AFS Executive Board Elects Mark Y. Miyake as Newest Member

Dr. Mark Y. Miyake (Western Washington University) has been elected by the AFS Executive Board to serve as a member of the Board from 2026-2028. Mark’s expertise and perspective are situated in both university and public arts and humanities contexts, and his interdisciplinary approach and experience with humanities organizations will be helpful as AFS navigates current challenges in the academy and in the broader arts and humanities.

Mark Y. Miyake is currently Associate Professor of Music and Society at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University where he leads the program in Audio Technology, Music, and Society. As a scholar, he has conducted extensive research into discourses on race, gender, community, and identity, primarily focusing on intersectional approaches to traditional Appalachian music and local punk, heavy metal, and bluegrass scenes.

Miyake has also been heavily involved in public Arts and Humanities work over the last several decades, currently serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of Humanities Washington (the WA state humanities council), a current and founding Board Member of WA Cultures (formerly the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions), a member of the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, and a member of the Cultural Diversity Committee of AFS. Miyake is also currently serving numerous roles in a range of local and regional non-profit-, higher education-, and government-led organizations and agencies.

Miyake was previously an Assistant Professor of the Arts and Social Sciences at SUNY Empire State College where he also served as College-Wide Convener (Faculty Chair) of the Arts. During his time on the East Coast, he also served as the Chair of the Folk Arts Panel of the New York State Council for the Arts (as well as on several other major panels at NYSCA and at the New York Foundation for the Arts) and as the President of the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association. Miyake earned his PhD, MA, and BA in Folklore from Indiana University, with several years of his coursework towards his PhD and BA being earned at the University of Chicago.

Recently, the AFS Executive Board’s time has centered on addressing the continuing impact of changes pursued by the Federal government in higher education, the arts, and the humanities as these impact members, our field, and the constituencies that we serve. AFS Executive Director Jessica A. Turner notes that “Mark Miyake’s familiarity with these and other challenges, along with his strategic leadership and visioning for public arts and humanities at state and national levels, will position him to contribute wisely to ongoing board discussions about ways to support the field.”

AFS President, Jason Baird Jackson reflected on Mark’s election to the Executive Board, noting: “I am thrilled that I, and the whole board, will be able to collaborate closely with Mark at a vitally important moment in the life of our Society. Mark brings valuable and unique experiences and perspectives which will strengthen not only our discussions, but our decisions, as we work to steward AFS and our field in an unprecedented era.”

“I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to serve AFS during this crucial time in its history,” wrote Mark. “I hope to bring my experience in higher education, academic scholarship, public folklore, and public humanities to collaborative conversations about the actions of AFS and the future of our field.”

Please join us in welcoming Mark to the AFS Executive Board.