Board Officers
President
Darlene Southern
Darlene Southern
Darlene has been a member and volunteer of the Cave Creek Museum since 2012. During her time with the Museum, she has worked in all areas of the Museum as a docent with exhibit preparation, collections, and archaeology. Her leadership was evident in her position as co-chair of several Home Tours, working as the Museum’s office assistant, creating special events such as the ‘Cave Creek Presents’ series, and heading up the Artifact of the Month to name a few. Darlene is President of the Museum’s Board plus the manager of the Museum’s Gift Shop. She is dedicated to the Museum’s future and its ability to continue in preserving and sharing the unique history of the Cave Creek Mining District and the Sonoran Desert.
Vice President
Tammy Causey
Tammy Causey
Tammy is a local psychologist PhD in private practice. Previously, she was an university professor and a clinical supervisor. Tammy has held officer and board positions with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Arizona Psychological Association, and she served as President of the Psychologists in Independent Practice Division of the APA. She has been a speaker for the United Way Speakers Bureau and presented numerous national training workshops in leadership development, the business aspects of building an organization/practice and how to motivate/recruit volunteers. Tammy looks forward to bringing her education and experience to Cave Creek Museum for its continued growth.
Treasurer
David Smith
David Smith
During David’s 16 years in Cave Creek, he has volunteered in many capacities, including the Cave Creek budget committee, the
Cave Creek Planning Commission, the Cave Creek Water Advisory Committee and as a member of the Cave Creek Town Council. David’s 40+ years working for the State of New York honed his skills in management, budgeting and policy analysis that should greatly benefit the museum’s future. David says, “I do not get involved in any activity expecting to be a bystander. I take responsibilities very seriously and will work to support the Museum, its historical messages and its continued success.”
Recording Secretary
Keith Otsuka
Keith Otsuka
Keith is originally from Pearl City, Hawaii. His father’s military assignments brought the family to various places, including Sierra Vista, where Keith graduated high school. Upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy, his career took off as a test pilot and he then followed an impressive career in various aspects of the aviation industry overseeing a number of commercial and miliary programs at Boeing. Keith is now on terra firma, retired and living in Cave Creek for the past 4 years. His interests in history and archaeology drew him to the Museum where he is excited for the wonderful opportunity to serve on our Board. Keith noted, “My first visit to the Museum stirred my interest and I was hooked.”
Board Members
Colin “Buck” Columna
Buck Columna
Colin “Buck” Columna has extensive experience in marketing and fundraising in the non-profit sector. His career with Arizona Opera, Arizona Theatre Company, San Francisco Opera and Tucson Symphony Orchestra provides our Board with a unique perspective into the business of arts management. He is a long time resident of Cave Creek (albeit below Carefree Highway) with an intense curiosity of the history of the area’s land and those who lived upon it. In addition to Buck’s commitment to the Cave Creek Museum, he has volunteered with Arizona Equine Rescue, the Cave Creek Rodeo, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Pioneer Living History Museum.
Marcia D’Alessandro
Marcia D'Alessandro
Marcia is originally from New York and has been in Desert Hills for the past 17 years. She’s happy to have escaped from snow, leaves and grass of northern climes. Since retiring as a management consultant specializing in data migrations for HR systems, she leaped into the nature of the Sonoran Desert world, joining the Desert Awareness Committee and becoming a Master Gardener. She has applied her expertise towards the Veterans Memory Garden project, preparing to oversee the project. Marcia also teaches classes at the Holland Center. “As many other busy people,” she says, “I always find time to take on additional responsibilities. Besides learning about the desert and plants, I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I learn with the community, I find the history of the area quite fascinating and I’m always interested in learning more.”
Steve Greenberg
Steve Greenburg
Steve Greenberg is a long time Cave Creek area resident. He is the founder and President of Thin Client Computing, a leading data center virtualization company. He is a musician and composer, and he has been active in charity and not-for-profit organizations for many years. Together with his wife Lori, they recently purchased the land of Harmony Hollow and the historic Stamp Mill site to preserve the natural beauty and history of Cave Creek.
Brandon Hamilton
Brandon Hamilton
Brandon hails from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, but his career in television brought him to various locales, including Phoenix. He served on the board for the Cincinnati Historic Preservation and worked with the Arizona Preservation Trust spotlighting historic properties around Arizona. He has done several TV stories on Cave Creek and the Museum. Brandon says, “I just love Cave Creek and all the history that come with it. It’s an honor to be a part of this legacy.” He got his Realtors license in 2019, leaving television behind. Brandon and his wife enjoy home remodeling, and have made that their venture.
Chris Kempster
Chris Kempster
Chris has been a resident of North Scottsdale for over 15 years and a friend of Cave Creek Museum for most of that time. He believes in giving back to the local community and cannot think of a more deserving place to offer his time and abilities than at the Museum.
Chris has served as a past Board Member and past Board Chairman of the Cave Creek Carefree Chamber of Commerce and now enjoys working with our Museum Board to enhance programs and broaden the Museum’s reach in our community. His financial planning background lends itself to work alongside other Board members to sustain a solid fiscal foundation now and for years to come.
Museum Staff
Executive Director
Evelyn Johnson
Evelyn Johnson
Evelyn’s arrival in the Cave Creek area was an opportunity to put her lifelong commitment to educational opportunities, for all, in the not-for-profit world. She holds an Associates degree in Museum Administration from the Virginia Piper Trust and Museum Association of Arizona. Evelyn, as a former Executive Director of the Cave Creek Museum, put her networking talents to work with the Carefree, Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce and the Cave Creek Merchants- Events Association, serving each organization as its President. She is an active member of the Desert Foothills Woman’s Club and has served on their board. Evelyn’s priority is creating historical materials for Home Schoolers, Boy & Girl Scouts, and summer camp experiences.
Museum Administrator
Kelley Francis Brown
Kelley Francis Brown
Kelley Francis Brown is an experiential producer, communications specialist and operations manager. Her work has been in educational entertainment and interactive installation in both creative and operational capacities. Hailing from Cave Creek as a Cactus Shadows graduate, Kelley was a volunteer with The Veterans Heritage Project, Cave Creek Rodeo Days, and a Kiwanis Scholarship recipient. She later gained an international education at Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland, before cultivating her multifaceted career. Her past experience includes work as the department head of Technology with Meow Wolf Creative Studios (The House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, New Mexico), Director of the Santa Fe Art Colony, tech installation and operations for World of Illumination, and most recently Kelley was the Communications Specialist for the Town of Cave Creek. She has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations and cultural programming plus fine art /object handling, storage and installation. She has participated in the development of educational entertainment experiences that have toured venues including Griffith Observatory, The Arizona Science Center, Hamburg Planetarium, Los Angeles Center Studios, the Zeiss Planetarium in Jena, and others. Kelley’s great passion is exploring desert sites of ecological and historical significance with her family, and supports Cave Creek Dark Skies.
