS OF AMERICA, US ARMY VETERAN
Robert A. White is a nationally recognized leader in the veteran community experienced in strategic and economic development, public policies, and veteran initiatives. After a 20+ year military career, he served as the CEO for VETTED Foundation and recently as the Director of Community Impact for Minority Veterans of America (MVA). He holds an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Washington. Robert has dedicated his life to helping others and focuses his philanthropy work on racial equity. He continually advocates for minority and underrepresented communities for the disestablishment of structural barriers to education, housing & food stability, economic development, and accessing needed services. Robert currently serves as a board member for Social Venture Partner (SVP) Seattle, King County Veterans Advisory Board, and the King County Veterans, Seniors & Human Services Levy (VSHSL) Advisory Board.