Jim McCauleyFounder and Board Chairman
Jim has a deep passion for travel, culture and the arts - his adventures have taken him around the world. At every destination Jim seeks to understand the local culture through its arts. Over the years he developed a great appreciation for the artists communities he encountered and welcomed him during his travels. Jim began to envision an artists community in his native southern California - a place where kindness, inclusiveness and diversity matter and where artists could gather and collaborate together. In 2018, Jim secured the property that would become the Art House. |
Shawn ChavezCreative Director
Shawn is a freelance creative director and photographer. Shawn’s always considered himself to be a little bit of an outsider, a restless soul on a quest to learn and discover. He grew up in the small town of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which he loved, but always had aspirations of living in a big city and exploring the world. So that’s exactly what he did! He moved to New York immediately after college and the Big Apple became his hub to the rest of the world. Over the next 20 years his introduction to new cultures, new ideas and new art forms inspired a deep understand the power art can have on the people who experience it. As Executive Director of the Art House he works to support our residence to tap into that power to change and inspire people. |
Chaya TamirExecutive Director
Chaya is joining the Art House after completing two decades in education and community building. She held leadership and faculty positions at some of the premiere private education institutions, including Luria Academy and Preschool of the Arts. Chaya is the proud recipient of the Targum Shlishi Innovative Educators Award and the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Foundation award for raising awareness about women’s health in India. Chaya has developed initiatives on Race and School Culture, led an LGBTQ Task Force for families and staff, and is passionate about creating inclusive spaces that support individual and collective growth. |
Dr. Hod Tamir , PhDTreasurer
Hod is a developmental psychologist and licensed mental health counselor. He completed his postdoctoral training fellowship at ICAP-Columbia University Medical Center. In 2015, Hod was selected by the National Institutes of Health for the Fogarty Fellowship and awarded the Global Health Equity Scholarship to implement mental health interventions in India. He received his PhD in Psychology at Florida International University in Miami. Dr. Tamir has been on the faculty of Touro College and Florida International University, and has given guest lectures at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He lives in Brooklyn with his family. |
Sam McConnellBoard Member
Sam McConnell is a writer, director, and producer. He is partner in the New York and Los Angeles based production company McConnell / Hauser. Their work spans narrative and documentary films, commercials, web series, music videos, PSAs, and video art installations. Sam has directed five short films (Horseyboy, Seeing you In Circles, Twoyoungmen, UT., The Hunter, and BRUTAL) all of which have played in festivals across the country and internationally. Sam has produced two acclaimed HBO documentaries exploring identity: The Out List (2013, featuring Ellen Degeneres, Larry Kramer, Cynthia Nixon, and Neil Patrick Harris) and The Trans List (2016, featuring Laverne Cox and Janet Mock,), both with director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. He directed and produced the feature-length documentary Camp RicStar (2023) about the life-changing music therapy camp for kids with disabilities. Sam has completed Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative director mentorship program and holds a BA and MFA from Columbia University in New York. |
Dwayne LandryBoard of Directors - Secretary
Dwayne Landry is a Change Management Specialist currently living and working in Los Angeles, California. His areas of focus are change and communications strategies to support technology transformations. As a Change Management Specialist he has worked with firms such as PwC, Accenture, Cognizant and Maven Wave. When he isn’t solving Change Management challenges, Dwayne loves to travel and explore. To date, Dwayne has visited 33 states and 17 countries. |