Who We Are

Board of Directors

Katherine Rixon—President
Lisa Stelck—Vice President
Ellen Gillespie—Secretary
Linda Nicholson—Treasurer

Linda Bowling
Amber Busuttil Mullen
Kelly Corroon
Adam Elias
Kay Hardy
Caroline Hobbs
Andie Laporte
Barbara Lehman
Wendy Pesky
Jim Reid

Advisory Council

The Center Staff

Christine Davis-Jeffers
Executive Director

Christine moved to the Valley after attending Colorado College where she earned a BA in political science and art history. Prior to The Center, Christine’s professional experience included 12 years as a marketing manager for Smith Optics. After joining The Center in 2013, she led all aspects of patron development and fundraising events for The Center including the Annual Wine Auction with a keen focus on financial goals and event sustainability. Christine has worked collaboratively with SVCA Board and Center leadership, staff, volunteers, and external service providers to deliver fundraising events that provide exceptional experiences that build patron loyalty to the organization’s mission, programs and case for support. Christine now brings her leadership and strategic vision to The Center as Executive Director to guide the organization’s strategic and operational planning and community vision for the future. Christine previously served as Chair of the Pioneer Montessori Board and is a member of their Advisory Committee.

Kristin Poole
Artistic Director

Kristin Poole has served as Artistic Director at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts since 1997 where she leads programming for the accredited museum whose multidisciplinary approach involves exploring topics of relevancy through visual art exhibitions, humanities lectures and seminars, music and theatre performances. A curator and art historian, Poole also develops exhibitions, lectures and writes on topics related to modernism, American Craft and contemporary art. Prior to joining the staff at the Center, Poole worked as an independent lecturer, consultant, and art historian. Previous experience includes: Director of Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition; Curatorial Assistant, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago); and Director of Lill Street Gallery (Chicago). She holds an MA in Modern Art History from the University of Chicago and a BA in Studio Art and English from Denison University.

Holly Bornemeier
Marketing Manager

After spending 12 years in Aspen, Colorado, Holly relocated to the idyllic Wood River Valley. She brings her love of the arts and culture, the outdoors and mountain town communities to her role at The Center. Holly’s previous positions as graphic designer and Director of Marketing & Communications at Anderson Ranch Arts Center position her well to bring both her visual and design sensibilities and extensive marketing experience to The Center’s marketing efforts. Originally from Connecticut, Holly graduated from Colorado College with a BA in Art History.

Kristine Bretall
Director of Performing Arts

Kristine has been with The Center since 2000. She has transformed her love of attending live performances into booking and coordinating the winter and summer concert series and in bringing artists (both musicians and dancers) into our local schools. Kristine Bretall is a graduate of Middlebury College in Political Science and Spanish and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard University.

Peter Burke
Wine Auction Director and Special Events Manager

A graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Burke studied musical theater, classical theater, experimental theater and dance in both New York and Amsterdam. Outside of his acting career, Peter has garnered extensive experience in the worlds of Creative, Experiential and Event Production. He has produced events for Google, The Row, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, AIDS LifeCycle and Amazon Studios, to name a few. Burke is a Founder at The Spot, a non-profit, professional theater/ acting company and performing arts conservatory, established in 2015 in his birth place, Sun Valley, Idaho. During that time, Peter taught for the esteemed Sun Valley Community School and Footlight Dance Centre. He produces the Future Filmmakers Forum under the umbrella of the Sun Valley Film Festival and sits on the Committee for St Thomas Playhouse. Peter is looking forward to this new chapter as Director of the Wine Auction for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.

Chris Carwithen
Administrative & Theatre Assistant, Company of Fools

After years of bouncing from acting job to acting job up and down the Pacific Northwest, Chris decided to make a home here in the Valley after falling in love with this community that values art, beauty and a slower, steadier pace of life. A theatre arts graduate from Southern Oregon University, Chris has been involved with a number of professional companies including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the 5th Avenue in Seattle, and the Oregon Cabaret Theatre. A member of AEA and a resident company artist with the Company of Fools, Chris has had the pleasure of performing in a number of COF productions including You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Grey Gardens and Life Sucks. Additionally Chris works as a commercial actor and also lends his voice to audiobooks for Audible.com. He’s proud to be a part of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts family where he plays the role of Theatre Assistant with Company of Fools.

Jordyn Dooley
Art Therapist & Enrichment Educator, Art-P, LPCi

Jordyn first came to the Wood River Valley following her graduation from the University of Florida with a B.A. in English. Her experiences in the Valley assisted her in realizing her combined passion for the arts and working in human services, ultimately leading her to pursue her M.S. in Art Therapy at Florida State University. She recently returned to the Wood River Valley after having completed her M.S. in Art Therapy and receiving her registered art therapist’s provisional license. She is excited to use her experiences working with diverse populations, knowledge of the developmental and cognitive processes, and art’s inherent therapeutic and educational capabilities to support students’ learning and personal growths through the arts at The Center.

Caroline Dye
Development Coordinator

Katelyn Foley
Director of Education and Humanities

Originally from Colorado, Katelyn graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in Art History and completed a MA in Education from Saint Michaels College. Previously, Katelyn lived in Vermont, working as the Adult Programs Coordinator at Shelburne Museum. She also has experience working with the education department at the Denver Art Museum and the Fleming Museum of Art.

Brooke Fullmer
Director of Finance

After spending 7 years in Oregon, Brooke returned to the Wood River Valley. She attended the University of Oregon, earning a BS in Environmental Studies and a minor in Business. Brooke’s professional experience has been in building and maintaining databases in the consulting industry. She’s thrilled to bring her skill set and passions together at The Center.

Courtney Gilbert
Curator of Visual Arts

Courtney Gilbert holds Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in art history from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. Most recently she worked at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin, where she coordinated the planning for a major exhibition of Latin American abstract art. Prior to joining The Center, she also taught Art History at Columbia College Chicago, and Texas State University.

Mary Hall
Operations & Human Resources Manager

Mary was born and raised in Seattle and received a B.A in Art History with a minor in French language from the University of Washington. She made the brilliant decision to move to the Wood River Valley in 1987. She worked for 10 years in sports marketing at Smith Eyewear and then 17 years at The Sun Valley Community School. Mary is thrilled to be a part of this incredible organization and all it has to offer for our community.

Chris Henderson
Production Assistant, Company of Fools

Chris Henderson recently graduated from Boise State’s Theatre Arts Program with a Bachelor of Arts. He helped comprise the ensemble of Boise State’s Unrinetown: The Musical, assistant stage manage Boise State’s Crimes of the Heart and This is our Youth, and was one of the first graduates to present an acting showcase as a senior project. His two main passions are creating theatre and writing music.

David Janeski
Database Administrator

David joined the team at the Sun Valley Center having moved from Richmond, VA. He holds an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University and was first introduced to the valley via Company of Fools back in 2007. You may recognize him from his acting work on stage at the Liberty Theatre. Prior to joining The Center, David worked as Database Administrator for Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond. He and his wife, actor Aly Wepplo, were thrilled to relocate to this magical place free of humidity and traffic.

Jeanne Knott
Visual Art Class Assistant

Jeanne was lucky enough to be raised in the Wood River Valley. She graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon with a BA in Fine Arts. She has been dabbling in the arts ever since. Recently retired from being a Montessori primary teacher for 13 years, Jeanne is excited to be working back in the visual arts.

Martha Morgenthau
Development Associate

Martha was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from Amherst College with a degree in European Studies and Geology. Martha spent her summers during college working at Arts organizations in Massachusetts, Paris and New York. After college Martha made her way west to ski in Utah. When the ski season was over, she sought out a small mountain town that could deliver big city culture – and found Ketchum. Since moving to Ketchum, and starting an internship at The Center the very next day, Martha has held three positions at The Center.

Alexi Nelson
Events Assistant

Alexi was born and raised in a small town in western Washington. She received her degree in cultural anthropology from Central Washington University. She moved to Ketchum during the summer of 2018 with no idea what the area had to offer but soon fell in love with the small town culture and the variety of outdoor recreational opportunities. Her fascination with humans and culture, and desire to work in the non-profit sector lead her to pursue a position at SVCA.

KO Ogilvie
Production Manager, Company Manager

A graduate of California Institute of the Arts, KO spent many years in the L.A. area working as a freelance stage manager with a number of theater companies, including the Center Theatre Group. After a long tenure with Universal Studios as an event manager and coordinator, KO followed her soul and moved to the mountains of Idaho where she has happily served as stage manager for Company of Fools since their 2005/2006 season.

Kris Olenick
Company Manager, Company of Fools and Volunteer Program Manager

Kris spent a lot of time in the audience at the Liberty Theatre before she joined the staff at Company of Fools in 2010. She moved to the Valley in 1985 after earning a BA in French Language from the University of California, Davis. She has over 15 years’ experience in the non-profit sector and 20 years in the photography production industry. Kris lives in Hailey with her husband Michael and son Zachary.

Scott Palmer
Producing Artistic Director, Company of Fools

Scott received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon, his Master’s degree from Oregon State University, and studied for his PhD in Contemporary Theatre Practice at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Scott is the founder of Glasgow Repertory Company (Scotland’s only Shakespeare-dedicated theatre company) and Bag&Baggage Productions, a professional theatre based in the Portland, Oregon suburbs. Scott joins the Center as the Producing Artistic Director of Company of Fools after 15 years of artistic leadership in Oregon, active involvement with the Theatre Communications Group and National Theatre Conference, and more than a 25 years as a director and internationally recognized adapter of classical dramatic literature. In addition to his work as a director, Scott has also worked in cultural policy, advocacy, capital campaign fundraising, and social justice/equity work in the performing arts.

Anna Parker
Director of Development

Originally from Bellingham, WA, Anna moved to the Wood River Valley in 2006 after a brief introduction to mountain life. She worked for eight years in event production before making the switch over to the nonprofit sector, and hasn’t looked back. Having worked as the Development Director at The Advocates for two years, Anna is excited to the join the team at the Sun Valley Center for Arts and further her love of fundraising and enriching the community in which we live.

Susie Quinn Fortner
Visual Art Education Program Coordinator and Teacher

Susie grew up in Ohio where she received her BFA in Art Education. After graduation, she moved to the Colorado mountains where she taught art for many years. In June 2017 she moved to the Wood River Valley. Susie earned her master’s degree in Curriculum: Creative Arts and Learning from Lesley University and her administrative license from the University of Denver.

Patrick Szczotka
Technical Director, Company of Fools

As a San Diego native, Patrick spent time building sets for high school productions and honing the craft of underwater basket weaving. Patrick received his BA in Technical Theatre from Sonoma State University in Napa Valley, California. Szczotka is a recent MFA graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied Technical Direction in Scenic Technology. During the summers, he worked as a safety coordinator at Glimmerglass Festival and a technical director at Hangar Theatre. Patrick is extremely excited to work with Company of Fools/Sun Valley Center for the Arts and serve the Wood River Valley community.