Dan is currently in his third year of graduate school pursuing his MFA in Acting. Dan was born in Kenya, but spent most of his formative years in Stillwater, MN. Dan is a firm believer that the arts are just as important as any other class or sport and is beyond lucky to have found like minded folks!

M.Ed., is licensed in both elementary education and special education, EBD. She was a public school teacher for more than two decades and is currently an assistant professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Maria-Renée is an equity trainer and consultant, She is passionate about increasing and sustaining culturally competent teachers and teachers of color in the public schools and providing a culturally inclusive comprehensive education to all students.

M.Ed., is licensed in both elementary education and special education, EBD. She was a public school teacher for more than two decades and is currently an assistant professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Maria-Renée is an equity trainer and consultant, She is passionate about increasing and sustaining culturally competent teachers and teachers of color in the public schools and providing a culturally inclusive comprehensive education to all students.

Leslee Graduated from from Stillwater Area High School in 2020 and recently completed her first year at the University of St.Thomas. She’s involved with a lot of youth activism like Youth Executive Board, EMID Board Student representative, and Entre Mujeres. She’s been part of StoryArk for about four years starting as a writer and actor in the Carnation podcast. Now she’s an executive assistant working in administration and HR and serves as Co Facilitator Liaison tracking Fist to Five evaluation and making sure StoryArk programming runs with excellence.

E is willing to do anything and everything to support the StoryArk staff, but currently focuses on HR and administrative tasks while StoryArk is developing online programming. E attends UWRF with a major in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and hopes to one day attend graduate school to get a degree in translation. For personal projects, E finds passion in fiction/fantasy prose, dreamy poetry, and engaging character driven podcasts.

Considered a genuine, outgoing, caring, passionate, and creative educator, Cornelius Rish is grounded in 26 years of experience in education as a Teacher, Theater Director, Athletics Coach, Consultant, Principal, and now Equity Specialist. Principal Rish earned his BA from Lawrence University, Appleton,WI and his Masters’ Degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University, Portland, Or. As an award-winning educator, Cornelius Rish believes that student engagement drives learning. “A school that is ‘Alive’ thrives!” Cornelius believes that students should be “active” learners and the classroom should be a safe space where our students’ academic and social emotional needs are met. Cornelius has received the Minnesota Peace Prize and other recognitions for his equity work in schools. In addition, Cornelius has been featured in both local and national publications and has presented to professional conferences throughout the country.

A multi-medium artist and educator that produces works in theatre, film/video and photography. LaTwanna has a BA in Theatre, a MBA and a MAT. In her 10 year teaching and directing career, LaTwanna taught students the importance of self awareness, critical thinking, and artistic vision through theatre and film. She developed engaging, student centered lesson plans to enhance academia and created opportunities for authentic learning through rigorous programming which allows students to become culturally and self aware, teaches students to think independently while showing evidence to justify their ideas and communicate their ideas effectively, through media. Additionally, LaTwanna sat on and continues to serve on state level arts committees through the Minnesota Department of Education and Perpich Center for Arts Education to ensure students across our state are given equal access to arts education.