Creative Support for Individuals-Round 1

Ceallaigh Anderson Smart: Anderson Smart founded Print the Love (PTL), an international photography nongovernmental organization, in 2015, and has worked in nonprofits for more than 20 years in fundraising, grant writing, consulting, arts programming, and event planning. In addition to her work at PTL, she is the director of philanthropy at Global Health Ministries, a Minneapolis nonprofit that supports community based healthcare in developing countries. With a master?s degree in arts administration from Saint Mary's University, and a bachelor?s degree in experiential education and art therapy from Prescott College (Prescott, AZ), Anderson Smart brings a unique depth of leadership experiences and knowledge to the arts, culture, and nonprofit space.; Dhana-Marie Branton: Branton is an award winning playwright, screenwriter, and writer of creative nonfiction. She is the artistic director of Brainboat Literary and Film, a writing collective working to create stories for a changing world. Brainboat's first cable pilot, Postal, was a semifinalist for the Sundance Institute 2016 Episodic Story Lab. A recipient of a 2007 Artist Initiative grant, she has a BA in English from Loyola University (Chicago, IL) and an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Minnesota.; Amber Burns: Burns is the artistic director for the Duluth Playhouse Family Theatre and education programming. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2011 with a BFA in arts education and taught visual art for six years for fourth through eighth grade students. In 2018, she received an MA in liberal studies with an emphasis in arts development and program management from the University of Denver. She served on the board for the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council for four years reviewing grant applications. In additional to being a visual artist, Burns also is a choreographer, director, actor, educator, and dancer.; Terri Foster: Foster currently works with the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation. Prior to that, she worked in many areas of business including marketing and sales, while working and consulting with numerous organizations. She has a vast skill set and a love for serving people and helping organizations make a difference. She has degrees in business management and graphic design from Bemidji State University, and also holds an MA in business from the College of St. Scholastica. She volunteers for many organizations, but one of her biggest passions is 4-H.; Asako Hirabayashi: Harpsichordist and composer Hirabayashi received numerous grants and awards including the 2009 McKnight Fellowship for performing musicians and two Arts Board Artist Initiative grants. She has appeared as a featured guest soloist in international festivals and concert series worldwide since her New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall. As a composer, she has won 2016 McKnight Fellowship for composers, first prizes at Alienor International Harpsichord Composition Competition, NHK International Song Writing Competition in Japan, Jerome Fund for New Music, and the 2019 Schubert Club Composer Award. She holds a doctoral degree from the Juilliard School.; Walter Olsen: Olsen is the author of twelve books of narrative nonfiction. For 23 years, he was the editor of the literary magazine Ascent. His work appears in many literary and commercial publications such as Kenyon Review and Pilot. He is also an award winning photographer, book critic, and journalist, with work appearing in places such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Forum, LensCulture, and Frames. He teaches at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN).; Anna Peter: Peter is a figurative oil painter working out of the Northrup King building in northeast Minneapolis. Peter is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota in the global studies program. Her previous work and volunteer experience include working as an artist assistant painting murals in Saint Paul, working at the University of Minnesota's Immigration History Research Center archives, and cofounding the 15 for Student Workers campaign at the University of Minnesota to organize for fair working conditions and a living wage on campus. Jenny Stratton is the Connecting Kids program coordinator which serves the greater Mankato area. The program is designed to reduce the financial barriers for low-income youth to be involved in an out-of-school time activity of choice. This involves everything from traditional sports, arts, music, summer camps, etc. Stratton has more than fifteen years of professional experience working in the collective fields of nonprofit management, higher education, and finance. Stratton has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in business administration. Stanton Wood, a playwright and narrative designer, was a member of Workhaus Collective in Minneapolis (Skin Deep Sea), and a founding member of Rabbit Hole Ensemble in NYC, with whom he created The Night of Nosferatu, (six New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations including Outstanding Full-Length Script). His work has been supported by Urban Stages, Manhattan Class Company, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, and New York Theatre Workshop, and published by Original Works and Playscripts. He was a narrative designer at Zoesis Animation Studios and Pandemic Studios (Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers). He has an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA).