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If you live in the Tri-Valley and are involved in any of the arts in any sort of way, you might have at one point come across longtime Pleasanton resident Kelly Cousins.
Cousins has been involved with the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council for almost a decade as the president of the council’s board of directors — she was also a chair member and officer for several years before that — but has also dedicated more than 33 years of volunteer time to the arts in the city and the Tri-Valley.
That significant contribution and her steadfast efforts to give students and community members a chance to pursue their artistic endeavors while also raising funds for art projects in Pleasanton are just some of the reasons Cousins was named the recipient of the 2024 Mayor’s Award.
“Their focus has been on the development of partnerships among the local community groups and city agencies, to expand visual and performing arts opportunities for students and their families, as well as embrace our cultural diversity,” Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown said during the April 11 Mayor’s Award dinner. “Wherever the arts are in the Tri-Valley, you will find this person.”
Cousins told the Weekly that while she did have a slight feeling that she was going to be presented with the award during the city’s annual Commission and Committee Recognition Dinner and Mayor’s Award event at Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery, she was still shocked when she heard the news.
“I was surprised and honored … I never expected it,” she said. “It’s really quite overwhelming and it’s also such an honor when you look at the people that have come before me and gotten the award.”
Cousins first moved to Pleasanton in 1991 with her family and said she had always seen it as a place to invest in its unique character, charm and natural beauty.
Before starting her second career in the arts, Cousins also worked as an educational psychologist for 30 years both in private practice and in public education. But even during that time, she said she knew the value of art and even used it as a form of therapy for some of her patients.
“Art can be a way of connecting with ourselves and with each other,” she said during her award acceptance speech. “Art is an important part of the human experience whether it be through music, dance, visual arts or literature. Its value is the connection art has with our emotions, the human spirit and our collective unconscious.”
Brown highlighted Cousins’ achievements while working at the PCAC such as the many projects the council installed throughout the city and the Pleasanton Unified School District with the funding from Pleasanton’s civic arts grants.
“Under their leadership on the PCAC, the organization’s Arts in Action grants helped subsidize many PUSD school and classroom projects including a mural and garden project at Mohr Elementary School among others,” Brown said. “PCAC also continued to provide nearly three decades of the Youth Excellence in Arts (YEA!) Awards for talented Pleasanton high school students.”
But Cousins didn’t just help implement public works of art throughout Pleasanton. She has also been a member of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center Board of Directors for nearly 10 years and played an instrumental role in helping to plan Livermore Valley Arts’ major gala fundraiser, Brilliance at the Bankhead, every year since 2016.
“The event features well known entertainers performing with the Livermore-Amador Symphony to help raise funds needed to support both the Bankhead Theater and Livermore’s Bothwell Arts Center, as well as their educational, visual and cultural arts programing,” Brown said.
During the pandemic, Brown said Cousins continued to bring donors to the Bankhead and helped secure the first major sponsor for the annual gala several years ago, which continued to donate over $250,000 to this date to support local arts programs.
Cousins said that while she did appreciate the recognition, she wouldn’t have been able to do everything that she has done for students, the district and the community had it not been for the help of the people around her.
“One doesn’t work alone in their efforts to help make the community a better place to live and thrive,” Cousins said during her speech. “My work with various organizations, nonprofits and groups was accomplished along with the inspiration and enthusiasm of others who share my goals and passion for our community.”
She specifically thanked her husband, Jed, whom she said has been her constant supporter since day one.
She also said that her interest and ability to do the work she does both at the PCAC and at Livermore Valley Arts is not going away any time soon and she will continue to support the arts in the Tri-Valley for as long as she can.
“The arts is a way of communicating,” Cousins told the Weekly. “It’s so essential and so I will be either enjoying the arts or participating in promoting the arts, probably for the rest of my life.”