Director, Co-Founder

A 12-year resident of Altadena, dedicated steward of the Lloyd Wright Dorland House and active member of Altadena Heritage, Miao is committed to the community and preservation of architectural history. 

As co-founding principal of NONdesigns, a local design agency, she specializes in commercial interior design and exhibition design, with over 20 years of experience in design, management and construction. Her work spans a diverse range of projects with cities, nonprofits, startups, and corporations, managing limited resources to multimillion-dollar budgets.

Miao has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at ArtCenter College of Design for 16 years, contributing to the graduate and undergraduate Spatial Experience Department and Public Programs.

Co-Founder

Scott is a longtime resident of Altadena with a deep appreciation for architectural heritage and preservation.

Advisor

Originally from Arlington, Virginia, Tim has lived in Los Angeles for over twenty-five years.  Tim has 20 years of experience in managing and developing nonprofits from all perspectives –, grant writing, fundraising, budgeting, financial and accounting, employee and regulatory administration, board governance as well as experience event procurement, logistics, planning and management.

Tim first became involved with nonprofits in 2003 as a volunteer for The Giving Spirit and continued with the organization while wearing many hats, including as a volunteer member of its board of directors for ten years, which was succeeded by ten more years as operations director.  During that time, the organization grew from serving 600 unhoused individuals annually to more than 5,000 annually. 

Tim twice received The Giving Spirit’s Chairman’s Award for outstanding service to the organization and the homeless it served.  In 2022, Tim was also a finalist in the Los Angeles Business Journal for its Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards.

Professionally, Tim is an attorney and has used his legal skills and knowledge to inform his work and to provide both pro bono and legal services to nonprofits. He currently works as a solo practitioner.

Advisor

Originally from South Pasadena, Katie Bannan Steinke spent nearly 30 years in Italy, where she raised a family and served as Dean of Students at Loyola University Chicago Rome Center.

After returning to California, she held leadership roles in investment management, non-profits, and founded Bannan-Steinke Travel, Inc. She served as Director of Development for the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

Katie currently volunteers at the Mount Wilson Institute as a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Director for Development and Outreach.

Advisor

Lisa Kong is a Principal with DLR Group and is the Regional Interior Design Leader for the California region. Lisa’s team of award winning designers have expertise in multiple sectors that include workplace, hospitality, mixed-use, education and justice and civic for the 6 offices in California. Lisa is also the Interior Design Leader for the firm’s Mixed-Use sector.

As an experienced interior design professional, Lisa leads design teams to create exceptional design, delivery, and operational performance on every project. With a foundation in collaborative processes, she believes that successful projects are built by multi-disciplinary teams of empowered creators where all are aligned toward a common vision, a thorough program, and a well-defined process. Through integrated architecture and interiors, the use of natural materials, and the incorporation of daylight and biophilic features, Lisa’s passion is to enhance the experience, health, and wellness of users.

Advisor

A lifelong design educator, Stan has inspired and influenced generations of students to pursue their design educations that have gone on to become successful leaders in companies globally.

Stan is an ArtCenter Alum (Product Design ’83) and began his teaching career at ArtCenter. He has taught for ACX, Undergrad Product Design, Graduate Industrial Design, and is currently serving as Chair of Industrial Design.

Stan was formerly Head of Product Design at Pasadena City College, a Professor for the Institute for Educational Advancement, and founding member/Chair of the Visual Arts and Design Academy. His community service includes founding Co-Chair of the ArtCenter alumni scholarship fundraising group, Legacy Circle, the Armory Center for the Arts Board of Directors, the Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission, and the Rowe & Gayle Giesen Board of Trustees.

Stan’s many honors include ArtCenter’s “Outstanding Service Alumni Award”, the NAACP Ruby McKnight Williams Arts Award, the Institute of Educational Advancement Service Award, the Risser “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” Award, and the Los Angeles Cherry Blossom Festival “Teachers Making a Difference” Award.

Advisor

Patty Wickman is a visual artist who locates transcendent mystery in the everyday, combining pictorial realism with a close observation of human psychology and spiritual longing.  Wickman received her BFA from Arizona State University, Tempe (1981), and her MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1983).  Her large-scale paintings and drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally.  Reviews of her work have appeared in all the major art publications as well as the Los Angeles Times and New Yorker magazine.  Wickman was a Professor of Painting and Drawing at UCLA’s Department of Art from 1985 to 2024, where she also served as Department Chair, Vice Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies.  She is currently a UC Professor Emerita.  Born and raised in Pasadena, Wickman has resided in Altadena for the last 28 years.  Her most recent paintings are all set in the Altadena landscape, both pre and post-fire.  Wickman is committed to supporting Altadena residents and businesses and to assisting in the rebuilding of the community she loves and calls home.

Advisor

Tim Hawkinson is an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist celebrated for his imaginative sculptures, large-scale installations, and kinetic works that merge precision with play. Known for transforming everyday materials into complex explorations of time, form, and the human body, his practice bridges technology and intuition with a distinctive visual language. Hawkinson’s work has been exhibited widely in leading museums and institutions, earning recognition for its inventive approach and philosophical depth. For the past 28 years, he has resided in Altadena, California, where the surrounding landscape and culture continue to shape his artistic vision. Alongside his practice, Hawkinson is committed to the power of creativity as a communal force. He is passionate about helping Altadena rebuild, dedicating his time and energy to supporting resilience and renewal. His work inside the studio and his service beyond it reflect a shared belief in imagination’s capacity to transform both art and community.