Our Staff and Volunteers
Clare Finin - Committee Chair
Clare Finin is a results-driven creative administrator, program manager, curator, and community builder. Originally from Philadelphia she now resides in Lansdowne, PA where she currently works at the Interim Executive Director at the Lansdowne Economic Development Coorporation (LEDC). She holds an MFA in Metal/Studio Art with a Graduate Minor in Art History from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and BFA in Metalsmithing + Jewelry with a Minor in Art History from the Maine College of Art. Her interests include old houses, craft and design, and pop culture.
Derek Ludwig - LEDC Representative
Originally from Reading, PA, Derek spent his 20s and 30s in touring bands and organizing punk and metal concerts. After moving to London in 2003, he toured Europe and operated a DIY record label called Parade of Spectres. Returning to Philly in 2013, he continued his work in underground music before moving to Lansdowne and joining the LEDC in 2018. He has a background in graphic design and music promotion as well as strong interests in small-scale modeling, DIY punk and metal music, fantasy role-playing games, and abstract painting.
Ryan Batkie - Committee Member
Dr. Ryan Batkie is a science education researcher and instructor at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Physics and Astronomy where sometimes makes even the most cynical students rethink their assumptions about how much they hate science. His academic research explores the relationship between democratic citizenship and school science. He has lived with his partner Sarah and daughter Violet in Lansdowne since 2017. Ryan’s true love is DIY music and is highly motivated to expand opportunities for youth in Lansdowne to become empowered through performance art.
Keyonna Butler is a multidisciplinary artist, writer and curator based in Lansdowne, PA. With over 10 years of being a part of the creative industries in many forms, Keyonna has worked with designers and brands such as Dah Mod Collins of RM67 Studio, James R. Sanders, Sibby Liv, The Sable Collective, The Humanitas Movement, Philadelphia Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and FAME Worldwide in London and during Art Basel Miami.
In transitioning from costume design to wearable art, Keyonna’s work as a wearable art designer has been showcased at James Oliver Gallery, Art to Ware and at HOT•BED Gallery during Philadelphia Fashion Week. When she is not creating art herself, she is giving artists a platform to showcase their work through curating gallery shows and installations around the city with her “I AM CREATOR / CREATION” project.
Keyonna’s latest venture is being the founder of Black Hippie Art, a digital art platform with the mission to support and empower BIPOC creatives and creative entrepreneurs in the art and culture sectors. With this company she is able to support and showcase contemporary artists, makers and creative entrepreneurs while introducing them to the plenty of opportunities of success within the creative industries.
Erica Harney - Committee Member
Erica Harney is a fine artist, muralist and scenic painter. She holds a BFA from Alfred University, an MFA from Penn State, and has studied at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy. Her personal studio practice focuses on paintings depicting landscape and architecture, influenced heavily by personal travels and her extensive experience as a muralist and scenic artist for the stage, tv, museums and entertainment displays around the world. She is known locally for her “Houses of Lansdowne” watercolor series and corresponding book, as well as various murals in Lansdowne, Upper Darby and Philadelphia. She has been a member of the Lansdowne Arts [Board] Committee since 2020.
Karen Tate - Committee Member
Karen Tate is a glass and fibers artist based in Lansdowne, PA. Karen is a graduate of the Bead Project at Urban Glass (Brooklyn NY) in 2015 and has completed multiple metal smithing workshops in the Philadelphia area. She has been producing handmade glass and bronze jewelry since 2015 and has participated in several vendor fairs that focus on uplifting small black owned businesses. In addition to making glass beads for jewelry, Karen also creates glass beads for hair adornment including braids and locs. She is inspired by the history of bead making in different tribal communities and ways they are celebrated and traded in those cultures. As an Afro-Indegenous descendant, this practice fulfills a cultural calling and her sense of creative purpose. As Karen creates her beads, an important thing to remember is that no two beads will ever be the same. Each is individual and special, allowing others to appreciate their handmade quality but also take pride in their own uniqueness.
Fabiola Desmont - Committee Member
Dr. Fabiola Desmont, is a Lansdowne resident and member of the Lansdowne Arts Committee. She founded and directs LEAP-Training and Consulting Services, LLC, and also has a private psychotherapy practice in Lansdowne. Her career focuses on empowering individuals and advancing social justice, with international and domestic recognition, including features on CNN’s Freedom Project and numerous awards. Dr. Desmont teaches at Bryn Mawr College, NYU Silver School of Social Work, and Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. A proud Haitian-American, she is also a mother of three.
Leigh Jackson - Committee Member
Leigh Jackson is a passionate advocate for arts accessibility. As a theatre administrator, she led a group of 100 theatre professionals seeking to increase accessibility for patrons who are Blind, Deaf, Neurodivergent and/or with limited mobility. She also led a PCA-funded project with three other theatres to train a new, diverse cohort of audio-describers.