Cultural Expression

Claire Bancroft Loos: Bancroft Loos is the engagement coordinator at Children's Theatre Company, where she manages the field trip program, bringing live theater experiences to more than 50,000 students every year. Bancroft Loos has made a career in working with theaters for young audiences. In addition to nonprofit management, she loves to get in the classroom and teach theater education classes and camps. She graduated from Macalester College with a BA and has a MFA in nonprofit arts leadership from Seattle University. ; Eli Brown: Brown is an interdisciplinary artist whose work in queer ecologies spans sculpture, social practice, and public art. Brown's work has been exhibited at the deCordova Museum Biennial, Flux Factory, and Creative Time. Exhibitions and public projects have received press through Sculpture Magazine, CULTURED, Art New England, WGBH Open Studio, and Chronicle 5 News. For the past two years, they have served as juror for the New England Foundation for the Arts Public Art for Spatial Justice grant. Brown received a MFA from SMFA at Tufts in 2018. Since then, Brown has taught at UMass Lowell, Maine College of Art and Design (Portland, ME), and Montserrat College of Art (Beverly, MA). ; Naomi Hart: Hart is a busy, award winning visual artist with a MFA in printmaking. A self-described storyteller and time traveler, she exhibits her work at art fairs and in galleries across the U. S. Hart has developed a unique approach to encaustic painting that gives her etchings and drawings an alluring, emotional quality. She advocates for accessibility and seeks open spaces for exhibition. ; Tumelo Khupe: Khupe is a performing artist, krumper, and emerging choreographer based in the Twin Cities and from Botswana. Her artistry investigates and explores how the body manifests lived experiences through movement. Krump is foundational in her work as it offers endless possibilities for storytelling through its technique and language. She uses some elements of theater to reveal these moments through freestyle or improvisation. The four pillars of her artistry are rawness, discovery, individuality, and spirituality. She graduated with a BA in music theater with a minor in dance. She was a Naked Stages Fellow (2022), Generating Room Fellow (2023), Next Step Fund grantee (2023), and most recently, a McKnight Dance Fellow (2024), and has performed with Emmy award winning company, Hip Hop Nutcracker. ; Dawn Loven: Loven is director of development for Paramount Center for the Arts in Saint Cloud. She has more than 30 years of experience in fundraising for arts organizations. Loven graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a BA in political science, history, and international studies. ; Andrew Newman: Newman is the development manager at Upstream Arts in Minneapolis, which utilizes the power of the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities. He has worked in development for the past twelve years and was previously the development associate at the Minnesota Children's Museum. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in journalism and cinema and media culture. He is also the executive director of Minneapolis Musical Theatre, which presents new and rarely seen musicals to Twin Cities audiences. ; Rebecca Petersen: Petersen is the director of development for West Central Initiative. She was previously the executive director of A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls and partnered with Artspace Projects to renovate the Kaddatz Hotel. She also was executive director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra for seven consecutive seasons. Petersen performs with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony, Fargo Moorhead Opera, NDSU Baroque, Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Itasca Symphony Orchestra, and Fergus Falls Civic Orchestra. Petersen has a BA in music from the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT). She currently serves on the boards of Pioneer Public Television and Kaddatz Galleries. ; Elissa Weller: Weller is the development director at VocalEssence, leading all fundraising efforts for the organization, including major gifts, grants, and special events. With more than sixteen years of experience in nonprofit management, she has consistently exceeded fundraising goals and secured significant funding from major philanthropies. Weller holds a BA in political science and music performance from Hamline University and a fundraising certificate from the University of St. Thomas. Her strategic vision, leadership, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion have driven impactful growth and community engagement at VocalEssence.