Governor Tony Evers has appointed four new board members to the Wisconsin Arts Board, the state agency which nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. He has also reappointed four members to additional three-year terms.
The new members are La’Ketta Caldwell, Milwaukee; Susan Lipp, Madison; Mary K. Reinders, Mt. Horeb; and Jennifer Schwarzkopf, Oregon. (See attached biographies.) The reappointed board members are Karen Ann Hoffman, Stevens Point; Kevin Miller, Chippewa Falls; Lynn Richie, Land O Lakes; and Matthew Wallock, McFarland.
The new and reappointed members join the continuing members of the Arts Board: Ann Brunner, Kewaunee; Mary Gielow, Mequon; Brian Kelsey, Fish Creek; John H. Potter, Hudson; Gerard Randall, Milwaukee; Frederick C. Schwertfeger, Elm Grove; Robert A. Wagner, Milwaukee.
“The arts not only make life more beautiful and enjoyable,” said Governor Tony Evers. “They also strengthen communities and local economies, improve academic performance and nurture creativity within the comprehensive education of our youth, bring people together across divides, and appeal to visitors outside the state.”
“We welcome the new members to the Arts Board and look forward to working with them and the reappointed members,” said George Tzougros, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Arts Board. “They bring an exciting mix of diverse backgrounds and arts experience to the board.”
The Wisconsin Arts Board is governed by a fifteen-member board appointed by the Governor to serve three-year terms. Board members are Wisconsin citizens recognized for their accomplishments in the arts, humanities, business, education or public service. The board includes members from urban and rural areas across the state and from diverse racial, economic and cultural backgrounds. Board members set policy for the agency and approve funding recommendations made by the peer review panels. The members meet a minimum of four times per year, and all meetings are open to the public.
The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency responsible for the support and development of the arts throughout Wisconsin. Since 1973, the Arts Board has supported artists and art organizations with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information on the Wisconsin Arts Board, please visit artsboard.wisconsin.gov. For information on Wisconsin arts and cultural events, please visit www.portalwisconsin.org.
New Wisconsin Arts Board Members | Short Biographies
La’Ketta Caldwell, Milwaukee
La'Ketta is a local speaker, actor, playwright, poet and youth development professional who uses storytelling, poetry, and monologues to bring awareness to issues impacting our community. She has traveled the country to facilitate workshops for diverse groups of youth and adults that address such topics as self-esteem, empowerment, leadership and social change. Ms. Caldwell is currently the Arts Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and she is also an Associate Lecturer with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a past recipient of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” Award, and a 2015 nominee for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation. She has a TEDx entitled Say Something that brings awareness to mental illness and suicide.
Susan Lipp, Madison
Susan is the Chairman of the Board of Full Compass Systems, Ltd., a national leader in professional audio, professional video, A/V, lighting and musical instrument sales. Full Compass is one of the largest woman-owned business in the state of Wisconsin, with over 230 employees. In the early 1970s, Susan created the Wisconsin Community Theatre Association and served as Chairman of the Board for four years while also sitting on the Board of American Theatre Association as Governor of Region 3, representing five states. In the 1990s, she created the Board of Directors of the South Central Wisconsin Chapter of the American Diabetes Association and chaired that board for five years while also chairing the National Board of the Society of Non Profit Organizations. Susan presently sits on over a dozen boards and runs many fundraisers for non-profit organizations every year. She has been recognized by the UW School of Music for her work in the support and development of the UW-Madison Jazz Program, by the Foundation for Madison Schools as a Distinguished Community Partner, and along with her husband, Jonathan, is an Overture Center for the Arts Local Legend. The Lipps have won a host of awards including the 2017 Musical Merchandise Review magazine’s Music Industries Lifetime achievement Award, the Madison Area Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the U.S. Small Business Administration SBA 100 Award, the Governor’s Trailblazer Award, the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Support Music.com Award, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award, and the NAWBO Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Mary K. Reinders, Mount Horeb
Mary is President of Reinders Research Co. and has more than twenty years of experience as a Senior Research Consultant. She serves mission-driven organizations in the fields of arts/culture, healthcare, higher education, and human services. Over the last several years, Mary has provided comprehensive research and evaluation services to a variety of foundations, arts educators, and social service organizations. Recent client projects include: First Stage Children’s Theater, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Arts @ Large, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the United Performing Arts Foundation, the MPS Partnership for the Arts & Humanities, and MIAD. Mary lives in the Driftless area of Dane County with her husband and daughter. She holds a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her credentials include emphasis in social research methods and emotional intelligence certification.
Jennifer Schwarzkopf, Oregon
Jennifer graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both English and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With a 20 year career as a professional marketing communications executive, she is a strategist, content developer, and creative director. A food & lifestyle writer and photographer, she is currently working on her culinary arts education. She has served the community in many capacities, most recently as the 2018 Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) Community Champion raising over $10,000 in cash and in-kind donations, as the artist of one of 2018's Bucky on Parade statues - Bucky de los Muertos - and serving on numerous boards including YWCA Madison, Rape Crisis Center of Dane County, International Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Junior League of Madison. Jennifer lives with her family in Oregon, Wisconsin, where she passionately pursues projects that inspire, uplift, resonate and help those in need.