CAMMIE MATSUMOTO: A graduate of UH Manoa, Cammie earned a fine arts degree in ceramics and textile design. She helped start a ceramic business and served as the company's designer, sales rep and production manager. She was a member of the Hawaii Potter's Guild in Honolulu and served on the Bd of Directors for Hawaii Literacy, Inc. from 1998 - 2002. Her parents and grandmother were born and raised on Kaua’i. Cammie "came home for good" in 2004 to work at the Kaua'i Community College as Professional Development and Community Outreach Coordinator.

MICHELLE S. MIYAKE: Waimea-born Michelle graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute, earned a B.A. in English at UC Santa Barbara and received a law degree from The American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. She served as Senior Note & Comment Editor on The Administrative Law Journal and as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Michelle was Counsel at the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs for 7.5 years. Returning to Kaua’i in the fall of 2004 to start her own law firm, she is practicing real estate (condominium) law and assisting local veterans with their VA claims. Having experienced the benefits of year-round access to art and culture while living in D.C., Michelle would like to share her legal expertise and love of the arts to benefit Kaua’’i.

R. EVE SOLOMON: With an extensive background in graphics, display and puppet theater, Eve has taught commercial art, calligraphy and arts and crafts at Island School and Kaua'i Crafts Studio. She is a past Director of the Kaua'i Academy of Creative Arts. Her paintings and jewelry are sold at The Art Shop in Lihu'e. She's a veteran board member with the GIAC and served actively with the Kaua'i Society of Artists for many years.

DIANNE "MIZU" SUMIDA: Keiki o ka aina, a graduate of Waimea High School, “Mizu” was a farmer and landscaper on the Big Island for 26 years. She was drawn back to Kauai in 1998 when farmland became available and has been self-employed for six years. Her beautifully crafted gourds embellished with pyrographic engravings and locally grown materials can be seen at The Koa Gallery in Hanapepe. A former member of Kona Art Center, Landscape Association and the Farm Bureau, she is now active in GIAC and KSA. She resides part-time in New Mexico.

DIANE WRY UNDERWOOD: After earning a M.D. degree from the University of Colorado, Diane completed an Ophthalmology residency in Virginia and was a fellow in corneal surgery at Kresge Eye Institute in Michigan. She served on the board of the Lions’ Eye Bank and as an associate professor, taught residents at the Medical College of Hampton Roads. Following over 24 years of practice in Norfolk, Virginia, she is retired from medicine. Diane and family moved to Kaua’i two years ago to enjoy and embrace the Hawaiian culture where she is currently pursuing a lifelong interest in the arts, painting with Kaua’I artists and seeking her own style. A member of KSA and GIAC, she would love to assist in developing a Center for the Arts on Kaua’’i.

JOHN SYDNEY YAMANE: A third-generation local boy from Waimea, a computer technician by trade and community man by heart, John Sydney owns Hawai'i Wireless & Broadband dba Hawaii Link Internet Service, located on Kress Street. His business provides internet services, computer repair and website hosting. He's the past president of West Kaua'i Business Association, West Kaua'i Rotary Club and Kaua'i Food Bank. We're pleased that GIAC has uplinked to John's heart.

CAROL K. YOTSUDA: A charter member of the GIAC and its first president, Carol has been an active volunteer in the arts for three-plus decades, bringing enrichment to the lives of the people of Kaua'i. She started the E Kanikapila Kakou program, the Kaua'i Crafts Studio, Van Go! and has served as Director of the Kaua'i Academy of Creative Arts. She has an MFA from the University of Hawai'i and is a practicing artist and a retired art teacher. Presently, she serves as Executive Director/President of the GIAC.

AFFILIATE BOARD MEMBERS, 2006 – 2007

MILLICENT CUMMINGS: Known on Kaua’’i as a singer/songwriter, performer, teacher, producer and recently as a radio personality, Millicent is a Fine Art graduate from Parsons School of Design in N.Y.C.  Upon arriving on Kaua’i she founded Gallery M in Historic Hanapepe, representing both her own extensive body of work and that of other local artists. Closing her gallery in 2004, she concentrated her creative focus on her original music…recording, releasing and touring a CD entitled, ‘Island Rose’. She hopes to expand the sharing of her love of art and music as a GIAC board member.

CHERYL HEAZLEWOOD: Cheryl Heazlewood is an internationally recognized performer, teacher and director/choreographer whose 30 years in dance and theatre has been a journey from Ballet to Butoh (Japanese Contemporary Dance). Trained in Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Theatre, Mime & Butoh, with further studies in Ritual Dance Theatre, Feldenkrais, Shiatsu and Reiki, Cheryl’s eclectic training and experience in dance, theater and the healing arts have resulted in her unique approach to working with the body. Since 1982, she has taught and choreographed internationally, including the National Institute on Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia; The Place, London; and the International Theater Institute, Barcelona. She is the recipient of a Choreographic Fellowship in Australia and was a member of the New South Wales Ministry for the Arts Dance Committee 2003 – 5.

ANNE E. O'MALLEY, editor of ARTS, the Garden Island Arts Council newsletter, is a freelance writer and photojournalist. Her work appears regularly in local publications, is cast in bronze along the Koloa Heritage Trail, was in a set of five interpretive panels accompanying an exhibition on rare and endangered plants of Hawai’i at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. and appeared at the Smithsonian Folk Fair Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in July 2006. She edited a book on native Hawaiian master weavers that is in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection. Anne plans future editorial wheels with the GIAC executive director, board members and friends of ARTS.  

CARRIE JOHNSON: Carrie Johnson studied fine art at U.C. Berkeley and at Laney College in Oakland. She has participated in shows and various events in the San Francisco Bay area and on Kaua'i since moving here over five years ago. Painting as time permits, Carrie has sold paintings and drawings to private collectors on island and on the mainland. As GIAC webmaster, she keeps www.gardenislandarts.org current and attractive.