Arts and Cultural Leadership Faculty and Advising

As director of Community Based Research at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota, C. Terrence oversees community-based programs, including the Kris Nelson Community-Based Research Program, the Community Assistantship Program, the Artist and Neighborhood Partnership Initiatives, and the Charles R. Krusell Fellowship. He works primarily within the realm of urban planning and public policy. Previously as Equity Manager at the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities region, C. Terrence implemented equity as part of the work that the Council does to address the high racial disparities in the region. He graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee with degrees in Urban Affairs and in Philosophy.

Dawn Bentley serves as Executive Director of Minnesota Fringe, connecting adventurous artists to adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression. She spent more than 15 years working as a business development and strategic management consultant. Her focus is leading organizations through business model transitions to ensure sustainable operations. She has played violin for over 30 years in various ensembles from rock bands to professional orchestras. Bentley holds an MBA, Masters of Nonprofit Management, and BA from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, and currently instructs Financial Management for Arts Nonprofits.

Lisa has over 10 years of experience in cohort-based leadership development. They managed adult training, grant and fellowship programs with an eye towards equity and collaboration through Intermedia Arts from 2014–2017. They worked with the Creative CityMaking team from 2014–2015 and supported artist selection, design, implementation and budget management of this million-dollar program (Kresge Foundation). Lisa supported the staff and board of The Cedar Cultural Center (2018) and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (2020–2021) in Interim Co-Executive Director roles. In 2019 they co-edited the Minnesota State Historical Society Press anthology Queer Voices: Poetry, Prose, and Pride with John Medeiros and Andrea Jenkins. Their work has been presented widely at Pillsbury House Theatre, The Loft Literary Center, Bedlam Theatre, Intermedia Arts, Pangea World Theatre, and elsewhere.

DeAnna is cofounder and CEO of Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA), dedicated to the community of North Minneapolis. JXTA combines art and design education with youth empowerment through learning, teaching, and employment in the arts. In addition to her work at JXTA, DeAnna worked as a program officer for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Currently, she is the Board Vice Chair of the Bush Foundation where she has also served on the Minnesota Bush Prize Selection Panel. She co-chairs the HS Expanded Learning Action Team for the Northside Achievement Zone. In 2013, Minnesota Public Radio named her an Art Hero. DeAnna is a 2007 Bush Leadership Fellow.

Roger activates relationships between space and place through art, design, independent livelihood, and collective social enterprise. He aims to create works of art in public and private spaces that have personal and impersonal uses, in the hope of enlivening meaningful human interactions. Urban architecture, design, and planning inform his work, which has taken the form of large-scale sculptures, pocket parks, and functional enhancements to public spaces. The functionality of Roger’s work aims to incite in urban citizens a lens through which they are able to see themselves included, represented, and civically engaged in establishing the visual identities of their neighborhood.

Lisa is an accomplished professional in the nonprofit, public administration, and private sectors. In her legal career, she was selected for the Minnesota Super Lawyer list in multiple years and practiced as an AV-rated law firm partner. Currently she works for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where she advances agency resource management practices. She is currently a board member at Youth Performance Company, a two-time Ivey-recognized youth theater. Lisa’s academic pursuits include work for the Journal of Public Affairs Education and teaching continuing law education courses. Her interests include analysis and synthesis in complex cases and equity and social justice topics.

Gwendolyn Freed is Chief Development Officer at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Previously she was a vice president at Cornish College of the Arts and Gustavus Adolphus College. She has taught classes at the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota, and written articles for the Wall Street Journal, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She holds a PhD and MPA from the University of Minnesota, and degrees from The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory.

Kiyoko Motoyama Sims is currently the Co-Executive Director at the Tembo Project. She has over 25 years of experience as a theatre instructor, director, and arts administrator at various institutions including San Diego State University, Penumbra Theatre, Cultural Odyssey, Walker Art Center, and Children’s Theatre Company. Kiyoko has directed numerous plays, taught and managed sundry arts education programs for pre-K through college students and educators. Her curriculum expertise includes Critical Literacy through Theatre Arts, Theatre for Social Change, Theatre for Early Childhood Education, and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. She holds an MFA from San Diego State University and an MA from the University of Minnesota.

Meena Natarajan is a playwright and director and the Artistic and Executive Director of Pangea World Theater, a progressive, international ensemble space that creates at the intersection of art, equity, and social justice. Meena has co-curated and designed many of Pangea World Theater’s professional and community-based programs. She serves on the boards of the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists and the newly formed Longfellow Rising. She has written at least ten full-length works for Pangea, ranging from adaptations of poetry and mythology to original works dealing with war, spirituality, personal and collective memory. Meena was awarded the 2013 Visionary Award for mid-career leaders from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

PhD, Theatre and Community, The Union Graduate Institute; honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, St. John's University

David brings decades of experience developing innovating cultural and educational programs while advocating for change and for public and private resources. He served as director of arts education for the National Endowment for the Arts, then as staff director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. David was head of the Perpich Center, then president of the MacPhail Center for Music. He joined the Minnesota Humanities Center in 2010 as president and CEO, where he developed and directed programs working with educators, veterans, schools, and communities statewide to create more engaging and meaningful learning experiences for all students. He retired in 2019.

MPS in Arts and Cultural Leadership, University of Minnesota

Anne has been a consultant to nonprofits, government agencies, and foundations. Her work focuses on board development, research, evaluation, and strategy. Anne's research and evaluation projects connect organizations to their constituencies and align strategy, programmatic goals, advocacy, and program outcomes. Her work has evaluated learning, relationship building, collaboration, and collective impact while focusing on diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. Anne is on the leadership team and works on strategy and the curriculum for Board Repair, an independent network organized by and for Native, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to create a more effective nonprofit sector by increasing participation of people of color on boards and committees in the Twin Cities.

Stephen is a Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where he serves as Chair of the Arts Entrepreneurship Program. He earned an MBA from the Presidio Graduate School and BA at Empire State University. Stephen worked as a performer, designer, manager, and producer, touring the globe with performing artists such as MacArthur Genius Award Recipients Meredith Monk and Bill T. Jones, as well as Blue Man Group, Karen Finley, and many, many other artists and creatives. As an Account Manager and Executive Producer for global corporate communications companies Jack Morton Worldwide and BI Worldwide, he produced events throughout the United States and across Europe and the Middle East. Stephen enjoys coaching business start-ups.