A RT IST ALLY
Q&A
with TOM
NIELSEN
Tom Nielsen, founder of a real estate consultancy, is a longtime advocate and supporter of Orange County arts organizations. A longstanding member of the CTSA Dean’s Arts Board, Nielsen ramped up his support of the school over the past decade, and recently joined the Claire Trevor Society leadership committee. Nielsen’s involvement with UCI spans multiple schools and programs. He is an active member and past chair of the UCI Foundation Board of Trustees, a founding member of the UCI Chief Executive Roundtable, and serves on a number of advisory councils around the campus.
Q. You have degrees in engineering and business, yet the arts hold a special place in your heart. Why is that? TN: My mother was a piano teacher, and I played clarinet growing up so I always stayed involved with music through the marching band or the choir at church. When I went to the University of Washington, I was busy with civil engineering, so I set aside the arts. But that reawakened when I returned to Orange County and had the opportunity to work with local organizations including the Orange County Museum of Art, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. 24
