GAS is excited to announce the election of 12 new board members for our 2025 fiscal year. GAS Executive Director Brandi P. Clark states, “We are in the midst of a transformative period at GAS as we expand internationally, and we are thrilled to be adding 12 new members to our Board of Directors. These talented individuals have a broad range of skills as seasoned professionals, administrators, and artists whose expertise ranges from sustainability to fundraising and everything in between. We are confident these new board members will work with our current board and staff to make GAS the best organization it can be.”
Learn more about our amazing new board members below and stay tuned for information about our virtual Annual General Meeting in September where GAS members will have a chance to meet our new board members.
Our 2025 New Board Members
Zach Abella is a Citizen Potawatomi glass artist residing in Carbondale, Illinois studying at Southern Illinois University. He began working in glass at the age of 12 with the Hilltop Artists program in Tacoma, Washington. He finds inspiration for his work in Potawatomi cultural tradition and Coastal Salish traditions he grew up with in the Pacific Northwest. The current goal of his work is to learn traditional teachings and stories and interpret them through a 21st-century lens, using both traditional and new mediums and techniques. With the help and guidance of other native glass artists, he has been able to increase accessibility for native individuals in glass, and further push glass art as a medium used in native expression.
Phillip Murray Bandura, a third-generation Calgarian, earned his BFA in glass from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2005. He co-founded Bee Kingdom Glass, which achieved success and accolades such as the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award and Avenues Top 40 Under 40. His work has been shown internationally, including in the USA, South Korea, Germany, and Greece. Phillip was also a founding member of Berlin Glas e.V., Berlin’s first glass-blowing studio. In 2020, he earned an MFA in Craft with a specialization in glass from the Alberta University of the Arts.
Lothar Böttcher is an internationally recognised artist based in Pretoria, South Africa. His works are represented in private and museum collections worldwide, including the Corning Museum of Glass (USA), Glasmuseum Frauenau (Germany), and the Pretoria Art Museum (South Africa).
Böttcher is an active curator and instigator, strengthening the glass art community and growing appreciation for the medium. Through ongoing projects like “Blow Your Sculpture”, he has introduced the magic of glass to other artists, expanding the boundaries and possibilities of the material. He is also a founding member and coordinator of the Lathe Riders, an international coldworking collective.
As the Executive Director of Chihuly Garden and Glass, Bufano brings more than twenty-five years of experience working in arts leadership positions including Pratt Fine Arts Center, Museum of Glass, and the Tacoma Art Museum. In 2019, Bufano and family purchased Gallery Mack in Seattle. The Gallery, a 50-year resident of the city, represents Pacific Northwest artists. Bufano acts in a curator capacity for the Gallery. Throughout her career, she has supported artists at every stage of their artistic journey by assuming board positions on local and national arts organizations, curating exhibitions showcasing emerging artists, and advocating for access to the arts.
Janine Christley worked for Ruskin Mill Trust for over 30 years; a nonprofit providing education and care for young people with learning disabilities, for the last twelve years as Director of Fundraising. Christley is also the Founder and Director of the International Festival of Glass, the major event for contemporary glass in the UK. In October 2024 this event will be taken over by GAS and Christley is joining the board to ensure a smooth successful handover and a positive relationship with British glass artists and organisations.
James Devereux has been working in glass since the age of 15 when he discovered a natural talent for the craft, and he has been working in glass ever since. Specialising in hot glass, his skills cover solid forms as well as blown pieces, and an extensive knowledge of glass techniques means he is always primed for new challenges. In 2008, Devereux opened his first studio in the inspiring Wiltshire countryside, and a year later he was pulled back to London as the glass technician at the Royal College of Art, a role that opened up vast new contacts and opportunities which are still at the core of his career today.
Kate Dowd is the Director of Education at UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, NY. Having worked at renowned studios and nurtured young talent through teaching and assisting at various institutions, including the Toledo Museum of Art, Pilchuck Glass School, GlassRoots and UrbanGlass, Kate is a strong advocate for arts education and for creative expression in all its manifestations. At GlassRoots, as a teaching artist and Assistant Program Director, she initiated ongoing, transformative glassmaking programs for youth and the Newark community at large. Employing her expertise in beadmaking, glassblowing, and kilnforming, Kate’s own work explores ideas of the artist-viewer relationship. Her artistic inspiration extends to community and public projects, reflecting her commitment to art education and community enrichment.
Annabelle Javier is the Chief Operating Officer of Paul Wissmach Glass Company. Annabelle and her spouse, Jason, are the third family to run this 120-year old colored sheet glass manufacturer based in Paden City, West Virginia. When she’s not running the business, she is actively involved in the Pittsburgh glass art community and is a board member of the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Her background is in chemical engineering and she hopes to develop some unique glass colors in the near future.
Dr. Kayla Natividad is an Architectural Technical Service Engineer for flat glass manufacturer Pilkington North America. A Texas native, she received her PhD in civil engineering with a focus on structures and research in glass design from Texas Tech University. Since moving to “the Glass City” Toledo, OH, Kayla’s work has been directed towards the advocacy of glass technology and the development of industry standards, best practices, and technical education. She is an active contributor and holds leadership positions in a number of architectural glass trade associations and standards committees.
Natali Rodrigues is an Associate Professor in the Glass Program at the Alberta University of the Arts in Canada. Her research investigates the experience of liminal space and transformative experience, which finds voice through two distinct making practises: drawing and glass. Her working methodology moves between a meditative making practise and one that is profoundly physical. Her work is an attempt to create a system of cartography of liminal space, where what is marked is not in reference to the physical but rather the transformative.
On the rugged Oregon coast, Julia Rogers’ art experience began with her father, an Argentine artist, who taught her how to think beyond the norm. Her work spans sculpture, installation and performance. She found molten glass in a production studio in 2001 in Florence, Montana and never looked back. Rogers has an MFA in glass and sculpture from Bowling Green State University. Living in an ever-changing world that operates systematically despite the sense of disarray, Rogers’ work raises the awareness of the interconnectedness of all life and the delicate balance between humankind’s interference and enhancement. Julia loves sharing her passion for glassmaking with others and has taught at the university level since 2011.
Danielle Ruttenberg is a skilled glassblower, innovative entrepreneur, and dedicated mother of two young children. After graduating from Abington High School in 2001 and earning her degree from Tyler School of Art in 2006, she launched DR Glass Design, a custom glass art and fabrication business, which she successfully operated from 2007 to 2015. In early 2016, following the birth of her first child, Danielle co-founded Remark Glass, a fully sustainable, zero-waste custom glass studio located in the revitalized Bok Building in South Philadelphia. Remark Glass embodies the fusion of art and sustainability by utilizing traditional glassblowing techniques to transform discarded bottle glass into small-batch home accessories. Furthering her commitment to environmental impact and community development, Danielle and her team established Bottle Underground in 2020, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing waste reduction efforts and creating local employment opportunities.