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, MFA / MBA, is a faculty member and former Director of the Arts Administration graduate programs at Southern Utah University, where she currently teaches introductory arts administration, arts leadership, and grant writing, and supervises all capstone projects and internships. She works across both the MFA (on-campus) and MA (online) tracks, bringing deep experience with multiple modalities of graduate education and a strong commitment to accessible, student-centered learning.
Rachel’s teaching is grounded in holistic leadership development, integrating psychological frameworks, reflective practice, and ethics-based decision-making to prepare thoughtful and resilient arts leaders. She has developed signature pedagogical approaches—including a values clarification model for mission design—that help students build self-awareness, articulate purpose, and align organizational strategy with core values. Her classroom emphasizes inclusivity, compassion, critical thinking, and the development of emotionally intelligent leaders prepared to serve their communities.
Her scholarship focuses on psychology-based leadership pedagogy and mission formation in arts organizations. Her recent publication, Finding Purpose: Using Values Clarification to Teach Mission Design (American Journal of Arts Management), explores the role of reflective practice in strengthening mission development within arts administration education. She regularly presents workshops and lectures on reflective and psychological approaches to leadership development.
Rachel’s professional background includes leadership roles in arts organizations, nonprofits, and community-based programs, with experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and leadership coaching. She is particularly committed to supporting early-career professionals and fostering inclusive pathways into arts leadership.
She believes deeply in arts administration education as a catalyst for ethical practice, community engagement, and the sustainability of 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:
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. In 2025, she was appointed to the Fred C. Manning Chair through a consultative process. Her Board service includes AAAE, Atlantic Ballet Atlantique (Canada) and a large heritage trust. She was recently elected to the Board of Regents of Mount Allison University. A 3M National Teaching Fellow, she presents and publishes within her discipline and across numerous domains of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
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. Her interests in teaching, research, and service are characterized by community-based approaches, interdisciplinarity, intersectionality, and emergent ideas and practices. For example, a 21-page book chapter for Applying Inquiry-Based Learning [IBL] Across Disciplines in Higher Education (MacKinnon, Archer-Kuhn & Beltrano, 2025), 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. 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. 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 and makers. 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. 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 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.