Shalom D. Staub, Ph.D.
President/Chief Executive Officer
staub@culturalpartnerships.org

A native of New York City, Shalom Staub received his B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from Wesleyan University, and holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He has additional training in Movement Analysis; Cultural Diversity Awareness, Prejudice Reduction and Conflict Mediation. He also has training in Bowen Family Systems Theory from the Center for Family Process’s Leadership Seminar and the Georgetown Family Center’s Post Graduate Seminar in Systems Theory.

He moved to Harrisburg in 1982 to take the newly created position of Director of State Folklife Programs within the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission. In that capacity, he developed numerous public educational programs about the diverse range of ethnic and regional cultural traditions within Pennsylvania. From 1987-1995, Staub served as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission. He worked with leaders of more than 50 ethnic communities throughout the Commonwealth to build community-based coalitions.

Staub is the author of Yemenis in New York City: The Folklore of Ethnicity (1989), and editor of Proceedings: Governor's Conference on Ethnicity (1990) and Craft and Community: Traditional Arts in Contemporary Society (1989). For twelve years, he edited the Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review, and from 1991-2000 he edited the American Folklore Society News. He has published over 20 articles in professional journals and edited volumes, and has served on numerous editorial boards. In addition, Staub has curated and consulted on several museum exhibitions, and developed several videos devoted to traditional arts and folklife. He was formerly the Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the American Folklore Society (1991-2000). He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Staub has served as a panelist in the peer review process for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Maryland State Arts Council, and recently completed a term on the board of the National Humanities Alliance.

In addition to his work as President/CEO of the Institute for Cultural Partnerships, Staub is currently an Adjunct Professor at Dickinson College teaching in the Departments of Anthropology and Religious Studies. He serves as the Board Chair of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania. He works closely with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to provide services to the field of folk arts in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Program Advisory Council of the Fund for Folk Culture, a national foundation. Staub is a contributing editor of the Ideas to Action Newsletter: Applying Bowen Theory to Relationships at Work, Home and Play.

Staub lives in Susquehanna Township and is an active member of the Jewish community. He is married, and he and his wife have two children. Staub holds a 3rd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, World Tae Kwon Do Federation. He is an avid skier and bicyclist, and enjoys outdoor activities.

Amy E. Skillman
Vice President/Director of Arts & Heritage Programs
skillman@culturalpartnerships.org

For eight years prior to joining ICP, Amy Skillman served as the director of State Folklife Program at the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission. Skillman was the coordinator for Cultural Heritage Programs at the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center for two years before moving to Pennsylvania in 1988. She is past President of the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association and convener for the Public Programs Section of the American Folklore Society. She received her Masters degree in Folklore and Folklife from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1979.

As a public folklorist, Skillman has curated eleven exhibitions. She recorded and produced a CD compilation and teacher’s study guide of 16 different performing groups in Pennsylvania; six additional recordings of individual traditional performing groups; and Now That’s a Good Tune, a recording of 14 old-time fiddlers in Missouri. Now That’s a Good Tune, received two Grammy nominations in 1989, one for Best Traditional Folk Recording and one for Best Liner Notes. Other credits include serving as sound recordist and folklife consultant for Mone’s Skirt, a documentary film about the importance and beauty of traditional Lao weaving in the United States and in Laos. She has published articles about Southeast Asian textiles, old time fiddling, cultural conservation planning, and public folklore research in numerous publications.

Skillman has served as a peer review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michigan State Traditional Arts Program, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She has also served as a site evaluator and consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts since 1988. She serves on the editorial board for New York Folklore, the journal of the New York Folklore Society.

Carlos A. Fernandez
Arts & Heritage Programs Specialist
fernandez@culturalpartnerships.org

Carlos Fernandez joined the ICP staff in 1999 after serving a one-year Five-College fellowship at Amherst College. He received his Bachelor of Music in composition and guitar from Catholic University and his Master of Arts in ethnomusicology from Indiana University-Bloomington. He holds a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Carlos has conducted fieldwork among various communities in Costa Rica, exploring relationships between tradition, religious practice and artistic performance. He has several publications to his credit including a book, articles, and video and audio recordings. His Ph.D. dissertation focuses on the popular Catholic devotion to the Black Christ of Esquipulas in Costa Rica.

Carlos coordinates ICP's statewide services to the field of folk and traditional arts, including technical assistance and grant writing support to folk artists, organizations, and communities. He is also in charge of the ICP Folk Arts Support Center, which carries out field documentation projects and provides technical assistance to artists and organizations in south Central Pennsylvania. Carlos previously served as coordinator for Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Peer Assistance and Mentoring Program and for the MAAF Appalachian Views Traveling Exhibits Program.

Originally from Costa Rica, Carlos is a skilled musician and is bilingual in Spanish and English. Carlos lives in the city of Harrisburg and is an active member of United Church of Christ. He and his wife Lynn Gumert—an active musician, composer, and educator—are parents to a lovely toddler daughter, Clara.

Ronald E. Kirby
Chief Operating Officer/Director of Community Programs
kirby@culturalpartnerships.org

Ron has been with ICP from its founding in 1995. He is responsible for planning and implementation of a broad range of diversity projects and programs to help individuals and communities to successfully live, learn and work in our increasing diversity society.

Before joining ICP, Ron was the director of the Office of Refugee and Immigration Programs in the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission (PHAC) within the state government. He was the state manager of refugee and immigration programs in the Department of Public Welfare from 1985 until moving to PHAC in 1994.

Prior to his extensive experience with refugee programs, Ron held previous responsible administrative and management posts in the state Governor’s Office from 1980 to 1985. He has been active with the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union for many years and currently serves on the Board of Director’s Credit Committee.

He is a past board member of the National State Refugee Coordinators and held numerous leadership positions in community-based organizations. He was the first president of Harrisburg’s Midtown Square Action Council, a community improvement organization that continues today.

Ron is married and has two sons.

Fredrika M. McKain
Director of Development
mckain@culturalpartnerships.org

Fredrika is responsible for the resource development efforts within the Institute. Fredrika works to provide opportunities, through direct mail solicitation, on-line giving or endowment support, for individuals of all income levels to support the work of ICP with their generous donations and planned giving commitments. She provides corporate givers and other philanthropic organizations with information on the changing demographics within central PA and the impact this has on our ability to live, learn and work together. Continued support and donations from these organizations have helped ICP spearhead many new initiatives each year intended to reach a wide range of the population and help people to overcome barriers to understanding.

Fredrika has over 20 years of experience within the health and human services field in the areas of program and resource development. This expertise enables her to manage ICP’s community health initiatives and bring together diverse sectors of the community to develop strategies to improve the health and well being of low income and at risk populations in minority communities.

Fredrika is an active community volunteer at the regional and state level. Currently, she serves as Commissioner for the PA Commission for Women, Board member for the Family Health Council of Central PA and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Sylvan Heights Science Charter School.

Fredrika is the mother of five adult children and has six grandchildren.

Norma Miranda-Laboy
Administrative Assistant
laboy@culturalpartnerships.org

Before joining ICP, Norma worked at the South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN) as receptionist/secretary. Working at SCAAN made her realize she really likes to work directly with people. ICP gives her the opportunity to meet and work with different types of people and learn about different cultures that she finds to be very exciting.

Norma is a native of New York and the mother of four boys. She speaks fluent Spanish and English.