Board of Directors

David Alberts

Board Member

Supporting Member.  Master Welder, Jeweler, and Instructor. 30-year career building race cars with a specialty of aerodynamics and air management. Instructor at Haywood Community College in jewelry fabrication. Teaches micro tig welding as well as workshop on various jewelry techniques. Served on the Membership and Education Committees of Southern Highland Craft Guild. Married to Ruthie Cohen, an Exhibiting Member in Jewelry.

Wendy Allen

1st Vice Chair

Exhibiting Member in Fiber since 2012. Specializing in wet felt Merino wool accessories, including hats, scarves, mittens. BCA in Theatre, UNC-Charlotte; also studied at Penland and in San Francisco, which included an apprenticeship in fashion patterning skills and business planning classes at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. Self-taught in felting employing basic millinery techniques acquired in through costume design studies in college.

Marjorie Benbow

2nd Vice Chair

Supporting  Member. Farms flowers & bees, practices law (intellectual property, not-for profit, and alcohol law) and focuses on glass art. Her consulting spans various industries, including arts and entertainment.  Former  Executive  Director, NC Biotechnology Center.  Other Boards – NC Zoo Council, NC Motorsports Association, NC School of Science and Math, Cabarrus Visual Arts, Paul Harris +5. BS in Zoology and  MS in Public  Health, UNC Chapel Hill JD  and  MBA, Wake  Forest, Army War College.

John Cain

Immediate Past Chair

Supporting Member. Retired. BB&T Wealth Lending 2015-2019, BB&T Area Executive 2003-2015, First Virginia Bank Commercial Relationship Manager 1979-2003. Serves on several boards from diverse organizations including Harford Day School, Home Partnership Foundation, The Lawdew Topiary Gardens, and UM Upper Chesapeake Health from 2009-2015.

Linda Garboczi

Board Member

Supporting Member.  Principal, GraMar Advisors and Elder Care Choices Program Coordinator, Senior Services Inc.; previously CMO, Piedmont Advantage Credit Union; Masters Candidate – Gerontology, University of North Carolina Greensboro. Serving on the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership Board of Directors, and Forsyth Aging Services Planning Committee. BS, Marketing, Goldey Beacom College. MS, Business Administration, Shippensburg University.

Mary Gunyuzlu

Immediate Past Board Chair

Exhibiting Member in clay since 2018.  Instructor of ceramics at Sawtooth School of Art.  Teaches ceramics to blind and handicapped children at the Little Red Schoolhouse, a program at the Industries for the Blind.  BA Art History with a Minor in Fine Art, University of Delaware, Masters in Teaching, Queens University in Charlotte.  Winston-Salem, NC

Ana Lisarte Gunyuzlu

Board Member

Supporting Member.  Accounts Receivable Specialist, NeoGov.  Associate of Arts, Lone Star College. International Exchange Program, 2017 – 2019.  Bilingual in English and Brazilian Portuguese.

O’Neal Jones

Board Chair

Exhibiting Member in Wood since 2012. Professional custom furniture and cabinetry maker since 1979. BA, NC State University. Has work experience and specialized in architectural millwork, cabinetry, and custom home building since 1972. Served as President, Vice President and general Board Member of Carolina Designer Craftsmen.

Mark Kinsella

Board Member

Exhibiting Member in Glass since 2022. Owner/Artist Screaming Squirrel Glass. Mark spent the majority of his life as a photographer, but in 2005 discovered the art of fused glass. After starting with a small table-top kiln he quickly realized that he was meant to create larger and more complex works.

Sunsuk Lee

Treasurer

Certified Public Accountant, Commercial Real Estate Manager and ceramic student at Sawtooth School. Former Senior Auditor, Ernst & Young and Auditor, Price Waterhouse Coopers. MBA, International Marketing, Northern Kentucky University; BA, Language and Literature, Seoul Women’s University.

Tanner Messer

Board Member

Supporting Member. Advancement Associate – Special Events, SECCA. Freelance Photographer. Has worked with many non-profits in the arts. BFA, UNC-Greensboro, Photography and recent graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem.

Robin K. Morris

Board Member

Supporting Member. Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology and Linguistics Program, USC. Robin has been committed to improving access and opportunity to under-represented populations as she co-authored and directed a summer research program for minority undergraduate students. Her second passion was the power of cross disciplinary interactions in education. She is intrigued by the creative parallels between artistic endeavor and basic scientific research.

Allie Pisarro-Grant

Board Member

Supporting Member. Owner; Designer and Developer, Alcove Studio, 2021 – present. Specializing in e-commerce strategy, brand messaging, social media strategy and design. Retail owner, Alcove, NY, NY 2018 – 2021; a home goods boutique specializing in artisan-crafted accessories.

Tim Sullivan

Board Member

Exhibiting Member in Clay since 2013. Owner, Creekside Pottery. Has exhibited at over 200 festivals/craft shows since returning to ceramics in 2001. Formerly worked with IT service companies including: Senior Vice-President, enherent Corporation; Offering Executive, IBM Corporation/TTS and was President and General Manager of Datarray ComputerLand. MFA, Ceramics, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, Ceramics & Painting, Carnegie Mellon University.

Kim Thore

Board Member

Supporting Member.  Artist and Marketing, Public Relations and Communications Executive; Former Chief Marketing Officer, United Way of Forsyth County; Marketing, Story and Communications Strategist, Piedmont Advantage Credit Union ; Director of Marketing, Greensboro College, Marketing Manager, Wake Forest University, Owner- FRESH Productions and Marketing, BA, UNC Chapel Hill; MLA, UNC Greensboro; additional studies: Masters Studies, UNC-G; Fine Arts Studies, St. Andrews University; British Standards Institutions Certified Auditor, Southern Polytechnic University.

Erika von Isenburg

Board Member

Supporting Member.  Sales Manager, Phoenix Packaging, Inc. Lover and supporter of the arts. Erika has been a Craftsmen’s Fair sponsor for many years and assisted with special events.

Bayley Wharton

Board Member

Exhibiting Member in Wood since 1996. Owner, Furniture by Design since 1996. Previously served on Piedmont Craftsmen’s Board of Directors in late 90s and early 2000s. Served as Chair and Co-Chair of the Standards Committee. Exhibiting Member of Southern Highlands Craft Guild. Manager, Great Outdoor Provision Company for twenty-two years. BS in Business Management/Administration, BS in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Design all from NC State University.

Hsaing-Ting Yen

Board Member

Exhibiting Member in Jewelry since 2020.  Metalsmith instructor at Pullen Arts Center and Artist resident at Artspace.

Staff

Chris Asuncion-Haynes

Gallery Director

Gallery Director since 2010.  BS in Journalism, Emerson College, Boston MA; Apria Healthcare Customer Service Specialist 2008-2010; United Healthcare Customer Care Professional 2006-2008; Barnes and Noble, Department Manager 2002-2006.  Long time Piedmont Craftsmen Volunteer assisting with audience development, Young Collectors, Fair, and Shop before joining our staff.

Emerson Doom

Gallery Assistant

B. Jane Doub

President & CEO

President and CEO since 2005.  Exhibiting Member in Fiber since 1992.  BCA UNC-Charlotte, working fiber artist since 1980 specializing in handwoven garments; Fiber Program Coordinator for Sawtooth School 1982 – 2004; and co-owner of Fiber Co. since 1987.  Has served on a variety of non-profit and community service boards and committees.  Currently serving on the Public Art Commission.  Winston-Salem’s 2006 Artist of the Year.

Elese Gilstrap

Gallery Assistant

Sarah Harvell

Ecommerce Specialist

E-Commerce Specialist since 2021.  Practicing artist in all media with specialty in metalsmithing and jewelry. Owner and artist behind Ravena Metalworks. Metals Instructor for Sawtooth School for Visual Art. BFA in Metalsmithing, RU, Radford, VA; MFA in Metal Design, ECU, Greenville, NC. Originally from Floyd, Virginia and currently resides in Winston-Salem, NC. Love for all things art, nature, books, and birds.

Gretchen Siebert

Operations Director

Piedmont Craftsmen Operations since 2017.  Bachelor of Fine Arts, Sculpture, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN; Instructor, Sawtooth School for Visual Art, 2017 – present; Part-time Assistant, The New Winston Museum, 2016 – 2017; Visitor Services Specialist, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 2014 – 2017; Freelance Artist Assistant since 2008.

Sonja Broome

Gallery Assistant

Sonja Broome has been with Piedmont Craftsmen since 2015.  She worked professionally in another field until she retired when her love of shopping and jewelry started her on a path to working in the Gallery.

David Wiinikka-Lydon

Assistant Gallery Director

David Wiinikka-Lydon joined the Gallery and Ecommerce staff in 2021.  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art.  His background includes extensive customer service experience, graphic design and Freelance Digital services.

Employment Opportunities

Crafts Fair & Membership Manager (part-time 20-24 hrs per week)

Please click HERE for the job description & application procedure.

Organization Overview

Piedmont Craftsmen is a non-profit artisan guild that promotes the value of fine craft; we champion quality fine crafts roduced and sold in the United States; we stimulate innovation, creative design and use of materials; we provide an outlet for the exhibition and sale of artist members’ works; and we provide education and foster connections among artists and the community. Piedmont Craftsmen was founded by both collectors and makers of fine craft, making us unique as a guild. The ongoing dialogue between makers and collectors has nurtured, shaped and strengthened us since our founding in 1963.

Statement on Improving Diversity:

Piedmont Craftsmen is devoted to representing artists, staff & board members from all backgrounds, including all sexual and gender orientations and all racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. Since 2018, the organization has been seeking to improve the demographic health and diversity within our structure at every level, as specified in a detailed and thorough DEI Implementation Plan approved by our Board of Directors, and available at your request.

As such, we strongly wish to appeal to people from any or all backgrounds to consider applying. As the guild continues our work to improve the way we champion and serve the rich and diverse world of craft artists and professionals working in the arts, we can assure that the presence of these people goes beyond representation, but creates an authenticity to our mission of being the Nation’s finest fine arts guild. For questions or more information, please contact our Director of Development at development@piedmontcraftsmen.org</