HOBT Board of Directors
Join the HOBT Board of Directors
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater is seeking new members to join our Board of Directors!
Learn more and apply here!
Or contact [email protected]
Meet the HOBT Board of Directors
Malia Araki Burkhart
Board Co-Chair, Executive Committee, Board Culture Committee, Conflict Transformation Work-Group
She/They
Start Date: 2019
Malia has worked with HOBT as an artist, teacher, and community leader since 1999. She has been a maker, performer, director, and teacher with Hijinks Stilts (formerly Chicks on Sticks), Barebones Productions, Monkeybear Harmolodic Workshop, COMPAS, and East Side Arts Council. Malia is a Somatic Massage Therapist and co-founder of Oshun Center for Intercultural Healing, and was a member of People's Movement Center (2015-2019). You can find out more about Malia's work artsbymalia.com and kochikara.com.
"Puppetry has been a big part of my growth as an artist and human. I've learned so much from this community about how to work together to manifest our dreams. I'm excited to be part of shaping this new chapter of HOBT's story, and pass this legacy on to the next generation."
Ade Salami
Board Co-Chair, Executive Committee
She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2020
"I remember taking a field trip to HOTB when I was in elementary school and being absolutely shocked that masks and puppets could be so large! We saw the tree of life mask and I remember thinking I could fit inside it because it was so big!"
Scott Muskin
Chair of Community Engagement Committee
He/Him/His
Start Date: 2021
Scott is a 20-year south Minneapolis resident, advertising professonal, published novelist, and lover of theater and grassroots community-building. He found his way to the Board after several years on the Development/External Affairs committee, contributing messaging expertise, bucket brigade organization, and event coordination. He is moved to join the board by many years experiencing joy at both many MayDay Sundays and unforgettable puppet and mask perfornances.
Laci McBride
She/Her/Hers or They/Them/Theirs
Start Date: 2022
"Within hours of my birth I was surrounded by the artists and makers of HOBT. I am a peaceful and persistent educator, artist, observer and explorer. I plan to engage purposefully with the regenerative and unexplored work ahead for the HOBT board. Uplifting accessible outlets for community artistic expression and liberation is very important to me."
Anita Newhouse
Board Treasurer
Internal Affairs Committee
She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2021
Anita’s trained as an educator and occupational therapist but spends the majority of her time thinking about ways to build healthy communities. As a social work and public policy grad student, she spends her days pondering data and governance with recent political nonprofit leadership experience.
“I can’t even remember how I first experienced May Day in Minneapolis-was there when my kids were small alongside neighbors, watched my teenage kids play in the community band and eventually saw my daughter come out over the course of their work in their H-ART class that marched and performed. It’s always been my community.”
Kallie Melvin
She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2022
Kallie is a Twin Cities-based performing artist and puppeteer, who has been working professionally for the past 20 years in the Twin Cities. She has performed theatrically with companies including the Guthrie, Mixed Blood, and Pangea World Theater. She discovered her passion for puppetry three years ago through the Monkey Bear Harmolodic workshop and has gone on to create her own puppet shows, including collaborations and performances with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American art, Barebones Puppets, Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, Puppets and People, the MayDay Festival and more. Kallie is currently the regional director of the Great Plains Region of Puppeteers of America.
Kallie was adopted from Kolkata, India, and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her art typically centers on subjects and themes that are close to her heart, such as home, transracial intercontinental adoption, finding identity and voice, and experiences around growing up and existing as an IBPOC artist.
“I was motivated to join the board because I truly believe in the magic of puppets. More so, I believe in the beauty and magic of puppets through community making and storytelling. In the Heart of the Beast was a place I could see stories I could relate to and could tell my story. I want to see and be a part of making more art, puppets, and stories that haven’t been told yet and have a space and community to share it with.”
Erin Emory
She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2023
Erin moved to Minneapolis for college. As part of a theatre class her freshman year Erin attended a community build night, and she's loved HOBT ever since. She is delighted to be able to contribute to the work of the theatre and to support the rich arts scene on Lake Street. Erin joined the board in 2023.
"I think of HOBT as an integral part of what makes south Minneapolis what it is, so I am delighted to serve on its board of directors. I am honored to build on HOBT's rich history and to help envision all the great things to come."
Adrian Cox-Thurmond
Board Culture and Community Engagement Committee
They/them/she/her
Start Date: 2023
Adrian is a recent transplant from Bloomington Indiana where they worked with various nonprofit arts orgs before coming to Minneapolis after graduating from Earlham College in 2021 with a bachelors in music. Since then they have been teaching and volunteering around the East Phillips neighborhood as well as building and networking intentional communities. Adrian is a performer, visual artist, composer, and organizer. They are passionate about land justice, harm reduction, pipeline resistance, prison abolition, and theater as a vehicle for social and political change. They are looking forward to learning and growing alongside The Heart Of The Beast through our collective metamorphosis.
Ellen Alphonso
She/Her/Hers
Ellen is new to the Twin Cities and is thrilled to be supporting the work of HOBT. She is a Certified Public Accountant who loves to uplift art as an incredible component of social justice and education. She was moved to serve on the Board after visits to the Puppet Library with her child and learning about the values and guiding principles of the organization.
HOBT's anonymous report form --- questions, concerns, complaints. This form is reviewed by HOBT's Board Chair. For general questions, please email [email protected]