Meet Our Staff & Board
We are proud to have an incredible group of passionate and creative staff and board members making our governance decisions and achieving our mission day-to-day at HOBT. If you’d like to join us, consider volunteering, joining the board, applying for a job, or joining us as an artist collaborator.
Our Staff
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Community Partnerships/Site Director
He/Him/His
Steve Ackerman is a playwright and puppet artist who focuses on quick, crude, high-energy art making. He has his BFA in Acting from East Carolina University and MFA in Playwriting from Southern Illinois University.
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Director of Education and Community Outreach/Interim ED
She/Her/Hers
Elina joined the HOBT Team in 2017. She has served in a variety of part time roles and has happily joined the team full time this January (2024) as the Director of Education. Elina is an educator, a therapist, a stage manager and an arts collaborator. She can not wait to bring more joyous puppet play and learning to this community. Elina is an immigrant and loves to travel, explore and people watch. Her happy place is the water and the trees and you can often find her kayaking, hiking and digging in the garden. Her cats rule her life.
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Development and Finance Consultant
She/ Her/ Hers
Michelle is a seasoned arts administrator and leader. She has held interim executive leadership roles at Mixed Blood Theatre, Steppingstone Theatre, the Rose Ensemble, and History Theatre; as well as Managing Director roles at Theater Latte Da and Eye of the Storm Theatre. Pett served as Board President and Vice President during nine years on the board of Open Eye Figure Theatre. Her work as an independent producer includes a site-specific production of Full Gallop with Sally Wingert, Dustin Lance Black’s 8, and the debut of the Twin Cities Free Night of Theatre.
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Social Media Content Creator
She/They
Since before Orren could even speak they have been making weird Queer art in South Minneapolis. Orren focuses her work on puppetry, drag performance art, prop and set design, dance, costume design, sequins and googly eyes.
Gender identity usually works its way into the art Orren makes along with other things like clowns, grandmas, inanimate things with faces, and silly little jazzy dance moves.
Orren has performed at many venues and events in the Twin Cities including Weird Stuff Only, Open Eye Theater, B.O.N.K., Puppet Cabaret MPLS, Heart of the Beast Theater, Full Moon Puppet Show, the Dick Von Dyke Show, and many School Dance showcases.
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Billing, Operations
She/Her/Hers
I am happy to be working with HOBT as the new bookkeeper. I have worked in many areas including the merchant marines, the EPA, the National Park Service, several law offices, building management/coffee shop owner, geriatric healthcare, and for the past 8 years, arts administration in southern MN.
I live with my long-term partner Jim, our two daughters who are 17 and 19 years old, three cats, and a bearded dragon. We live in southern MN where I love to garden, forage, kayak, and sew. When I have more than a few hours to play, I am likely to be found up on Lake Superior where I work on restoring a Morgan 34 sailboat.
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Puppet Librarian & Storyteller/Bookkeeper
she/they
Chelly is a puppeteer and storyteller from the northern metro with over a decade of storytelling experience and a huge love for children's literature. You can normally find Chelly at HOBT's Puppet and Mask Library the first and third Saturday of each month accompanied by her puppet companion Turnip the Dog. Stop by and join her for a storytime or workshop!
Our Board
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She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2023
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.
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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.
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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."
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She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2024
Adriana Foreman (YANI) - I'm a Creative Entrepreneur passionate about building spaces where communities can thrive and stories can be shared. My expertise lies in video production and education. At In the Heart of the Beast Theater, I honed my leadership and organizational skills as stage manager for MayDay. I'm currently finishing an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship/Leadership at Augsburg University. I'm committed to using my skills, experience, and love for this community to ensure that HOBT remains a vibrant space for the next generation of artists.
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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."
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He/Him
Start Date: 2024
Steve is a former comedy writer and a forever community organizer who loves building connections around conversations that matter. Steve loves supporting small and medium sized arts organizations that push the boundaries with creativity, innovation & making cool new stuff. ...and that's HOBT in a nutshell, right?
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She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2024
Amanda Rodriguez is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with over a decade of experience. Her expertise lies in institutional storytelling, community programming, and driving transformative change. With her background in social media, branding, and multichannel digital marketing, she has helped elevate the Twin Cities's most renowned companies, including the Children's Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Illusion Theater, HOBT and others. Amanda serves as a Workforce Outreach Coordinator for the State of Minnesota, where she fosters community connections and drives strategic talent management initiatives. Amanda is also an art marketing consultant with Sweibel Arts and wedding DJ with Northern Sound.
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She/Her/Hers
Start Date: 2024
Terri is new and very excited to be a part of HOBT. She holds an accounting degree and currently works for Armanino, a top 20 accounting firm, in Boise, Idaho. As a proud single parent, she is the mother of an amazing and talented adult son with autism. Terri has eight years of experience serving on the board of directors for the Autism Society Treasure Valley and has been the Chair of the Grants Committee at Armanino for the past four years. Her greatest passions are her love, dedication, and commitment to her family, friends, community, and charitable organizations.