Operating Support

Korma Aguh-Stuckmayer: Aguh-Stuckmayer proudly leads Afrocontigbo, an African dance and wellness company that fosters cultural enrichment and wellbeing through dance. She has served on the Little Africa board and as a program coordinator for the African Global Roots Organization, where she has actively contributed to the development and execution of initiatives that connect communities worldwide through the celebration of African culture. Aguh-Stuckmayer has a master's degree in business administration.; Dorothy Belstler: Belstler is the retired executive director of Twin Cities Pride. She holds a master's degree in public and nonprofit administration. While at Twin Cities Pride, she received funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board through the Festival Support grant program and, more recently, the Creative Support for Organizations program. Belstler continues to write grant proposals for other nonprofits and small businesses.; Kathleen Blomquist: Blomquist spent many years securing grants for assisted living programming. She represents Chisago County on the Central Minnesota Council on Aging advisory council. She has previously reviewed state grant applications for childcare. She just completed 20 years of service on the City of North Branch city council, where she worked to increase affordable housing. She has a BA in business from Gustavus Adolphus College.; Michael Brown: Brown is a strategy and marketing consultant in the Twin Cities, specializing in arts and other nonprofit organizations. He is an actor involved with many area theater groups, both on and off stage. Brown worked as a member of Target's community relations team and led community building efforts at Minneapolis Saint Paul Economic Development Partnership. He has a MBA from the University of Minnesota and is a board member of The Phipps Center for the Arts.; Emily Kelson: Kelson has over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has dedicated much of that time to developing her skills as a grant professional. She currently works as the grant writer for Loaves & Fishes, managing all points of the grant proposal process. ; David Marty: Marty is retired from a career in arts administration, most recently with the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, and currently serves on the Grand Rapids school board. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications with additional arts training, including a fellowship in arts administration at the National Endowment for the Arts. He has over twenty years of experience as an arts presenter with extensive awards and has served on various arts and community boards. Marty has presented and consulted for national and regional arts events. He was an officer for the Minnesota Presenters Network and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Marty has also directed and acted in local theater productions. ; Kathrine McDowell: McDowell, a ceramic artist based in Battle Lake, embraced the local arts scene after relocating from the Twin Cities. She's a dedicated workshop instructor specializing in clay and ceramic painting. Her contributions also extend to serving on the board of directors at the artists co-op gallery, Art of the Lakes, where she skillfully organizes workshops.; Caitlin McGowan: McGowan is a corporate foundation relations officer at the Minnesota Children's Museum, where she specializes in grant writing, sponsorship fulfillment, and donor stewardship. With a strong background in development, she previously served as a development officer at the Minnesota Historical Society, focusing on capital campaign fundraising and corporate partnerships. She cares deeply about Minnesota's arts and cultural resources and increasing access to them.; Fresa Sanchez: Sanchez is a marketing and analytics professional. She currently works at Kao Corporation, where she supports their salon division. She is passionate about the arts because they bring communities together. She regularly attends dance classes and supports the performing arts. Sanchez is a local fitness instructor at Pure Barre. She holds a master's degree in business intelligence and data analytics from Saint Mary's University and a BS in retail merchandising from the University of Minnesota.; Rebecca Smith, Smith is a communications consultant for nonprofits, small businesses, and artists. Previously, she was the communications director at Violence Free Minnesota, a statewide coalition working to end relationship abuse. For the past three years, she has served as board president of the Philanthropy Foundation, the only foundation serving LGBTQIA2S+ communities in the upper Midwest.; Sarah Stephens, Stephens is president and cofounder of Stephens Nicolson Artists Management (SNAM), an international management agency in New York City representing opera singers, stage directors, composers, and conductors. Stephens began her first agency in Bremen, Germany, and moved to New York in 2008. She acquired licenses as a recognized artist manager in Germany and the European Union. She has taught seminars at Middlebury College German for Singers, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Juilliard School, and Hunter College. Stephens serves on the board of three nonprofits: Opera Managers Association International (Germany), Freiburg University Alumni (New York), and the Greater Lake Sylvia Association (Minnesota). Her studies were at the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT), Universitat Freiburg (Germany) for her BA, and at the University of Minnesota for her MA in German literature. Stephens is a native Minnesotan who grew up in south Minneapolis.; Michelle Wolfe, Wolfe is currently the Blaine city manager. She has served in city management positions in multiple cities in three states since the late 1980s. Wolfe is a former member of the Aurora Symphony Orchestra board of trustees and is an amateur musician (piano, bass guitar, guitar). She has been a regular attendee of concerts, performances, and art exhibits for the past three decades, and a season ticket holder at the Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres in Chicago, Ordway and Hennepin Arts, and Aurora Fox. She has also been a member of the Chicago Art Institute, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Denver Art Museum.