Arts Education Manager, Breckenridge Creative Arts

Andrea Edwards (artistically known as Drea E.) was born, bred and educated in Seattle, Washington. She graduated Cum Laude from Seattle University earning a Bachelors of Fine Arts of Photography. In college she spent a semester abroad studying art & national identity in New Delhi, India. Post graduation, she spent a year serving in AmeriCorps at Youth Villages Inner Harbor campus, a treatment facility for youth with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. There, she led teenagers in a project linking themes of compassion, art and service. Following her service year, she participated in a 6 month artist residency in Navasota, Texas, creating a body of work about Mance Lipscomb, a local black sharecropper and blues musician turned small town folk hero; responsible for Navasota being dubbed as the “”Blues Capital of Texas””. In 2017, Andrea moved to Colorado to take a seasonal job as a Craft Shop Supervisor for the YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch. From there, she found part time employment at Breckenridge Creative Arts where she was quickly promoted to full time positions as part of their programming team. In her own art practice, Andrea has shifted from photography to more interdisciplinary work. Due to the loss of her mother in February 2019, she’s recently been exploring themes of grief as handled across varying cultures, working paper as an affordable medium but also symbolically paralleling humanity in many respects. https://www.dreae.com/Mixed-Media

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Angelina Ramirez is a flamenco dancer, teaching artist and producer living in Tucson, Arizona.Ramirez’s artistic work explores what it means to be a queer, latina flamenca, practicing in a traditional Roma/gitano form of dance.As a teaching artist, she is interested in the intersections of arts and healing, focusing on work with elders of all abilities and integrated flamenco with autistic individuals.She is devoted to promoting accessibility and eradicating ableism, racism and bigotry by practicing and promoting dialogue, acceptance and community participation.Ramirez is an original member of Yjastros, the American Flamenco Repertory Company and has toured with world-renowned, New York-based company Noche Flamenca. Ramirez is a 2022 Dance/USA Artist Fellow.In 2021, she received the Master-Apprentice Artist through Southwest Folklife Alliance for her dedication and commitment to flamenco arts. Ramirez is a National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures fellow.

Associate Educator of Teen Programs,, Milwaukee Art Museum

Anika Kowalik, Associate Educator of Teen Programs, coordinates the Teen Internship program and works directly with teens. Kowalik is a Black and Queer Multidisciplinary Artist residing in Milwaukee. They hold a BFA in Printmaking from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. In their practice, they address creating safe space, representation and acknowledgement of disadvantaged communities, and programming encompassing these themes. They have a myriad of ties within communities that MAM directly serves as a result of years of interfacing with these communities as an artist. They’ve championed intersectional, anti-racist, and holistic care practices for local organizations such as Cactus Club Milwaukee, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Kowalik completed training from the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin for a Childhood Development certification in early 2022 and has experience in public health evaluation as a Project Assistant for Jael Solutions LLC for the Kresge Foundation’s Climate Change, Health and Equity Grantees. The multiplicity and richness within their background brings a needs-based approach to teen programs reflective of equity driven approaches to education. Overall, they want teens to see themselves in art careers by providing a fulfilling experience for all involved.

Community Engagement Coordinator, American Players Theatre

Anna Gonzalez (she/her) is the Community Engagement Coordinator at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lawrence University, a Masters of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, and an MFA in Shakespeare in Performance at Mary Baldwin University. Previous theatre production experience includes working as Wardrobe Supervisor at Glimmerglass Opera, American Shakespeare Center, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Before returning to the Midwest, Anna worked as a First Grade Teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada for eight years teaching 6-years-olds how to read and be kind. Anna strives to support inclusion, representation, and belonging in order to make theatre more accessible for historically excluded audiences and is passionate about engaging in collaboration to bring audiences into community together around the shared experience of theatre.

Executive Director, World Arts West

Dr. Anne Huang is the Executive Director of World Arts West, a 46 year old arts organization that supports cultural artists sustaining the world’s diverse dance traditions. In 2019 Dr. Huang was appointed the first person of color and cultural artist to lead World Arts West. Under Dr. Huang’s equity and inclusion focus, World Arts West has undergone a transformative equity journey. Huang is the former Executive Director of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC), one of the largest pan-Asian cultural centers in the U.S. During her tenure, she transformed OACC from an organization in financial crisis into a thriving cultural institution serving 50,000 people per year. She has supported many key cultural institutions in California and beyond, such as Parangal, Cuicacalli, Arenas Dance Company, Afro Urban Society, Diamano Coura West African Dance, and others. As a thought leader with deep knowledge of challenges and solutions for cultural artists in the 21st century, Huang has presented for Grantmakers in the Arts, National Association of Latino Arts & Culture, Arts Administrator of Color Network, Northern California Grantmakers, International Association of Blacks in Dance, and other convenings. She is a NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute Fellow, an Organizing Fellow for the Greater Bay Area Arts and Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and a member of the Dance/USA Board of Trustees.

Curator and Founder, Prisma Art Projects

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, 1987. Finished a Bachelor’s in Graphics Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in Carolina and graduated with a Masters in Fine Art with concentration in Photography from Miami International University of Art and Design.

Started her career as independent curator and arts administrator at Vargas Gallery, FL in 2012. Has served as project coordinator and grant writer at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico for the past 6 years. Saldaña is the founder of Prisma Art Projects, artist-run organization focused on supporting contemporary emerging artists through curated exhibitions and events. As arts administrator has participated in various professional development programs such as NALAC’s Leadership Institute. Has introduced two international art and photography movements to the PR community: 24hourproject and Free Art Fridays.

As an artist, Saldaña has participated in many exhibitions in Puerto Rico, United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Germany, including her latest solo show at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture in Chicago and group shows such as Bienal SalaFAR at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Bienal de Fotografía at Museo de Las Americas in San Juan, Miami Independent Thinkers in Miami and PINTA Art Fair in London.

Antonio Camacho Martinez (Tony) is of Puerto Rican and Taino descent, and currently serves as the Program Director at p:ear, an organization in Portland, Oregon that creatively mentors homeless youth, ages 15-25, through education, music and art, as well as wilderness recreation. Tony provides essential services to youth experiencing homelessness while leading the development of p:ear’s programs to provide empowering and accessible spaces to build community, offer support, and create opportunities for exploration and personal growth. After earning a BA from Valparaiso University, he moved to Portland in 2007 from Indiana to serve as an AmeriCorps member as the Development Coordinator at Impact NW, beginning his now 15-year career empowering underserved youth in Multnomah County. Over the years, Tony has mentored, advocated for, and helped youth navigate systems as a Social Services Navigator at a pediatric clinic, and as a Youth Advocate and Career Skills Coach at NAYA Youth and Family Center. Tony is a graduate of the Conflict Resolution program at Portland State University, earning a graduate degree and certificates in interpersonal neurobiology, as well as youth and family counseling, and uses his degree in helping others move through conflict via conflict coaching, workshop facilitation, and mediation, with a focus on advancing equity and promoting cross-cultural education.

Discipline: Visual Arts

April Werle is a narrative painter, whose works investigate how culture is internalized and negotiated as a mixed-race person. Influenced by her Filipino heritage and multicultural upbringing, Werle’s works explore themes of mixed-race identity, family, and belonging.

Her paintings have been exhibited at notable venues, including the Holter Museum of Art, Missoula Art Museum, and The Other Art Fair Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in publications like New Visionary Magazine and Kapwa Magazine.

Werle is an advocate for multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue. She has been invited to speak about her work, including a keynote speech at Montana State University with the Asian Student Interracial Association.

April Werle has received recognition for her contributions, including an ARPA Grant and a Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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Artes de México en Utah