Valerie V. Gay (Val Gay®) is a Creative, Certified Financial Planner, non-profit administrator, recording and performing artist and thought leader. While a classically trained soprano, Val is an active performer across several genres, having widely performed, including a solo performance at Carnegie Hall and a feature on NPR Music.

Val was recently appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia as executive director of Creative Philadelphia (formerly the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy), and the first executive director of the office to serve in the Mayor’s Cabinet in Philadelphia.

In 2019, Val received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from St. Joseph’s University and has earned a Professional Studies Certificate and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of the Arts and completed degree course work at Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Rhoads attained his undergraduate degree in music composition and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following his studies in Madison, he pursued a degree in audio engineering and production from the Institute of Audio Research in New York City. His early career included roles directing the concert music division for Carl Fischer Music Publishers as well as presiding over  his own performing arts management and promotion agency through which he represented the interests of a wide variety of artists, publishers, and performers. In 2006, Mr. Rhoads’ professional career shifted to the management of arts institutions. As Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Orchestra of St. Luke’s/The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City, Rhoads successfully launched an innovative, business model that ensured the institution’s sustainability and success. Rhoads assumed the Executive Director role in 2016 at The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where he oversaw all facets of operations, including fundraising, programming, production, marketing, human resources, finance, administration, and board member recruitment.

Paul Steinke became Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia in 2016. 

Paul ran for Philadelphia City Council in the May 2015 Democratic primary. Although he was not elected, Paul received endorsements from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, Philadelphia Tribune, and former Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell, and was recommended by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to his run for public office, Paul served as general manager of the Reading Terminal Market for 13 years, where he oversaw numerous improvements in the facility and tenant mix. In 2014, the market was recognized by the American Planning Association as one of the Great Places in America.

Earlier in his career, Paul served as the founding Executive Director of University City District, a neighborhood improvement organization that has been central to the revitalization of West Philadelphia. Before that, Paul was a founding staff member of the Center City District, Philadelphia’s downtown improvement agency, where he served as its Finance Director.

A lifelong Philadelphian, Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from Penn State University and a Master of Business Administration from Drexel University. Paul serves as board treasurer of The Fund for the Water Works and serves on the board of directors of the National Preservation Partners Network, Temple University Libraries, and the City & State Pennsylvania Advisory Board. He is immediate past co-chair of the William Way LGBT Community Center and served for nearly a decade on the steering committee of the Human Rights Campaign, Philadelphia Chapter. He lives in University City with his husband and partner of 27 years, David Ade, an architect with a practice based in Philadelphia.

President, Jazz Philadelphia

Gerald Veasley’s musical odyssey has taken him around the world, but no matter where the celebrated bassist, bandleader, composer, educator, and curator has traveled he has always called Philadelphia home.

He brings his drive and passion for educating and motivating other musicians to his role as president of Jazz Philadelphia, where he hopes to celebrate and lift up the city’s jazz history, its established artists, and the next generation of Philadelphia-bred musicians.  

His record of service to musicians includes leadership with the Recording Academy (Grammy organization) where he served in numerous roles: Board of Governors, Chapter President, National Trustee, National Nominations Review Committee, Jazz Nominations Review Committee, and National Advocacy Chair.

Veasley attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied political science. However, he has dedicated his life to music; not only performing and recording but to educating and motivating other musicians. He has served on the faculty of Philadelphia’s University of the Arts and is the co-founder and artistic director of Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp. The annual event, which was established in 2002, has informed and inspired hundreds of bass players of all levels and ages.

As his own extensive body of work attests, Veasley is a virtuoso on the six-string bass and he’s recorded or performed with many notable artists in jazz, R&B, and gospel: Joe Zawinul, Grover Washington, Jr., Odean Pope, John Blake, Nnenna Freelon, McCoy Tyner, Pat Martino, Kirk Whalum, Chuck Loeb, The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Pieces of a Dream, Special EFX, Will Downing, Maysa, Gerald Levert, Teddy Pendergrass, Philip Bailey, and the Dixie Hummingbirds.

Veasley has recorded ten albums as a leader, including “The Electric Mingus Project” which reimagines the music of legendary bassist/composer Charles Mingus; “I Got Life”, a tribute to Nina Simone; and “Live at SOUTH” a collection of funk-tinged jazz originals captured in concert. Schooled by his mentors Joe Zawinul (of Weather Report fame) and saxophone giant Grover Washington Jr., Veasley seeks to blur musical boundaries, respecting tradition while moving forward.

Live at SOUTH was also the outgrowth of Veasley’s role as a curator of the Unscripted Jazz Series at SOUTH Jazz Parlor. Launched in October 2015 and co-curated by his wife and business partner Roxanne Veasley, the weekly series presents artists who, like Veasley, have broad musical tastes and experiences. The series has attracted many celebrated guest artists who appreciate the opportunity to showcase their versatility: Gerald Albright, David Benoit, Rick Braun, Randy Brecker, Alex Bugnon, Chuck Loeb, Eric Marienthal, Maysa, Raul Midón, Janis Siegel, Peter White, Kirk Whalum, and a growing roster of established and emerging artists.

The series’ stellar lineup features many of the same artists whose music was featured on the radio show he hosted on WJJZ, artists who have performed with him at major jazz festivals. Veasley plays an integral role in the Berks Jazz Festival, having presented concerts and All-Star jam sessions there for more than two decades. He currently serves as official Musical Host for the ten-day event.

President & CEO, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Patricia Wilson Aden is President & CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, which leads, strengthens and amplifies the voices of 400+ member organizations that make up the region’s cultural community. Aden is an unwavering advocate for the arts and culture sector with more than 40 years of experience leading non-profit and cultural institutions, most recently as President of The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee and as President & CEO of the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

During her tenure at AAMP, Aden preserved a strong financial future for the museum by establishing strategic partnerships, delivering nationally acclaimed programming, and creating deeper donor engagement. At the Blues Foundation, she led the adoption of the Foundation's Statement Against Racism and its accompanying Action Plan, furthered the Blues Foundation's Blues in the Schools program, and helped develop the museum’s Blues Guide, while shepherding the organization through the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Aden has also served in executive roles for the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

Aden currently serves on the board of PA Humanities and is Vice Chair of the Friends of Cooch’s Bridge in Newark, Delaware. She was selected to serve as a member of the National Museum of African American Music’s Music Industry Relations Council. She has also served on the Smithsonian Affiliate Advisory Council and is a member of the Links, Inc. (Philadelphia Chapter). She has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and other national and state level granting agencies.

Aden holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Spelman College and a master’s in historic preservation from Cornell University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Davis & Elkins College.

Executive Director, First Person Arts

Jamie J. Brunson is the executive director of First Person Arts and producer, host and co-writer of the monthly radio hour on WHYY, Commonspace.  She is also member of the strategic planning committee for the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disABILITY Services’ Engaging Males of Color Initiative.  Over the past 25 years, she has fused a business acumen that combines not-for-profit leadership experience with the insights of a practicing artist within different spheres of the arts and cultural community.  Her administrative resume includes senior management positions at not-for-profits including: New Freedom Theatre, the Providence Black Repertory Company and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.  She is also a performing storyteller, memoirist, published poet whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies; four-time NEA grantee for playwriting and an award-winning playwright who was named a “New Voice in American Theatre” by the Edward Albee Theatre Conference. Her plays have been produced across the country from New York to Alaska.  Her community service includes a Mayoral appointment to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Board of Directors where she was vice-chair; board memberships on the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s Groundswell, First Person Arts, Inc, (Board Member Ex Officio), Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts, Philadelphia Avenue of the Arts and Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. She has also served as a peer panelist for:  Delaware Division of the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Connecticut Council on Arts & Tourism.  Ms. Brunson holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio-Television-Film from Temple University. She thanks God for the ability to serve the community.