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Artist Ta-coumba Aiken, a longtime resident in Saint Paul “Lowertown“) Minnesota was chosen to receive The 2011 Sally Ordway Award in the Vision category, (awarded in 2012). Recently he created an interior mural for Macalester College’s third floor conical wall, in the Institute for Global Citizenship. He is the force behind some of Minnesota’s most acclaimed public artworks. Aiken works in collaboration with dancers, musicians, theaters, schools, neighborhood organizations, municipalities, and corporations. Aiken identifies opportunities to enhance place, both urban and rural. His paintings are in museums and private collections throughout the world. Aiken says, “I create art to heal the hearts and souls of people by evoking a positive spirit.” http://ta-coumbaaiken.com/ |
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Zahra is the co-founder of Mode-sty an e-boutique for fashion-forward conservative women. Prior to Mode-sty, Zahra co-founded MuslimBuddy, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating social innovation within the Minnesota Muslim Community. In 2012, Zahra was awarded a Bush Foundation Fellowship for her role as Chief Operating Officer of MuslimBuddy. Zahra’s work has been featured in TechCrunch, Mashable, Refinery29, FashInvest, and the Star Tribune.
Zahra graduated from UCLA with a BA in Communications and a minor in Mathematics. In 2008 she received her Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law in New York. Zahra is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota and is a certified mediator. |
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Kevin Beacham has been called a “Hip Hop Historian,” “Hip Hop Nerd,” “The guy who needs to write a book,” etc. He merely sees himself as a Hardcore Hip Hop Fan for the past 30 years who just can’t get enough. Initially expanding beyond listener to participant as an MC in early 1980, the next 30 years took him on journey as B-boy/Popper, Producer, Artist Manager, Indie Promoter, DJ, Radio Show Host, Freelance Writer, Lecturer, Teacher, Scribble Jam Organizer/Host and a few other things in-between. He’s spent the last 7 years working as Product Manager for Rhymesayers Entertainment. He's now Fifth Element's Social Media Manager. In this position, he’s in charge of keeping the blog fresh with content, increasing the store's involvement in local and national events, and continuing to feed his hunger for Hip Hop knowledge and experiences. |
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Sha Cage is an actor, playwright, and performance artist. Her work and activism has taken her all across the U.S., to South Africa, England, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, Mali, and Canada. She was featured recently at the Guthrie in Penumbra’s Amen Corner followed by Appomattox; is a founder of Mama Mosaic Theater (for Women) and The MN Spoken Word Association; and teaches youth throughout the community and at the UMN alongside E.G. Bailey. The past few years for Cage marked regional and national print and television commercials, performance commissions, Twin Cities theater artist of the year mentions for the past 4 lead roles, an international tour in England, and the female voice in Target’s ‘Art Connects’ national commercial campaign; launched on the ’09 BET awards. She was named a ‘Changemaker’ from Women’s Press, is a recent McKnight Theater Artist Fellow, and received a 2011 Emmy for the PSA "I Believe in Public Access." www.truruts.com |
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Chris Cloud is a Creative Thinkdoer, one who devises and formulates a creative idea and then actively executes it. In 2009, He co-founded MPLS.TV, a Minneapolis video network, MPLS Collective, a Do-It-Together collective and lynchpin for creative projects in Minneapolis. In April at TEDxUMN, He gave a TEDtalk on the power of collaboration. |
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Davis, the founder of Davis Law Office, has practiced exclusively in the areas of business and intellectual property law for over 9 years, consulting with clients on a wide variety of entity formation, general business, succession planning, trademark and copyright issues. When forming Davis Law Office, it was Davis' goal to banish the phrase "that's the way it's always been" from her vocabulary. With a dedication to innovation and creativity, Davis has implemented transparent pricing, flat fee options, and flexible packages so clients can budget for their legal expenses. In addition to these pricing innovations, Davis also favors a collaborative approach, perhaps most obvious in her choice to office from the CoCo co-working floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. |
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Bob Gardner is the founder of the commercial general contracting firm Gardner Builders which recently celebrated its 2-year anniversary. He is passionate about the built environment and the design aesthetic that goes into it. He is a champion of doing business in a way that is respectful to those who we interact with each day - employees, subcontractors, vendors, design professionals and clients.
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Jessy Greene has toured and/or recorded as a violinist, cellist and singer with the Foo Fighters, P!nk, Atmosphere, Wilco, The Jayhawks, The Geraldine Fibbers, Dessa and P.O.S. of Doomtree, RZA, Glen Campell and many more amazing bands and artists.
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Like Radar O'Reilly and Tom Arnold, Blake Iverson was born in Ottumwa, Iowa. When he was five he moved to Rochester, Minnesota where he spent his formative years. Living in a town off the beaten path, Blake had the time to read everything he could get his hands on, watch movies, and immerse himself in rock and roll and hip-hop. He also played in a series of bands better left unmentioned.
Blake attended the University of Minnesota, where he volunteered at Radio K and tried his best to major in staying out late. Upon graduation, Blake decided that jobs were for suckers and tried to eke out a living as a musician and freelance writer. After recognizing that the world wasn't clamoring for another mediocre guitar player or snobby rock critic, Blake applied to law school. After a brief detour in corporate America, Blake founded Friedman Iverson, PLLC, in 2008. This gave him a great platform to serve Minneapolis' creative community. He hasn't had a bad day since. |
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Aaron Keller is a founding partner and the Managing Principal of Capsule, a brand design agency in Minneapolis. He has lead brand development, strategy, research and naming for over 15 years, working with brands as large as Jack Daniel's, Target and 3M, and as small as one-person start-ups. Aaron has spoken on brand management for the University of St. Thomas, University of Minnesota, International Association of Business Communicators and the James J. Hill Library. He has also written two books on the subjects of logo and package design: Design Matters//Logos and Design Matters//Packaging. |
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Ceramist Maren Kloppmann has been forging a studio artist career for 15 years and maintains a studio and gallery in NE Minneapolis, where she sells her own work. A self-described modernist, she thrives on exploring various processes to shape clay and constructs forms outside the ceramic tradition. She most recently has been pursuing public art to add to a repertoire of porcelain vessels and wall installations. |
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Rachael Kozlowski is an experienced marketing coordinator, consultant and project manager and is Google AdWords & Google Analytics Certified. She is the VP of Marketing at the DemandQuest Marketing Institute in Minneapolis offering classes in traditional and online marketing and advertising. Her specialties include online advertising, app distribution and analytics. She is the mother of two toddlers and impromptu campaign manager of her husband Ted’s run for Stillwater City Council. Her websites are DemandQuest.com and RachaelRoberts.com. Her email is rachaelroberts@gmail.com . Rachael is originally from St. Paul, MN and attended UW-Madison and AMDA. She is a classically trained professional actress who has performed Off-Broadway in New York as well as in San Francisco, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Mobile and Madison. Her passion lies in the theater and she is represented by Moore Creative Talent for film and commercial. |
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Silicon Valley veteran and current President of DemandQuest, Ted Kozlowski is a seasoned technology sales and marketing executive. His Minneapolis company consults with both online and brick-and-mortar companies on generating sales, leads, social media strategies and maximizing advertising results. He’s been a featured speaker and teacher in North Carolina, California and Minnesota representing companies such as Network Solutions, The Institute for Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina, Homestore.com, Computer Associates and many more. He has shared his expertise on social media strategy, Google AdWords Advertising, Google Analytics and InBound Marketing with local chambers and at national conferences. He has a passion for helping small and medium sized business owners learn how to increase their online presence and generate new business while avoiding scams. He currently is a teacher and consultant at his Minneapolis based marketing institute, DemandQuest. |
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Through his work as an attorney, Ken helps creative professionals pursue their professional and creative goals, by assisting them in managing, acquiring, and commercializing their intellectual property rights. Ken’s practice includes drafting and reviewing contracts, copyright and trademark opinions and registrations, employment issues, and all other general business matters. Over the years, he has represented a wide variety of creative professionals, including writers, musicians, designers, Internet content providers, graphic artists, commercial photographers, software programmers, and many others who use their creativity as a part of their business plan. Originally from Wichita Kansas, Ken lives in St. Paul with his wife, daughter, dog, and cat. He can be reached at 612-414-3113, his website – www.KunkleLaw.com, or on Twitter - @Kunkle_Law. |
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Over the past fifteen years, Scott LeGere has played key roles in the ownership and operation of audio recording facilities, independent record labels, and commercial music production companies. During this time, he has engineered Grammy nominated albums, produced critically acclaimed independent projects, and foolishly hauled both Yamaha CP-70s and Hammond B3s (concurrently) to gigs. After spending 6 months in 2009 deeply immersed in jazz, swing, and rockabilly during the recording of an album with one of his idols, Scott was inspired to return to writing and playing music full-time and co-founded NoWare Media. Since opening in 2010, NoWare has produced award winning commercial spots for Target, General Mills, PepsiCo, Nike / Bauer, BluDot, and others proving that you can make money in music, however, you might need to have the hook incorporate lyrics like "broccoli". In addition to his industry endeavors, Scott has taught economics and media strategy at several Minnesota colleges for over a decade in a continuing attempt to distill some wisdom from the above “career” to his students- most of whom who would rather just make records or play guitar than worry about business issues. He doesn’t blame them. |
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Think strategically, act thoughtfully, be a good human.
Nancy works at the intersection of technology, community, and people. As a leader and technologist, she creates solutions that further community and business goals by meeting the needs of individuals. Her guiding philosophy is that a human-centered approach to technology is the only way to get results that make a difference. Problem solving is about empowerment: motivated people create good products. Nancy supports clients and teams by fostering a collaborative, idea-driven culture that nurtures creativity and brainpower. Nancy is President/CEO of Clockwork Active Media Systems, a leading digital agency specializing in designing and developing business solutions for web, mobile, and other digital environments. She speaks extensively about work culture, social media, technology, and leadership and has been locally and nationally recognized for her role as owner and CEO of Clockwork. She's co-author of Interactive Project Management: Pixels, People, and Process (New Riders, 2012) and serves on the National Board of Directors at The Family Equality Council. |
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Sally McGraw is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer, blogger, teacher, and communications professional. She has contributed writing to local newspapers, magazines, and websites throughout her entire professional life, and is an ongoing style features contributor to The Huffington Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune. In addition to writing her popular daily style and body image blog Already Pretty, she has published a style guide titled Already Pretty: Learning to Love Your Body by Learning to Dress it Well which is available via Amazon. Sally offers personal shopping and style consultation services, both in person for clients living in the Twin Cities and via e-mail for clients worldwide. She firmly believes that style is a tool for self-love that should be accessible to everyone. Including you. |
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Chaka Mkali, aka. I Self Devine, is a well known musician and MC, who’s music has been an integral part of the Atlanta and Twin Cities underground hip-hop scene for over a decade. He has released 10 socially conscious albums that have uplifted the spirit, and sustained the movement through a successful solo career and noteworthy musical collaborations, as a member of the groups: Micranots, Semi Official, and Dynospectrum. Chaka Mkali is also recognized as graffiti artist, muralist, and the director of organizing and community building at Hope Community. He is seen as one of the crucial figures linked to the revitalization of graffiti art in the Twin Cities. His skills developed on the alley way walls of Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Atlanta have created a foundation for community projects like the Power of Vision Mural Program: a program where youth learn about neighborhood transformation, beautification, and dispelling the negative myths centered around graffiti and urbanization. The murals served as a medium for youth to build a greater sense of power and ownership in the community, expressed through self-advocacy, and self-actualization. Other community projects spearheaded by Mkali include: SPEAC (Sustainable Progress through Engaging Active Citizens), Articulating our Voices Now, and the Art of MC’ing. For more information on Hope community, and the profound transformation that is taking place via community engagement and the arts, please go to http://www.hope-community.org. |
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Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl was born in New York City, little aware of her destiny—to eat out a lot in Minnesota. She has been writing about restaurants and wine since 1997, first as the restaurant critic for City Pages, then for Minnesota Monthly and Real Food, and now for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Her food writing has appeared in Gourmet, Saveur, Bon Appetit, and many other publications, (her work has appeared in six editions of the Best Food Writing in America anthology, if anyone's counting,) and her last book was Drink This: Wine Made Simple. She has been nominated ten times for James Beard Awards, the Oscars of the food world, and has won five times. She lives in south Minneapolis with her husband and two young children, a life she says is very close to perfect, because it is rich in both Sauternes and string cheese. |
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Mohamud Mumin is a photographer and a Visual Storyteller based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His passion in photography lies in his relentless pursuit to harness it’s immense capacity to facilitate dialogue across barriers and cultures. He has devoted much of his time to documenting the social life of Somalis in North America. In addition, he has set out to examine through the camera the Somali community in a new land as they negotiate and redefine the essence and boundaries of their identity. Much of his recent work has been centered around Somali youth engaged in their community as they forge a life in their new homes. |
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Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre is a hip hop artist, two-time National Poetry Slam champion, activist and educator based out of Minneapolis. He has appeared in URB Magazine's "Next 1000" list, City Pages "Artists of the Year" list, the Progressive and Feministing, and also founded the MN Activist Project, founded the Hip Hop Against Homophobia concert series, freelances as a music/social justice writer, and facilitates writing and performance workshops for youth. Check out www.guante.info and www.twitter.com/elguante for more information. |
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Tina North started her career as a professional actor in the Twin Cities over 14 years ago. She spent 2 1/2 years performing downtown Minneapolis in Tony n' Tina's Wedding and another 2 1/2 years in We Gotta Bingo downtown St Paul. In between she worked with various other theaters such as Gremlin, Minneapolis Musical Theater, Table Salt Productions, Theatre Latte da, Theatre Mu, Playwrights Center, Theatre Unbound and the History theatre. Almost 7 years ago she stepped back from performing and opened a store front with her husband. After several rebrands and locations changes the final company Moss Envy is an eco friendly home and life shop located by Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. She has also spent over 13 years parenting her incredible son and 15 years with her loving husband. |
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Kate O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of CleverKate, a widely-known communications, public relations, and events consultancy. She comes from a long line of creative, obsessive, civic-minded, nerdy, and industrious people. Kate is recognized as an advocate of clarity and straightforwardness in communications. She writes and speaks about challenges and solutions regarding tech etiquette and living modern life well, as well as the benefits and hardships of entrepreneurship. She is known for her candid honesty and humorous storytelling. She lives in Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two young sons. |
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Patrick Rhone is a Writer, Commentator, and Technology Consultant for the past 20 years. He is the sole-proprietor of Machine Methods where he assists individuals, micro-businesses, and small non-profits get the best out of technology. He is also creator of Minimal Mac, a site that explores the theme of getting the most out of embracing just the technology one needs.Through his written work, he tells stories and explores ideas about living a life of mindfulness, compassion, introspection, and truth. His books Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else and enough are published by First Today Press and available at http://patrickrhone.com/books. |
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Esther Robinson, ArtHome Director, has worked on behalf of America's artists for more than 15 years in many capacities, including foundation program officer, television and film producer/director, technology entrepreneur and arts activist. Before she was 25, Esther produced the national PBS series Alive TV (aka Alive From Off Center). In 1998, Esther co-founded Wavelength Releasing. Wavelength was responsible for the first fully digital film release, executed via satellite to five cities in October 1998. Partnering with esteemed companies such as CYBERSTAR –(a division of LORAL), Texas Instruments, The Independent Film Channel, and others; its projects were profiled in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Variety, and on CNN financial News. From 1999-2006, Esther was the Director of Film/Video and Performing Arts for the Creative Capital Foundation, and was one of the principal architects of their innovative grant-making system. Her close collaboration nationally with funders and artists and her annual adjudication of thousands of grant proposals (of which only two dozen would see funding), led her to question whether traditional grantmaking was the only way to support the culture sector in America. Recognizing the crucial role that financial solvency and home ownership played in the lives of successful artists, Esther became convinced that asset building and financial literacy should be vital components of a new support system for the arts. This led to the founding of ArtHome. |
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Tony Simmons is the Program Director at High School for Recording Arts and Chief Operating Officer of Studio 4 Enterprises, an educational services and management company. While working with numerous national recording artists and record companies, Tony met David Ellis and assisted him in the formation of Studio 4/High School for Recording Arts. During that time, he co-founded Another Level Records, the first national student-operated record label. He continues to work with students in exploring the Business of Music and oversees Another Level Records and the student-operated commercial radio show entitled Studio4: All Access which airs every week on 96.3 NOW FM. Tony serves as board member and/or provides technical assistance to leading national school reform organizations such as Edvisions, Inc. and the Black Alliance for Educational Options. |
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Francis is a software engineer with over 10 years of expertise in information technology and he is founder of uracess.com and ssensoft.com. He is the President of the Ugandan North American Association - UNAA, an organization for Ugandans and friends in the United States and Canada. He is also the chairman of the board for Moving Forward Africa, an organization for bringing clean water to villages in Kenya. Francis received three science degrees from the University of St. Thomas and has been using technology to solve social problems, spending a great deal of time working with communities in North America and Uganda. He loves sports and music has been heavily involved in promoting African music in North America. |
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John Sweeney wears a lot of different hats. He owns the Brave New Workshop, the nation's oldest satirical comedy theatre, he's an author (Innovation at the Speed of Laughter, The Art of the Laugh and Return to Civility), and an improviser. His unique combination of business insight and passion for improvisation make him a much-sought after corporate trainer and speaker and trusted advisor to the best and most innovative companies in the world. He is married to his business partner Jenni Lilledahl and they have two boys ages 9 and 6. |
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Josh Thoma has channeled his passion and talent for cooking into developing several of the Twin Cities most successful restaurants. He is currently in the final stages of constructing one of the most anticipated brick and mortar restaurants in Minneapolis' North Loop, Smack Shack. What began as a food truck with a popular lobster roll sandwich has grown into a beloved brand recognized by Bon Appetit magazine and featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". |
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Jun-Li Wang is a connector of people, places and ideas. As Artist Community Organizer at Springboard for the Arts, she directs the Community Program that organizes and empowers artists, builds reciprocal relationships between communities and their artists, and trains artists to address community interests – locally, regionally and nationally. Currently the majority of her time is spent managing Irrigate, an artist-led creative placemaking initiative along the Green Line in Saint Paul during the years of its construction. Jun-Li has extensive local and international experience in asset-based community development, neighborhood leadership, and training. Jun-Li worked in China for 5 years for several international non-profits including The Asia Foundation and Project HOPE before returning to obtain a MPS in International Development from Cornell University. Prior to joining Springboard, she has worked for Farm in the City, Hamline Midway Coalition, Intermedia Arts, and Public Art Saint Paul. On occasion, she sells her textile craft art in local stores but mostly prefers to give it away. Jun-Li also serves on the Saint Paul Planning Commission, manages Paint the Pavement and is active on the board of Urban Boatbuilders, a metro non-profit serving at-risk youth. |
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Levi Weinhagen is a comedy writer and theater maker. He has written and performed for such organizations as the Brave New Workshop, the Ministry of Cultural Warfare, HUGE theater, Pick-A-Line productions, and the Science Museum of Minnesota. In 2012 Levi co-founded, along with Joshua English Scrimshaw, the Twin Cities based all-ages theater company Comedy Suitcase. |
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May Lee-Yang is a playwright, poet, prose writer, and performance artist. Her theater-based works have been presented at Mu Performing Arts, the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT), Out North Theater, Intermedia Arts, the 2011 National Asian American Theater Festival, the MN Fringe Festival and others. Her most recent works include Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman and Ten Reasons Why I’d Be a Bad Porn Star. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Performance Network, the Midwestern Voices and Visions Residency Award, the Playwright Center, and the Loft Literary Center. Through a 2011 Bush Leadership Fellowship, she is attempting to build a theater company that tells Hmong stories. For more info about her work, go to www.lazyhmongwoman.com. |
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You can hear Mei’s voice on numerous radio and television stations throughout the nation on commercials and promos. Many corporations also utilize her voice for internet productions, training videos and phone messaging. Before going solo in 2006, Mei had a 20 year career in radio as an on air personality, specialty show producer, and promotions director, and she also dabbled in the world of non-profit by starting a music-support organization and serving on the boards of directors for a few others. As a full time voice over talent, Mei has about 50 hours a week of spare time that she spends much of helping others with their online presence as a project coordinator and collaborator for www.thewildwildweb.com. |
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Laura Zabel is the executive director of Springboard for the Arts, an artist-led economic development agency based in Minnesota. Springboard applies the creative process to reframe conversations, develop unconventional partnerships, and devise simple solutions that create reciprocal relationships between artists and communities. Some of Springboard's programs include: Community Supported Art (CSA), which is based on the Community Supported Agriculture model, connects artists directly with patrons and has been replicated in more than 30 cities across the country; the Artists Access to Healthcare program, which was awarded the 2010 Social Entrepreneur's Cup; and the Irrigate project, a national model for how cities can engage artists to help reframe and address big community challenges. Springboard also provides entrepreneurship training and other resources to help artists make a living and a life. Laura was a speaker at the 2012 Aspen Ideas festival and received the 2012 Visionary Leader award from the Harvard Club and MN Council of Nonprofits. She has been one of Minneapolis Business Journal's 40 Under Forty and Minnesota Monthly’s 12 Minnesotans Who Can See the Future. Laura serves on advisory boards for the Knight Foundation, Twin Cities LISC, Minnesota Theater Alliance and the University of Kansas. Laura is also an actor and lives in Minneapolis with her comedy writer husband and 6-year old daughter. |
Here are a few of the folks you'll see on our stage:
Jessy Greene • Zahra Aljabri • Bob Gardner • Maren Kloppmann • Scott LeGere • Mei Young • Aaron Keller • Mohamud Mumin • Nancy Lyons • Laura Zabel • Ken Kunkle • K Davis • Guante (Kyle Tran Myhre) • Kate O'Reilly • Patrick Rhone • Blake Iverson • Ted and Rachael Kozlowski • Kevin Beacham • May Lee-Yang • Levi Weinhagen • Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl • John Sweeney • Tina North • Shá Cage • Sally McGraw • Chris Cloud • I Self Devine (Chaka Mkali) • Esther Robinson • Francis Ssennoga • Chris Cloud • Josh Thoma • And more!