TEAM
Leonard Amadio AO – Chair
Len enjoyed a distinguished career first in ABC Concerts, and subsequently for 25 years in senior arts positions in the South Australian government, including 10 years as Director of its Department of the Arts. As one of Australia's pioneers of public sector arts funding and support, Amadio's influence on the creative industries and on a generation of arts managers has been profound. Institutions created through his leadership remain national models and pacesetters today. Len has served on many national arts boards including Opera Australia, ABC, the Adelaide Festival, UNESCO and Australian Youth Orchestra. His unrivalled international arts network has hugely benefitted the Foundation over two decades.
Frank Madrid – Executive Producer
Frank is an Venezuelan-Australian arts manager, producer and public diplomacy specialist. At ALAF Frank develops initiatives that strengthen cultural exchange and collaboration between Australia and Latin America. Through his consultancy, FAMA Services, he produced more than 30 national tours of Latin American artists, presenting work at major Australian festivals and venues including WOMADelaide, Sydney Festival, Brisbane Festival, QPAC and the Sydney Opera House. He has also curated international programs for festivals including Art, Not Apart and the Pura Vida Latin Music Festival, and produced the inaugural Australia Day program at SummerStage in New York's Central Park. Frank has led a range of cultural diplomacy initiatives, including Colombia Sounds Like This, the Brasilia–Canberra Connection, and the Australia–Peru 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations program. His work has focused on building long-term partnerships between artists, festivals and cultural institutions across Australia and Latin America.
Justin Macdonnell – Director and Secretary
Justin has worked in arts management and programming for 40 years in Australasia and North and South America in senior executive positions. For over 20 years he ran one of Australia’s most successful arts management and producing agencies, Macdonnell Promtions. From 1993 to 2002 he was founding Executive Director of the Australia-Latin America Foundation and is now its Secretary. Under his direction over 100 Australian events have toured the region across performing, visual and literary arts. From 2003 to 2008 he was Artistic Director of the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, USA. Since 2008 he has been Executive Director of the Anzarts Institute - dedicated to advancing and consulting with Australian arts and creative industries. His chief interest is in the dissemination of performing arts across cultural borders.
Siobhan Lenihan – Director and Treasurer
After decades in senior administrative roles in music organisations such as Musica Viva, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Australia, as well as in higher education, Siobhan now works for an order of Catholic religious women as it transitions its ministries in health, education and community services to lay governance. Siobhan was a member of the board of the Victorian Opera Company Ltd for eight years and has served on the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s peer review panel and the Australian Youth Orchestra’s artistic advisory committee. Until the end of 2025, she was Advisor to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Deakin University in Victoria.
The following Associates of the Foundation form an advisory circle of international producers and presenters with a commitment to deepening artistic exchange:
Shoshana Polanco is an internationally recognised creative producer, curator, and arts administrator whose career spans Latin America, the United States, and the Middle East. Based in Mexico City, she serves as International Producer at La Teatrería, shaping global collaborations and new theatrical work. Polanco has held senior roles across major festivals, including FIBA – Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires, Festival Internacional Cervantino, TeatroStageFest, and the Lincoln Center Festival, contributing to some of the most influential performing arts programs in the Americas. She is Vice Chair of ISPA, playing a key role in global performing arts leadership. A committed mentor, she co‑founded TEATRA, a pioneering initiative supporting Spanish‑speaking women producers across the region. Polanco has also led cultural programming at UNAM’s FES Iztacala, overseeing a 400‑seat theatre and campus arts spaces. Her work exemplifies cultural diplomacy, innovative festival direction, and deep engagement with Latin America’s artistic ecosystem.
Cristina King Miranda is a Madrid‑born, Washington D.C.–raised cultural curator, producer, and bilingual arts strategist whose 28‑year career spans Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. A Fulbright García Robles scholar and Brown University graduate, she has led major cultural institutions and large‑scale public events, including the Monterrey World Cultures Forum, Mexico’s Bicentenary celebrations, and three editions of Mexico City’s Día de los Muertos parade. Cristina has served as Artistic and Executive Director of the Festival de México en el Centro Histórico, Music Curator for Plaza Condesa, and Deputy Director of Cultural Promotion at Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations. She has designed curatorial research programs for leading arts organisations across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Latin America. In Puerto Rico, she created TransformArte, a theatre‑based community initiative. Cristina is currently Chair of the Board of GALA Hispanic Theatre and Co‑Director of ViAjolote Travel & Boutique Cultural Tours, while also working as a published writer and cultural consultant.
Débora Staiff is an Argentine cultural manager, producer, and textile artist whose 35‑year career spans international touring, cultural policy, and artistic development. She has held senior roles including Executive Director of INDIGO Producciones SRL, Subsecretaria de Cultura Ciudadana for Argentina’s Ministry of Culture, Executive Producer of BAFICI, and cultural programming lead for Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Staiff has acted as a cultural broker between Australia and Argentina, facilitating artistic exchanges, hosting Australian artists in Buenos Aires, and presenting Argentine work at festivals and venues across Australia. Her work has supported collaborations between artists, producers, and arts administrators from both nations, strengthening bilateral cultural ties. In recent years, Staiff has gained recognition as a textile artist, developing Sanagi Sashiko and presenting exhibitions such as De crisálida y vuelos de mariposa at the Museo Nacional de Arte Oriental. Her career reflects deep commitment to cultural diplomacy, artistic innovation, and international collaboration.
Vallejo Gantner is an internationally recognised arts leader, curator and producer whose career has spanned Australia, Europe and the United States. He has held senior leadership positions including Artistic Director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, Artistic Associate of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, Executive Director and Artistic Director of Performance Space 122 (PS122) in New York, where he founded the internationally acclaimed COIL Festival, and Artistic and Executive Director of PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance. Throughout his career, Gantner has championed contemporary performance, international artistic exchange and innovative models of audience engagement. His work has brought together artists, festivals and cultural institutions from around the world through commissioning, residencies and long-term collaborative partnerships. As Associate Director of the Australia Latin America Foundation, Gantner brings extensive international experience in cultural leadership, touring and institutional collaboration. His expertise in building cross-cultural partnerships supports ALAF's mission to strengthen creative and cultural connections between Australia and Latin America.
Jaime Suárez Tijerina is a leading Mexican cultural promoter with more than three decades of experience programming national and international performing arts. His career spans major institutions including Producciones y Conciertos, Teatro en Movimiento A.C., the Gran Festival de la Ciudad de México, MERCARTES (Mexico’s first performing arts market), and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. As Programming Director of the Festival Internacional Cervantino, he shaped landmark international collaborations, most notably the Australia Guest of Honour program in 2001, which brought one hundred Australian artists to Mexico in one of the festival’s most significant cross‑cultural exchanges. Suárez Tijerina also played an instrumental role in enabling the Mexican tour of Bangarra Dance Theatre, presented as part of the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Australia and Mexico, further strengthening artistic ties between the two nations. Since 2017, he has served as Artistic Advisor to the Conjunto Santander de Artes Escénicas, continuing his commitment to innovative programming and global cultural dialogue.
Robyn Archer AO is one of Australia’s most influential arts leaders, acclaimed for her visionary work as a festival director, cultural strategist, and advocate for international cultural exchange. She has directed major festivals including the Adelaide Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, and Ten Days on the Island, shaping national arts policy and expanding Australia’s global cultural reach. A former member of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR), Archer championed deeper artistic ties between Australia and Latin America. Her leadership was pivotal in the 2012 Canberra–Brasília cultural exchange, a two‑way initiative that brought Brazilian artists to Canberra and sent Australian artists to Brasília. As Creative Director of Canberra’s Centenary, she curated an ambitious program featuring the acclaimed Peruvian ensemble Novalima and the award‑winning Colombian orchestra La‑33 at the Spiegel tent , reflecting her commitment to diverse global voices. Archer’s career exemplifies cultural diplomacy, innovation, and fearless artistic leadership.