NEW YEAR, NEW INTRODUCTIONS

 January 6, 2023

Board Member Rose Willey writing poetry with students

Non-profits can’t do their work without a dedicated group of people behind the scenes helping in a variety of ways: we’re talking about our Board of Directors. Their connection to the KBAC is wide-ranging including being former interns, Book Arts in Italy trip alumni, WMU professors, artists, writers, and book lovers. Their skills help us with fundraising, non-profit arts administration, marketing, and of course, there is the always important Treasurer keeping an eye on our balance sheet, investment accounts, and advising us on financial matters. We are honored that these dedicated board members volunteer for us. They play a big part in things to come at the KBAC.

When asked, every Board member recognizes that education and creating more awareness of the book arts are the most important things we do for our community. By providing workshops, field trips and internships to students, they are exposed to a unique art making studio and begin to realize that careers in the arts are viable possibilities. Marissa Chupp, a new board member, said “I especially value the educational aspect within the collegiate internship program as it helped me to grow as a designer.”  Rozlin Opolka, our new board President, remembers making paper with excited 4th and 5th graders and recalls that they thought it was as cool as she did.

As for what a board provides to a non-profit, Josie Richards puts it quite nicely. “A strong board is made up of people with a variety of talents, backgrounds, and life experiences that work harmoniously to support the organization in providing quality, inclusive programming.”  We believe that this has been accomplished in the past and we continue to strive for this moving forward.

Recent highlights:

• Fundraising efforts organized by the board have continued to increase annually.

• By reaching out to influential people in the community, board members introduce us to organizations we might otherwise miss.

• Our outgoing President, Ali Hanson, made it a mission to add new and younger people as board members, to reflect the energy of the audience that we serve through educational programming.

• Our new President, Rozlin Opolka, is harnessing the vast knowledge of prior board members by organizing it for easy reference as we move into the future.

The KBAC board has included many talented and generous people over the years including Amy Ferguson, Elizabeth Teviotdale, Keith Jones, and our first Board President Michael Dunn. They have devoted countless hours to the KBAC and our mission. They have been influential voices with experience in business, philanthropy, education, and the arts. Their help has been invaluable and provided a strong base from which our newer board members can build.

With appreciation and best wishes for the New Year,

Jeff, Katie, and Lorrie

Board of Directors 2023

Rozlin Opolka, President
Susan Caulfield, Vice President
Scott MacCallum, Treasurer
Marissa Chupp, Secretary
Ali Hansen
Tami Fauver
Audrey Mills
Amy Naugle
Josie Richards
Rosemary Willey

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