Mason Vision Day 2024
April 4, 2024
Champion What Matters Most to You at Mason!
Every year on Mason Vision Day, all Mason supporters—alumni, friends, volunteers, faculty, staff, parents, and students—are encouraged to come together to make a difference by supporting Mason.
Now is your opportunity to make a difference by supporting the enriching experiences, dedicated professors, and engaging spaces that helped you grow and achieve at Mason, and pay it forward to the next generation of Patriots!
Hear from Doc Nix of the Green Machine about how the funds raised on Mason Vision Day make a difference.
Your Support Makes Our Work Possible
Creating community through the arts is what we do, with every class, exhibition, screening, performance, and experience.
Image: An Artist-in-Residence leads Mason students in an interactive class.
Are you a CVPA Alum?
We want to hear from you! Tell us about your triumphs, challenges, and successes since graduation, and join our mailing list to be notified about upcoming opportunities and events for our alumni.
Image: Alumna Carlehr Swanson poses with Dean Rick Davis at the concert for Swanson’s EP release.
Learn about the Art and Design Scholarship Fund
Support emerging artists and designers finding new ways to shape and showcase their brilliant ideas.
Learn about the Arts Management Scholarship Fund
Your gift supports future leaders and entrepreneurs bringing the critical work of artists and organizations to their communities.
Learn about the Computer Game Design Scholarship Fund
Scholarships for game design students enable these innovative minds to develop new virtual worlds that entertain and educate.
Learn about the Dance Scholarship Fund
Talented dancers from across the country rely on support from donors like you to make their time at Mason possible.
Learn about the Film Scholarship Fund
Your donation fortifies the opportunities for these incredible storytellers to bring their dreams to your screens.
Learn about the Friends of Music Student Scholarship Fund
Performers, composers, and future educators amplifying the power of music will benefit from your generosity.
Learn about the Theater Scholarship Fund
Scholarships make it possible for these talented designers, technicians, and performers to shine, whether on the stage or behind the scenes.
Bringing innovative artists to mason's Fairfax campus and the community
Learn about the Center for the Arts
Student performances and award-winning artists: exceptional experiences in the Center for the Arts are made possible by donors like you.
Bringing innovative artists to Mason’s Manassas campus and the community
Learn about the Hylton Performing Arts Center
Beyond the groundbreaking professional artists presented at the Hylton Center, your gift also supports local artists and community partners.
Learn about the Green Machine Pep Band
Students from all across Mason, playing any instrument at any level and any age benefit from your donation.
Learn about the Mason Community Arts Academy
Support students from grades 6-12 as they build their musical skills and create community during Mason Summer Band Camp.
Challenge #1: Add 20 gifts to Arts Management Scholarship Fund
Unlock an Additional $500
If we receive 20 gifts of any amount to the Arts Management Scholarship Fund, an additional $500 will be unlocked for Arts Management students by Dr. Victoria N. Salmon (DA Higher Education ’97, Alumni Service Award 2022, Arts Management Adjunct Faculty, Mason Arts Board Development Committee Chair)
Challenge #2: Match Gifts up to $2,500 for Film Scholarship Fund
Match Gift of Any Amount up to $2,500
Mason Arts Board member Willy Meaux will match gifts of any amount up to $2,500 to the Film Scholarship Fund in support of the Mason Film Festival April 22 - 27, 2024.
Susan Graziano
MA Arts Management '16
Director of Development, Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts
Isaac W. K. Thweatt
BM Music '08
Isaac W. K. Thweatt, BM '05, is a nonprofit executive, fundraiser, clinician, and performing artist who serves as Chief Advancement Officer for the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY). Originally from southcentral Virginia, Isaac earned a bachelor of music in performance from George Mason University and a master of science in management from The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), continuing his post-graduate studies in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and in diversity and equity at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
A longtime alumni volunteer, Isaac served as the fourth president of the George Mason University Black Alumni Chapter (2006 – 2007). He is a member of The Arts at Mason Board, an alumni Brother and past president of the Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and a fervent supporter of various Mason initiatives. Isaac is also a former CVPA Alumni Chapter board member and a past perennial speaker for the Mason LeaderShape Institute. In his early career, he served as a steward of the School of Management Alumni Chapter board (2006 – 2012).
Dr. Victoria Salmon
DA Higher Education ‘97
Alumni Service Award 2022, Arts Management Adjunct Faculty, Development Committee Chair, Mason Arts Board
Shannon Baccaglini
MM Flute '06; MA Arts Management '09
Shannon Siemens Baccaglini (MM, Flute, 2006; MA, Arts Management, 2009) serves as the Director of Data Integrity and Quality at Children's National Hospital Foundation. In this role, she oversees the Foundation's data health, standards, maintenance, and governance. Shannon is dedicated to driving collaborative strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing data management, streamlining processes, and optimizing data quality and outcomes. Apart from her expertise in database administration, Shannon boasts over a decade of nonprofit experience in annual giving, direct response, membership, and nonprofit operations, the knowledge and passion of which was cultivated during her tenure in the Arts Management program.
Her professional journey includes roles at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and George Mason University’s Green Machine, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, and College of Visual and Performing Arts. Outside her professional life, she enjoys distance running, baking French macarons, attending concerts, and utilizing her music degrees by performing regularly at church and various functions. Shannon is a past president of the CVPA Alumni chapter and past member at-large of the Mason Alumni Board, and continues to support the arts at our beloved alma mater. She resides in Fairfax, VA, with her husband and young son.
Deborah Hoesly
MA Arts Management '08
Deborah Hoesly is the Chief Mission Advancement Officer at Lutheran Services in America. Deborah joined Lutheran Services in America in October 2014 as Vice President of Development. Deborah is responsible for individual, corporate and foundation giving, as well as donor relations and development strategy. Prior to joining the organization, Deborah served as Director of Development at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in Fairfax, Virginia, where she was responsible for raising support for the college’s seven academic disciplines as well for the Great Performances at Mason and ARTS by George!, the College’s signature annual benefit event.
Willy Meaux
Mason Arts Board Member
Willy Meaux is Founder and Producer of Longthrow Media, an independent film production company. He has 40 years of experience in Washington including appointments under the Obama and Biden Administrations as Associate Director of Congressional Affairs for an independent federal financial industry regulatory agency (FCA), as senior staff to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a communications strategist. He currently serves as a member of the Mason Arts Board.
Anika Tené
MA Arts Management '18
Anika Tené (she/her) serves as WESTAF’s director of grants, awards and programs. In this role, she informs and develops a range of equity-centered learning experiences and grants programs that work to build a more inclusive arts and culture sector. Previously, she was a manager of national education initiatives at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts where she ensured that arts professionals were equipped with relevant professional learning and support as they sought to provide equitable access to the arts among public school students.
Anika has worked with a number of arts organizations as a music and arts director, stage manager, producer, gallery coordinator, and subscriptions sales associate. She also served as assistant director of national college fairs, programs and services for the National Association for College Admission Counseling where she piloted and scaled arts and STEM college and career fairs reaching over 20,000 attendees annually. Anika is a former chair of the Arlington County Commission for the Arts and a past board chair of the Arts Administrators of Color Network. A current member of George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Arts at Mason Board, Anika previously led the Arts Management Alumni Group. Anika is a certified life coach and focuses her services on supporting creatives at various professional crossroads. Anika earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Howard University and a master’s degree in arts management from George Mason University, where her capstone focused on the need for diversity in arts organization leadership. She also holds a master’s degree in public anthropology from American University and a postgraduate degree in management from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.
Alice Magelssen-Green
MA Arts Management '22
Alice Magelssen-Green (MA'22 Arts Management ) currently uses her expertise in Arts Management and fundraising at Watershed Lit: Center for Literary Engagement and Publishing Practice at George Mason University in the role of Associate Director. Watershed, a collective of literary organizations, provides opportunities for the public to engage with the literary arts through literary events, published work, and professional development opportunities for Mason students. As Associate Director, Alice oversees the center's fundraising, marketing and general administration. Alice comes to the position from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, where she served as an Assistant Director of Development, fundraising for the Schools of Theater, Music, and Dance. Prior to joining the advancement team at Mason, Alice worked at Theater J at the Edlavitch D.C. Jewish Community Center as a Development Manager and as a Development Assistant at Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (C.A.P.E.). She also currently serves as Chair of the Development, Marketing, and Advocacy Committe of the Fairfax Library Foundation.
Questions about supporting The Green Machine Pep Band? Contact Bobby Lacy and Chris Troiano.
Questions about Mason Vision Day? Contact Amanda Snellings.
Header image: Mason School of Theater's 2023 production of 9 to 5 The Musical. Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton. Directed by Rex Daugherty