See below for a listing of the many people who make Heights Arts programming so vibrant. As a small organization, we could not accomplish over 60 programs a year without our board’s leadership, our event, store and Community Teams volunteer time and expertise, and our staff’s dedication and creativity.
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Heights Arts is governed by a community-based Board of Trustees who may serve two consecutive 3-year terms.
Interested in being part of our Board? At this moment in our history, Heights Arts is looking to expand and deepen the board in specific areas, which are a result of the goals and values spelled out in our 2018 strategic plan.
Board Member | President
Consultant
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel (12/68-11/92.) Served as director of three USAF hospital pharmacies, then as Clinical Research Laboratory director, then as Clinical Investigations and Life Science director at the USAF Surgeon General’s Office. From 1993-2000, served as a senior corporate officer at Collaborative Clinical Research. From 2000-2010, served as a Medical Science Liaison with three major pharmaceutical companies. Fully retired in June 2010. I have been serving on the boards of Hospice of the Western Reserve and of Heights Arts since early 2016. My late wife Jude was an artist, and she joined the board at Heights arts in 2014. After her death in late 2015, I joined that board in 2016.
Why I got involved:
” After the opening of Heights Arts in 2000, we quickly became fans of its three-pronged approach to delivering the work of local artists to our community: graphic arts, music, and poetry. The more we learned about it, the more we took advantage of its many program offerings. Now, after eight-plus years serving on the Heights Arts board, I’ve become even more passionate about its mission of supporting local artists by providing access to their work at our wonderful gallery and performance space. It’s often been said that Cleveland Heights is for the arts. Our complement to that is that Heights Arts is for Artists! And for all the members of the Heights community who enjoy the wonderful work those artists create. It’s been my pleasure to serve in a role that helps those artists and their audience find each other in the most delightful ways!”
Board Member
Owner - M% Art & Design Consulting
Matt Garson is a Fine Art Dealer and Interior Design Consultant living in Cleveland, Ohio with over 30 years experience. He has been very involved in many philanthropic initiatives and is a member of The Cleveland Isreal Arts Connection. In addition, he has been actively involved in his family’s Foundation for over 2O years, with a passion to educate others to better understand and appreciate the arts.
Why I got involved:
“I started as Assistant Curator of Progressive Insurance in the 90’s. In 2000, I started M%, a consulting firm specializing in Contemporary Art & Interior Design, working with both private & corporate clients. I have owned galleries in Cleveland & New York. I have been involved with curating, gallery management, marketing, installations and various private and corporate commissions. I have participated in and produced various Art Fairs over the years. I have worked on renovation projects for both commercial and
residential clients to help design innovative and provocative interior spaces. I am also a huge collector and philanthropist in the arts. I hope to bring my 30 years of experience to help educate the next generation and see Heights Arts make a bigger impact on the Cleveland Community for the next 25 years.”
Board Member
Director of Institutional Giving - The MetroHealth Foundation
Lynn Iams serves as director of institutional giving at The MetroHealth Foundation. She has deep experience in philanthropy, non-profit management, and tourism promotion and marketing. Her experience ranges from philanthropy/institutional advancement positions in higher education and health care to leading tourism promotion and tourism development as president of a convention and visitors bureau. She has led teams at organizations in Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Washington & Jefferson College with a BA in history and of Carnegie Mellon University with a Master of Public Management with an emphasis on management of non-profit organization. She and her partner, Jeff Rothman, live in Shaker Heights.
Why I got Involved:
“The arts — visual, performing, and literary — have always been an important part of my life. I joined Heights Arts as a member several years ago, because I enjoyed the variety of the organization’s programming and wanted to help sustain this good work. I’m excited to join the board to share my experience and skills to help advance the arts in the heights!”
Board Member | Treasurer
Vice President of Human Resources and Support Services / Chief Inclusion and Equity Officer – Cleveland Institute of Art
Charise Reid is a dynamic human resources leader with extensive experience in all areas of human resources including total rewards, performance management, and employee relations and engagement. Charise is currently the Vice President of Human Resources and Support Services + Chief Inclusion Equity Officer at Cleveland Institute of Art, an internationally recognized college of art and design, where she serves as a member of the executive team and leads the human resources function including recruiting, benefits, culture and engagement, diversity and inclusion, facilities and information technology. Before joining Cleveland Institute of Art, Reid held other human resources management roles at different organizations including, Ideastream, Bon Appètit Management Company and The Cleveland Orchestra. Reid holds a Masters in Human Resources from Keller Graduate School as well as a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Capital University and is a Senior Certified Professional in human resources (SPHR). Charise is a mentor with the Cleveland-based College Now program, a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) both on the national and local Cleveland level. She also sits on the steering committee for the Collaboration for Nonprofit HR Professionals.
Why I Got Involved:
“During my career I have worked at different arts organizations and formed an appreciation for different forms of art. Serving on the board of Heights Arts brings my love for all forms of creative art and the community of Cleveland Heights in which I reside. The mission to inspire people of all ages to engage in the arts is important factor in broadening perspectives and advancing social change.”
Board Member | Secretary
Violinist - The Cleveland Orchestra
Ioana Missits joined The Cleveland Orchestra’s second violin section in 2000, after serving as a violinist in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She previously was a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Born in Cluj, Romania, Ms. Missits has been a soloist for the National Young Artist Gala in Romania and with the Cluj Philharmonic Orchestra. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Bowling Green State University and a master of music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Board Member | Music Community Team Member - Board Liaison
Attorney at Law - Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper, LLC
Brad Ortman offers more than two decades of experience representing clients in all types of immigration and naturalization matters, providing deep knowledge of the U.S. immigration system, relationships with its players, and an understanding of what will and will not work within the system. He has concentrated his practice exclusively on immigration law since 1997, with a focus on employment-based immigration to help clients compete in the global marketplace.
Board Member - Immediate Past President
Senior Vice President, Director of the Key Technology, Operations, and Services Chief Administrative Office at KeyBank
Lisa Smith is Senior Vice President, Director of the Key Technology, Operations, and Services Chief Administrative Office at KeyBank in Cleveland. Lisa’s team is responsible for division-wide communications, events, employee engagement, and diversity activities and initiatives for the tech and ops group. Prior to taking on her current role, she spent 8 years in KeyBank’s Corporate Procurement department in jobs of increasing responsibility, most recently as the Professional Services Category Manager. Lisa served on the Procurement integration team in 2016 as Key went through its merger with First Niagara. Prior to joining KeyBank, Lisa spent 11 years in the nonprofit and educational marketing and public relations industry in the Northeast Ohio area. Lisa is a member of the Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2009 and was honored as the first female recipient of the David Akers Award. She has a B.A. in English and Communications from John Carroll University, and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University. Lisa and her husband Nevada, an artist, live in University Heights and enjoy hiking and cross country skiing.
Why I Got Involved:
“My husband Nevada is a talented artist and while I would not consider myself an artist, I do have great respect for those who can express themselves and their ideas through art. I believe that art can help level the playing field with individuals coming from different backgrounds and having different experiences and that it is a great unifier. Bringing art to the community in an accessible way is important to me, and supporting Heights Arts through board service is one way I can ensure our community has access, and that our artists are given an opportunity to showcase their work.”
Board Member
Director of Institutional Giving - The Cleveland Orchestra
Mark Litzler currently works at the Cleveland Institute of Music as Associate Director of Institutional Giving. Prior positions include Director of Institutional Giving at the Cleveland Orchestra, Executive Director of the St. Luke’s Foundation, and Alumni Director of St. Ignatius High School.
Besides his fulfilling work in the non-profit world, Mark is also a notable cartoonist. His work has been featured in publications around the US, as well as textbooks.
Board Member
Board Member
Arts Activist and Former Owner – Big Fun and Sweetie’s Big Fun
Why I Got Involved:
“As a small local business owner for 30 years, I know of the great importance of community engagement and collaboration. The Heart in the Heights program is a Win Win-Win for you, the small business, Heights Arts, and hopefully, your ever expanding customer base.”
Heights Arts has a small but dedicated group of staff members who, along with its volunteers and community teams, produce more than 60 events and programs each year.
Executive Director
Heights Arts
216.371.3457 ext 102 rbernstein@heightsarts.orgAs a professional musician, educator, and administrator, Rachel Bernstein has worked in the arts for over thirty years. Bernstein came to Heights Arts in 2013 after fifteen years in various administrative positions at The Music Settlement in University Circle, where she continues to teach as an instructor in the Suzuki cello method. Since joining Heights Arts, Rachel has concentrated her passion for the arts on creative internal collaborations to connect Heights Arts’ many programs in unique ways; and partnering with the many regional arts organizations, businesses, and people who share her belief in the power of the arts.
Assistant Director
216.371.3457 ext 101 programs@heightsarts.orgAs both a writer and visual artist, Cameron Gorman hopes to support local artists in finding a home for their work. Cameron has been published in outlets such as The Rumpus, POZ Magazine, Slate, and No Contact — and also works in the mediums of clay, paint, and video.
Marketing Coordinator
216.371.3457 marketing@heightsarts.orgTom Masaveg is an inner-city Cleveland native. He holds a degree in Visual Communication & Design. After school, he began teaching environmental education in Ohio forests. At the news of his first nephew, Tom returned to the city to focus on serving his local community by nurturing human connections with the arts and nature. As an artist, he uses drawing and photos with modern technology to inspire empathy in unexpected ways. As an educator, Tom uses models from the natural world to describe aspects of the human condition. As a marketing professional, Tom aspires to amplify the voices of Heights Arts and the arts-inspired community to foster progressive expression.
Administrative Manager
216.371.3457 cyoung@heightsarts.orgCourtney Young is a graduate of the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where she studied art history, photography, and fibers arts. She lends her arts and administration expertise to managing the gallery store, facilitating our 11 annual exhibitions, and keeping our data systems and budget reporting on track. She is continually inspired by the range, depth, and creativity of work produced by the Northeast Ohio artists represented at Heights Arts.
Store Manager and Exhibitions Coordinator
216.371.3457 store@heightsarts.orgHeather Patterson is a photographer and printmaker in Cleveland, Ohio with a BA in studio arts from Cleveland State University. She works predominantly in alternative processing and linocuts. Patterson’s work has been exhibited and published at the Galleries at CSU, Fresh Looks, Focus magazine, and more. Currently, she serves as exhibitions coordinator and store manager at Heights Arts and is completing an MBA from Western Governors University with a concentration in nonprofit organization and management. Heather most enjoys her part in facilitating connections between artists and appreciators at Heights Arts through curation and conversation!
Store Intern 2023-2024
store@heightsarts.orgKasey Kania is a mixed-media artist living in Cleveland, OH. He graduated from Kent State University in 2021 and has been maintaining an active studio practice since then. He seeks to build relationships within the community and help others find opportunities in the arts during his time as an intern at Heights Arts.
High School Exhibition Intern
Student - Cleveland Heights High School
Juliet Duffy is a Senior at Cleveland Heights High School and has loved art ever since she was little. Her passion for the arts has been nourished by art teachers and the endless support of their peers. Juliet pursues other art forms like acting by being an active member of the drama club and being in the school play. Juliet is also a part of the Environmental Committee, the Tennis Team, and NHS. Juliet hopes to attend art school after high school to pursue a career in animation.
Heights Arts provided opportunities for gaining exhibitions and retail experience through our Store and Exhibition Internship. Each year, we hire two recent college graduates who serve on our Exhibitions community team and staff our store and Holiday Store.
We also partner with Cleveland Heights High School to provide a two-year, deep learning experience for a high school Junio and Senior each year. Each student serves as a full participating member of our Exhibition Community Team to select artist, curate, install and de-install each of our exhibitions. They also develop a theme and curate a student exhibition in June feturing up to 30 of their peers at Heights High.
Store Intern 2023-2024
store@heightsarts.orgKasey Kania is a mixed-media artist living in Cleveland, OH. He graduated from Kent State University in 2021 and has been maintaining an active studio practice since then. He seeks to build relationships within the community and help others find opportunities in the arts during his time as an intern at Heights Arts.
High School Exhibition Intern
Student - Cleveland Heights High School
Juliet Duffy is a Senior at Cleveland Heights High School and has loved art ever since she was little. Her passion for the arts has been nourished by art teachers and the endless support of their peers. Juliet pursues other art forms like acting by being an active member of the drama club and being in the school play. Juliet is also a part of the Environmental Committee, the Tennis Team, and NHS. Juliet hopes to attend art school after high school to pursue a career in animation.
Do you have a passion for the arts and expertise or connections in the literary, musical, or visual arts? Learn Our volunteer community team members provide their talents and time to bring the highest quality of programming our region has to offer. Learn more about becoming a community team member
Heights Writes Community Team
Associate Professor - Kent State University
Catherine Wing is the author of two collections of poetry, most recently Gin & Bleach, which won the Linda Bruckheimer Series in Kentucky Literature and was published by Sarabande Books in 2012. Her first book of poems, Enter Invisible (Sarabande), was nominated for a 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Poetry, The Nation, and The New Republic, as well as featured on The Writer’s Almanac, and included in Best American Erotic Poems, and Best American Poetry 2010. She has won fellowships and residencies from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Executive Director - Lake Erie Ink
Amy Rosenbluth has worked with youth during both in-school and out-of- school time programs since 1991. She created the Youth Leadership group and mentoring program for the Shaker Heights Youth Center and has been facilitating Teen Poetry Slams in the Heights area for over 18 years. A credentialed 7-12 English teacher and prevention certified youth advocate, Amy is co-founder and oversees all operations of Lake Erie Ink. She still works directly with youth, primarily teen poets, facilitating writing and spoken word workshops, both on site and off. Amy also designs and facilitates professional development workshops for teachers and other youth serving professionals. Amy has been teaching as adjunct English faculty at Lakeland Community College since 1998. She received her BA in English from Hiram College and her teaching certification and graduate work from San Francisco State University. Her training in Bay Area Writers’ Project has given her a passion for and strategies in incorporating writing throughout the curriculum. She believes that all youth have stories that deserve to be heard and uses creative writing as a way to make that happen.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Poet
Ohio Beat Poet Laureate (2019-2021) | US Beat Poet Laureate (2022-2023)
John Burroughs is a nationally-touring poet and performer from the Cleveland area and the author of over a dozen poetry books including Loss and Foundering, Water Works, Electric Company, Beat Attitude and The Eater of the Absurd. In various past lives, John’s blog was ranked #1 on MySpace, he won the first poetry slam he ever competed in, he served as playwright-in-residence for the Ministry of Theatre at Marion Correctional Institution, and he co-founded the infamous monthly Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza and almost-annual Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest. John has edited Cheap and Easy Magazine, two Best Cleveland Poem Competition anthologies, two Hessler Street Fair Poetry anthologies, the Oct Tongue literary annual, and the anti-censorship collection Fuck Poetry. He is perhaps most proud of his work since 2008 as the founding editor of Crisis Chronicles Press.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Employment Specialist and Instructor at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
2023-2025 Heights Poet Laureate
Poet and Author
Siaara Freeman is the current Lake Erie Siren & is 28 years of dramatic entrances & exits from Cleveland Ohio. She is unsure if she is more necromancer or poet.. She’s been published in Glass, Pinch, Drunk In A Midnight Choir, Texas Borderline Review, Black Napkin press & others. She has toured both nationally and internationally. A two time nominee for the pushcart prize, a finalist for the 2017 button poetry chapbook competition and apart of 2017 bettering american poetry anthology. Siaara is a PinkDoor She is the recipient of the Winter Tangerinee Fellowship & her first published chapbook will be released from HoneySuckle press in 2019. She is the founder of Wusgood.Black and a reader for Tinderbox. In her spare time she is growing her afro so tall God mistakes it for a microphone and tries to speak through her Genre: poetry/ prose/ fiction.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Poet and Author
Cathy Barber has an MFA in Poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and an MA in English from California State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). Her work has been published more than 100 times in journals and anthologies across three continents, including in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Slant, SLAB, Kestrel, and the Medical Journal of Australia.
Her poetry ranges from the humorous to the deeply personal, from golden shovels to pantoums to free verse. It engages with issues large and small, from health, motherhood, and the environment to Bigfoot, Barbie, and babies sent through the US mail.
Heights Writes Community Team Member | 2020-2023 Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate
Ray McNiece is the author of eight books of poems and monologues, most recently Love Song For Cleveland (Red Giant). The Orlando Sentinel reporting on Ray’s solo show at the Fringe Festival called him “a modern day descendant of Woody Guthrie. He has a way with words and a wry sense of humor.” He toured Russia with Yevgeny Yevtushenko where he appeared on Good Morning, Russia and performed at the Moscow Polytech, the Russian Poets’ Hall of Fame where he was dubbed the American Mayakovsky. He has toured twice in Italy with Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He has received many awards and honors, including the Creative Workforce Fellowship from CPAC, and Academy of American Poets Fellowship 2022-2023. He is a three time Haiku Slam Champion.
Kate Snow is a painter and printmaker born in Charlotte, North Carolina. After five years working and learning at the cooperative art space, Zygote Press, she began actively showing work in 2016. Her stripped down approach relies heavily on elements of design, such as line, shape and pattern, to explore themes around natural and imposed boundaries, community, and globalism. She is currently co-Executive Director of Zygote and works from her home studio in Cleveland Heights.
Store Manager and Exhibitions Coordinator
216.371.3457 store@heightsarts.orgHeather Patterson is a photographer and printmaker in Cleveland, Ohio with a BA in studio arts from Cleveland State University. She works predominantly in alternative processing and linocuts. Patterson’s work has been exhibited and published at the Galleries at CSU, Fresh Looks, Focus magazine, and more. Currently, she serves as exhibitions coordinator and store manager at Heights Arts and is completing an MBA from Western Governors University with a concentration in nonprofit organization and management. Heather most enjoys her part in facilitating connections between artists and appreciators at Heights Arts through curation and conversation!
Exhibition Community Team Leader
G. M. Donley’s creative pursuits have long followed parallel, sometimes intertwining visual and verbal threads of photographic art, writing, editing, and graphic design. He has worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in a number of capacities since 1991 and is now head of print communications at the museum. A graduate of Oberlin College, he later earned a masters degree at Cleveland State Universitys Levin College of Urban Affairs. Since the 1980s, he has been active as a freelance writer, designer, and photographer. He has shown photography and photo-based art in exhibitions around the area since 1990, including Heights Arts, Cleveland Print Room, William Busta Gallery, and Foothill Galleries.
G. M. Donley’s creative pursuits have long followed parallel, sometimes intertwining visual and verbal threads of photographic art, writing, editing, and graphic design. He has worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in a number of capacities since 1991 and is now head of print communications at the museum. A graduate of Oberlin College, he later earned a master’s degree at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. Since the 1980s, he has been active as a freelance writer, designer, and photographer. He has shown photography and photo-based art in exhibitions around the area since 1990, including Heights Arts, Cleveland Print Room, William Busta Gallery, and Foothill Galleries.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Photogarapher
Amber N. Ford is an artist and freelance photographer based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She holds a BFA in Photography from the Cleveland Institute of Art. While Ford’s practice is primarily in digital photography, she continues to explore other mediums such as alternative photographic processes, printmaking and collage art. Ford’s work in portraiture has gained national notoriety appearing in publication such as The Atlantic and Washington Post and she has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, the Kent State University Museum, Transformer Station, SPACES Gallery, Youngstown State University and more.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist | Nonprofit Management
Jack Stinedurf has an undergraduate degree in Art Education which included studio classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, design, ceramics and printmaking. While studying, he concentrated in printmaking and worked extensively in lithography. He went on to earn a masters degree in the Management of Nonprofit Organizations. He has studied art history with an emphasis on art of the 20th Century. Jack worked in development at the Cleveland Museum of Art for nine and a half years, ultimately serving as Director of Development. During that time he worked closely with museum leadership and curators as part of the Exhibitions Committee helping to select and develop exhibitions to be presented at the CMA. He worked to secure exhibition sponsorships from foundation, corporate and individual donors. He is most interested in working with the Heights Arts Exhibition Community Team to support community-based artists, promote diversity and inclusion and help ensure the selection and presentation of high quality work in all media.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist
Linda Nickman taught at Princeton High School in NJ for 25 yrs, creating and developing the curriculum for their 3D/sculpture and craft courses. She has served as a long-term substitute in Cleveland where she started an artist in residence program. She has also worked as an art therapist at a rehabilitation hospital, teaching art to long-term patients at the hospital art studio. Throughout her career she coordinated many student art exhibitions, both in the school setting and surrounding community. Since moving back to Cleveland she spends her time as a working artist, working in her converted garage into a ceramics studio. She is interested in connecting with other artists and contributing to the art community in various ways.
High School Exhibition Intern
Student - Cleveland Heights High School
Juliet Duffy is a Senior at Cleveland Heights High School and has loved art ever since she was little. Her passion for the arts has been nourished by art teachers and the endless support of their peers. Juliet pursues other art forms like acting by being an active member of the drama club and being in the school play. Juliet is also a part of the Environmental Committee, the Tennis Team, and NHS. Juliet hopes to attend art school after high school to pursue a career in animation.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Professor - Kent State University
Helen Liggett is an academic and photographer who teaches in the Architectural Studies Program at Kent State University. She is the author of numerous articles and professional presentations, often incorporating urban photography. She is author of Urban Encounters. Recent projects include Design/ReBuild (available through Amazon) and “City Built by Hand” (forthcoming through The American Roundtable), both as parts of projects initiated and sponsored by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist
Dante Rodriguez was born in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico in 1978 and raised in Lorain, Ohio by a Puerto Rican family. Always drawing as a kid, it was “natural to study art in college.” He received a BA in Studio Arts from Cleveland State University. Although his concentration was in Drawing, he took additional courses in painting, printmaking, and sculpture. During his time at Cleveland State, he was a gallery attendant at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where he learned art handling, exhibition design, installation, and lighting. This experience eventually led him to a position as an Art Handler at The Cleveland Museum of Art and on to his current position as Mount maker within the Exhibition & Design Department.
Dante has been researching his transnational or bi-national cultural background as a Puerto Rican-Mexican and exploring the different social dimensions of his multiple identities. Rodriguez’s work uses the possibilities of portraiture to explore the layers and complexities of personal identity as influenced by time, personal experiences, and national and transnational culture.
Board Member | Music Community Team Member - Board Liaison
Attorney at Law - Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper, LLC
Brad Ortman offers more than two decades of experience representing clients in all types of immigration and naturalization matters, providing deep knowledge of the U.S. immigration system, relationships with its players, and an understanding of what will and will not work within the system. He has concentrated his practice exclusively on immigration law since 1997, with a focus on employment-based immigration to help clients compete in the global marketplace.
Music Community Team
Director of Performing Arts, Cleveland Museum of Art
Experienced music industry professional skilled in creative programming, business development, social media marketing, arts management/booking, community organizing, fundraising, and live music production. BM in Jazz Entrepreneurship from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Theresa holds a Masters of Music in trumpet performance from University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a B.A. from the University of Dayton. She currently teaches World Music and Applied trumpet at Cuyahoga Community College and John Carroll University. She has been teaching in and around Northeast Ohio for the past 12 years, including working with Cleveland Heights students at the Reaching Heights summer music camps. She performs with Mourning [A] BLKstar, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and Gabriel’s Horns. Theresa loves connecting, sharing, and collaborating with artists and communities.
Scott’s background in music includes a 30+ year career in teaching band/general music as well as currently performing in the University Heights Symphonic Band, Lakeland Civic Band and The Cleveland Winds. He currently serves as a board member of the Cleveland Winds and was a 25 year member of the Lakeland Civic Band Steering Committee which has given him many opportunities to guide and develop music events and programing in the area.
The Heights Arts Exhibition Community Team (ECT) is meant to engage the resources of the surrounding community to provide expertise and ensure that Height Arts’ visual arts programming is of the highest quality, is relevant, and reflects our community.
For more information about our community teams, CLICK HERE
Kate Snow is a painter and printmaker born in Charlotte, North Carolina. After five years working and learning at the cooperative art space, Zygote Press, she began actively showing work in 2016. Her stripped down approach relies heavily on elements of design, such as line, shape and pattern, to explore themes around natural and imposed boundaries, community, and globalism. She is currently co-Executive Director of Zygote and works from her home studio in Cleveland Heights.
Store Manager and Exhibitions Coordinator
216.371.3457 store@heightsarts.orgHeather Patterson is a photographer and printmaker in Cleveland, Ohio with a BA in studio arts from Cleveland State University. She works predominantly in alternative processing and linocuts. Patterson’s work has been exhibited and published at the Galleries at CSU, Fresh Looks, Focus magazine, and more. Currently, she serves as exhibitions coordinator and store manager at Heights Arts and is completing an MBA from Western Governors University with a concentration in nonprofit organization and management. Heather most enjoys her part in facilitating connections between artists and appreciators at Heights Arts through curation and conversation!
Exhibition Community Team Leader
G. M. Donley’s creative pursuits have long followed parallel, sometimes intertwining visual and verbal threads of photographic art, writing, editing, and graphic design. He has worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in a number of capacities since 1991 and is now head of print communications at the museum. A graduate of Oberlin College, he later earned a masters degree at Cleveland State Universitys Levin College of Urban Affairs. Since the 1980s, he has been active as a freelance writer, designer, and photographer. He has shown photography and photo-based art in exhibitions around the area since 1990, including Heights Arts, Cleveland Print Room, William Busta Gallery, and Foothill Galleries.
G. M. Donley’s creative pursuits have long followed parallel, sometimes intertwining visual and verbal threads of photographic art, writing, editing, and graphic design. He has worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in a number of capacities since 1991 and is now head of print communications at the museum. A graduate of Oberlin College, he later earned a master’s degree at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. Since the 1980s, he has been active as a freelance writer, designer, and photographer. He has shown photography and photo-based art in exhibitions around the area since 1990, including Heights Arts, Cleveland Print Room, William Busta Gallery, and Foothill Galleries.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Photogarapher
Amber N. Ford is an artist and freelance photographer based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She holds a BFA in Photography from the Cleveland Institute of Art. While Ford’s practice is primarily in digital photography, she continues to explore other mediums such as alternative photographic processes, printmaking and collage art. Ford’s work in portraiture has gained national notoriety appearing in publication such as The Atlantic and Washington Post and she has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, the Kent State University Museum, Transformer Station, SPACES Gallery, Youngstown State University and more.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist | Nonprofit Management
Jack Stinedurf has an undergraduate degree in Art Education which included studio classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, design, ceramics and printmaking. While studying, he concentrated in printmaking and worked extensively in lithography. He went on to earn a masters degree in the Management of Nonprofit Organizations. He has studied art history with an emphasis on art of the 20th Century. Jack worked in development at the Cleveland Museum of Art for nine and a half years, ultimately serving as Director of Development. During that time he worked closely with museum leadership and curators as part of the Exhibitions Committee helping to select and develop exhibitions to be presented at the CMA. He worked to secure exhibition sponsorships from foundation, corporate and individual donors. He is most interested in working with the Heights Arts Exhibition Community Team to support community-based artists, promote diversity and inclusion and help ensure the selection and presentation of high quality work in all media.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist
Linda Nickman taught at Princeton High School in NJ for 25 yrs, creating and developing the curriculum for their 3D/sculpture and craft courses. She has served as a long-term substitute in Cleveland where she started an artist in residence program. She has also worked as an art therapist at a rehabilitation hospital, teaching art to long-term patients at the hospital art studio. Throughout her career she coordinated many student art exhibitions, both in the school setting and surrounding community. Since moving back to Cleveland she spends her time as a working artist, working in her converted garage into a ceramics studio. She is interested in connecting with other artists and contributing to the art community in various ways.
High School Exhibition Intern
Student - Cleveland Heights High School
Juliet Duffy is a Senior at Cleveland Heights High School and has loved art ever since she was little. Her passion for the arts has been nourished by art teachers and the endless support of their peers. Juliet pursues other art forms like acting by being an active member of the drama club and being in the school play. Juliet is also a part of the Environmental Committee, the Tennis Team, and NHS. Juliet hopes to attend art school after high school to pursue a career in animation.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Professor - Kent State University
Helen Liggett is an academic and photographer who teaches in the Architectural Studies Program at Kent State University. She is the author of numerous articles and professional presentations, often incorporating urban photography. She is author of Urban Encounters. Recent projects include Design/ReBuild (available through Amazon) and “City Built by Hand” (forthcoming through The American Roundtable), both as parts of projects initiated and sponsored by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative.
Exhibition Community Team Member
Artist
Dante Rodriguez was born in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico in 1978 and raised in Lorain, Ohio by a Puerto Rican family. Always drawing as a kid, it was “natural to study art in college.” He received a BA in Studio Arts from Cleveland State University. Although his concentration was in Drawing, he took additional courses in painting, printmaking, and sculpture. During his time at Cleveland State, he was a gallery attendant at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where he learned art handling, exhibition design, installation, and lighting. This experience eventually led him to a position as an Art Handler at The Cleveland Museum of Art and on to his current position as Mount maker within the Exhibition & Design Department.
Dante has been researching his transnational or bi-national cultural background as a Puerto Rican-Mexican and exploring the different social dimensions of his multiple identities. Rodriguez’s work uses the possibilities of portraiture to explore the layers and complexities of personal identity as influenced by time, personal experiences, and national and transnational culture.
The Heights Writes Community Team (HWCT) is meant to engage the resources of the surrounding community to provide expertise and ensure the Height Arts’ literary programming is relevant and reflects our community.
For more information about our community teams, CLICK HERE
Heights Writes Community Team
Associate Professor - Kent State University
Catherine Wing is the author of two collections of poetry, most recently Gin & Bleach, which won the Linda Bruckheimer Series in Kentucky Literature and was published by Sarabande Books in 2012. Her first book of poems, Enter Invisible (Sarabande), was nominated for a 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Poetry, The Nation, and The New Republic, as well as featured on The Writer’s Almanac, and included in Best American Erotic Poems, and Best American Poetry 2010. She has won fellowships and residencies from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Executive Director - Lake Erie Ink
Amy Rosenbluth has worked with youth during both in-school and out-of- school time programs since 1991. She created the Youth Leadership group and mentoring program for the Shaker Heights Youth Center and has been facilitating Teen Poetry Slams in the Heights area for over 18 years. A credentialed 7-12 English teacher and prevention certified youth advocate, Amy is co-founder and oversees all operations of Lake Erie Ink. She still works directly with youth, primarily teen poets, facilitating writing and spoken word workshops, both on site and off. Amy also designs and facilitates professional development workshops for teachers and other youth serving professionals. Amy has been teaching as adjunct English faculty at Lakeland Community College since 1998. She received her BA in English from Hiram College and her teaching certification and graduate work from San Francisco State University. Her training in Bay Area Writers’ Project has given her a passion for and strategies in incorporating writing throughout the curriculum. She believes that all youth have stories that deserve to be heard and uses creative writing as a way to make that happen.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Poet
Ohio Beat Poet Laureate (2019-2021) | US Beat Poet Laureate (2022-2023)
John Burroughs is a nationally-touring poet and performer from the Cleveland area and the author of over a dozen poetry books including Loss and Foundering, Water Works, Electric Company, Beat Attitude and The Eater of the Absurd. In various past lives, John’s blog was ranked #1 on MySpace, he won the first poetry slam he ever competed in, he served as playwright-in-residence for the Ministry of Theatre at Marion Correctional Institution, and he co-founded the infamous monthly Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza and almost-annual Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest. John has edited Cheap and Easy Magazine, two Best Cleveland Poem Competition anthologies, two Hessler Street Fair Poetry anthologies, the Oct Tongue literary annual, and the anti-censorship collection Fuck Poetry. He is perhaps most proud of his work since 2008 as the founding editor of Crisis Chronicles Press.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Employment Specialist and Instructor at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
2023-2025 Heights Poet Laureate
Poet and Author
Siaara Freeman is the current Lake Erie Siren & is 28 years of dramatic entrances & exits from Cleveland Ohio. She is unsure if she is more necromancer or poet.. She’s been published in Glass, Pinch, Drunk In A Midnight Choir, Texas Borderline Review, Black Napkin press & others. She has toured both nationally and internationally. A two time nominee for the pushcart prize, a finalist for the 2017 button poetry chapbook competition and apart of 2017 bettering american poetry anthology. Siaara is a PinkDoor She is the recipient of the Winter Tangerinee Fellowship & her first published chapbook will be released from HoneySuckle press in 2019. She is the founder of Wusgood.Black and a reader for Tinderbox. In her spare time she is growing her afro so tall God mistakes it for a microphone and tries to speak through her Genre: poetry/ prose/ fiction.
Heights Writes Community Team Member
Poet and Author
Cathy Barber has an MFA in Poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and an MA in English from California State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). Her work has been published more than 100 times in journals and anthologies across three continents, including in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Slant, SLAB, Kestrel, and the Medical Journal of Australia.
Her poetry ranges from the humorous to the deeply personal, from golden shovels to pantoums to free verse. It engages with issues large and small, from health, motherhood, and the environment to Bigfoot, Barbie, and babies sent through the US mail.
Heights Writes Community Team Member | 2020-2023 Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate
Ray McNiece is the author of eight books of poems and monologues, most recently Love Song For Cleveland (Red Giant). The Orlando Sentinel reporting on Ray’s solo show at the Fringe Festival called him “a modern day descendant of Woody Guthrie. He has a way with words and a wry sense of humor.” He toured Russia with Yevgeny Yevtushenko where he appeared on Good Morning, Russia and performed at the Moscow Polytech, the Russian Poets’ Hall of Fame where he was dubbed the American Mayakovsky. He has toured twice in Italy with Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He has received many awards and honors, including the Creative Workforce Fellowship from CPAC, and Academy of American Poets Fellowship 2022-2023. He is a three time Haiku Slam Champion.
The Heights Arts Music Community Team (MCT) is a group of volunteer artists and arts professionals who collectively oversee the Heights Arts music programming. The objective of the community team is to provide expertise, engage the resources of the surrounding community, and ensure the Heights Arts’ music programming is relevant, diverse, and reflects our community.
For more information about community teams, CLICK HERE
Board Member | Music Community Team Member - Board Liaison
Attorney at Law - Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper, LLC
Brad Ortman offers more than two decades of experience representing clients in all types of immigration and naturalization matters, providing deep knowledge of the U.S. immigration system, relationships with its players, and an understanding of what will and will not work within the system. He has concentrated his practice exclusively on immigration law since 1997, with a focus on employment-based immigration to help clients compete in the global marketplace.
Music Community Team
Director of Performing Arts, Cleveland Museum of Art
Experienced music industry professional skilled in creative programming, business development, social media marketing, arts management/booking, community organizing, fundraising, and live music production. BM in Jazz Entrepreneurship from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Theresa holds a Masters of Music in trumpet performance from University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a B.A. from the University of Dayton. She currently teaches World Music and Applied trumpet at Cuyahoga Community College and John Carroll University. She has been teaching in and around Northeast Ohio for the past 12 years, including working with Cleveland Heights students at the Reaching Heights summer music camps. She performs with Mourning [A] BLKstar, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and Gabriel’s Horns. Theresa loves connecting, sharing, and collaborating with artists and communities.
Scott’s background in music includes a 30+ year career in teaching band/general music as well as currently performing in the University Heights Symphonic Band, Lakeland Civic Band and The Cleveland Winds. He currently serves as a board member of the Cleveland Winds and was a 25 year member of the Lakeland Civic Band Steering Committee which has given him many opportunities to guide and develop music events and programing in the area.