Page 18 - SAMAHAN 40TH ANNIVERSARY SOUVENIR BOOKLET - INFO ONLY PGS.1-23

Management & Artistic Staff

LOLITA DIÑOSO CARTER, Ph.D.
Founder & Executive Director, 1974-2011

A graduate of the University of the Philippines, Lolita D. Carter taught at Jackson (Olongapo)
High School in Zambales until 1954 when she was awarded a Rotary Scholarship to do gradu-
ate work in Dance at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. In 1956, she went to
finish her Ph.D. majoring in Physical Education at the University of Iowa in 1958. She at-
tended as well, the American Summer School of Dance in New London, the Long Beach Sum-
mer School of Dance and the Creative Dance Center Summer Workshop in Tucson. She
moved to New Zealand in 1960 where her husband, J.E. Lindsay Carter, Ph.D. taught at the
University of Otago, Dunedin. There she co-founded the University Orchesis Group, choreo-
graphed and danced with the group until her return to the U.S. in 1963. She taught dance at
Grossmont College from 1964 until her retirement in 1987. At Grossmont College, she developed the dance curriculum, choreo-
graphed and danced from 1968 to 1972 with the San Diego Dance Theater, the first modern dance company in San Diego.
Dr. Carter was awarded in 1978 a fellowship by the California Arts Council to apply the results of her research on Philip-
pine dance to new choreography for the Samahan Philippine Dance Company. As Samahan’s founder, Dr. Carter nurtured the
development of the Company from its early beginnings to its present respectable position as a performing arts organization in San
Diego. She has helped to preserve the traditional folk dance forms and as a choreographer, has created original works based on
Philippine themes. Through her efforts, the dance company has been a recipient of various government and private foundation
grants. She has received numerous awards for her work with the Company and other services to the community. Dr. Carter
served as the Executive Director of Samahan until the day she passed away on July 25, 2011.

CARMEN B. GALANG, PhD
Executive Director, 2011 to present

Dr. Galang has been serving as the executive director of Samahan Filipino American Performing
Arts & Education Center, Inc. since the demise of the founder and executive director, Dr. Lolita
Carter, three years ago. To ascertain the continuity of the management of the organization, the
Board unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Carmen Galang, as the new Executive Direc-
tor to take over the helm vacated by the untimely demise of Dr. Lolita Carter. Carmen took over
the leadership role with good grace and worked with the Board Members, the artistic and music
directors in getting all the ongoing and previously scheduled programs and events to go on and
turn out successfully. Now on her third year as the Executive Director, Carmen has been working
devotedly to manage the affairs of the organization and to carry on with the “tedious and painstak-
ing” task of applying for grants and funding to sustain Samahan’s cultural programs, hence to en-
able the organization to carry on with fulfilling its mission as envisioned by its founder.
Although, Dr. Galang’s academic background is not related to arts, her experience and knowledge in dance and music were
acquired at a very young age. She was born in the Philippines to a family of Rondalla musicians, singers and stage actors. She danced
traditional dances including the most famous Tinikling. She was a member of the Far Eastern University Dance Troupe while in nurs-
ing school. This dance company performed in many parts of the Philippines usually among dignitaries and concerts with large audi-
ences. When the company started international performances, Carmen and four others from the nursing school decided to quit the
dance company and continue with the nursing program . After graduation from the nursing program, Carmen was admitted to the
Exchange Visitors Program for post graduate training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, where, she became the social
chairperson of a group whose objective was to showcase the Philippine culture through music, dance, and the traditional attire. This
group performed in nearby city high schools within Rochester and neighboring cities.
Dr. Galang was active in the community in the late 70’s through the middle 90’s in support of her two daughters (Gigi and
Charlotte) who were actively involved as Samahan dancers and Rondalla musicians playing Banduria 1 and 2. She served as the Presi-
dent, Treasurer, Rondalla musician, and Board Member of the organization. While practicing nursing and raising her two daughters,
she determined to further her studies, completing her bachelor’s degree and masters degree at San Diego State University, and her
doctoral degree at the University of San Diego. She taught nursing courses at the San Diego State University and at the California
State University Long Beach. She is presently a part-time lecturer at the San Diego State University.
For many years, Dr. Galang was active in the nursing professional organizations and served as the President of the following
organizations: Philippine Nurses Association of America (National Organization), California Nurses Association of California, Region
2 (State Organization), Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing-Iota Eta Chapter, Asian American Nurses Association
of California, and the Philippine Nurses Association of San Diego. With her leadership experiences from these organizations, she
brings a wealth of experiences and knowledge in management, policies, and practices, which can be directly applied to managing
Samahan as a non-profit organization.

SAMAHAN Filipino American Performing Arts & Education Center 40th Anniversary