Sebastopol Center for the Arts New Executive Director Anjana Utarid

By Su McMurtry

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts has announced its hire of Anjana Utarid as its new Executive Director, replacing Linda Galletta, who served the post for 30 years prior to her retirement in August.

Born in India, Anjana moved to Sebastopol at the age of eight, attending school in Forestville. She lived in Sebastopol until going to college, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from Sonoma State University. She subsequently went on to achieve a Master’s Degree in educational counseling from the University of San Francisco.

As the author and publisher of two children’s books, “Count Me In,” and “Roti Rolled Away,” Anjana plans to expand the SCA’s children’s program into a yearlong program in order to expose children to as many art forms as possible. Additionally, she envisions expanding ‘The Wildflower Fund’ the Center’s scholarship fund that was created to support disadvantaged children.

Her vision is to lead the Sebastopol Center the Arts as it continues to grow and to create a destination art center, recognized throughout Sonoma County and beyond, by building on the success of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, which attracts 6,000 visitors from all over the world as well as on the national and international reputation of the gallery exhibitions and ceramic artisans. On her watch, she wants to expand the entire art center to eventually receive that type of recognition for all of its programs.

“I am very passionate about the arts and love the real meaning of collaboration,” Anjana said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the founders, board members and volunteers who have built SCA and love the collaborative efforts of all members of the team.”

Through her enthusiasm and leadership, the mission of “Enriching lives through the arts” will continue to thrive and expand for the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.