ARTS MANAGER’S TRACK
Chuck V. Loring is a senior governance consultant for BoardSource, and senior partner of the Fort Lauderdale and Indianapolis-based firm of Loring, Sternberg & Associates. He offers his expertise in fundraising, board development and other governance issues to nonprofit boards across the country. Chuck’s clients include The American Lung Association, The Center on Philanthropy and Leadership at Rollins College, The Foundation Center, The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and holds a MBA from the University of Southern California.
Heidi Russell serves as the vice president of communications and development at The Children’s Center. She is responsible for the Center’s fundraising and public relations operations. In the past 10 years, the Center has had exceptional growth in its fundraising operations, successfully completing two major capital campaigns of $12 million and $7 million, resulting in its state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. Heidi holds a M.A. in Urban Affairs from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Heather Walter is the development officer for The Children’s Center in Bethany, Oklahoma. Her involvement in the community includes serving as an officer of the board of directors of the AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City; a member of the Oklahoma Heritage Association; a volunteer for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; and a member of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Heather holds a Master’s Degree in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT TRACK
Tom Borrup serves as the Principal Associate for Creative Community Builders in Minneapolis. He has been a leader and innovator in community building for 30 years; specializing in strategic planning, community transformation, and creative partnership building. Tom pioneered cultural asset mapping and leveraging cultural resources for economic development and civic participation. He works with cities, foundations, nonprofits, and public agencies to tap the potential of their creative assets. Tom’s book, the Creative Community Builder’s Handbook provides a step-by-step planning guide for community leaders. He has served on the boards of the Jerome Foundation, and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. Tom has consulted with such institutions as the Rockefeller, Ford, Wallace, and Andy Warhol Foundations. A prolific writer, he speaks and leads workshops across the US. He currently teaches for the University of Massachusetts, and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Tom received his M.A. in Communications and Public Policy, from Goddard College in Plainfield, VT.
TEACHING ARTISTS’ TRACK
Steve Bailey is the education director and founder of Jump-Start Performance Co. in San Antonio. He was the founder and director of 24th Street Experiment Theater Company, research coordinator for Theater Communications Group, and artist-in-residence with Teatro del Sol in Lima, Peru. Steve Bailey has created and directed over fifty original productions that have been presented in the U.S. and Latin America. He is also an arts educator who has worked with numerous youth and adult groups in a variety of community settings; and has conducted teacher training in San Antonio and for New Mexico Arts, a Division of Cultural Affairs for the State of New Mexico.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS REPRESENTATIVE
Mike Griffin currently serves as the Deputy Congressional Liaison in the Office of Government Affairs at the National Endowment for the Arts. In this role, he works closely with Members of Congress and their staffs in order to facilitate the work of the Arts Endowment across the nation. Before joining the National Endowment for the Arts, Mike worked as an elementary school teacher and as a staffer on then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. He is a graduate of Georgetown University.
PANELISTS
Michael Bendure is the Director of Communication at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. He is the primary coordinator of the museum’s 2nd Friday Circuit of Art events each month, known at the museum as Art “à la CART.” He is also the co-founder of the SongWriters Association Norman (SWAN); a branch of the Norman Arts Council that supports the development of local songwriters. SWAN members are an active part of 2nd Friday’s live music at various locations each month.
Ken Busby is Executive Director of the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, and is currently leading AHCT’s campaign to develop a Visual Arts Center in the Brady Arts District in Downtown Tulsa. The Visual Arts Center will feature classroom and gallery spaces for youth and adults to develop their skills for creative expression. Ken serves on the board of the Oklahoma Museums Association, is president of the Tulsa Symphony, and is past chair of the Arts Commission of the City of Tulsa. In 2008, Ken received the Governor’s Arts Award for Community Service.
Jim Coles is a Planner for the City of Tulsa and is Tulsa’s first city employee to administer the Tulsa Arts Commission. A native of Haddonfield, NJ; Jim holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Architecture. He is a graduate of Leadership Tulsa Class XXVI and Leadership Arts Class III. Jim’s photography work has been featured in several architectural books in addition to an Oklahoma Centennial Commissioned book, The Artwork of Tulsa, by John Brooks Walton.
Michael Cordial is a member of the Thunderbird Artists of Norman. He describes his work, “My work in art has had a history for giving me shelter from myself or shall we say my problems. I have been able to get through a lot of my life with my diagnosis by learning to draw in school. I found when I stopped producing my art I felt increasingly more uncomfortable with my life until now. If I get a couple of exhibits in and produce three or four pieces of art a year, my life is sheltered from the uncomfortable troubles of some of my memories”.
Erin Brown Craven is Co-Artistic Director and President of the Ardmore Contemporary Dance Company. Her vision for the company is to build an audience for modern dance in southern Oklahoma through performance and educational residencies. Her work as a dance educator includes teaching in public and private school settings in Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma and she spearheaded a dance program working with “at-risk” youth at Take 2 Academy in Ardmore. Erin earned her MFA in choreography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Carri Dolan is a visual artist and has been working as a teaching artist for the past 12 years. She has worked with a large variety of students ranging from pre-school to senior citizens, and specializes in working with at-risk students. Carri is currently teaching at Positive Tomorrows, a school for homeless students at City Arts Center, and is on the Special Populations and Arts After School roster for the Oklahoma City Arts Council. She graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Art Education.
Misti Reynolds Galvan is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Ardmore Contemporary Dance Company. A native of Ardmore, Misti studied modern dance at the University of Oklahoma and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy where she studied classical ballet, modern dance, and jazz. Additionally, Misti she has trained at Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and at the State University of New York. For ten years, she has been teaching dance at Ardmore dance studios, and choreographing stage musicals. Ms. Reynolds currently focuses on her role as teacher, performer, and choreographer with Ardmore Contemporary Dance Company.
Stephen Kovash is the National Acquisition Manager for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development. In his other life, Stephen is owner and manager of the Istvan Gallery in Oklahoma City, featuring works by emerging and established Oklahoma artists. Istvan Gallery offers a welcoming atmosphere where the public can experience positive engagement with artists, and also hosts performance events including OKC StorySlam, poetry readings and live music. Stephen holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and graduated with honors with an MBA in Arts Management from Oklahoma City University.
Marcus Lamb is a member of the Thunderbird Artists of Norman. He describes his work, “ I graduated from Panhandle High School in Panhandle, Texas and received in 1976. From Panhandle I moved to Amarillo, Texas where I received my Associate of Science in Amarillo Texas and a Bachelors of Arts in English from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. Currently I reside in Norman, Oklahoma where I participate in the life of Thunderbird Clubhouse. Here I wrote and self published Visions, a book of my own poetry”.
Josh Lunsford is the Associate Director of the Norman Arts Council. He coordinates the event details of each month’s 2nd Friday Circuit of Art and promotes those events through the 2ndFridayNorman.com site, social networking, and traditional media.
Traci Martin, is Co-Owner of Studio 107, a gallery and performing arts studio in Ardmore, OK. She previously served as Educational Director at the Goddard Art Center. As a working artist and educator, Traci has received numerous awards and scholarships, and her art work is exhibited regionally including The Great Plains Juried Exhibit, Goddard Center Annual Juried Exhibit, Cross Timbers Small Works Show, and Artplace’s Red Hot Art Show. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Jana Moring has carved a career in development and philanthropy and currently serves as Director of Donor Relations for the University of Oklahoma Foundation and also serves on the Norman Public Arts Board. During the past three years, Jana served as a development officer with Pioneer Library System and previously as Director of Major Gifts for INTEGRIS Health Foundation Inc. in Oklahoma City. She has also worked as Development Officer in the OU Michael Price College of Business. Jana earned her Master’s in Library Science from OU, and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CRFE).
Michael Palermo realized his father’s dream of opening a deli in 1969. Over the years, the deli evolved into Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar, located in downtown Norman. Michael serves on the planning committee for 2nd Friday Circuit of Art.
Christian Pitt is the Curator for MAINSITE Contemporary Art in Norman, Oklahoma. She serves on the board of the Norman Arts Council, and 2nd Friday Circuit of Art. She is also a planning member of the Norman Music Festival, and has served as curator and lecturer for the Oklahoma Visual Artist Coalition, the Norman Arts Council, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Central Oklahoma. Christian is currently concerned with photography that includes still and moving imagery, sculpture, and costume and set design. She holds a BFA in painting from the University of Oklahoma.
Cody Ponder is the Planning & Grants Administrator for the Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART), Norman’s public transportation system. CART is operated by the Parking and Transportation Services at the University of Oklahoma, making it one of five public transportation systems in the nation operated by a local university. Prior to Cody’s with CART, he served as the Director of Transportation for Norman Public Schools. He serves on numerous boards in the community and is an avid arts supporter.
Mary Ann Prior, Executive Director of City Arts Center Oklahoma City; is leading the transition of the Center into an urban multi-disciplinary contemporary arts center. Before joining the Center, she was Curator/Advisor for Arts Program Europe for Bank of America. Mary Ann is an accomplished art curator with expansive experience in exhibition and collection creation, including the presentation of international exhibitions. She holds a Masters Degree in Cultural History from Royal College of Art, London.
Geoffrey L. Smith works and creates in all areas of the TV and film industry in Oklahoma. He serves on the Artists’ Rosters of the Oklahoma Arts Council and Arts Council of Oklahoma City. Geoffrey’s teaching credentials include video production camps at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and throughout the state. He has served as Chair of the Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) Film Committee, DeadCenter Film Festival Executive Board, and established the IAO Linda Jaeger Film and Video Scholarship for graduating high school seniors. Annually, he hosts a young filmmakers screening of his students video work. “I believe it’s important for the young filmmakers to show their work on the big screen to an audience.” Geoffrey received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts from the University of Oklahoma.
Chase Spivey is a local Artist, Graphic Designer, Musician, Recording Engineer and Circus Performer. He shares his studio “Form+Function Lab”, with two other local artists. The studio has attracted crowds since its April grand opening with giant robot suits, interactive exhibits, live music and the promise of constant intrigue. Chase also sets sound design and is a stilt-walker and juggler with Norman’s Prairie Folk Circus, performing at major festivals throughout the region. His band, “Ghost of Monkshood” has released 5 albums and has performed hundreds of shows and festivals in the region.
Dennis Whitaker is a Planner for the City of Tulsa. He serves Tulsa in a variety of capacities: Brady Arts District planning and implementation; neighborhood and urban revitalization, heritage tourism development along historic Route 66, creation of a railroad Quiet Zone in the Central Business District; work force development by integrating education, businesses and prospective employees with private employers; and resource development. Dennis holds a Masters of Public Administration and is a graduate of Leadership Tulsa.
Sandy Wright joined the staff of NewView Oklahoma in 2009. She has been a professional in Oklahoma City’s non-profit community for more than 20 years, beginning her career with the Arts Council of Oklahoma City. As a fundraising and development director, her experience includes positions with the Oklahoma Garden Festival, the Last Frontier Council Boy Scouts of America, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, and Community Programs Administrator for the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Dance Pedagogy, Sandy studied with Yvonne Chouteau in Oklahoma City and danced professionally with the Pennsylvania and San Francisco Ballets. A former Artist-in-Residence with the Oklahoma Arts Council, she founded and directed the Dance Enrichment Program for the Hearing Impaired.
Susan Pfau Yeager, is a resident of Ardmore where teaches voice and acting at Studio 107. She has toured extensively in Europe as Christine in Phantom and in Canada as a soloist in Andrew Lloyd Weber: Music of the Night. Susan was noted in the New York Times for her work on Gay Divorce at Carnegie Hall and for her “strong portrayal of Bathsheba” in The Eternal Road at Avery Fisher Hall. She has been seen on Broadway in Du Barry was a Lady as well as such shows as Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (NY Workshop), A Little Night Music, Forbidden Broadway, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Hot n’ Cole, and Candide with the Minnesota Orchestra. She appeared in Tiptoes as part of the Gershwin Celebration at Carnegie Hall and in Stephen Schwartz’ Children of Eden. Recordings include Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Yuletide Recording and Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs. Susan earned her MM and AD at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and is a proud member of Actors Equity and AGMA.
