May 26, 2023

Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture

Welcomes New Staff

Elida Acosta joins the staff as the new Community Programs and Engagement Manager. She will implement arts learning, capacity building, and community investment projects and programs for creative individuals, artists, professional staff, board members, and volunteers of arts and cultural organizations. She will also manage the agency's communications with community members and residents. Elida is a Chicana focused on creating a world where many worlds can exist, with Arts and Culture being the driving force of that mission. She is eager to apply her Bachelor of Science in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and over ten years of collective professional experience in the Nonprofit and Public sector with her community. Elida is excited about her new role with the Office of Arts and Culture to improve Phoenix's quality of life by efficiently delivering outstanding public service. Life partner to an Artist rooted in ancestral wisdom and daughter and granddaughter of Immigrants and Natives to our Desert in Phoenix, Arizona.  

Melodie Mendivil comes to the Office of Arts and Culture as the department's new Management Assistant. She will be directly responsible for overseeing the department’s procurement, contracts, accounts payable, and management services. A native Phoenician and first-generation college graduate, Melodie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a minor in Art History and a Master of Business Administration. Her work history includes administrative roles at the Library, Phoenix Symphony, and the Phoenix Convention Center. She comes to the agency from the Street Transportation Department, where she is a Contracts Specialist with over 17 years of procurement experience. Melodie also volunteers with the City of Phoenix LGBTQ Employee Alliance, serving on various committees and as a board member. Melodie loves attending plays and concerts, singing karaoke, cooking, entertaining, playing board games, and cuddling her six cats and two Chihuahuas. She is eccentric and adores all things nerdy: Star Wars, Marvel Universe, Tim Burton films, SpongeBob, and 80’s pop culture, but she especially loves attending Phoenix Comicon with her two teenage daughters, Violet and Scarlett.

Mojgan Vahabzadeh joins the team as a Senior Public Art Project Manager, where she will coordinate and direct activities involved in implementing and completing Capital Improvement Program arts projects, programs, and contracts. Mojgan has over thirty years of municipal government experience working in arts, culture, and graphic design. She joins the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture after spending fourteen years as the City of Glendale’s percent-for-art program administrator, managing public art projects, art grants, festivals, and events. Appreciation for the arts formed early for Mojgan with childhood travels to museums and cultural sites. Her love for the arts combined with a fascination with publishing and print technology led her to study mass communication, graphic design, and fine arts in college. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisville and a Master of Technology degree from Arizona State University. Mojgan actively networks with the local visual and performing arts community and enjoys every opportunity to engage the public through the arts.