If you are a Grand member, we seek your vote approving our members of the Board of Directors.

Please vote with a simple "Approve" or "Against" vote for the slate of nine candidates.

Fill out my online form.

Per our bylaws: "the current board shall present to the membership a slate of candidates for board positions. Members will vote, with opportunity to comment, by ballot to approve or disapprove the entire slate."

Each of the listed candidates has been interviewed and endorsed by the current Board of Directors.

Votes must be submitted by 10 p.m. on Friday, March 18.

To vote you may:

  • Vote in the form above or through this link.
  • Email with "approve" or "against" in the subject line to TheGrandCinema@gmail.com
  • Mail or drop off a response at The Grand's box office. 606 S Fawcett Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402

This year's slate of candidates includes six new and three returning members. Please review their biographies below for more information.


Joy Sage

Joy Sage has served on the Board of Directors for three years. She is seeking a second term because there are exciting opportunities for the Grand Cinema to grow as an organization over the coming years, and she wants to see the success continue. Joy is a Tacoma native, and works as a supervisor at Tacoma Power. She loves living and working in her home town and appreciates the opportunity to support this unique component of the local arts community.

Dave Seago

Dave is returning to The Grand for his second term on the Board. He is a longtime Grand supporter with extensive non-profit board experience in the greater Tacoma community. Now retired, Dave began a career at The News Tribune with a summer job as copy boy in 1967. While with TNT he worked as reporter, City Editor, and Editorial Page Editor. His editorial board experience with The News Tribune has provided him with in-depth familiarity with community and civic needs, and political issues.

Jordan Hightower

Jordan loves Tacoma and the Grand Cinema passionately. She has served on the board for the last three years and, in that time, has volunteered at the Film Awards Party, Tacoma Film Festival and 25 New Faces of Independent Film and spent dozens of hours seeing great films at the theater. She currently serves as board secretary. When she isn't grabbing her member popcorn or sporting her purple Grand tee-shirt around the world, Jordan teaches high school humanities at Tacoma School of the Arts.

David Long

David joined Marine View Ventures, Inc., the economic development arm of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, in September 2010. The organization's objectives are to increase the land asset base for the Tribe and create jobs and job training opportunities for Tribal members. David serves as Senior Director of Operations for MVV. Prior to joining MVV, he worked for Pizza Hut Corporate and Franchise. He held various titles primarily in multi- site operations and training. Following his nine years with Pizza Hut, David held various positions with Jack in the Box Corporation, the last position as Regional Key Initiatives Manager (Northwest). He has a B.S. from Northern Arizona University.

Jp Avila

Jp is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art & Design at Pacific Lutheran University. He received his MFA in Visual Communication from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his BA from Valparaiso University. Along with teaching graphic design, he also designs visual novellas as part of his research on non-linear narrative structures. Jp has served on AIGA's Diversity Taskforce, co-chaired PLU's PLUS2020 strategic planning committees, served in multiple leadership roles for roles for Valparaiso University Alumni Association, and served as a member of the Tacoma Art Museum's Collection Policy Committee. He was recently appointed to Program Director of PLU's Tacoma Immersion Experience Semester.

Dean Wilson

A product of the great Northwest, Dean had the good fortune to end his 20 year Army career at Fort Lewis and find a new home in Tacoma's West End, where his two sons graduated from Wilson High School. There he was involved with organizing of the West Slope Neighborhood Coalition. Following service retirement, Dean became the Resource Development Manager for the Pierce County Alliance, a major non-profit where he has worked for over 25 years, all while engaged in a variety of community activities that ranged from serving on the Tacoma Planning Commission, the Safe Streets Campaign, heading up his ski club, and helping found the Gig Harbor Film Festival.

Matt Sherls

Matt was born and schooled in Tacoma where his passions were in the arts. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2008, then returned in 2010 to obtain his Master of Arts in Teaching. While at Puget Sound he developed a love and appreciation for the world of filmmaking and considers himself obsessed with cinematography and screenwriting. As a humanities teacher at both SAMI and SOTA, he has focused on movies in his creative writing and film criticism courses. He conveys to his students that film is an art form, not just entertainment, and that they should demand the best work from filmmakers as well as themselves.

Ali Criss

Ali is a Certified Financial Planner and serves as Financial Insights' Managing Partner. She specializes in retirement needs analysis, employer plans, financial statements and investments. With a focus on financial literacy and education, Ali works with professionals, women in transition, and small business owners. She attended Pacific Lutheran University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting/Directing. Her passion for arts and non-profits resonates in community support of Palmers Scholars, Emergency Food Network, Rotary 8, Cystic Fibrosis, and the Tacoma Community College Foundation.

Jason Gamboa

Jason was born and raised in Tacoma. He is a University of Washington Tacoma graduate and founder and Creative Director of Tacoma Apparel Co., co-owner of the streetwear boutique eTc, and Director of Marketing for the Tacoma-based brand Red Scarf Revolution. He organizes and promotes events as part of Tacoma's art community at venues that include The Grand. He currently lives in the Stadium District and has been working for KeyBank in downtown Tacoma for the past nine years.


We invite you to attend our Annual Meeting in the lower lobby of The Grand on Monday, March 21 at 6:00 p.m. The Grand's Board and Executive Director will recap the past year and share future plans. Your comments, questions, and feedback are appreciated. Refreshments will be served.

Return to the top of this email to vote today.

Thank you for supporting The Grand and being part of our community.


Learn more at grandcinema.com.