Commissioners

Helen Kupka, Commission Chair and Arts Partners and Advocacy

Helen Kupka is passionate about the arts. She has always had an interest in the arts and as a young girl she would stage plays in the garage and put on skits after dinner until her parents begged me to stop. Growing up, Helen played the viola and participated in youth and community orchestras. In college she was a folk singer (it was the 60’s after all) and minored in theater arts. Since moving to Coronado in 2010, Helen has held several jazz concerts in her home and she is actively involved with the San Diego Rep, La Jolla Playhouse and the San Diego Symphony. In 2015, she was fortunate to volunteer with the Commission in staging two outdoor events in the Cays in celebration of CC125, Coronado’s 25th anniversary. Prior to joining the Commission Helen served on the Pubic Art Working Team. She also served on the Coronado Cays Homeowners Association for five years. During that time she led a both Vice President (2014-15) and President (2015-2017). 

Educated in the literary and visual arts, Brad Willis is an author, musician and videographer. Brad has produced dozens of video profiles on artists, authors, musicians, performers, and art-related events in Coronado. He is also the producer of a documentary short on the 50th anniversary of the San Diego Coronado Bridge that was shown at the Coronado Island Film Festival. Brad is a former foreign correspondent for network news who covered stories around the world and also served as a war correspondent. His reports from Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation earned the Columbia duPont Award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism. Brad is also a published author, musician and painter. "Art trancends language geography and cultural differences," he says, "and has the power to comfort us, connect us, enrich us and enhance our community."

Lei Udell, Facilities (2019-20 Literary Arts Programming)

Lei Udell joins the Cultural Arts Commission as Commissioner of Literary Arts as a life-long reader with a love of the written word. A 24-year resident of Coronado, Lei grew up in and maintains ties with Iowa City, Iowa, home of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a UNESCO City of Literature. She reads and writes for business as an appellate attorney, and reads for pleasure as a member of two local book clubs and a volunteer with Coronado Friends of the Library. For many years Lei was active with Coronado’s community schools, where she ran the book fairs at Village Elementary and Coronado Middle School before serving as president of the PTOs at Coronado High School and Middle School, a member of the Presidents’ Council, and on various budget task forces for the school district. She also served the San Diego legal community as a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, where she was programming chairman for the Appellate Courts Committee and headed a task force that developed a new self-help program for litigants without lawyers. Lei is excited to work with the Commission and its Arts Partners to promote a vibrant literary arts community in Coronado.

Mariah Gillespie, Arts Education and Performing Arts

Mariah Gillespie, Arts Education, and Musical Arts Commissioner holds a BA in Music from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an MA in Journalism & Communications from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She has played the piano since age 5 and the harp since age 10. Mariah’s piano studies have earned her national and international awards, and at age 13 she was a featured soloist (harp) with the Southern Great Lakes Symphony Orchestra. She has taught private and group music lessons in the United States and Australia, having completed Yamaha Music Education Certifications in both countries. Her teaching experience spans from leading classrooms of 3-4-year olds to conducting private lessons with students ranging from 5-75 years old. Mariah is the founder of Coronado-based Ms. Mariah’s Music, and she is passionate about arts and music education.

Maryellen McMahon, Programming (Visual, Literary and Performing Arts)

Maryellen McMahon joins the Cultural Arts Commission as Commissioner of Visual Arts with a love and appreciation of the arts.  She brings 30+ years of experience in the profession of Interior Design, owning her own business for more than 24 years in central Texas.  Since making Coronado her home in 2011, she was the design lead for the Qualcomm design team at BKM Officeworks in San Diego and served in account management on many local and out of state projects.  Art installations have always been an integral part of her interiors projects. In 2015, Maryellen became a licensed Real Estate professional to complete a passion she has always said will benefit from her previous work as an interior designer.  She currently works for Teles Properties and a member of the Alan Kinzel Professional Realty Group, who just completed sponsoring Coronado’s very first community-wide “Coronado’s Got Talent” talent show. Maryellen has two daughters, her youngest a 2013 musical theatre graduate of CoSA.

William M. Lowman, Development and Special Events

Bill Lowman graduated from the University of Redlands with a BA in History,  Music, and Civilization. He started out as a young vocalist, conducting church and community choirs as well as performing as a tenor soloist. He helped found the Las Vegas Symphony, consulted for many small arts organizations and moved into arts administration as the founder and Director of the Nevada School of the Arts; a summer music camp and year-round community school. In 1985 he was appointed the Executive Director of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. He retired in 2011 as the President of Idyllwild Arts. From 2012-2014 he served as Director of the University of Redlands Salzburg Semester. A new resident to Coronado, Bill brings to the Cultural Arts Commission and the program area of Arts Education a wealth of experience, having over the years assisted in the development and training of many of the outstanding musicians, dancers, artists, actors, writers and filmmakers who are working at the heart of contemporary art and culture across the US, Europe and Asia. Lowman served as the ad hoc chairman of Coronado CREATES, a strategic plan for arts and culture. He is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Commission.

Sherril Altstadt, Communications: Public Relations & Media

Sherril Altstadt joins the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission leading the Communication: PR and Media program area. She is the former CEO of Coronado Home Care and a published author. Sherril has been a resident of Coronado for over five years.   Dedicated to the arts, Sherril believes that the offering of the arts is a hallmark of a great community.  Sherril served as a volunteer for the inaugural Coronado Film Festival, a CoSA Gala volunteer for the past six years, and was a CoSA Parent from 2009 through 2013. Sherril volunteered for the Commission as a CoSA Parent Liaison where she advocated having the talented youth of Coronado be included in future programs of the Commission.  Sherril is leading the Communications: PR and Media Program area of the Cultural Arts Commission and is responsible for the CoronadoARTS.com website and the popular weekly e-mail publication 3 on Thursday.

Kelly Purvis, Senior Management Analyst/Arts and Culture

Kelly Purvis was hired as the first Contract Arts Administrator for the City of Coronado and staff liaison to the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission. She joined the team in December of 2013. In February 2019 she was hired as a Senior Management Analyst for Coronado and continues to work in support of Arts and Culture and the Cultural Arts Commission.  A local arts supporter and longtime community volunteer, Purvis assists the Cultural Arts Commission in fulfilling its mission to strengthen, coordinate and connect the arts with the citizens of Coronado. Purvis served as the first director of development for the Coronado Historical Association and did event coordination for the San Diego political fundraising firm of Dorsee Productions. Volunteer experience includes work with the University of Southern California, Coronado Unified School District, P.E.O. International and the City of Coronado. A strong proponent of preservation, Purvis served on the City's original Residential Standards Improvement Committee as well as the Vice-Chair of the City of Coronado R-4 Standards Committee. She was named the San Diego Save Our Heritage Organisation "Preservationist of the Year" in 2007 and was honored by the University of Southern California in 2012 with an Alumni Service Award.