About the Author

Rhonda Gawthrop grew up in Southern California, among Disneyland, movie studios and surfers. She began her career in the world of beach fashion, as an advertising art director at Catalina Swimwear. Later, she became creative director at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising; building brands for clients at Mattel, Disney, and Fisher Price.

While earning an MA in Exhibition Design, Rhonda is concentrating her creative experience in communicating to the public through the visual language of art, media and culture in the context of museums, galleries and education. Chrystal McCluney, a Southern California native, grew up in the sunset glow of the surf and music culture of Los Angeles. After earning a BA in Communications and a MA in Audio Production, she blended her training into a career as a music supervisor and event planner for a production company in Orange County. This invaluable experience eventually seasoned into a transition to museum work.

Chrystal is currently working on an MA in Exhibition Design at California State University Fullerton. Her love of history and music emerge in her curating and design style. Costa Mesa-based Jim Washburn has written about music and popular culture for the Los Angeles Times, the OC Register, the OC Weekly and other publications, as well as the MSN and fourstory.org websites. He co-authored the books Martin Guitars, an Illustrated Celebration and John Crean: The Wheel and I. He has curated four exhibits at the Fullerton Museum Center, including: The Orange Groove, Orange County's Rock Music History and Lay Down the Boogie: OC in the Disco Era. In 2012, he was a guest lecturer at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts Chautauqua! engagement.