2017 Arts Education Summit
Presenter Biography
Barbara Mumby was born and raised in California’s Central Valley, where her family’s Native American heritage and work as migrant farmers greatly influenced her passion for social justice and equity issues. As Senior Program Officer at the San Francisco Arts Commission, Barbara oversees the Cultural Equity grants program, overseeing the distribution of approximately six million dollars annually to small and mid-sized arts organizations, individual artists and teaching artists. Previously, Barbara designed and implemented large-scale early childhood education initiatives and grant programs in both Alameda and Merced County through their respective First 5 organizations. Barbara obtained her undergraduate degrees in Native American Studies and Studio Arts from the University of California Berkeley where she was heavily entrenched in the fight for Ethnic Studies while co-founding the annual Night of Cultural Resistance: designed to address issues affecting underrepresented communities while promoting coalition building and cultural understanding. After graduating from UC Berkeley, Barbara obtained Master’s degrees in Museum Studies and Business Administration, focusing on the international repatriation of Native American cultural property within her research. She is passionate in her support for Indigenous communities in their fight for self-determination, and has worked with numerous groups and agencies in the effort for the repatriation of spiritually and culturally significant objects held in public institutions.