Cultural Expression

Eric Broker: Broker is a marketing and communications consultant. Previously, he served as the marketing and communications director at Minnesota Opera. He is an arts and culture journalist, having written for Twin Cities Pride magazine and craft lifestyle publication The Growler magazine. He is also a singer, praised by the Star Tribune for his ?smooth, articulate baritone.? He was a fellow of the New Leaders Council and the OPERA America Leadership Intensive and has been a guest lecturer at The Juilliard School (New York, NY). Broker graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of music in vocal performance from St. Olaf College. ; Virginia Fairchild: Fairchild brings 25 years of venue management experience to her role as director of event operations for Hennepin Arts. Her current role allows her to focus attention on exemplary experiences for patrons, including accessibility and space activation. She has been actively involved in professional and volunteer efforts in the arts through work both onstage and backstage, focusing on creating safe spaces for everyone.; Rae French: French has worked in higher education for nearly 30 years, with a focus on international programs. She has worked in study abroad, admissions, and international recruitment. Her family is engaged in the Crookston community and is involved with church, school, music, ninth district legion band, bell choir, Kiwanis, and Rotary. ; Presley Martin: Martin is an artist and educator at the Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Martin has a MFA in sculpture from San Jose State University (San Jose, CA) and a BA in art history from the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA). He is the recipient of an Artist Initiative grant and a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. ; Paul Rucker: Rucker is a working artist who has exhibited in four states. He has also directed and promoted local group arts events. He cofounded an arts group called Minneapolis Collective of Pagan Artists. He has presented with, installed, and promoted exhibitions with the Otherworldly Arts Collective of Minneapolis (OAC), serving as an anonymous juror reviewing 114 portfolio submissions for the OAC 2022 spring show. Rucker has been awarded the People's Choice and other awards at the Third Offering Gallery at Paganicon. He graduated from the New College of California (San Francisco, CA) with a degree in humanities. ; Deborah Saunders: Saunders is one of the founders of the Hastings Prescott Arts Council, an organization that began in 2008 with a mission to foster the arts in our community. Hastings Prescott Arts Council initiated a new enthusiasm for the arts in Hastings by bringing both an Artspace residence and the Hastings Arts Commission to the community. ; Lai Sze Tso: Tso is an educator and advocate for culturally informed health education. She collaborates extensively with community organizations to develop outreach programs to support vulnerable identities better. Her work involves promoting cultural and artistic expression as forms of healing, activism, and collective action. Internationally, she has trained doctors and medical students to use arts in storyboarding to build trust with at-risk patients. In her courses on global sexualities, gender, and immigration, Tso teaches about artistic expression in society as a galvanizing force for social movements, a tool for memorializing historical injustices, and a therapeutic toolkit to heal traumatic experiences and legacies. ; Nicole Zickefoose: Zickefoose holds a BA in English from Iowa State University (Ames, IA) and a MA in English from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She has corporate technical writing, editing, and management experience. Lately, she has focused on the nonprofit space, writing grants and conducting research for nonprofit organizations. She serves on the board of the Lionsgate Foundation, which supports neurodiverse students and adults as they pursue their education and participate in community activities.