2026 AAAE Board Elections
We are pleased to announce the eligible Nominees, and current Board members standing for re-election, in the 2026 AAAE Board elections! Elections will open in March this year. Please stay tuned for more information about voting.
Taiwo Afolabi (Individual Member)
Biography: Dr. Taiwo Afolabi is an award-winning researcher, educator, entrepreneur, and community leader. His career reflects a commitment to excellence and innovation across a variety of domains and global contexts. In addition to being a full professor, Dr. Afolabi is a Canada Research Chair, 3M National Teaching Fellow, member of Royal Society of Canada and co-founder of Green Africa Airways. Within For-Profit and Notfor-Profit sectors, he has provided strategic governance, advisory services, and executive leadership essential for building impactful organizations. With experience in over thirty-five countries across five continents, he advances transformational leadership, and fosters partnership within higher education and beyond. He is currently the director of the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre, the Canada Research Chair in Socially Engaged Theatre and a full Professor at the University of Regina.
Position Statement: I firmly believe that AAAE has the potential to contribute further to art administration, especially in terms of equity-owned communities. I am interested in co-creating strategic opportunities, making meaningful connections and facilitating gatherings to advance this essence. As a connector, researcher, artist, and entrepreneur, I am interested in working with the Board to find ways to support the vision and mandate of AAAE.
Rachel Parker (Institutional Member)
Biography: Rachel Parker is an arts administration educator whose work focuses on preparing reflective, ethical leaders for the cultural sector. She teaches in the Arts Administration program at Southern Utah University, where her courses emphasize values clarification, reflective practice, and the human dimensions of leadership in the arts.
A long-standing member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, Rachel has been actively engaged in the organization’s work for more than a decade. She has presented at the AAAE annual conference six times, attended a dozen annual conferences, and has served on the AAAE Conference Committee for the past seven years, reviewing and vetting conference presentation and paper submissions. She also served on the Tenure Standards Work Group that developed AAAE’s Standards of Scholarship, helping shape a document designed to support arts administration faculty navigating tenure and promotion processes.
At Southern Utah University, Rachel previously served as Director of Arts Administration, guiding the program through a period of significant growth and curricular development. She now focuses primarily on teaching and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students the MFA (on-campus), MA (online), and undergraduate minor tracks. Her scholarship explores psychology-informed leadership pedagogy and the role of reflective practice in arts administration education.
Before entering academia, Rachel worked with a range of arts organizations including the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Utah Symphony & Utah Opera, the Sundance Institute, and the National Theatre of the Deaf. She continues to collaborate with nonprofit arts organizations as a consultant and advisor.
Rachel believes deeply in the role of arts administration education in cultivating ethical leadership, strengthening communities, and sustaining arts and culture.
Position Statement: If elected to the AAAE Board of Directors, I would bring a collaborative, values-centered approach to governance, grounded in both scholarship and practice. I view the Board’s role as one of stewardship—supporting AAAE’s mission while ensuring the organization remains responsive to the evolving needs of arts administration educators, students, and the field.
My work as an educator and scholar has focused on holistic leadership development, ethical practice, and reflective pedagogy. At the board level, I would apply this perspective to support initiatives that strengthen teaching excellence, faculty development, and inclusive pathways into the profession. I am particularly interested in advancing conversations around equity, access, and wellbeing in arts administration education, especially as programs navigate changes in higher education and workforce expectations.
I also bring experience across both in-person and online graduate education and would welcome the opportunity to help AAAE continue supporting faculty working in a wide range of institutional contexts. I am committed to strengthening community among members by encouraging the sharing of pedagogical strategies, curricular resources, and research, and by helping foster spaces where early-career educators and those from smaller or emerging programs feel supported and connected.
As a Board member, I would listen carefully, contribute thoughtfully, and act with integrity in service of AAAE’s mission. I am motivated by a deep belief in arts administration education as a catalyst for ethical leadership, community engagement, and the sustainability of arts and culture, and I would be honored to help guide AAAE’s continued growth and impact.
Current AAAE Board members up for re-election to a second term:
Youngaah Koh (Institutional Member)
Biography: Dr. Youngaah Koh is an Assistant Professor of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship at Miami University. Youngaah is a scholar who engages in collaborations with the community and internationally through her teaching and research. Her research focuses on cultural policy and advocacy, the intersection of arts management and artificial intelligence (AI), and arts management education and pedagogy. She has a forthcoming co-edited volume, AI in Arts Administration: Cases of Practice and Pedagogy, with Routledge.
Youngaah serves leadership roles in the field as an elected board member and Treasurer of the Association of Arts Administration Education (AAAE), and a Director of International Cooperation with the Korean Society of Arts and Cultural Management (KOSACM).
Before her career in higher education, Youngaah worked at the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization), where she engaged in the design and implementation of international cultural policy. She coordinated multiple cooperative projects with countries in the Asia-Pacific region to help safeguard, revitalize their arts and culture. Youngaah also has a background in arts and business journalism.
Position Statement: I am seeking reelection to the AAAE Board to continue and deepen my work on strengthening the organization’s long-term financial sustainability and advancing our international initiatives. Since 2024, I have served as treasurer, working closely with staff to ensure transparent financial reporting and organizational financial stability. I have also remained active in the International Affinity Group, helping expand AAAE’s engagement with interdisciplinary and international scholar-practitioners through events.
Looking ahead, I hope to build on this foundation by further cultivating these global relationships and exploring new opportunities for member engagement, such as developing a potential AAAE study abroad program in Asia or South Korea. I remain committed to supporting a financially resilient, globally connected AAAE and would be honored to continue serving the organization in this role.
Rosemary Polegato (Individual Member)
Biography: Teacher/Learner. Researcher. Arts advocate. Rosemary Polegato has almost 20 years of experience with course and curriculum design related to study and practice in the arts and culture sector. She also incorporates the arts into learning contexts for conventional business courses. She is a member of the committee which established, and continues to develop, an interdisciplinary Certificate in Arts Administration. She served as Chair of the committee of the Presidents Speakers Series: Culture and Creativity; the roster included cultural leaders in film, visual arts, literature, drama, and music. In 2025, she was appointed to the Fred C. Manning Chair through a consultative process. Her Board service includes AAAE (3 years; 2 as Vice-President), Atlantic Ballet Atlantique (5 years), and a large heritage trust (6 years). She was recently elected to the Board of Regents of Mount Allison University.
Dr. Polegato earned her MBA and PhD at the Ivey Business School, Western University, preceded by an MSc (Consumer Studies), University of Guelph, and an undergraduate degree with a Major in Textiles & Design. A 3M National Teaching Fellow, she presents and publishes within her discipline and across numerous domains of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her interests in teaching, research, and service are characterized by community-based approaches, interdisciplinarity, intersectionality, and emergent ideas and practices. For example, a book chapter for Applying Inquiry-Based Learning [IBL] Across Disciplines in Higher Education (MacKinnon, Archer-Kuhn & Beltrano, 2025; 21 pages) entitled, Taking it Outside: IBL in Public Spaces, is based on The Empty Fridge Project designed and implemented by students in her Arts and Culture Marketing course with the goal to reduce food insecurity.
Dr. Polegato seeks to increase understanding of the impact of psychological, social, and cultural forces on arts and culture audiences, consumer behavior, the physical environment, and young adult learners. Research topics span arts and culture marketing/management issues; effectiveness of pedagogical approaches, such as art and creativity as conduits for learning; and health and wellness in academia. A recent (co-authored) publication entitled, Looking Forward: Anticipation Enhances Service Experiences (Journal of Services Marketing) is based on audience data collected at the Norwegian Opera & Ballet. Dr. Polegato was invited to deliver the Dr. George F. G. Stanley Lecture entitled, Canadian Public Art: Our Space, Our Stories?
Position Statement: More than ever the world needs creative thinkers, makers, and arts managers. I believe that AAAE is well-positioned to respond to the needs of scholars and practicing artists in our turbulent, and sometimes disruptive, climate. Further, opportunities to influence more inclusive, diverse, and global perspectives have been recognized.
I would be honoured to serve a second term as a Board member for our organization. AAAE cares: I have seen first-hand that AAAE truly fosters collaboration, excellence, community, and support for its members through conferences, workshops, and special events. I served on a variety of committees related to finance, EDIA issues, evaluation and feedback, and awards. Further, AAAE aligns with my approach to teaching, research, and service, that is, community-based, interdisciplinary, intersectional, and supportive of emergent ideas and practices. My AAAE conference contributions include solo and team presentations, as well as contributions to two Global Conversations sessions.
My continued service to the Board will bring almost 20 years of teaching experience in Arts and Culture Management and Arts and Culture Marketing; more than 16 years of previous Board experience (ballet, large heritage trust, funder, university board); an interest in public art; and an inclination that is open-minded, dedicated, optimistic; and a lens that is a balance of scholarly and practical perspectives.