Creative Support for Individuals-Round 2

Cindy Bourne: Bourne is a founding member and current president of the MN Makers and Artists Guild, the parent organization for The Mankato Makerspace. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to supporting artists and makers of all types, backgrounds, and skill levels through access to tools, space, and experienced support. Bourne earned a bachelor?s degree in graphic design from the University of Kansas. She has had a wide range of professional management experience while residing in Dallas, TX, including serving as president of her neighborhood association for six years and created YOLO jewelry featuring her own creations in metalsmithing.; Robert Briscoe: Briscoe is a retired ceramic artist/potter. Briscoe worked 52 years as an independent professional studio potter starting in Kansas City and then moving to Minnesota in 1976 to set up a studio. He has exhibited throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Japan, and Ireland. He has won numerous artist awards at arts festivals as well as a Jerome and two McKnight fellowships. He cofounded the Saint Croix Potter Valley Pottery Tour. He served six years on the Minnesota Craft Council board of directors and six years on the Northern Clay Center board of directors. He also was chairman of the National Association of Independent Artists (NAIA) board. Briscoe has a BS in economics from Kansas State University.; Carly Caputa: Caputa is an experienced marketing and communications professional with a history working in the performing arts and nonprofit industry who currently works as the marketing manager at the Jungle Theater. She is a passionate and artistically driven individual with a BA in fine/studio arts and communication from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Caputa has also has a volunteering background with a focus on community and art education, including: reviewing rural communities? high school musicals for Overture's (Madison, WI) Jerry Awards; marketing consultant to startup community theater; nonprofit liaison and event planner for YPWeek (Wausau, WI); costume designer for UW-Marathon County; and most recently volunteering for/serving on Art Buddies advisory board.; Shirley Chouinard: Chouinard received her BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, her MA in arts administration at Saint Mary's University, and is pursuing a PhD from Northcentral University. Chouinard has had solo shows in Isanti, Chisago, Hennepin, Mille Lacs, Pine, and Winona counties. In 2012, Chouinard received a fellowship from the Bush Foundation and in 2013, 2015, and 2020 she received Arts Board grants. She has served on grant advisory panels for the Arts Board, East Central Regional Arts, and Forecast Public Art.; Claire Comstock-Gay: Comstock-Gay?s work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Toast, and New York magazine's The Cut, where she is a regular contributor. She also is the author of Madame Clairevoyant's Guide to the Stars (HarperCollins, 2020). She was a 2017-2018 fiction fellow in the Loft Mentor Series, and is a current volunteer mentor with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in Russian language and literature.; Amy Driscoll: Driscoll is the development manager at the Minnesota Boychoir, a nonprofit choral group in the Twin Cities. She is responsible for donor relations and cultivation, discovery and procurement of government and private/family foundation grant support, and CRM database management. She has a BS in nursing, and worked in that field for 30 years prior to her work with the Boychoir. She served as national board chair for the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates, stewardship chair for St. Mary's Episcopal Church, board secretary for the MN Boychoir, and general volunteer for numerous local social justice groups.; Rae French: French began working at the University of Minnesota Crookston in the admissions department more than 20 years ago. She now serves as the international programs and study abroad coordinator, and as an adviser for the Study Abroad Club and the Multicultural and International Club. French has successfully applied for grants to bring cultural and artistic programs to the university including Brooke Newmaster of Jang-mi Korean Dance and Drum; Korean percussion ensemble Kwanggaeto Samulnori; and the Chinese American Association of Minnesota (CAAM) Chinese Dance Theater, for both a performance and a three-week residency. She has organized multicultural student recruitment fairs, served as a site organizer for the Minnesota Association of Community Theatres festival, and coordinates with local schools to bring international students to work with social studies classes. French has a master?s degree in education from the University of Minnesota Duluth and a BA in communications with a minor in theater from Minnesota State University Moorhead; Alonzo Pantoja-Patino: Pantoja-Patino is a queer, brown, artist and educator. He currently teaches at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Textile Center. They have been featured in Hyperallergic, VASiSTAS Magazine, and Design & Living Magazine. He was awarded a fully-funded residency to Ox-Bow School of Art, a partially funded fellowship to Arrowmont School of Arts, and nominated for the Dedalus Foundation MFA fellowship in painting and sculpture. He received his BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and their MFA in fiber and installation from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.;