In addition to her ongoing lecture series for Focus on the Masters, Donna teaches classes for the Road Scholar Elderhostel International including an Introduction to the J. Paul Getty Museum and Getty Roman Villa. Special lectures trace the careers of LIFE photographer Horace Bristol and painter John Nava, creator of the tapestries commissioned for the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA. In addition, she has lectured at UCLA on the ethics of photography. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2005 by Elderhostel International.  Among her most recent awards is the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts from the City of Ojai, CA.

An accomplished artist in her own right, Donna Granata is an internationally published and award winning painter turned photographer.  Her photographs have been displayed across the United States.  Selected works from her FOTM portrait series are housed in the Smithsonian’s Archive of American Artists; in the photographic Collection of the George Eastman House, Rochester, New York and other public institutions that house the personal archives of the artists documented.

Donna received a Bachelor’s of Art Degree and Honorary Masters of Science Degree from the Brooks Institute of Photography where she was an adjunct professor in the Portrait Department. She received a Master’s Degree in Arts Journalism from USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. Granata is listed in Marquis Who’s Who of American Women.

Executive Assistant, Elizabeth Jamond’s administration experience is ideal in helping FOTM continue its mission. Her primary job responsibilities include membership, data entry, and volunteer coordination. Elizabeth has extensive library, preservation, and archive experience with the Getty Research Institute, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Lotusland Archives. She has Bachelor of Art Degrees in Art History and Dance.

As an artist, Elizabeth has exhibited her paintings at the Art Center in Ojai, Ventura Art Walk, and in galleries in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth loves music of all genres and plays cello and piano.

Upon her hiring, Elizabeth said, “I am inspired by Focus on the Masters and grateful to be part of a unique and historically invaluable art collection and archive, an organization that is celebrating and documenting the amazing artists of our time and contributing essential arts education to Ventura County.”