About Us

Liz Maugans

Liz is the Director of YARDS Projects and curator of the Dalad Collection at Worthington Yards in Cleveland’s Warehouse District. She co-founded and is the Former Executive Director of Zygote Press, a non-profit printmaking studio also located in Cleveland, Ohio. She founded the Collective Arts Network, a quarterly journal, online resource, and arts consortium that works to promote Northeast Ohio artists and organizations to a greater audience. She is the founder of the Artist Trust, an open-access collective arts project and artist registry to better connect Cuyahoga County Artists of all disciplines to each other and the greater community.

Maugans was instrumental in bringing the Rooms-to-Let Project to Slavic Village and acts as a consultant and participant of the temporary installations that take place in foreclosed houses. Maugans chaired the Community Advisory Committee for FRONT International Triennial and is an active Board Trustee of the Collective Arts Network. Curatorial, Arts engagement, and civic connection through the arts.

Christy Gray

Christy is an art and design professional with over 20 years of experience in project management, organization, planning, sales, and marketing. Gray works with clients to create a diverse mix of artwork for their environments that both enhances their space and communicates their mission, by handling all aspects of art acquisition from working with the artists to installation. This includes developing artwork presentations and budget management to collaborating with artists and clients to develop commissioned artwork for public spaces. Gray serves on the board of Praxis Fiber Workshop and chairs the Northern Ohio Surfrider Foundation chapter.

On a personal level, Gray has demonstrated her ability to work on a wide cross-section of projects while balancing an art career. As a textile artist, Gray has work installed in public and private collections. Any day that time and weather permit, you can find Christy paddle boarding on Lake Erie.

Gray Haus Studios, Fine Art Consulting Services, grayhausstudios.com

Sean Watterson

Sean is President and Co-Owner of The Happy Dog, a neighborhood corner bar, restaurant, and live music venue located in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District (happydogcleveland.com). The Happy Dog hosts live, original music, from rock and country to punk and polka, and talks by scientists, writers, and academics on topics ranging from the origins of the universe to the current state of world affairs.

Sean is a graduate of University School (’87), Williams College (’91), and Case Western Reserve University School of Law (’01). He began his professional career in Cleveland as a stockbroker (Baker & Co., Inc.) and a municipal bond trader (Cowen & Co.) before attending law school. In 2001, he joined the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s Office of International Affairs in Washington DC, focusing on cross-border enforcement cooperation, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism finance. He represented the Commission at several international forums, including the Financial Action Task Force, the Council of Securities Regulators of the Americas, and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. After leaving the SEC in 2005, he worked on global anti-money laundering issues for Citigroup and Merrill Lynch in New York, and emerging risk for Bank of America.

Since returning to Cleveland in 2009, he has been active in the community, heading the Detroit-Shoreway Merchants Association, serving on the Gordon Square Arts District and Gordon Square Special Improvement District Boards, the Cleveland Music Club Coalition, the Community Partnership for Arts & Culture, the Cleveland Arts Prize, and the Visiting Committee of The Institute for the Science of Origins. He continues to consult on anti-money laundering issues on a part-time basis, working most recently in Pakistan and Ukraine and is on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Financial Integrity Institute.