Student Life
Students at the Bolz Center have access to a world-class university, full of arts and cultural opportunities for learning and leisure time. For more on campus life, visit the UW-Madison Odyssey. For more on arts activities at UW-Madison, see Arts on Campus.
Student Central
Links, events, and resources for current Bolz Center students. Go there...
Meet the Students
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Current Students
Bolz Center students represent a broad cross-section of interests and experience in arts and cultural disciplines, allowing them to contribute to the program as much as they gain from it. Students with specific interests and expertise in performing arts, dance, media, theater, visual art, folk arts, and other areas are encouraged to add their voice to the seminar discussions, and help build the Center's environment of constant learning.
The current Bolz Center student roster is just a recent example of this cross-disciplinary approach. Each incoming class adds a new depth and richness to the program's development, and eventually adds new breadth to our nationwide alumni network. Following are the brief bios of the current class.
Laura Albrecht
Before moving to Madison to begin her studies in the Wisconsin MBA, Laura was the Associate Director of Finance at Austin Lyric Opera (ALO) in Austin, Texas. While living in Austin, Laura sang in the chorus at ALO and was the Soprano Section Leader/Soloist at the Lakeway Church. Laura was also the Business Manager for St. Idiot Collective, a collaborative ensemble of interdisciplinary artists. Laura has always been involved in the arts, from playing the piano, dancing, and singing, to seeing as many performances as possible while growing up. She decided at an early age that she wanted to spend her career in the arts and chose to major in Business Management and minor in Music at Texas A&M University. As an undergraduate student, she was a manager in the Opera and Performing Arts Society and interned at Zachary Scott Theatre Center. After graduating Magna Cum Laude and with Honors in Business, Laura moved to Dallas where she held the position of Accounts Manager at the Dallas Theater Center. When she isn't participating in, watching, or discussing the arts, Laura enjoys yoga, playing with her dog Charlie, traveling, and spending time with friends.
Abby Ballain
Originally from Shenandoah, Iowa, Abby always knew she was a businesswoman on the outside, but a musician at heart. Arts administration, she says, is where her interests of the arts and business ''gracefully collide.'' Graduating summa cum laude with a degree in music management from Luther College, Abby was actively involved both on and off the stage, whether working as tour coordinator for the Celebration Iowa Singers and Jazz Band, singing with Luther's prestigious Nordic Choir, or preparing and coordinating efforts for Luther's Center Stage Series as president of the Performing Arts Committee. Abby comes to the Bolz Center after working for two years as a project manager for Epic Systems Corporation, where she focused on strategic development for ambulatory practice roll-outs, specializing in access and revenue. When not traveling for work, Abby stays musically active, performing with groups such as the Verona Area Community Theatre, the Madison Opera Chorus, and MadFusion a cappella.
Heather Biehl
Heather did not find her love of working in the arts until later in her life. It was only after a chemistry major, a French major, and finally dropping out of college to travel the country for a few years did she end up in Phoenix, Arizona. It was there she took a theater makeup class at a local community college and has yet to look back. In Arizona, Heather spent time working with Southwest Shakespeare Company as an assistant stage manager and acting at Mesa Community College. She continued to pursue her career at California State University, Fullerton and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Directing. It was there, under the tutelage of Jim Volz, she discovered the world of Arts Administration. While in school she assisted Volz with the book, The Backstage Guide to Working in Regional Theatre. Wanting to further her understanding of arts management she has spent the last year working at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey as the Assistant General Manager. And now, after surviving a very temperate (at least that is what the locals told her) winter in the east coast, she is excited to brave the wild winters and beautiful springs of Madison, Wisconsin and continue learning the craft of Arts Administration at the UW-Madison Bolz Center for Arts Administration.
Ken Fitzsimmons
It was in his high school rock band that Ken came up with a scheme for his group to make money selling t-shirts. He and his bandmates approached friends, parents, and teachers with a picture of a design and took orders until they collected enough money to purchase the shirts. He had no idea that he was embarking on a twenty year career of performing music that would lead him into the world of arts management. Ken has played over a thousand shows coast to coast as lead singer, bassist and manager of Madison-based Irish rock group The Kissers. After long nights of high-decibel rollicking Celtic revelry, Ken would grab the phone and laptop and work on coordinating tours, negotiating contracts, maintaining the website, giving interviews, and distributing and selling merchandise. Armed with a Bachelor of Performance in Electric Bass from UW-Madison, Ken has spent much of his off-road time teaching private music lessons. Realizing a great fulfillment in passing on not only the joy of creating music, but also the skills to promote oneself as a musician, Ken is very much looking forward to exploring his interests in outreach at the Bolz Center.
Kelly Gauthier
Kelly is thrilled to be a part of the Bolz Center Class of 2011 and the MBA in Arts Administration. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she enjoyed three years experience at Next Act Theatre, first as PR & Marketing Manager, then as the company's first-ever Development Director. She considers herself fortunate to have worked with such hardworking, intelligent, and passionate arts leaders. Having developed a passion for the arts and theatre at a young age (via encouragement from her avid arts-participating grandmother), she studied theatre/acting at UW-Madison, and has been involved in many productions throughout her life. In 2006, she earned a BA in Communications with an emphasis in non-profit management from Cardinal Stritch University and completed a PR & Marketing Internship at The Milwaukee Repertory Theater. In preparation for her move to Madison, Kelly came across a sixth grade aptitude test which not surprisingly revealed that she would be best suited for a career in 'arts management' and/or 'grantwriting'. As a Bolzie in the Wisconsin MBA, Kelly is happily fulfilling this lifelong destiny!
Syrah Gunning
Syrah is proud to join the Bolz Center from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, by way of Michigan, Florida, and most recently Maryland. Syrah developed her love for arts and culture in her childhood, which was spent immersed in the visual and performing arts and traveling extensively with her family. At age three, she began playing the violin and singing in the church choir. By middle school, she focused on percussion and musical theatre. Along the way, she cultivated a passion for math, and ultimately, an obsession with logic and creative order. In Tennessee, she put her musical and analytical devices to work onstage and behind the scenes at the Oak Ridge Playhouse and never looked back. Syrah graduated summa cum laud among the palm trees at the Florida State University School of Theatre, with minors in Mathematics and Business. Adventures in Baltimore followed with an internship in marketing at Centerstage, cross country travels with a Baltimore-based event firm, P.W. Feats, and a return to the arts sector spearheading the Events Department at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). Most recently at the BMA, she built an institutional calendar process to allow the Museum to plan collaboratively and execute and evaluate its many activities. Daughter of a violinist and a nuclear engineer, Syrah has spent her lifetime unveiling the beauty and challenges at the intersection of creative and analytical thought. At the Bolz Center, Syrah hopes to align the strength of business principles with the transformative nature of the arts to strengthen our arts for generations to come.
Jess Main
Jess Main was raised in Madison, where she was able to express her interest in the performing arts and film from a young age. Throughout high school and early college she was involved with the improvisational comedy group ComedySportz, where she worked as house manager, performer, and eventually co-manager. In 1996, she began a ten year career as a team leader with Whole Foods Market, which took her from Wisconsin to California. Before leaving Wisconsin, Jess earned her BA from UW-Madison in Communication Arts and Women's Studies in 2001. She interned with the San Jose, CA 12-day annual film festival Cinequest, working as coordinator for the festival's 150 volunteers. Since returning to Wisconsin in 2006, she has worked as volunteer coordinator and box office manager for the Wisconsin Film Festival, and volunteer coordinator and project assistant for the Wisconsin Book Festival.
Laura Maker
Laura comes to the Bolz Center after five years of working in Milwaukee's environmental nonprofit community, most recently as the Development Manager at Milwaukee Riverkeeper. At Riverkeeper, she managed membership and major donor relations, organized community events, and managed online and print communications. A 2003 graduate of Oberlin College, Laura studied painting and photography and earned her BA in Studio Art. She is also a graduate of the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network's MARNmentors Program, during which she worked on various projects to promote temporary public art in Milwaukee. In her spare time she writes a monthly comic strip that is featured in Milwaukee's Riverwest Currents, as well as on her website at heycomics.com. Laura originally hails from Vermont, the state with the nation's highest cow to human ratio (.25) and the smallest capital city (Montpelier, population 8,035). She currently splits her time between Madison and Milwaukee and continues to ride with her bicycle gang, the Pedal Pusher Society, for which she was a founding member.
Brian Ramos
Born and raised in Madison, Brian is excited to return to Madtown to continue his education in the Arts. While an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, Brian danced with the world renowned BYU Ballroom Dance Company under the direction of Brent Keck, Brady Stevenson, and Betsy Denney and competed as an amateur in many national competitions. He also had the opportunity to stage manage ten full-length productions, including assisting with Provo's famous Stadium of Fire. Starting his senior year Brian served on the Board of Directors as the Financial Manager for New Play Project, a non-profit theatre group dedicated to the creation and production of original theatrical works. After earning his Bachelors Degree Magna Cum Laude in Theatre with Minors in Business and Ballroom Dance he worked as Part-time Faculty for the Theatre and Media Arts Department at BYU in the area of Stage Management. During this time Brian co-founded FACE Theatre and served on the Board of Directors as the Executive Director. Brian is proud to begin the next stage of his life as he becomes a father for the first time this January.
Emma Starzewski
Emma approaches the Arts Administration program with a particular interest in the management of public history institutions. Her early love of the past, fueled by "American Girls" books, Ken Burns documentaries, and some wonderful teachers, led her to work with a variety of history organizations, including Old World Wisconsin, the UW-Oshkosh Archives, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and the Manitowoc County Historical Society. After receiving her B.A. in History from UW-Madison in 2003, she served as the Wisconsin Historical Society's state coordinator for National History Day, an education program that engages middle and high school students in original research projects. She joins the Bolz Center from Wisconsin Public Television, where she was able to return the favor for Ken Burns' documentaries by coordinating more than 2,000 volunteers for community engagement and fundraising events.
Kathryn Waters
Katie and her pup Charlie come to Madison from Louisville, KY, home of the Cardinals, Slugger Bat and KY Derby. Katie graduated from the University of Louisville where she earned a BA in Music (emphasis in flute) with a minor in Business Administration. Upon graduation, she began working in the social services sector of non-profit, specifically in residential treatment and foster care facilities for children in custody of the state. While working in social services, Katie cultivated her passion for fundraising while integrating the arts as she was able to organize and facilitate much needed art education for residents while securing funding through grant writing. Most recently, Katie has been working as the Assistant Box Office Manager for the Kentucky Center for the Arts, a center that serves the entire state of Kentucky. In this role she enjoys the unique opportunity to communicate directly with both promoters of shows as well as patrons of the arts. Katie still plays regularly with the Lexington Bach Society and St. Edwards Catholic Parish.
