2003 Report
Lessons Learned and Session Handouts | Participant List
Speaker Biographies | Ideas for Further Exploration | Video by Street-Level Youth Media

One State: Together in the Arts
May 15 & 16, 2003
Speaker Biographies

Cleopatra B. Alexander has, for 21 years, worked with her partner James N. Alexander of Alexander Associates, helping corporations, foundation and individuals in their grantmaking endeavors. She serves as executive director of The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund and is a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.

Angela Allyn founded her first dance company at the ripe old age of 18. After receiving a BFA Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame, she moved to New York City where she received her MA from Columbia University and founded the Abiogenesis Movement Ensemble. Returning to Chicago in 1985 to head the Chicago Dance Coalition, Angela directed the Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center at Little City Foundation from 1998 to March 2001, and co-directed the outreach portion of Chicago's newest International Festival: Puppetropolis. Currently, Angela serves as the cultural arts coordinator for the City of Evanston. She and her husband, photographer Matt Dinerstein, have three children, two dogs, two cats and two turtles.

Thomas G. Andrews, CPA is a senior manager for Clifton Gunderson LLP, the 12th largest consulting and CPA firm in the United States. Tom has 20 years of experience specializing in audit, tax and compliance work for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and closely-held companies. Prior to joining Clifton Gunderson LLP, he was an accountant at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

April Arnold brings more than seventeen years of experience in arts administration for nonprofit cultural organizations to the Elmhurst Art Museum and her consulting business, Museum Explorer. She recently served as director of development & marketing for the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville where she established a marketing program and brand identity for the museum while organizing development efforts to support a $13.3 million capital campaign. Her previous experience includes work at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and as director of development & membership for the Illinois Arts Alliance/Foundation. April is an active board member, volunteer and guest speaker. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and Publicity Club of Chicago.

Prudence R. Beidler is a former Chicago public school teacher who has done service volunteer work since she was a teenager and board work for over thirty years. Among the nonprofit organizations she has chaired are Chicago Children's Museum (current), Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area, Jane Addams Hull House, the YWCA of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, the Chicago Wellesley Club, and the Lake Forest College Women's Board. She also serves on the boards of The Chicago Community Trust, Personal PAC, and WBEZ. She is on the women's boards of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.

Michelle Bibbs joined the staff of DuSable Museum in July 1998 as director of development and external affairs. In her current position, she oversees fundraising, membership, marketing and government relations activities for the museum. Prior to the museum, Michelle was director of foundation and government relations for Goodman Theatre. She was a consultant in the grants division of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and director of development at the New Regal Theatre, where she began her career. She is part-time faculty in the Management Department at Columbia College where she co-teaches a grant-writing course. A former volunteer with DuSable Museum's Young Adult Board, Michelle currently serves on the board of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago.

Judy Biggert, a lifelong Illinois resident, combines a wealth of experience as a legislator, lawyer, community leader, and small business owner to serve the suburban Chicago residents of Illinois' 13th District in the US House of Representatives. As the only member of the Illinois delegation on the Education and Workforce Committee during the 107th Congress, Judy worked to help craft President George W. Bush's sweeping education reform law. As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, Judy worked to improve funding for women's health research, victims of dating violence and childcare for low-income families. In the 108th Congress, Judy is a member of seven subcommittees and four full committees, including Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Science, and Standards of Official Conduct. She serves as chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Energy, vice chair of the Education Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, vice chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology and she is a member of the Speaker's Working Group for a Drug Free America and the Bipartisan Working Group on Youth Violence. Judy began her legislative career in 1992 when she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives to serve the newly created 81st District. She was reelected in 1994 and 1996. A graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern University School of Law, Judy was born in Chicago and attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. She and her husband Rody live in Hinsdale.

Tamara Bissell, executive director of Creating Pride, is a part-time faculty member in Art, History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute. She earned a PhD in 1997 at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; an MA in 1992 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a BA in 1990 from Ohio State University. Previous teaching experience includes: History and Philosophy of Art and Architecture Department, Central European University, Prague; Prague College of Studies in Art and Architecture. Professional experience includes: Creating Pride; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Prague College of Studies in Art and Architecture; and the National Gallery in Prague.

Bruce C. Bonnicksen, CFRE, is senior consultant with Baren, Mulder, German Associates, Inc. a fund raising consulting firm in Davenport, Iowa. He has been in professional fund raising his entire career, having also served as a director of development for a multi-hospital Catholic health care system in San Antonio. In his consulting practice, Bruce guides nonprofit organizations in strategic planning, capital fund raising programs, and ongoing development programs. He has a Bachelor's of Music degree from Northwestern University, and lives with his wife and young son in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Sarah Bowers is a nonprofit consultant and director of development for Arts Connect. She was the executive director of the Barrington Area Arts Council from 1993 to 2003. Prior to that she was the assistant director of programs and meetings for The Million Dollar Round Table, a nonprofit life insurance organization. She is a founder of the Leave A Legacy Foundation of the Barrington Area, and serves in its board of directors. Sarah is one of IAAF's Illinois Arts Peer consultants to local arts agencies. She received a degree in Speech from Northwestern University with a major in Theatre and English and her passions are the arts, animals and cooking.

Mario Castillo is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts. He exhibits regularly throughout the United States and his achievements have been recognized by Who's Who in International and American Art. Mario is the author of Community Murals and Towards A People's Art. He has also been a contributing writer to publications such as Art Nexus. His award winning work is in the collections of The National Museum of American Art, The San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, The Denver Art Museum, Bell Telephone Company and The Sara Lee Corporation to name a few. Currently, he is a professor at Columbia College of Art, where he has taught since 1990.

Libby Lai-Bun Chiu has served as executive director for Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education since January 1998. Prior to joining Urban Gateways, she was the vice president for institutional advancement at The Boston Conservatory, and, before that, director of the Demonstration School, a trilingual early childhood education program, and an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts. Additionally, she served as the acting executive director and deputy director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. In the field of public education, she served in the Boston Public Schools as kindergarten teacher, bilingual coordinator, and principal. Libby's volunteer and community work includes Illinois Arts Alliance; BOLD Chicago; Classics for Kids Foundation; and National Conversation on Artist Training and Professional Development. Libby received her BA from Wellesley College and her Masters in Education from Boston University. She received her early schooling in Hong Kong and is bilingual in English and Chinese. She trained in classical ballet and modern dance for almost 30 years.

Suzanne Connor is director of programs at the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. She is former executive director of both Edgewater Community Council and Christmas in April @ Metro Chicago, Suzanne brings to the director of programs position many years of experience designing and managing programs that connect corporate resources to community programs serving a broad range of ages, incomes and ethnic backgrounds. She currently serves as a mayoral appointee to Chicago's Community Development Advisory Council. Prior to coming to Chicago in 1995, Suzanne was elected to two terms on the City Commission in Traverse City, Michigan, where she was an ardent advocate for historic preservation and community involvement. She received her Masters' degree from New York University and her BA from St. Bonaventure University in sociology.

Daniel Cress is an account executive with Kryl & Company, Inc., a direct marketing and advertising agency. Previously he was the managing director of The Neo-Futurists and, before that, the front-of-house staff supervisor for the Civic Opera House and Civic Theatre. Daniel holds an M.S. in Managerial Communication from Northwestern University, a B.S. in Theatre Management from Illinois State University, and a Certificate in Direct Marketing from DePaul University. His board experience includes Team Chicago Athletics and the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce.

Patricia Devine-Reed is a professional multi-media visual artist. For 38 years she has dedicated her talents to Chicago communities as community organizer, arts administrator, arts instructor and artist. Patricia brings with her 20 years' leadership as founder, executive director and arts educator with Englewood's esteemed Boulevard Arts Center. Under her direction, Boulevard artists and students have produced several hundred murals, sculptures, banners and other public art works Englewood and surrounding neighborhoods. Recently retired from Boulevard administration, Patricia maintains her life-long belief that the arts are strategic for community development as she continues her work in 'hands-on' cultural arts education, arts curriculum development and environmental design and production with youth and communities at risk.

Kate DeVore is the master trainer for Total Voice Inc, which provides training in communication, voice, speech, and personal development. In addition, she teaches in the Theatre department at Columbia College Chicago and works as a voice/speech pathologist specialized in professional voice at The Voice Center at UIC. Kate is also a Reiki Master teacher and is certified in Vibrational Healing.

Marci Dodds is a freelance music journalist, wife of Jon "Cody" Sokolski and mother of Nate and Lillian. Marci serves on the Foundation board of the Champaign Public Library, the design committee for the new library building, and the development committee to raise funds for construction of said new building. With Cody, she is a member of the Marquee Council of Krannert Center and helps, on a project basis, with Sinai Temple, Montessori school and the jazz band at Edison Middle School, where Nate is the drummer. (However, she has yet to learn to set up a drum kit, and resolutely refuses to do so on the theory that once she knows how, she'll get stuck with that job.)

Alexis Driscoll has 17 years experience in the strategic development and marketing of customer-driven products and services. Alexis has extensive quantitative and qualitative market research experience and is an active BVA volunteer with the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. She has been instrumental in the development of smARTscope, A&BC's organizational assessment tool. She worked at Lotus Development Corp., in Cambridge, Mass. before joining Ameritech as senior director of New Products & Services and director of MIS. Alexis received her BA from Boston University and MA from Sloan School of Management, M.I.T. She is a guest lecture on marketing, product development, and creativity at the University of Chicago and Lake Forest Graduate School of Business.

Ken Ehrensaft, PhD is director and associate professor at the Center for Nonprofit Management at Spertus College. He earned his PhD in sociology at Loyola University of Chicago, MA at DePaul University and BA at Coe College. Previously, he was an adjunct faculty member and senior research associate at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and an associate professor at Barat College. Ken's practical experience includes the founding of the first police social service program (Evanston, Illinois), a major author of the State of Illinois' version of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and the administrator of delinquency programs for the City of Chicago.

Dean F. Eitel, PhD, is assistant director of the Public Services Graduate Program at DePaul University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy Analysis (University of Illinois at Chicago), Master of Public Administration (w/ honors) Roosevelt University, and B.S. (St. Louis University). Dean teaches graduate courses including nonprofit management, strategic planning, human resources and organizational effectiveness. He also teaches and coordinates the DePaul partnership with the School of the Art Institute's MA in Arts Administration. He is a former associate chair, Governor's Strategic Planning Advisory Council. In the 1980's he was selected as the Illinois Outstanding Board of Education Member for his role as president of a Cook County suburban Board of Education.

Kathleen Farrell, is president of Friends of Public Art in Joliet. She holds an MFA in printmaking from the L'École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, an MA in cultural anthropology from Governors State University, and a BA in painting from Southern Illinois University. Kathleen is a studio painter, sculptor, and mosaicist specializing in art for labor unions. She writes, 'As much as I love to create art, I love to promote the love of art in others. I strongly believe that visual art can have a profound effect on the way a population feels about itself, which ultimately can transform the collective culture of that group. The community and labor union public art I create tells the often forgotten stories of the lives of ordinary people - their history, struggles, and hopes. I strive, through my art, to bring beauty and power to their stories.'

Lucinda Flodin is both an arts administrator and an artist. She is development coordinator for the Prairie Center for the Arts and directs the Prairie Center Arts Foundation. She has been a working artist in theatre and storytelling for 25 years and is artistic director of The Storyweavers. She has been active on numerous boards of directors and is currently on the board of Illinois Storytelling, Inc.

Richard Florida is the author of the best-selling book, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure Community and Everyday Life. Currently in its tenth printing, the book has stimulated an international debate about the causes and consequences of economic growth. The book was awarded the Political Book Award for 2003 by the Washington Monthly and named by the Globe and Mail as one of the ten most influential books of that year. Cities and regions across the United States and the world have embarked on new creativity strategies based on the thinking in the book. Richard is the Heinz Professor of Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon, where he also heads the Software Industry Center. He has been a visiting professor at MIT and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. Richard is founder and principal of two companies, the Creativity Group, and Catalytix, a strategy-consulting firm that works with regions, governments and corporations around the world. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Rutgers College and his PhD from Columbia University.

Beverly Friese, has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois and a Master of Arts from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. Upon completing her Master's degree, she joined Bradley's English department as a full-time instructor. Her career in fundraising began in 1982 when she joined the University of Illinois Foundation during the University's first major capital campaign. In 1988, she became Krannert Center's first director of development and launched a comprehensive and on-going development effort specifically for the Center. This involves implementing and managing the staff responsible for gifts from patrons, corporations, governmental agencies, and private foundations. For the 2001-02 season, gift dollars raised for the Center's Marquee programming came to almost $1 million in patron/corporate support and grants. Over the past 14 years, the Center's endowment funds have grown from $2.5 million to almost $10 million. The Center's budget for its visiting artists (Marquee) presentation is $2.6 million. The Center's total operating budget is $7.4 million.

Hilary Anne Frost-Kumpf, PhD, is assistant professor and director of the Community Arts Management Concentration in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She holds the MPA with specialization in arts administration from Ohio State University and the PhD in cultural geography from Pennsylvania State University. She worked for fourteen years as a full-time manager of nonprofit arts organizations in Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, and was an Arts Administration Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts in 1993. For the last twelve years Dr. Frost-Kumpf has been a researcher and teacher in arts management and cultural geography with special interest in the arts and urban redevelopment. She is a noted expert on the development of cultural districts in the United States, and has lectured and published on the role of the arts in community development. Her book Cultural Districts: The Arts as a Strategy for Revitalizing Our Cities, was published by Americans for the Arts.

Harmon Greenblatt has over 30 years of experience managing and teaching the arts. He is currently director of the Evanston Arts Council and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Evanston. In this capacity he oversees all of the cultural arts programs in Evanston, including the Ethnic and Lakeshore Festivals, the Starlight Concerts, and Arts Week Evanston, as well as a regranting program and a large Community Service Program. He also is responsible for the Evanston Public Art Committee, which is the gatekeeper for all Public Art Projects in the city. Previous experience includes positions in California, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, and teaching positions in Connecticut and Chicago.

Gwendolyn Cochran Hadden, president of Cochran Hadden Royston Associates, has provided consulting services to major performing arts organizations and performing arts service groups since 1990, specializing in the areas of cultural diversity, diversity in the arts, arts management, human resources development and administration, organizational development, cultural change and crisis management. Her client list includes the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Americans for the Arts, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra, CenterStage of Baltimore, North Shore Music Theatre, Peabody Essex Museum, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Theatre Communications Group. Gwen has served as an officer of the board of overseers of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the board of trustees of the American Symphony Orchestra League. She has authored several articles for national arts publications and is currently working on a book entitled The Crazy Quilt of Cultural Identity.

Jim Hirsch, vice president and executive director, Chicago Theatre, was the executive director of the Old Town School of Folk Music from 1982 to 2000, during which time the organization's budget grew from under $300,000 to $7 million. In 1999, Jim completed work on a $10.2 million capital campaign that funded the organization's expansion to the new Chicago Folk Center and established a $1 million endowment fund. In September, 2000, he was hired by the CAPA to direct the Chicago Theatre, managing a staff of 15 and an annual budget of $4.8 million. In addition to his work for CAPA, Hirsch served as a grants panelist for the Illinois and Oregon Arts Councils and as a member of NARAS (Grammy) Awards and Nominations committee. He produced a nationally syndicated radio program for NPR and has released three albums. He was chosen by Crain's Chicago Business for their annual 40 Under 40 issue and named Chicago Arts Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996. In 1998, he was chosen as one of Chicago Magazine's Chicagoans of the Year. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Inspiration Cafe.

Judi Holdorf is a Certified Fundraising Professional with 20 years experience in nonprofit fundraising and management. Throughout her professional career, she has coordinated grants, major gifts, capital campaigns, corporate gifts, and annual campaigns as well all aspects of nonprofit management. She worked for Eastern Iowa Community College District serving as executive director of the college's foundations and executive assistant of quality services. For the last five years, she has served as executive director of Quad City Arts which delivers programming to a six-county region in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. She is an 'Illinois Arts Peer' consultant through the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation in the areas of grant writing and development, event management, public arts, and board and volunteer development.

Liz Livingston Howard is a graduate of Northwestern University and holds a Master's of Management degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. In November of 1994, she became the director of development of the Kellogg School, responsible for all solicitation strategy and implementation. In 1995, she was named assistant dean for development. Prior to her current position, she served as a fundraising consultant with Charles R. Feldstein & Company, based in Chicago, and working with a variety of clients including the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Juvenile Protective Association and Deborah's Place. Her previous development work was as director of development for the Chicago Tourism Council/Mayor's Office of Tourism for the City of Chicago and as the first director of development for Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette.

Dottie J. Johnson, CPA, has over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial management of nonprofit organizations. She is currently associate executive director and chief financial officer of Nonprofit Financial Center and is very active in the Illinois Society of CPAs as a member of the Nonprofit Organizations Committee. She is a published author in trade journals and other professional publications, an accomplished trainer and consultant in accounting, internal controls, financial management systems and reporting with lay leaders and professionals serving nonprofits around the country.

Patricia Joseph has recently been president of Home Planners, a publisher of books, magazines and a successful internet service for people who want to design their own homes. Prior to that she led Musicnotes, an online seller of sheet music and held senior management positions in marketing and general management at Dun & Bradstreet, ACNielsen, The Washington Post, and Ameritech Yellow Pages. She also founded her own firm, specializing in publishing, research and information technology product development, an advertising sales company, and graphics communications firm. Active in the performing arts community, Patricia was named Volunteer of the Year by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, she received her Bachelor's degree in Product Design from Carnegie-Mellon University and a Master's degree in Visual Communication from Illinois Institute of Technology. She received her MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Stephanie Kimmel joined the Goodman Theatre as associate director of development/director of corporate, foundation and government support in March of 2001. She was previously director of corporate and foundation relations for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and has also held positions in arts management and arts education in Southern California and Chicago. Stephanie received a BA in fine arts and economics from Amherst College and an MBA in arts management from the Anderson School at UCLA. A native of Evanston, Stephanie serves on the board of directors of Connections for the Homeless in Evanston, and also volunteers as a committee member for the Youth Job Center of Evanston, the Chicago Chapter of UCLA Anderson Alumni, and the Evanston Community Tennis Association.

John Knecht currently serves as a board member of Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education and works as a project manager at the strategic consulting firm Doblin Inc. (www.doblin.com). He was previously a board member of the California Alliance for Arts Education, worked as an arts residency coordinator at the Music Center of Los Angeles, and as a legislative advocate for arts organizations in Washington, DC. In his spare time, John is a gigging drummer/musician who performs in jazz venues, African drum troupes, rock/funk bands and dance classes around the Chicago area. He has helped dozens of nonprofit and Fortune 500 executives develop strategies and innovations for their future development.

Merianne Liteman is president of Liteman Rosse, Inc., an organization effectiveness consulting firm that specializes in designing and leading offsite retreats that focus on strategic planning, creative thinking, and leadership development for corporate, government, and nonprofit clients across the United States and abroad. She is co-author of Retreats That Work: Designing and Conducting Effective Offsites for Groups and Organizations published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, and regularly writes for Executive Update magazine. Formerly a US Foreign Service officer and the founding director of the International Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, Merianne's clients include the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; the US Department of State; WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio; the Corcoran Gallery of Art; and the Arts and Business Council of Chicago. A native of Chicago, Merianne is currently the chair of public radio station WAMU's Community Council in Washington, DC, is a judge for the DC-based Helen Hayes Theater Awards, and was the founder of the Washington women's choral group, Tessitura.

Ellen McCulloch Lovell is the president of the Center for Arts and Culture, an independent think tank in Washington DC dedicated to research, publication, and discussion of public policies in the arts and the humanities. She also serves as the part time director of the Veterans History Project at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, an initiative mandated by Congress to collect interviews, letters and other documents from veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. Until recently, Lovell served as deputy assistant to the President and advisor to the First Lady on the Millennium, leading the White House Millennium Council from 1997-2001. From 1984-1997, Lovell was executive director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. For ten years Lovell was chief of staff to Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. She began her career in 1970 as program director for the Vermont Council on the Arts, the state arts agency, which she directed from 1975-1983. She is married to assistant professor Christopher Ward Lovell who teaches at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, and they have a son, Evan, who lives and works in San Francisco.

Teresa Macdonald is assistant director of programs at the Arts & Business Council. Previously she was with Accenture in Chicago where she led the marketing efforts for the Business Launch Center and managed the local corporate volunteer efforts. Prior to Chicago, Tres lived in Washington, D.C. and worked for Academic Travel Abroad, Inc. a cultural tour operator that specializes in educational international travel programs for museums and non-profit organizations. As part of the marketing department, she was an account manager, catalogue production manager and managed several tours to France and Greece. Tres received her BA in English from Franklin & Marshall College and an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University.

Lewis Manilow is a founding trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago and its president for 5 years. He is a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago and a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is an honorary president of the Goodman Theatre and spearheaded its move to downtown Chicago, including being co-chair of the fundraising campaign. In honor of the 25 years he spent promoting the theater district in downtown Chicago, Dearborn Street between Randolph and Lake has been designated as Lewis Manilow Place. In November 2000 President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts. He has also received honorary doctorates from Governors State University and Columbia College. Lew frequently has written and spoken about the economic benefits of the arts, especially the role the arts play in attracting and retaining creative and entrepreneurial people and the importance of the arts in a regional capitol. He is a major collector of contemporary art and has been actively engaged in national political, US public diplomacy and international democratization. He has practiced law, developed real estate and chaired the board of an international telecommunications company. He received his PhD from University if Chicago in 1948 and his LLB from Harvard Law School in 1951.

Julia Fabris McBride is deputy director for programming at the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation. Also a theatre artist, she recently co-directed Scrap Mettle SOUL's Talkin' Trash. She was a founding member of the physical theatre company Plasticene and co-founded About Face Youth Theatre, collaborating to write and direct two shows based on stories of gay and lesbian teenagers. Acting credits include performances with Plasticene, About Face, Stage Left, Bailiwick, Chicago Shakespeare and others. She has also appeared in a couple of funky video features and some very unfunky industrial films. Prior to joining the IAAF staff, Julia was director of development for Friends of the Chicago River. She is a member of the board of Chicago Women in Philanthropy, vice president of the board of the National Community Arts Network and an avid backyard organic vegetable gardener.

Deborah Miller is associate director of development at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in music performance. Deborah's arts administration positions include assistant general manager for the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and project manager in the development department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During her six-year tenure with Krannert Center, Deborah has supervised the growth of Krannert's Corporate Sponsorship program, tripling corporate contributions and increasing the total number of corporate sponsors. She resides in Champaign with her husband, Chris, and young daughter, Callie.

Melissa Morriss-Olson, PhD, has over twenty years experience in higher education administration, currently serving as senior vice president and director of the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at North Park University. She is the author of numerous articles and the book Survival Strategies for Christian Colleges and Universities: A Leader's Guide to Survival in Turbulent Times. Melissa is a frequent conference speaker and college management consultant. As the founding director of the Axelson Center she provided leadership for the development of the center and its educational programs including the highly subscribed certificates in nonprofit management and the master of management in nonprofit administration degree program.

Lazette O'Brien is a parent serving her first full term on the Local School Council of Horace Greeley Language Arts Academy. She is a professional dancer and has danced with Ailey II, Garth Fagan Dance, and Joel Hall Dancers. Having served on the faculty at Columbia College Chicago, and helping to build Joel Hall Dancers' outreach program, Lazette has a first hand knowledge of the importance of the arts. Seeing her son's enthusiasm for school deepen because of the wide spectrum of exposure to different art forms has only confirmed her belief that the arts make a child's academic experience more personal and life impacting.

Jane Oldfield was named director of performing arts at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage in 1999. Jane, who has been at the Center since 1988, was previously audience development manager as well as managing director of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, a professional theater in residence at the College. Prior to coming to College of DuPage, the Glen Ellyn resident was arts coordinator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for five years. She also served as a student activities programmer at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, and Illinois State University, Normal. She holds a Masters of Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts from De Pauw University. Jane is a member of the Illinois Presenters Network, the Illinois Arts Alliance and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

Walter Ornelas, director the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum's Yollocalli Youth Museum, holds a bachelor of Fine Arts in secondary education from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently developing new and innovative programs for Chicago inner city youth. Walter previously served as the Museum's school program coordinator, implementing exhibit-related curricula, establishing relationships with schools throughout the city of Chicago, and leading the MFACM's participation in citywide MAPS (Museums and the Public Schools) and Art Discovery programs. He has extensive experience working with youth and developing arts education curricula. As an MFACM education coordinator, Walter prepared and presented exhibit workshops on mural making, printmaking, industrial design and mask making.

Christopher Perrius is the associate director of the University of Chicago Cultural Policy Center. Christopher received his MA in English from the University of Chicago in 1999, and was the associate director of communications for the Humanities Division until 2000. In 2001-02 with Siu Yuin Pang, he conducted a survey for the Illinois Arts Alliance to gauge the future leadership pool for the nonprofit arts. The results of that study are reported in the Illinois Arts Alliance report, Succession: Arts Leadership for the 21st Century. Christopher is also involved in research on nonprofit compensation, diversity in arts audiences, and the impact of arts and culture on urban development.

Scott Provancher was appointed to the position of executive director of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra during its 2000-2001 season. Prior to that, Scott completed a year-long orchestra management fellowship sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League, working closely with the executive directors of the San Francisco Symphony, the South Dakota Symphony, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Before the fellowship, he was the associate director of development for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. A musician as well as an administrator, Scott was co-founder and general manager of the Innergroove Percussion Trio and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Percussion Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He is a member of the board of directors of the Illinois Council of Orchestras and the Friends of the Coranado Theatre.

Philippe Ravanas is a native of France and a marketing expert with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and the arts. Philippe is the past vice president of Corporate Communications for Euro Disney in Paris. He participated in its launch and served as its official spokesman. He then joined Christie's in London where he took charge of client development worldwide. Philippe is currently an artist in residence at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches Marketing Applied to Performing Arts and Comparative Cultural Policies. He is a consultant for the National Geographic Society, for Cendant Intercultural, for the World Trade Organization and the European Parliament.

Charles Remsberg is an award-winning journalist and trainer who has authored six books and more than 800 articles for national magazines. He co-founded and for 20 years operated Calibre Press, Inc., which grew from a part-time, basement enterprise into the nation's preeminent independent training organization for law enforcement personnel, doing business in more than 50 countries. A graduate of Northwestern University, he currently serves as a consultant with the Executive Service Corps in Chicago.

Marissa Reyes designs and implements artist residency programs for Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education, a leading provider of arts education programming to Chicago-area schools. Prior to joining the Urban Gateways family she was the theatre coordinator for the Evanston Park District. She has also worked as a product administrator for Facets Multimedia, a distributor of foreign and independent films. Marissa has been involved in the arts in many capacities since graduating from Columbia College's film department.

J. Dennis Rich is chairperson of the Arts, Entertainment & Media Management Department at Columbia College Chicago and, until June of 2002, was executive director and chairman of the Chicago Center for Arts Policy. Dennis is also a consultant, researcher and lecturer. His international work includes colloquia and workshops for the USIA in India, and lecture series in Mexico, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France and Ukraine. In 1998, he was guest professor at the Internationales Zentrum für Kultur und Mangement in Salzburg, Austria and the Fachhochschule Potsdam. He is a contributor, along with Jacques Nantel, Suzanne Bilodeau, to François Colebert's book, Marketing Culture and the Arts, which is published in eight languages in addition to English. He also has written, in collaboration with Dan J. Martin, Assessing the Role of Formal Education in Arts Administration Training which appeared in The Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society. He is trained in theatre, has an extensive arts management background, and has managed a variety of performing arts organizations.

Martin Riker is assistant director and senior editor for the Center for Book Culture, a nonprofit literary organization that supports the reading and discussion of excellent modern and contemporary literature from around the world primarily through its publishing programs @ Dalkey Archive Press, the Review of Contemporary Fiction, and CONTEXT magazine. Now in his fifth year at the Center, Martin heads the organization's Chicago office, is an editor of Dalkey Archive Press, and is responsible for fundraising and board development. In addition to publishing numerous articles and reviews on international literature and publishing, he speaks regularly at local colleges and universities including Notre Dame, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Columbia College Chicago, and at international literary conferences.

John H. Rosenheim founded Universal Training Systems Company in 1968 and shepherded its growth into one of the industry's largest providers of custom training systems. Before that, John was vice president of marketing of Argus, Inc. for 5 years and director of market development of Bell & Howell for 10 years. During those same years, John served as a trustee on the boards of Michael Reese Hospital, National-Louis University and Chicago City Ballet. He also served as president of the Highland Park Board of Education and as a volunteer community organizer for the Chicago Urban League. He has five children and, at last count, eight grandchildren. As an Executive Service Corps project manager and a member of the organization's board of directors, John is often called on to lead projects in strategic planning, board development and revenue generation. John did his undergraduate work at Carleton College and Northwestern University, and completed an MBA at the University of Chicago.

Mike Ross is the president of the board of the Illinois Arts Alliance and Foundation. He has been the director of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1997. He came to the Krannert from the Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York where he was executive director and, prior to that, director of artistic activity. At the Miller, Mike established a critically-acclaimed multi-arts presenting program of classical and contemporary music, jazz, theatre, dance, and theatre of ideas events. Mike serves on the boards of Chamber Music America and the Composers Conference at Wellesley College. He also serves on advisory boards and committees of Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher and Elise L. Stoeger Awards, Classical Connections, MIT's Artist-in-Residence program, and the New York Guitar Festival.

Tim Sauers is producing director for Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education in Chicago. He is responsible for the research, planning, development, marketing and selling of school and community based programs for 32,000 participants in an eight county region. He holds dual Master of Arts degrees in Theatre from Michigan State University and Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College. He is a board member for International Performing Arts for Youth, Chicago Arts Collaborative for Teacher, Playback Theatre Midwest, and Get the Big Picture. Tim is also a freelance theatre critic.

Laura Saviano is the director of marketing for Ross Barney+Jankowski, Inc. Growing from 5 members to 45 in her 13 year tenure, the firm has received significant local and national commissions, awards and publicity. She currently chairs the Public Art Committee in Evanston, Illinois. Her committee has initiated several public art programs, including E-SITE @ Evanston Sculpture in the Environment. The committee administers the City's percent for art program, placing works of art in new buildings, and approves the ongoing mural projects in the City of Evanston. Laura also serves on the McGaw YMCA's Health and Wellness Committee and Design Evanston, a group of professionals that publicly encourage good design for the built environment. An exhibited and published photographer, she often lends her talents to capture firm projects on film.

Steve Scott most recently directed Dinner with Friends and Wit at the Goodman Theatre, (earning an After Dark Award for outstanding direction). Other recent directing credits include Always€Patsy Cline at the Center in Munster, That Championship Season for Red Hen Productions, and The Time of Your Life for Roosevelt University (where he is a faculty member). Since 1987 he has been associate producer at the Goodman Theatre, overseeing over 90 productions. Other Goodman directing credits include the world premiere of Tom Mula's Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol and the 1989 through 1992 productions of A Christmas Carol. Steve has served on advisory panels for the Chicago Office of Fine Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently serves as an NEA site evaluator and a member of the Jeff Committee's Artistic and Technical Team. He is an artistic associate of the About Face Theatre, a member of the Eclipse Theatre ensemble, and one of five resident directors for WBEZ's Stories on Stage.

Angie M. Sivak is the principal audit manager responsible for all nonprofit clients at Desmond & Ahern. She has over 8 years of auditing experience. For the past 6 years, Angie has worked exclusively with nonprofit organizations, developing and documenting accounting policies and procedures and establishing internal controls in addition to overseeing audits. Prior to joining Desmond & Ahern, Angie worked with a national accounting firm where her responsibilities included planning, coordination and performing certified audits of nonprofit organizations, small businesses and manufacturing. She earned a Bachelor's degree with honors in accounting from Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a certified public accountant, licensed in the State of Illinois and holds memberships in the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society.

Janet Carl Smith has administered quality arts experiences throughout the Chicago area for the past thirty years. Since 1978 Janet has had responsibility for free public programming at the Chicago Cultural Center in a variety of positions. In her current role as deputy commissioner of the CDCA, she manages all public functions‹such as programming, exhibitions, education, retail services, marketing, and volunteers of the Cultural Center. Janet is a founder and chair of the Cultural Network, a consortium of area cultural organizations that meet to share information and encourage collaborative programming and promotion. She also chairs the Arts Technical Assistance Providers Network and is the cofounder of the Arts Business Luncheon Forums. Janet is a member of the steering committee for the National Arts Marketing Center and the planning committee for the Chicago Humanities Festival and serves on the board of the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation. She is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Terri Smith has 30 years experience in marketing, public relations and business administration. She is currently in the process of opening three new business ventures. Her previous position was as executive director of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois. In the three years she held this position, hery main focus was teaching and assisting in the business of the arts. 'Creativity is a necessity in any business you are in. As an independent arts advocate, my mission and satisfaction come from teaching others that the most valuable tool they possess is 'creative thought'. Do not second-guess or analyze that crazy, wild, creative idea: Put it into action.'

Toni Sandor Smith worked for thirty years with Spencer Stuart & Associates, one of the top three executive search firms in the world. Toni founded and managed the not-for-profit practice, spending most of her time consulting with volunteer boards seeking leadership for their organizations. She was a long-time board member of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and now serves on the boards of Lakefront SRO, Central Baptist Family Services and Associated Colleges of Illinois. Toni has helped to recruit CEOs for a wide variety of clients, including: The Getty Trust; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Chicago Historical Society; The Brookings Institution; American Academy in Rome; and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

Debra H. Snider is an author, speaker and consultant. She has written and spoken in the US and abroad on strategic productivity, law department management, leadership, and change facilitation. From 1995-2000, she was executive vice president, general counsel & chief administrative officer of Heller Financial, Inc., a $20 billion commercial finance company. Prior to that, she was a partner of Katten Muchin Zavis, a 600-lawyer law firm headquartered in Chicago. Debra is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School.

Jon "Cody" Sokolski is the husband of Marci Dodds, father of Nate and Lillian and an all around swell guy. (His wife wrote this and she'd say more about how great he is, but it would embarrass him). By day a real estate developer committed to the revitalization of downtown Champaign, by (weekend) night, he is a member of the road tested, biker- approved band, The Delta Kings. He serves as chairperson of the board of 40° North/88° West, the new Champaign County arts, culture and entertainment council. He sits on the Foundation board of Provena Hospital, the Convention and Visitor's Bureau board, The Virginia Theatre Renovation advisory board and with his wife, serves on the Marquee Council of Krannert Center. (Yes, he's tired a lot, but it's a good tired.)

Sarah Solotaroff came to The Chicago Community Trust in 1990. As the program officer responsible for all of The Trust's grants in arts and culture, Sarah works to support public radio and television, the public library and all major museums, performing arts, literature and arts education programs in Chicago. Since October 1, 2000 she has been vice-president for programs at The Trust. Before joining The Chicago Community Trust, Sarah worked as the general manager of The Ravinia Festival. She also served as general managing director, marketing director and artistic administrator at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She has worked as administrator of the Minnesota Composers Forum, editor for McDougal, Littell and Company and university instructor in English at the University of Minnesota and Mundelein College Chicago. She holds a BA in Music from Oberlin College, B.M. in Piano from Oberlin College, and a MA in English from the University of Chicago.

John Sparks is the artistic director of the Theatre Building Chicago and The Lehman Engel Musical Theater workshop in Los Angeles. John's musical Babes in Barns premiered at New Tuners in 1984 and ran for six months. He wrote the lyrics to Hans Brinker, which ran for six holiday seasons at the Theatre Building and for which he and composer Philip Seward received an After Dark Award. New Tuners commissioned John, along with collaborators Ken Stone and Jan Powell to write Cashel Byron, for which the authors received a grant from the Frederick Loewe Trust, awarded by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. John is currently writing lyrics for Jalube MacCurtain's 43rd Annual Family Reunion with bookwriter Barbara Georgans and composer Jim Koudelka, and working on an adaptation of Kafka's The Trial with composer/lyricist Jon Steinhagen.

Nancy Stemper is executive director of Carbondale Community Arts and a serves on the school board for Carbondale Elementary School District 95. She is a member of the board of the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation.

Tim Sullivan is a managing consultant with ASPIRE. Prior to co-founding ASPIRE, Tim co-founded one of the worlds' first exclusive Customer Relationship Management consulting firms and has held consulting, marketing, sales, training and product and business development management positions in the CRM and Interactive Marketing industry for 15 years. ASPIRE is a leading provider of Customer Lifecycle Management solutions to help companies improve their customer acquisition, retention and evangelism with CRM and Interactive Marketing services. ASPIRE client successes are based upon Total Customer Development, a quality-based, customer-centric methodology designed to improve customer relationships, revenue and value by optimizing, aligning and integrating strategy, process, people and technology.

Jeni Swerdlow is a drummer, artist and art therapist who enjoys bringing people together in playful, creative ways. Through the Drummm program, she works with kids, adults, families and people with special needs in venues such as schools, parks, shelters and treatment programs. Jeni has performed and exhibited nationally at a wide range of theaters, museums and galleries with groups like Redmoon Theater, Environmental Encroachment and Holy Goat Ensemble. Jeni's passion for drumming is matched only by her playful spirit and commitment towards building community.

Alene Valkanas is a national leader in arts advocacy and education. For seventeen years, she has directed the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation and its sister organization, the Illinois Arts Alliance, developing a number of innovative programs and research projects. She is chair of the State Arts Advocacy League of America, a member of the board of the Donors Forum of Chicago, and a founding board member of the Washington-based Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest. A national campaign to promote reauthorization of the National Endowment for the Arts, produced under her direction, received the Government Relations Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives in 1990. In June 1994, she received the Double Emmy Arts Award from Mostly Music, in recognition of her contribution to the cultural life of Chicago. Alene's work at the Alliance was preceded by fourteen years in public relations, program development, and cultural affairs, and by several years as an educator in the field of English and art at the secondary-school level. She holds an MAT in art education from the University of Chicago.

Dona Vitale, founder and president of Strategic Focus, Inc., provides qualitative research consulting services for arts and tourism organizations, commuter transportation providers, private business and public agencies. In 1996, she authored the report Expanding the Market for the Arts in Chicago for the Arts Marketing Center of the Arts and Business Council of Chicago, and recently completed an updated version of that study for the City of Chicago. In addition to her consulting work, Dona teaches Marketing Research for Strategic Decision-Making in the Graham School of General Studies, University of Chicago. Prior to founding Strategic Focus, she worked in advertising agencies for clients including The Sara Lee Corporation, SC Johnson Wax, Kraft Foods, and Sears Roebuck and Company. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts, and holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Rich Walker is currently serving his third term as alderman for the City of Edwardsville. Rich also served as the coordinator of the Arts & Issues series at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1986 until 2001, before accepting the position at SIUE as assistant to the vice chancellor for administration. He also chairs the City's Wildey Development Committee that is working on a $2.5 million restoration of an abandoned vaudeville theater in downtown Edwardsville. He has a Bachelor's degree in Arts Administration and a Master's degree in Public Administration and currently serves as president of the Illinois Presenters Network. Rich is a member of the board of the Illinois Arts Alliance/Foundation.

Joan Welles is executive director of the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, having served as an executive arts administrator for over 15 years. A popular speaker and consultant, Joan has helped prominent children's choruses from coast to coast develop and improve the administrative structure and financial support of their choirs. She has been the keynote speaker at national choral conventions throughout the US and has been chosen to serve on the grant evaluation panel for the Illinois Arts Council for many years. Joan is the author of Managing Young Choirs, a series of 'how-to' manuals designed to help boards of directors and administrative staffs build efficiency in all aspects of choral management. In addition, Joan is also an accomplished professional singer, having performed extensively with Chicago's most prominent. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees with highest honors from Indiana University and Northeastern Illinois University.

Susan Williams has been the executive director of the Rockford Area Arts Council since 1987. She serves as co-chair of the Local Arts Network on the board of the Illinois Arts Alliance and locally is a member of several planning groups key to the Rockford area's economic development. Prior to the position with the Arts Council, Susan raised funds for the Discovery Center Children's Museum, co-produced a feature-length film made in Rockford, and served as office manager in a successful mayoral campaign while serving on several boards including the League of Women Voters.

Crystal Womble has worked at Krannert Center for ten years, starting out as assistant manager for the ticket office. Currently the outreach director, she is responsible for building relationships with the regional community programs and events, as well as providing opportunities for organizations to plan activities at the Center. As the coordinator for Krannert Center's Volunteer Association, Crystal supervises community volunteers who usher and assist with the Youth Series program. A member of Krannert's Creative Intersections Committee, Crystal has worked to develop a new initiative, Jazz Immersion, which provides informal opportunities to explore jazz through lectures, narrated concerts, and live "audio tours" on the history of jazz. The success of this initiative, provided an entry to the development Jazz Threads, a 3-week, community driven, jazz residency project with Cecil Bridgewater and local jazz musicians during Krannert's 2003-2004 season.

Cheryl Yuen, a 25-year veteran in arts management, shares her diverse experience in planning, organizational assessment and development, and meeting facilitation with nonprofit and governmental arts agencies and foundations across the country. An independent cultural development and arts management consultant for 15 years, current engagements include serving as a project liaison for the Ford Foundation supported Animating Democracy initiative; long range planning with The Renaissance Society; and managing the cultural giving program at the Sara Lee Foundation. She served as a program director with the Illinois Arts Council and with two local arts agencies, and as a consultant and panelist for the NEA and numerous state and local arts agencies. She is author of Community Vision: A Policy Guide to Local Arts Agency Development and co-author of Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue. She has served on the Illinois Arts Alliance/Foundation board for 12 years, currently chairing the Arts Leadership for the 21st Century initiative. She holds an MBA in Arts Management from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Randy Cohen is Vice President of Research and Information at Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. While at Americans for the Arts, Randy has produced such projects as Arts & Economic Prosperity, the national study on the economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry in the United States; directed the Institute for Community Development and the Arts, which has published more than 20 handbooks about how the arts address social, educational, and economic development issues; edited the award-winning Monograph series; and published numerous reports about local arts agencies, united arts funds, arts education, and public and private sector support for the arts. Randy has also worked in partnership with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to produce Coming Up Taller, the White House report documenting 225 arts and humanities programs for youth-at-risk, and with the NEA and U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project, the first national study to document statistically the impact of arts programs on at-risk youth. Prior to joining Americans for the Arts in 1991, Randy worked as a Policy and Planning Specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

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