Bessy  Cherry

Marjorie Devereaux is retired from the Department of Natural Resources after 30 years working in various programs within the agency.  She and her husband moved to downtown Madison recently and are enjoying all of the opportunities and resources available in the increasingly vibrant downtown area.  Since retirement she has devoted time to painting.

Fabu As Madison’s 3^rd  Poet Laureate (2008-2011), she put poetry in unusual places and spaces.   She is a literary artist (poet and storyteller) and educator.  She has three poetry collections published;  Poems, Dreams and Roses, 2009; In Our Own Tongues, 2011 and Journey to Wisconsin: African American Life in Haiku, 2011. www.artistfabu.com.

Laurie Fellenz  serves as the Fine Arts Teacher Leader for the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD).  In her position coordinating K-12 arts education, she is a tireless advocate around diverse, high-quality arts access for all children.  Laurie currently represents MMSD on the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Board and the Madison Symphony Orchestra Education Committee.  Outside of her regular work schedule, she is actively involved in high school and community theater productions as an orchestra contractor and conductor, and she is a proud reviewer for the Overture Center Tommy Awards.

Nelson Ferreira was born in New York City and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He began studying martial arts when he was five years old and opened the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association in Madison, WI where he has dedicated himself to promote Chinese martial arts and culture in the area. He is an Executive Committee member of the United States Kuoshu Federation and its North Region Director.

Theresa Fosbinder has been involved in theater and the arts in Madison area since 2001.Theresa has spent the past 25 years involved in direct service and administration of programs for the low-income population.  After stints with Dane County Human Services, the State of Wisconsin, Deloitte Consulting, and Goodwill Industries, Theresa is currently the Patient Services Project Director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.         

Brenda Gonzales serves as Board President of Centro Hispano of Dane County. She is the Career Development Coordinator for UW Madison Collaborative Center for Health Equity.  Previously she supported a community-engaged program of The Benton and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations, New Routes to Community Health designed to improve immigrants' health. She loves dance and music as tools that bring community together. 

Pat Guttenberg  is the current Program Coordinator and Public Relations Manager at the Madison Senior Center. She has more than 30 years of experience in executive leadership positions which include expertise in management, programming, coaching and implementing organizational strategies.

Steve  Head

Ronia Holmes

Michael Johnson serves as the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. In 2011, Johnson was named by Madison Magazine as one of Madison’s People of the Year, and was named Omega Psi Phi’s Citizen of the Year.  Johnson is a member of 100 Black Men and the Madison Network of Black Professionals. He sits on the Board of the Healthy Community Foundation, the Board of Directors of STAR Credit Union.

Kia Karlen is Director of Education at Madison Children's Museum, and also works as a professional musician with local ensembles including Yid Vicious, Reptile Palace Orchestra, Chick Singer Band, and the Capitol City Band.  She is a public arts instigator in the Madison area and has coordinated public art projects involving dozens of local artists at city events.

Alison  Jones Chaim

Anthony Lamarr   Singer and songwriter are just two of the many artistic "hats" that Anthony Lamarr has donned over the course of his performance career. The Madison native is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. Before establishing himself as a solo artist in recent years, Anthony split time between the playhouses of Madison (starring in such productions as Grease, Ragtime, and The Music Man) and the road, touring with Mike Droho & The Compass Rose. He released  his second album, Intermission: The Learning Never Stops, in 2011 and his Wisconsin Badgers-inspired anthem We're Smelling Roses, became an overnight sensation. 

Tom  Klubertanz

José J Madera is the Assistant Director/Assistant Dean of the Academic Advancement Program (AAP), a campus-wide academic support program committed to the retention of all students and enrichment of their academic experience at UW-Madison. Born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, José, a world-music percussionist, has performed with groups specializing in Afro-Caribbean rhythms in a variety of cultural and classical events. José's preferred hobby is listening to Salsa, Latin Jazz and World Music, playing percussion, and collaborating with local and international musicians. Most notably, José's a founding member of BENTETÚ (Afro-Puerto Rican folklore), Trova Viva (Nueva Trova) and MadiSalsa, a Madison Favorites Latin Band for many years since 1992.

Oscar Mireles has been writing poetry for the past 25 years. He is the editor of two anthologies titled “I didn’t know there were Latinos in Wisconsin: 20 Hispanic Poets” (Focus Communications, 1989) and “I didn’t know there were Latinos in Wisconsin: 30 Hispanic Writers” (Focus Communications 1999). He produced a chapbook titled “Second Generation” (Focus Communications, 1985). He has over 50 poems published in anthologies and magazines.  

Marilyn Ruffin is an engineer for a wireless company out of Chicago. She has lived in Dane County  for 20 years and has 2 sons. Marilyn has been an Overture Usher for 4 years. She is also Arts Chairperson for  the Madison Metropolitan Chapter of The Links, INC, and works with Madison Network of Black Professionals Incorporated.

Norma Salvidar

James Tye

Mai Zong Vue

Kati Walsh  is an art teacher at Randall Elementary here in Madison and has been teaching for five years. A 2007 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison, she has been a resident of Madison for 10 years. Kati is currently serving as a board member of the Wisconsin Art Education Association representing the southwest region as well as a union representative for her elementary school.