2026 Sachs Program Grants Evaluation Committees
Each year, The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation grant award decisions are extremely difficult and not taken lightly. The 2026 grant cycle represented our largest and most competitive application pool to date, and we are extremely grateful to all who applied.
Our 2026 applications were peer-reviewed by 12 committees across six grant categories during a weeks-long evaluation process. Committee members included former grantees, Penn students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as Philadelphia community members, and colleagues within the arts, reflecting a range of expertise.
While the committees change each year, the decisions they make are always informed by the Sachs Program’s grantmaking criteria and mission priorities, and are undertaken with great care and attention. The feedback generated from committee members and shared with applicants is an integral element of our efforts to support the communities we serve.
We are grateful to our 2026 committee members for the time and thought they dedicated to this year’s grants evaluation process.
Committee Members
- Andrew Beal
Associate Director of Development and Finance, The Kelly Writers House, University of Pennsylvania - Azsaneé Truss
Gilbert Seldes Multimodal Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Experimental Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania - Brooke O’Harra
Co-Director, Theatre Arts Program, Senior Lecturer in Theatre Arts, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Cindy Stockton Moore
Artist - Daniel Tucker
Museum and arts leader - David Hollenberg
University Architect Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania - Deborah Thomas
R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Department Chair; Director, Center for Experimental Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania - Denise Ryner
Andrea B. Laporte Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania - Ellen Rosen
Board President, Presser Foundation - e.jin
Writer - Fariha Khan
Co-Director, Asian American Studies Program, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Farrah Rahaman
PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communications, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Gabrielle Patterson
Motion Designer, Illustrator, and Filmmaker - Hakimah Abdul-Fattah
William Fontaine Fellow and PhD Candidate, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Heather Calvert
Executive Director, MindCORE, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Heather Love
Co-Director, Theatre Arts Program, Professor of English, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Heather Raquel Phillips
Lecturer, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Ivanco Talevski
Senior Lecturer, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Jasmine Johnson
Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, Sach Program Board Member, University of Pennsylvania - Jennifer Brehm
Director of Learning and Public Engagement, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania - Jessica Bicknell
Director of Exhibitions, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania - Jessica Peterson
Manager, Common Press, University of Pennsylvania - Jo Park
Associate Dean for Arts and Letters, School of Arts & Sciences, President’s Distinguished Professor of English, Sachs Program Board Co-chair, University of Pennsylvania - Jo Tiongsen Perez
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania - Johanna Burton
Daniel W. Dietrich II, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania - John Caperton
Communications Coordinator, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania - Jonathan Santoro
Artist - Jonathan Zimmerman
Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education, Professor of History of Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania - Julia Fox
Assistant Director, Annual Fund and Individual Giving, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania - Julia Heim
Lecturer in Foreign Languages (Italian), School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Kate Lien
Associate Director, Undergraduate Fine Arts & Design, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Kayla Romberger
Lecturer, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Kevin Chun
Administrative Assistant, Theatre Arts Program, University of Pennsylvania; Musician - Kevin Platt
Associate Professor, Russian & East European Studies, University of Pennsylvania - Laura Koloski
Director of Institutional Giving, California College of the Arts - Leah Seppanen Anderson
Executive Director, SNF Paideia Program, University of Pennsylvania - Leah Falk
Director of Education and Engagement at Penn Live Arts, University of Pennsylvania; Writer - Lisa Ann Britton
Lecturer, French and Francophone Studies, University of Pennsylvania - Liza Vick
Head, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library & Eugene Ormandy Music & Media Center, University of Pennsylvania - Lucila Rozas Urrunaga
Doctoral Candidate, Annenberg School for Communications, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Margit Edwards
Lecturer in Theatre Arts, Center for Experimental Ethnography, Affiliated Faculty, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Megan Edelman
Associate Director, Platt Student Performing Arts House - Molly Sampson
Collections Manager, Penn Art Collection, University of Pennsylvania - Rachel Wenrick
Executive Director for the Arts, University of Pennsylvania - Rachell Morillo
Cultural Producer, Educator, Writer, Photographer - Rashida Ng
Presidential Associate Professor of Architecture and Chair, Undergraduate Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania - Riley Jones
Director, UACS Cultural Group Partnerships, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania - Robert Chaney
Marc J. Leder Director of Curatorial Affairs, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania - Rob Buscher
Lecturer, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania; Filmmaker - Ryann Carey
Associate Director, Central Corporate & Foundation Relations - Samantha Hill
Curator of Civic Engagement at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania - Sarah Sidoti
Associate Director of Operations, Humanities and Human Flourishing Project, University of Pennsylvania - Scott Filkin
Director, Office of Social Equity & Community, University of Pennsylvania - Sharon Hayes
Professor and Chair of Fine Arts, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Artist - Taja Jones
Associate Director of Individual Giving, Penn Live Arts, University of Pennsylvania - Vanessa Grossman
Assistant Professor of Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania - Walter Biggins
Editor-in-Chief, University of Pennsylvania Press, University of Pennsylvania
2026 Grant Awards
The Sachs Program 2026 Grant Awards supported 37 ambitious and creative projects in the arts and humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.