After its incorporation as a non-profit enterprise in 1934, the Festival of Arts elected its first seven-member board of directors (later expanded to nine members). Local businessman George Portus was president. Since then, the elected, volunteer Festival of Arts board of directors has guided the Festival through more than seven decades of growth and success. The signing of a 40-year lease agreement with the City of Laguna Beach and the passing of a measure to prohibit any future outside licensing reflects the board's commitment to ensuring that the Festival and Pageant will be exclusively presented here in Laguna Beach. Endorsing a spirit of cooperation and collaboration with City officials, the Festival Board, which receives no compensation for its efforts, determines policy and sets the future direction of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

The members of the current board of directors bring a wide range of individual talents to the table. Elected by the membership to serve three-year terms, board members volunteer their time, skills and collective leadership abilities to help assure that the Festival and Pageant move successfully forward in the new century.

Serving as president, Fred Sattler is a retired business executive who worked in the field of health care economics and the organization of health care for over 25 years. He moved to Laguna Beach (his wife's hometown) in 1996 from Minnesota to assume the responsibilities of executive vice president of business development for CORE Inc. in Irvine, CA. Fred holds a BA degree from Beloit College and an MBA from Rutgers University. He has taught Managerial Economics and Finance at three major universities. He and his wife, Jan (a local artist), are partners in her art business. Fred has served on several boards of directors and advisory committees of both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in the private and public sectors. He is the founder of the Laguna Beach Tidewater Docent program and co-founder and current Chair of the Laguna Ocean Foundation. In addition to his duties as the Festival's President, he serves as an ex-officio member of all Festival committees and represents the organization in its dealings with the City and community.

Tom Lamb is a photographer, artist and designer, adventurer, environmental planner and successful entrepreneur. Tom brings many years of experience as an exhibitor here at the Festival of Arts. He is a professor of photography, a board member of several national and international non-profit organizations and founder of Lamb Studio, a successful image and communications group. Tom holds advanced degrees from the Hartford Art School in Printmaking and the Rhode Island School of Design in Photography. He has lived in Laguna Beach with his family for over twenty years. Tom is a documentary landscape photographer with a focus on the concerns for the environment and the need to create a balance between conservation, preservation, tourism, and development. His work is widely published, exhibited, and collected. Tom chairs the Exhibits, Artist Advisory, and Festival of Arts Permanent Art Collection Committees. He is the board liaison for the Exhibits Department and a member of the Planning, Finance, Artist's Fund and Commemorative Book Committees.

A Laguna Beach resident for 30 years, Pat's devotion to the community and the arts is demonstrated by her long history of dedicated service and leadership. She has served as past chair of the Laguna Beach Arts Alliance and is its current vice-chair, past president and current member of CHOC guild, past president and present member of USC Alumni guild, present member and former chair of the Laguna Beach Arts Commission, past president of Laguna Playhouse, and a former board member of School Power and Boys & Girls Club. Pat co-founded Laguna Tunes, was the founding president of No Square Theatre and co-founder and Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association, Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Southern California in Broadcast Journalism. With a never-ending passion for acting and singing, Pat has performed in numerous community theater shows and professional productions such as the U.S.O. Tour of Vietnam. Pat is the board liaison for the Marketing & Public Relations department, chairs the Policies and Procedures and Scholarship Committees, and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Anita Mangels is a past president of the Festival of Arts, having served four consecutive terms in that office, and remains passionately committed to preserving the Festival's traditions while fulfilling its mission to support and promote the arts. A longtime Laguna Beach resident, Anita's history of community service includes serving on advisory boards for the University of California, Irvine and California State University, Long Beach; several years as a board member and treasurer of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy; and affiliations with the Laguna Beach Arts Alliance, Woman's Club and South Coast Medical Center Foundation as well as numerous other non-profit organizations. After a successful career in the financial arena, Anita has for many years headed up the Orange County office of Woodward & McDowell, an award-winning public affairs firm. Anita is the board liaison for Finance and Production Committees. In addition, she is the chair of the Finance Committee and serves on the Policies and Procedures and Planning Committees.

Wayne is an enthusiastic leader devoted to fulfilling the Festival of Arts mission to encourage the appreciation, study and performance of the arts. A Laguna Beach resident since 1969 and a Festival of Arts member since 1981, Wayne Baglin has a sound record of community service including serving many years as Laguna Beach mayor and city council member, director and former president of Laguna Beach Board of Realtors, affiliations with Laguna Canyon Foundation, the Universal Children's Fund and other non-profit organizations. Wayne is a longtime advocate of water quality issues who has chaired the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and has been appointed to many state and local environmental agencies. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Northridge and owns and operates a successful independent Laguna Beach real estate business. Wayne and his wife, Faye, are avid collectors of contemporary Laguna Beach art and supporters of the arts. Wayne chairs the Planning Committee.

Steve Dicterow has a record of community service including many years as Laguna Beach mayor and city council member where he helped create the position of the City's Art Coordinator; a director of Laguna Beach Neighborhood Watch; Laguna Beach Taxpayers Association; Chamber of Commerce and North Laguna Community Association; and affiliations with many other non-profit organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from State University of New York (Albany) and received his law degree from University of Southern California (Los Angeles). Currently, he is a successful business owner of International Racers, Inc. in Irvine. This venture comes after a thirty-year career as an Attorney-at-Law. Steve and his wife Catrina are passionately committed to supporting and promoting the arts in Laguna Beach. He is board liaison to the Guest Services department, chairs the Restaurant Committee and the Artist's Fund, and is a member of the Audit, Policies and Procedures and Human Resources Committees.

A Laguna Beach resident for over 40 years, Bob brings a world of experience to the Festival of Arts. In 1953, after attending UCLA, Bob started his successful career in the entertainment business behind-the-scenes in engineering and production at KTLA in telecine operations, audio mixing and camera operations. He was promoted to the position Engineering Supervisor – overseeing many of the videotape productions. Recruited by KOCE in 1970, Bob became Chief Engineer and was later promoted to Station Manager. Bob spent 26 years with KOCE before retiring in 1996. Actively devoted to improving the welfare of Laguna Beach and the Festival of Arts, Bob is a member of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy, Laguna Greenbelt, Laguna Art Museum, Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy. Bob shares his passion for the arts with his wife Jacquie, a longtime Festival of Arts exhibitor and former board member who currently serves on the scholarship committee. Bob is a member of the Artist's Fund, Exhibits/Art Collection, Human Resources and Planning Committees. He is the board liaison for Operations.

David Perry and his family are long time Irvine residents. David is an administrative partner and serves on the Management Committee of K&L Gates LLP, a full-service law firm with almost 2,000 lawyers in 37 cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. K&L Gates represents leading global corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and individuals. His personal practice is focused on representation of middle market and emerging companies with respect to corporate, finance and intellectual property matters. In addition to his current professional activities, David is a member of UC Irvine's Chief Executive Roundtable, its School of Biological Sciences Dean's Leadership Council as well as its Office of Research External Advisory Board. He is a board member of OCTANe, an Orange County based non-profit which seeks to accelerate entrepreneurs and company development for local information technology and biomedical industries, as well as of the Kidney Cancer Association, a survivor and patient led organization representing the 203,000 Americans with kidney cancer, and a member of the National Cancer Institute's Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities. David is the board liaison for the Membership and Special Events and the Human Resources departments. He is also the chair of the Human Resources Committee, and a member of the Artist's Fund, Finance, Planning and Restaurant Committees.

Ann has been with the Pageant of the Masters 34 years, including 28 years as Supervisor of Make-up backstage and seven years on the Board of Directors. Visiting museums worldwide for Pageant art research, she was successful in including such artwork as: Currier and Ives' “Road Winter,” Manet's “Balcony,” Joan of Arc's French bronze statue and Monet's “The Boat at Giverny.” Ann also took many trips to Milan, Italy to view “The Last Supper” during its restoration. As a Marine Aviator's wife, she was stationed at the Marine Air Station at El Toro, California. Ann obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Art History from George Washington University. She is the board liaison for the Production department and serves on the Scholarship Committee.

The mayor of Laguna Beach automatically becomes an ex-officio member of the Festival Board upon election. Laguna's mayor regularly attends board meetings to keep up-to-date on Festival of Arts issues and to inform the directors on matters of municipal interest.