zAmya theater project

Board of Directors ____________________________________________________
Lecia M. Grossman, Founder, Executive Director & Board Member Lecia Grossman is a certified professional life coach, workshop designer, facilitator, speaker and founder of zAmya Theater Project. She is committed to organizational and personal wholeness. A certified coach through The Coaches Training Institute, Lecia is also a graduate of the Co-Active Space Leadership Development Program, holds a B.A. in Psychology from St. Thomas University, and is a member of the International Coaching Federation and Minnesota Coaches Association. Her coaching, facilitation and speaking career is boosted by her 20 years of experience focusing on leadership and staff development, sales culture training, marketing and strategic consulting.

Larry Brown, Actor & Board Member Larry joined zAmya in 2006 as a member of the Ten You Win / Ten You Lose cast and was also a cast member in There’s No Place Like Home. Larry has found his experience to be both rewarding and successful and is a great liason with the homeless community. Larry is a former employee and board member of Catholic Charities and is currently employed by Loaves and Fishes.	Amy Huber, Treasurer Amy grew up in Southeastern Wisconsin with a love for theater. A transfer opportunity with Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company, N.A., brought Amy to Minnesota, where today she continues her work as a relationship manager for the Institutional Trust Services group. Amy received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management. A chance meeting with Lecia brought her to the zAmya Theater project, a cause for which she has become a strong advocate and supporter.

Rachel Chaves, Board Member Rachel Chaves received her B.F.A. in acting from Otterbein College, Ohio, and her M.F.A in directing from Illinois State University. She co-founded the Treehouse Theater in Chicago, and also freelanced there as a director and stage manager. She is pursuing her Ph.D in theater historiography at the University of Minnesota where she is writing her dissertation about community-based theater, drawing on her experience with zAmya as a primary case study.	Nicki McCracken, Vice President & Marketing Director Nicki has been helping people and brands communicate more successfully through design since 1993. After receiving her B.F.A. degree in graphic design and B.S. in mass communications, she worked for 10 years at design firms large and small in Minneapolis and London before forming her firm, (sixonetwo), in 2004. Her work has won local, national and international design awards. While this recognition is important, her biggest thrill still comes from finding new ways to solve a problem with smart design.

Paul Dorn, Secretary Paul Dorn has worked for 23 years as a corporate attorney for Minnesota Life and its affiliates. He is currently Assistant General Counsel for Advantus Capital. He not only brings financial and legal expertise to the Board, but also experience working on non-profit boards, including the History Theater, Minnesota Literacy Council and Minnesota Mutual Companies Credit Union. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of Think Mutual Savings Bank, the 7th largest bank by asset size in Minnesota. Paul received his B.A. in Economics and Russian from Gustavus Adolphus College and his Law Degree Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota.	Pam Wynn, President Pam, a poet, essayist, and librettist, teaches poetry and writing at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She believes in the power of art to heal and bring about change and has a deep and abiding concern for those who find themselves homeless—a concern rooted in her faith, as well as her own experience with homelessness in the seventies. She is both grateful and indebted to family, friends, and all who have reached out to her over the years. The author of Diamonds of the Back of a Snake and the libretto for the opera “Ruth” (in collaboration with composer Barbara Rogers), Pam has published widely and was nominated in both 2004 and 2006 for a Pushcart Prize. She has received support for her work from the Dayton Hudson, COMPAS, Jerome and General Mills Foundations, Minnesota State Arts Board, Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, New York Mills Arts & Cultural Center, and Walker Art Center.

Advisors & Consultants _______________________________________________
Allysen Hoberg, Advisor St. Stephen's Shelter Allysen Hoberg is currently the Director of the Emergency Men’s Shelter at St. Stephen’s Human Services and has worked with the homeless since 1995. She has taught ESL at St. Stephen’s Shelter, run a women’s shelter, and run a shelter for homeless adults with special needs. She also was a founding member of the Shelter Providers Action Association (SPAA), an advocacy and public policy group made up of direct service shelter providers. Allysen studied geography at the University of Minnesota and specialized in homelessness and the urban landscape.	Donald Fonzy, Actor & Advisor Salvation Army Donald has been a part of the zAmya cast since 2006. Through his work wth zAmya, Donald has also assisted Central High School’s theater group on a production as a mentor. As a homeless advocate at Salvation Army, he works with homeless men and is a great bridge for zAmya. Donald hopes to one day open a safe haven for inner-city youth who have drug addictions or have run away from home, and he is currently working on plans for an adult safe haven.

Project Personnel ____________________________________________________
Josef Evans, Playwright Josef Evans’ most recent works include Love in a Time of Rinderpest, The Only Americans Welcome, and The Hole at the Bottom of the Holiday. His plays have been performed at the St. Louis Black Repertory, Playwright’s Theater of New Jersey, Illusion Theater, Pangaea Theater (Denver), Matrix Theater (Detroit), Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (Seattle), Bedlam Theatre, and the Guthrie, among others. Josef holds a B.A. in English and Theater from the University of Notre Dame, and is a graduate of the University of Washington (Seattle) playwriting program. He is a member of both The Playwrights’ Center and the Dramatist’s Guild of America, Inc.	Mary Scavotto, Asst. Executive Director Mary has been following and supporting zAmya and its mission since its inception. She is a professional educator with six years teaching experience both at home and overseas. Mary obtained her Masters of Science in Education from the University of New England, Maine and is currently pursuing her K-12 Principal Licensure through the University of St. Thomas. An advocate for youth in her professional life, Mary is excited to unite her personal and professional passions by working with zAmya and with those experiencing homelessness, particularly our youth.

Nicole Gurgel, Development Director Nicole is an arts administrator, theater artist and teaching artist whose love of grassroots art making has taken her from Minnesota to Virginia, Texas and Chennai, India. Through the wonder that is modern technology, Nicole currently seeks out and writes zAmya’s grants from her home in Austin, Texas. While a resident of Minnesota, Nicole was zAmya’s Assistant Executive Director in addition to working with The Children’s Theatre Company, Central Touring Theatre, and The Family Place, a day shelter for homeless families in St. Paul. Nicole also created, directed and produced Somewhere Else Mother, a play based on interviews with mothers who were experiencing homelessness. Somewhere Else Mother was most recently performed at the 2007 Minneapolis Fringe Festival.	Chana Ouray, PR &Media Contact Chana grew up immersed in the thriving arts community of south Minneapolis. She has a strong commitment to creating social change through artistic expression. Graduating with a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, she has extensive experience working with youth in a variety of capacities, including mentoring in performing arts and sailing. She currently works as a youth counselor at St. Joseph's Home for Children with teenage girls.

Josina Manu Maltzman, Stage Manager Josina has been behind the scenes of community performance/activism for over ten years. Using theater as a means to educate and raise support around issues important to her, she has been involved in such projects as An Olive on the Seder Plate in Philadelphia and, most notably, recently toured with Urban Bush Women and Compagnie JANT-Bi with their production Les Ecailles de la Memoire (The Scales of Memory). Josina is proud to be a part of the project that is zAmya.	Maren Ward, Artistic/Project Director Maren Ward joined forces with zAmya for the inaugural production in 2004. She has co-facilitated creation workshops and directed each production since. She is co-artistic director of Bedlam Theatre, an experimental theater company with a unique blend of professional and community art. Since 1998, Maren has been pageant co-director for the Barebones Productions Annual Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza which involves the coordination of over 100 volunteer artists on a spectacular nighttime pageant of puppetry, live music, and pyrotechnics. In spring 2007, Maren joined the affiliate faculty at the University of Minnesota to teach Creative Collaboration. She received a 2007 Jerome Travel/Study Grant to attend the Cornerstone Summer Institute for community-based theater in Holtville, California.
	Also a performer, Maren has worked with Frank Theater, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, Open Eye Figure Theater, and 10,000 Things Theater Company. Maren received a 2005 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant to create a performance with her frequent collaborator Sarah Garner. She has a B.A in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College and has also trained at the Moscow Arts Theater School and is a 2007 Mcknight Theater Artist Fellow with support from the Playwright's Center.