Lara Bullock

Civic Art Project Manager

Lara joined the City of San Diego in April 2019. She assists with management of the Civic Art Collection, facilitates coordination of public art commissions, and manages the siting of art in the public realm. Lara is a contemporary art historian, writer, curator, and educator. She has remained committed to the local arts community by serving as chair of the Artist Advocacy Committee for the Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego where she pioneered Rising Arts Fest, a day-long arts event in which all sectors of the arts community are invited to dialogue. She has also served as a member of the Arts, Culture, and Design Committee at the San Diego Unified Port District and served three years on the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture’s Public Art Committee. In addition, Lara has taught courses at a variety of institutions including Southwestern College and the University of California, San Diego and has worked at a variety of internationally renown art museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, as well as curated many exhibitions locally. As a scholar, Lara is interested in art in a global context from 1945 to present, with a focus on art and its impact in the public realm. She received her B.A. in Art History, Theory, and Criticism with Honours and Minor in English from the University of British Columbia, followed by her M.A. in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She earned her Ph.D. in Contemporary Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the University of California, San Diego.
 

Christine E. Jones

Chief of Civic Art Strategies

Christine Jones is a cultural strategist, curator, and producer with significant experience working in government organizations, museums, galleries, and consultancies. As the Chief of Civic Art Strategies for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, she oversees programmatic direction, cultural development, and strategic initiatives. Christine cultivates and engages directly on projects that cross programs and sectors, establishes frameworks for arts and culture delivery and advises about the arts industry, creative economy, and public realm. Formerly, Christine served as the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture’s Senior Public Art Manager administering two “percent-for-art” programs and managing the Civic Art Collection. Prior to that, she was a consultant for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, developing and delivering major public art commissions and exhibitions in the public realm from concept to completion. As a consultant for the San Diego Unified Port District, Christine guided development of its first public art curatorial strategy to realize public art exhibitions on the tidelands of five coastal jurisdictions in San Diego County. Previous to her public art consultancy, she served as a Public Art Project Manager for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, managing commissions in public places throughout the city. Christine is an Accredited Senior Appraiser recognized by the American Society of Appraisers, specializing in ancient and contemporary Asian art. She has traveled extensively in Asia and Europe, appraised over $50 million in private property, negotiated contracts with internationally recognized artists, and previously held positions at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She holds dual Bachelor degrees in Art History and Anthropology from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University.

Olivia Jones

Senior Arts and Culture Funding Manager

Olivia Jones joined the City of San Diego as the Senior Arts and Culture Funding Manager in 2024. In this role, she administers arts and culture funding, helping to produce excellent, inclusive, and relevant arts and culture activities for San Diego’s diverse residents and visitors. Before her current role, Olivia was the Executive Director of the Black Theatre Coalition in New York, directing strategic initiatives and managing a $1 million budget. Her tenure was marked by developing sustainable pathways for new relationships, programs, and revenue opportunities and securing significant grants from major foundations. Olivia’s career includes her position as the Training Programs Manager at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where she played a crucial role in recruiting and mentoring fellows and interns and increased intern salaries to align with the minimum wage. She also developed Arena Stage's virtual Masterclass series during the height of the pandemic. At the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, Olivia was the Community Partnerships Coordinator, where she produced numerous audience engagement events and supported disability access programming. She also successfully rebranded the Upstage Guide and significantly increased its production and donations. Olivia holds a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Leadership from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. Olivia continues to advocate for the transformative power of the arts, working to ensure accessibility and inclusivity in all her endeavors.

Charles (Chuck) Miller

Senior Public Art Manager

Chuck joined the City of San Diego in January 2019. He manages the Civic Art Collection, engages artists to design, fabricate and install public art commission and collaborates with private developers to site art in the public realm. Chuck is an artist, designer, media producer, educator and organizer with 16 years of experience engaging a broad range of the arts and culture sector. Most recently, he was a consultant at the Port of San Diego’s Waterfront Arts & Activation department and the Design Lab at UCSD. He taught architectural design foundations, graphic representation, and special studios on art and urbanism at NewSchool of Architecture and Design, as well as studios in video production and ideation at the University of California, San Diego. Chuck helped re-establish The Periscope Project, an architectural intervention in Downtown San Diego’s East Village, as an arts / architecture / urbanism educational non-profit organization. From 2010 to 2013, he served as the project’s curatorial and residency director, instructor for the project’s Summer Urban Labs educational series, and in leading roles in the project’s capacity as a public art and design collaborative. Notably, The Periscope Project was featured in the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2012. He maintains an interdisciplinary artistic practice, exploring the intersections of art, architecture, urbanism, media, and design. Before coming to San Diego, he worked as a preparator for numerous commercial galleries, museums, and art consultancies in Baltimore and New York City, and developed, managed, and fabricated monumental and media-based public artworks for numerous international artists. Chuck holds a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego.

Bell Reza

Project Manager

Bell Reza joined the City of San Diego in 2017 and serves as a Project Manager within the Division of Cultural Affairs, supporting Commission for Arts and Culture. In this role, she provides operational leadership and strategic coordination for Commission and its committees, including Advocacy & Outreach Committee, Creative City Ad hoc Committee, and Executive Committee.

Bell is recognized for her strengths in operational excellence and project management, with experience guiding initiatives and events from inception through successful execution. She has led special projects encompassing department-wide initiatives, community engagement efforts, and cultural programming, ensuring seamless collaboration across city departments, businesses, and community partners. With experience in both the public and private sectors, she brings proven expertise in working with executives, commissions, advisory boards, elected officials, and policy makers throughout San Diego.

Her career at the City began as a Confidential Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer, where she gained citywide perspective on policy, operations, and executive leadership. Prior to her public service, she was a team member at Downtown San Diego Partnership, a nonprofit representing more than 11,000 property owners and nearly 400 businesses across San Diego’s urban core, where she supported initiatives to strengthen downtown’s cultural and economic vitality.

Gabrielle Romberger

Project Manager

Gabrielle began her career at the City of San Diego in January 2023. She prepares communication materials for effective engagement and assists in managing the arts and culture funding program and contract management. Gabrielle has been working in the arts and culture sector of San Diego for the past seven years focusing on art education and community programs in museums. She is dedicated to building relationships between arts organizations and local communities to help strengthen inclusion, representation, and equity in our vibrant city. Previously, Gabrielle served as the Studio Education Specialist at Mingei International Museum, developing and delivering impactful public programming from concept to completion. Gabrielle introduced programs like Family Sunday and Mini Mingei to the Museum after its renovation and reopening in 2021. Family Sunday is a free admission program where Gabrielle partnered with local artists to develop workshops teaching the artists’ craft or medium to families. Formerly, Gabrielle led community programs at the New Children’s Museum, managing several grant-funded projects, including the two-year IMLS grant-funded Comunidad. For this project, she worked with community leaders and a teaching artist team to bring offsite art workshops to community partners across the county.  She holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of San Diego.