Homer Council on the Arts (HCOA) is the local arts agency serving the communities of Kachemak Bay and the Lower Kenai Peninsula.
HCOA advocates a role for The Arts in community life. We offer programs in arts education and sponsor a variety of public arts events such as concerts, plays, gallery exhibits, talent shows, and crafts faires.
The historic roots of the organization reach back to 1958 with the founding of the Homer Concert Association. In subsequent years Homer area arts groups determined that a formal organization was needed to support their increasing programmatic needs and to furnish a cultural arts facility in Homer. Homer Council on the Arts was established in 1975 for this purpose. Your interest today honors the efforts of so many and helps to move HCOA ahead into the future.
You will find regular announcements and information about current programs here on our website. You can also subscribe here to various newsletters which will notify you by email of volunteer opportunities, artists' opportunities, upcoming events and new developments at HCOA!
Our Board of Directors
Diane Borgman, President/Chair - 6 years of service
Diane is a retired teacher and school administrator with thirty-four years in public education. She has taught from kindergarten through college levels. Before moving to Alaska in 1970, Diane taught in California for seven years. After arriving in Alaska, she taught in rural village schools for thirteen years before moving to Homer and opening McNeil Canyon Elementary School in 1983. She has a BA degree from University of California, San Jose and MA degree from UAA, Anchorage. Diane holds lifetime teaching certificates in both California and Alaska. In 1991, she received the "National Distinguished Elementary Principal of the Year Award" for Alaska. She serves on the Board of Directors for Homer Council on the Arts, the Homer Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska State Council on the Arts. Diane has also served as President for the Alaska State Writing Consortium, President of the Alaska Arts Education Consortium, a member of the Alaska Arts in Education, the Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals. She is currently a small business owner of Homer Ocean Charters. Diane is a Mother of two and in her spare time loves to read, travel and volunteer for community service. She is a true advocate for the arts in Alaska.
Kathy Pate, Vice President - 18 years of service
Kathy Pate is a life long Alaskan, born and raised in Fairbanks. She has been involved with HCOA for eighteen years, serving as a board member, volunteer and major donor. Kathy participated in the local dance community for twenty years and has served on the Homer High School PTA and Site Council, additionally volunteering for the Kachemak Swim Club and Homer High School Booster Club. She enjoys gardening, biking, kayaking, and cooking. With her husband, Mike, she has raised three children in Homer.
Ben Park – Treasurer – 2 years of service
Ben Park worked in marketing, engineering, program management and business leadership for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for 30 years. Most recently, he served as the President of the Board for the Alaska Performance Excellence Foundation (APEX). He has also served 2 years as a Baldridge National Examiner. Ben spent 6 years with the US Air Force and 16 years with the Missouri Air National Guard. He has an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He lives with his wife Mary and their daughter Sophia in Kachemak City.
Lynn Spence - 3 years of service
For the past 17 years, Lynn has served as the Bookkeeper at Jay-Brant General Contractors. Previously, she was the office manager at Neal & Company, a travel agent, the Director for Hospice of Homer and the Community Schools Coordinator in Homer and Anchor Point. Lynn is married to Hal Spence, who is a writer and musician. They have one daughter, Kate, who is a performer, musician, swimmer and student. Since moving to Homer, Lynn says that volunteering has been a social activity and a great way to stay connected with the community.
Cindy Nelson - 3 years of service
Cindy was born and raised in Bellevue Washington and went to college at Pacific Lutheran University and University of Washington. She received a Bachelors degree in Medicine at the University of Washington in 1987. After visiting Alaska with a friend in 2002, Cindy made a bold decision to pack up and move to Alaska to follow her dream. The art community welcomed her with open arms. Cindy says that becoming a board member at HCOA was one way that she could give back to the local art community. Cindy's biggest accomplishments at HCOA were reinstating and enhancing the "Sustainable Homer Street Faire." As an accomplished artist, she sells her work at Ptarmigan Arts on Pioneer Ave. She divides her artistic talent between glass mosaic, fused glass and beaded jewelry. She also works part-time as a Medical Technologist at the South Peninsula Hospital.
Susanna Sharp - 2 years volunteer, new board member
Susanna grew up in California and enjoyed exploring life in several states before finding Alaska in 2006. She has degrees in geography from the University of California and journalism from Syracuse University and has most often found herself writing and editing and working with nonprofits. She is currently a development director for a nonprofit conservation group and in her spare time enjoys being active outdoors and working on creative projects. She became involved with HCOA in 2009 when she walked in the door with an idea that evolved into Creative Communities. She worked alongside the director on short-term projects and then began volunteering regularly before joining the board. For anyone interested in contributing to the arts in Homer, she highly recommends joining HCOA as a volunteer.
Nita Rearden - newest board member
Nita Yurrliq Rearden, oldest daughter of deceased Frederick Prince and Pauline Hunt, originally from Kotlik, Alaska, is a life-long Alaskan Yup’ik. She is a retired teacher with 28 years of experience in rural education. She taught primary grades in Bethel and Kotzebue and worked with the Lower Kuskokwim School District as a Yup’ik Language and Arts Specialist. She received a Milken Teacher Award in 1994. She serves on the Alaska Native Education Association. Her services included many other education committees in Alaska. She is currently developing Yup’ik art kits for LKSD under a grant. She and her husband Mike who retired from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, moved to Homer, Mike’s hometown, three years ago. They have 4 college-graduated children and 5 dearly loved grandchildren. They love to camp, hunt, and subsist for their family. Nita enjoys sewing, crafts, berry picking, and walking on the beach.
Gail Edgerly - Executive Director
Gail Edgerly comes to Homer from Maine, where she lived for the past 25 years raising a family and working in the healthcare field. She was trained as an RN and soon after became a Certified Trager Practitoner, introducing her to the healing quality of movement. In 1995 she discovered the 5Rhythms Movement practice, a dance practice that has became her passion. She was certified to teach in 2005 and taught in Maine before moving to Homer.
Gail spent many years working as the office manager in her husband's Osteopathic Medical Practice, and was instrumental in the birth and growth of the 5Rhythms dance community in Maine. Her experience in the non-profit world comes from her time and devotion to the growth of the Museum of African Culture in Portland Maine where she served on the board as Treasurer and President working very closely with the Director and Founder for over three years.
Gail has two sons, Luke and Jake Easton. She loves to swim, hike, and dance. Her personal art form preference is "expressive" be it movement, clay, or paint!