Jerry Van Leeuwen is a native Californian. He was born in Artesia. His father, an immigrant from Holland, was a dairy farmer and Jerry’s first real employment was milking cows for his dad in Chino, CA at the age of 15. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California in 1972 and a Masters of Administration from the University of California, Riverside in 1975. Jerry began a career in local government by working for the City of Chino Police Department as a guidance counselor moving into a management position in 1978. He left the City of Chino to accept the position of Assistant Director of Community Services in Escondido in January 1987. He retired from the City of Escondido in December 2012. In June 2013 Jerry accepted the position of Executive Director for the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. In that role he oversees the Center’s operations that include 3 theaters, a visual arts museum, art education programs and a full service conference center.

Beth Solomon Marino is proud to serve as the Associate Director of Museum and Visual Arts at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Design with an emphasis in Furniture Design & Construction in 1999 from San Diego State University. In 2007, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Exhibition Design and a Certificate in Museum Studies from California State University, Fullerton. Beth strongly believes that exposure to art and exhibitions, of all types, can stimulate the imagination and foster creativity. Displaying engaging collections that are shared by a broad community encourages people to discover and learn together; opening a door that helps us to communicate our feelings, perspectives and values. Insight into cultures other than our own provides us with knowledge and helps us understand our global community and ourselves more deeply.

Mikee Ferran began working in museums as a program assistant for the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street program at Utah Humanities in 2016. This experience (and an internship at a contemporary folk art museum) provided invaluable hands-on training in the museum field. She currently works as the Museum Exhibition and Visual Arts Supervisor at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Mikee is passionate about advocating for museums and the work that supports these institutions. Accessibility, transparency, and opportunity are the foundations of her personal work philosophy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in History and a Master’s degree from the University of Utah in American History. She currently serves on the board of San Diego Emerging Museum Professionals as the Programming Co-Chair. 

Learn more about the California Center for the Arts Escondido at artcenter.org.

Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.

Guests: Jerry Van Leeuwen, Beth Solomon Marino, and Mikee Ferran
Hosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle Strickland
Produced by: Public Podcasting