Samantha M Connors (They/Them) - Executive Director
samantha@davinciartalliance.org

Our Executive Director, Samantha M Connors, oversees all projects and the fiscal management of DVAA to ensure all of our work is centered around our mission, vision and values. They moved to Philadelphia in 2010 and graduated from Tyler School of Art in 2014 with a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies and a minor in Art History. Samantha joined DVAA as a member in 2017 and served as the Co-Chair of the Exhibitions Committee for 3 years prior to accepting their position in 2021.

Within their personal and professional practice, they are seeking an outlet to process the world we’re living in and reach out to others with hope of what we can potentially build together. Samantha’s work reflect on the larger issues at hand within gentrification and displacement to provide room to connect patterns and find ways to organize spaces of care and connection alongside other people within Philadelphia. They have completed residencies at Cassis Artist Residency in France, Ora Lerman Trust Soaring Gardens in Laceyville, PA, The Sable Project Residency in Stockbridge, VT, The 319 AIR at Pink Noise Projects in Philadelphia, PA. They have an upcoming residency at Bischoff Inn in Tamaqua, PA, and are leading an upcoming curatorial project at Partners and Son. They serve on the Leadership Team of Science Events, a project of the Experimental Practice team at the MIT Museum.

Veronica Cianfrano (She/Her) - Gallery Director
Veronica@davinciartalliance.org

Veronica oversees matters pertaining to the gallery and to the community of artists and art lovers that we serve at DVAA. She is a curator, multimedia artist, teacher, the youngest of three daughters, and a first-generation American.

In 2010, she received her MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she discovered the need for better access to the arts. There she co-founded CHER, a collaborative pop-up gallery that brought thematically relevant contemporary art exhibitions to communities by organizing temporary events, happenings, and exhibitions in alternative spaces.

For the last ten years, she has taught studio art and art theory courses to pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students nationally and internationally. She was most recently the Curatorial Director at Tuft the World and the Curator and Gallery Director at Melton Gallery at the University of Central Oklahoma. Her professional practice is led by the governing principle that diverse perspectives and collaboration can lead to the best opportunities for public engagement and meaningful connections to the arts.

Kara Mshinda (She/Her) - Fellowship Director
kara@davinciartalliance.org

Kara Mshinda is a visual artist and educator with roots in photography and visual anthropology. She uses accessible methods like freehand drawing, collage, and lo-fi photography to develop visual narratives that center gender performance, body aesthetics, and Black femme identity. In addition to creating artwork, Mshinda is a professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture where she teaches on the themes of race, identity, and artist practice in American art. She received her MA in Anthropology from Temple University.

Sara Mae Henke (They/Them) - Programming Coordinator
saramae@davinciartalliance.org

Sara Mae Henke is a genderqueer writer raised on the Chesapeake Bay. Their creative writing and research orbits around horror and the surreal as it contextualizes gender. They are a 2023 Big Ears Music Festival Scholar and 2022 Tinhouse Summer Writing Workshops alum. Recently, they were a finalist for the Loraine Williams Prize and have work forthcoming or published in Passages North, the Georgia Review, the Offing, and FENCE. They write music as The Noisy and received their MFA from UT Knoxville. They are currently an Adjunct English Professor at Drexel and the Programming Coordinator at Da Vinci Art Alliance.

Jillian M Rock (She/Her) - Education Coordinator
jillian@davinciartalliance.org

Jillian M Rock is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia. Her teaching artist practice is centered in creating curricula around social justice, identity, and creating an experience that deepens community and encourages expression individually and most importantly collectively. She currently has a teaching residency with The Print Center and Fleisher Art Memorial.  She is the owner of Rock Press, a Black woman run printing press aimed at amplifying access to the creation and dissemination of artists’ books, printed matter, and programming. As well as, a co-founder of Collaborative Rising, an arts organization centered in providing access to a variety of programming, across all mediums and abilities by nurturing exploration through the arts. Rock is currently a part of the 2024/2025 artist cohort at Cherry Street Pier and a fellow with Mural Arts Fellowship for Black Artists.

L. Elwood (any pronouns) - Marketing Coordinator
l@davinciartalliance.org

L. Elwood is an arts administrator, performer, and choreographer.

Emily Winters (She/Her) - President

Emily works as a senior manager of clinical operations at Passage Bio. Throughout her career, she has been working in labs devoted to gene therapy research to help children with terminal diseases. In her off-time she loves going to the theater and volunteering in arts organizations.

Tom Marino (He/Him) - Treasurer

Tom has over 20 years of experience working within the Global Financial Services industry, currently serving as Store Manager and VP of one of TD Bank’s flagship locations based in University City, Philadelphia. In 2022, he helped open “TD Workshop” within their branch, an innovation lab testing new concepts for the company and serving as a community center for the neighborhood.

Rennia Rodney (She/Her) - Secretary

Rennia Rodney is the Coordinator of Talent Strategies at The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, leveraging connections between Chamber partners to build equitable pipelines for early career talent. She previously worked at Houlés, CareDox Inc., and Kforce Inc. and has volunteered as an administrative assistant and on-site volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County and the American Cancer Society. Rennia is a standing member of Alpha Kappa Psi.

Sharif Pendleton (He/Him) - Director

Sharif has been balancing both the corporate and art world throughout his career, specifically working as a Senior Multimedia Developer at Capital One while also owning his own art and design company, PLAID, at Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia. Sharif is driven to help others, using his roles at both companies to help others find their success. He also is on the planning board of the Tools of the Trade conference, run by CraftNow and NextFab every March.