ABOUT SJMAG | VIEW BOARD MEMBERS
Leadership Team
Our leadership team is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the organization. They manage and oversee all of our programs, plan events, fundraise, and seek grants. They are also responsible for the organization’s financial development and long-term strategic planning.
Current Staff
Viera Whye | Co-Founder & Executive Artistic Director | E: Viera@sjmag.org
Viera is Producing Artistic Director for SJMAG’s programs. She is a co-founder and artistic director for Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble since 1985. She earned her BA in Theatre and Sociology from Towson University in Baltimore, and her MA in Theatre from San Jose State. Viera is a Director, Actor, Poet, Educator, Theatre Administrator, and HR Professional. She has numerous stage, film, and commercial credits as a professional theatre practitioner in the Bay Area. Viera has produced and directed numerous plays for SJMAG/Tabia over the years. A few of her directorial projects include Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery, A Raisin in the Sun, Home, Long Time Since Yesterday, For Colored Girls…, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Songs For Humanity. In recent years Viera proudly invested in the Broadway productions of Piano Lessons and Thoughts of A Colored Man as focus was given to include POC as Broadway Producers. Viera successfully combines art and technology in her profession as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist. Viera has received notable recognition, most recently in 2024 a Santa Clara County Lifetime Achievement Award from Supervisor Cindy Chavez, a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community Leader Award from the SC Women’s Network, she was one of the inaugural Silicon Valley Black Legends Award recipients in 2015, and the Whye-Piper Arts award continues to be presented in her and David Piper’s name. She was selected as one of Silicon Valley Biz Journals’ 2020 100 Women of Influence. She is the proud parent of two handsome and witty adult sons, Copeland Bryan and Courtney Bryan.
Millicent Muhura | Office Manager | E: Millicent@sjmag.org
Millicent Muhura is a nonprofit operations and communications professional with over five years of experience supporting community-based and mission-driven organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Public Relations from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, and brings a strong foundation in organizational coordination, strategic communication, and stakeholder engagement. Millicent’s professional background includes supporting programs, partnerships, and internal systems that enable organizations to operate effectively and remain accountable to their communities and funders. Her experience spans administrative coordination, project support, communications, and internal process management, with a consistent focus on clarity, follow-through, and organizational readiness. At the San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild (SJMAG), Millicent serves as Office Manager, where she supports the organization’s operations by maintaining documentation, internal processes, and administrative coordination needed to sustain programming and meet funding requirements. She works closely with leadership to maintain organizational alignment, support grant and reporting processes, and strengthen day-to-day administrative functions that underpin SJMAG’s multicultural arts initiatives. Millicent brings a detail-oriented approach, clear communication style, and strong organizational skills to her work. Her work provides the internal support that enables SJMAG to consistently deliver inclusive arts programs serving Silicon Valley communities.
Former Staff
Arlene Sagun | Program Manager, Dia De Loas Muertos | E: Arlene@sjmag.org
Executive Director of the San Jose Multicultural Artist Guild since 2011 and Managing Director from 2002-2011. In addition to managing SJMAG’s finances, fundraising, and marketing activities, she has also produced SJMAG’s annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration and the month-long exhibition and workshops that lead up to it for the past 19 years.
Cheryl Scales | Office Manager | E: Cheryl@sjmag.org
Cheryl B. Scales is Office Manager executing SJMAG’s financial and administrative actions. Cheryl is a jazz and Blues Vocalist, Actress, and Instructor. She currently is lead vocalist for the local popular blues band “Legally Blue.” Cheryl has an extensive acting career performing with several theatre companies including San Jose Stage Co., SF African American Shakespeare Co., Cultural Odyssey, City Lights, and Brava Theatre. Credits with Tabia include: The Dance On Widow’s Row, Waiting to be Invited, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery, Jungle Bells, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Home, Long Time Since Yesterday, For Colored Girls…, and most notably as Lady Day in Lady at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Cheryl also wrote and performed in her dynamic solo show Mirror, Mirror of My Soul.