Creative Individuals-Round 1

Emine Ba?goze: Ba?goze, a native of Ankara, Turkey, received her master of arts in piano performance at Ankara State Conservatory. She studied piano pedagogy and performance with Professor Maria Curcio in London and piano performance with Dr. Paul Shaw at the University of Minnesota School of Music. Basgoze is the cofounder of a piano duo, Duo Harmonia, with Portuguese pianist Susana Pinto. Ba?goze is a Minnesota State Arts Board FY 2020 Artist Initiative grant recipient, to commission pieces for piano four hands based on Minnesotan, Portuguese, and Turkish folk tales. She is a piano faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music. She also serves at the board of Turkish American Association of Minnesota as the past president.; Rachel Brophy: Brophy currently works as a substitute teacher. She has experience working in education and journalism as well as various other pursuits that include sales and service industries. Brophy currently holds a teaching license in secondary English/language arts. She has used her training to do copyediting in many of her current and previous jobs. Brophy received certification from Minnesota State University in A to Z Grant Writing, Advanced Grant Proposal Writing, and Becoming a Grant Writing Consultant. She successfully drafted a proposal to secure funding for an ADA compliant ramp during her time working for the Ely Chamber of Commerce.; Karen Morris: Morris is an internationally acclaimed hat designer and milliner. She started her line, Karen Morris Millinery, in 2011. Morris?s work has been featured at the Smithsonian Craft Show and her work has appeared in Vogue, ELLE, Harper?s Bazaar, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, StarTribune, and was seen on Twin Cities Public Television?s MN Original. Morris graduated from Lingnan University in Hong Kong and is now a program director for Fashion International Group - Minneapolis/Saint Paul chapter.; Rupa Nair: Nair is a senior controls specialist with an environmental company. Nair graduated from Texas A&M (College Station, TX) with a MS in construction management and holds a bachelor?s degree in architecture from India. Nair is a trained Indian classical dancer since the age of seven and is currently a company artist with Katha Dance Theatre. Nair has served as a board member with Minnesota Malayalee Association and volunteers her time as a grant application reviewer with the Minnesota State Arts Board and for other arts and creative projects.; Anne Paper: Paper has been a strategic marketing professional in the high tech industry?primarily at Microsoft Corporation?for more than 20 years. Her current part-time role as a consultant to an international cycle tour company is her "dream job" that combines her French fluency with her passions for travel, arts, culture, and cycling. Her BA degree in American studies from Stanford University led her to Washington, DC where she worked at both the Corcoran Gallery of Art (education department) and the National Gallery of Art (fundraising department). While living in Seattle, WA during her business career, she was an active member and volunteer at the Seattle Art Museum and the University of Washington Henry Art Gallery. She was selected for the Microsoft Corporation Employee Art Committee and served as a volunteer board member for the Alliance Francaise de Seattle. She prepared the successful proposal for federal COVID-19 operations relief funds awarded in December 2020 to the nonprofit French/Francophile/ Francophone cultural organization Made in France USA. Recently relocated back to the Twin Cities, Paper has been a volunteer communications advisor to the nonprofit French-American Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota.; Jeffrey Sherman: Sherman has an extensive history working in the theater, dance, film, and arts community in Minnesota. Sherman attended the University of Minnesota for theater and dance, and currently works as an exhibitions media technician for the Walker Art Center as well as freelancing as a stage manager, lighting/sound designer, and technical director for a number of local dance and theater companies, as well as the Northern Spark festival. Additionally, he does art direction work for film. Sherman has produced his own intermedia performances works, art shanties, and haunted basement installations. He is a member of the Nanotako creative collective.; Jana Tonsfeldt: Tonsfeldt is a retired elementary teacher with a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in elementary education. After retiring, she went full-time into art, taking classes and joining art clubs and galleries. Tonsfeldt is currently on the Lake Region Arts Council board in Fergus Falls. She belongs to three art groups of Alexandria, Saint Cloud, and Minneapolis. She just finished a full gallery show at the Farwell Schoolhouse Building and currently is in a partial showing at the Evansville Art Center. Tonsfeldt has had showings in Moorhead, Little Falls, Minnetonka, and with Art in Motion.; Samantha Whipple: Whipple is the associate director of community relations and development at the Sheldon Theatre, where she is responsible for community outreach programming and fundraising strategy. She has a BA in geography from Gustavus Adolphus College and currently volunteers with the Red Wing Community Education and Recreation Advisory Council.