Rising Leaders

Program Description

Over a six-month period, fifteen participants take part in a series of three intensives focused on individual development and skills building, mutual influence, and gaining tools to help create organizations and communities where everyone can experience and express creativity in their daily lives. Participants commit to three in-person meetings. Participants are chosen through an application process to MACC.

Program participants from across the state of Michigan gain tools and perspective needed to strengthen their leadership skills and develop relationships with an extraordinary cohort of peers dedicated to advancing the arts and culture field.

The application period for the 2026-2027 cohort of Rising Leaders (running October 2026 - April 2027) is now closed. 

Questions?

Contact MACC Arts Education Program Manager Chad Swan-Badgero at 517-881-9472 or [email protected].

MACC 2026 - 2027 Rising Leaders Cohort Biographies

Dorelle Henri Brock is a multidisciplinary artist, creative strategist, and experience designer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His work explores memory, nostalgia, connection, and cultural imagination through painting, public art, interactive experiences, and community- centered programming. Through his fine art practice, Dorelle Henri, he creates bold, character-driven work that reimagines familiar cultural references through movement, color, texture, and abstraction, with exhibition history at ArtPrize and the Grand Rapids Art Museum. His practice invites audiences to reconnect with play and shared memory while expanding how art can live beyond the gallery. Dorelle is also the founder of Assembly Unbound, a strategy and experience platform focused on helping communities, organizations, and cultural partners use creativity as infrastructure. His work brings together human-centered design, public engagement, storytelling, and civic imagination to support belonging, local vitality, and creative participation. His recent projects include a hands-on activation at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, the downtown scavenger hunt Peace It Together sponsored by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., youth workshops, and partnerships with downtown districts, schools, and cultural organizations across Michigan. He serves on the boards of The Diatribe, the Walker Chamber of Commerce, and Phi Beta Sigma, and is committed to making creativity accessible, participatory, and part of everyday life.

Shayla Card-Nowlin is a dynamic rising leader who champions accessibility in the arts while breaking generational curses. She is a nonprofit program coordinator, paraprofessional, curator and change maker. Through her work as a public library paraprofessional, she has co-facilitated Noise Permit - multidisciplinary art workshops centered around exposing youth to art professionals and art as a restorative practice. Shayla has co-led Juneteenth festivals that include public art displays that tell the story of community and connections through history. She has organized career fairs that focus on providing resources such as food justice programs, re-entry services and healthcare - any resource that can bridge the gap between where we are and where we are going. Shayla understands for effective change, we must consider the full person. As a native Detroiter who participated in youth programs, she understands the importance that community programming plays in escaping perpetual loops. Shayla has dedicated her work to focus on uplifting urban youth while addressing disparities that disrupt receiving full benefits of community programming. Shayla is a student of life. She cherishes each interaction as it shapes her understanding of our shared human experience. That same human experience motivates her to continue mobilizing for change.

Diamond "Ms. Diamond" Carswell is a Detroit-based arts educator, choreographer, community leader, and creative entrepreneur dedicated to using movement and creative expression as tools for personal growth, wellness, and community transformation. With 16 years of experience spanning arts education, youth development, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, she has designed and facilitated programs that empower individuals through dance, creativity, and self-expression. Diamond holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership from Central Michigan University and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Living Arts Detroit. She is the founder of Ms. Diamond Movement & Wellness Studio, an initiative focused on creating transformative arts experiences that promote confidence, connection, and well-being across generations. Her artistic work includes collaborations with the Detroit Youth Choir, appearances in the Disney+ docuseries CHOIR, choreography for America’s Got Talent: All Stars, and theatrical productions including MEMPHIS the Musical. She also serves as a Dance Instructor at Schoolcraft College. Passionate about the future of Detroit, Diamond aspires to expand arts, movement, and wellness programming throughout the Eastside of Detroit, creating accessible opportunities for residents to experience creativity, build community, and thrive.

Jasmine Childress is a strategic identity designer and creative entrepreneur based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the founder of Tiny Concepts® and EIGHT THIRTY SEVEN®. Through Tiny Concepts®, she's building a creative collective that connects innovators, educators, and thought leaders around a shared vision for a more inclusive and equitable creative sector, fostering an ecosystem where small ideas catalyze significant industry transformation. At EIGHT THIRTY SEVEN®, her creative and collaborative studio, Jasmine transforms bold visions into compelling brand experiences for nonprofits, foundations, businesses, and advocacy organizations, marrying analytical thinking with creative intuition so every touchpoint, from strategy to execution, serves a clear purpose. Her background in process optimization and brand strategy brings methodical precision to creative problem-solving across identity design, brand strategy, and community building. Jasmine also serves as Board Chair of Confident S.O.L.E. and previously served on advisory boards for KRESA Career Connect's Design Pathway and MIX Design Day. She champions transparency, community, and design thinking across her work, earning the trust of change-makers across sectors. She currently shares studio space with fellow artists and creative entrepreneurs at Hush House, in the Jerico building in Kalamazoo.

Dominique Devereaux is the founder and executive director of DreamWorld Studios for the Arts, a Lansing-based nonprofit committed to expanding access to high-quality performing arts education for underserved youth and communities. Since founding the organization in 2015, she has developed community-based dance and vocal arts programs that foster creativity, confidence, leadership, and artistic expression. Dominique's career spans the nonprofit, education, and public sectors, including leadership roles at Communities In Schools of Michigan, Michigan State University, the Michigan Senate, and most recently as Director of Community Mobilization Strategy at the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). There, she led statewide initiatives that strengthened community partnerships and advanced educational equity for underserved and underrepresented students. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Administration with a nonprofit concentration from Central Michigan University. Her graduate research explored the connection between arts participation and student success, reinforcing her commitment to arts-based youth development. In 2026, Dominique chose to lead DreamWorld Studios full time, guiding its continued growth as a community arts organization. She is passionate about creating spaces where young people can discover their talents, build confidence, and thrive through the transformative power of the arts. Dominique is also an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the proud mother of her daughter, Nadiyah.

Claire Herhold is native of Hartland, Michigan, where her love of history education was apparent from an early age. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Saginaw Valley State University in 2010, a Master of Arts in Public History from Western Michigan University in 2013, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in History at WMU. Her doctoral research focuses on issues of authenticity in living history interpretation at open air museums. An active public historian for nearly twenty years, Claire has worked at museums and cultural organizations around the state. She is currently the Director of Education at the Historical Society of Michigan in Lansing, where she oversees K-12 and adult programming, including the Michigan History Day program.

Danyelle Hillman is a performing arts educator and administrator with more than 20 years of experience leading music, choir, theater, and community arts programs. She currently serves as Director of the Hemlock Performing Arts Center and Director of the Flint Youth Chorus at the Flint School of Performing Arts. An experienced educational leader, Danyelle has successfully developed arts programs, mentored students and staff, and cultivated partnerships that expand opportunities for arts education. Her commitment to excellence, innovation, and accessibility continues to inspire young artists while strengthening the impact of the performing arts in schools and communities. Danyelle is dedicated to creating inclusive learning environments where artistic excellence, creativity, and student achievement thrive. She believes that meaningful community engagement and collaborative partnerships are essential to building vibrant arts programs that enrich both students and the communities they serve.

Suzanne Honda (she/her) is a Michigan-born poet and creative. For the past 7 years, she has served the youth of Detroit through her work at InsideOut Literary Arts, first as a Writer-in-Residence, then a Lead Teaching Artist Fellow, and most recently as Program Coordinator (In School). Before coming to InsideOut, she spent several years in Early Childhood Education. Suzanne’s work is rooted in the understanding that joy, creativity, and self-expression are not luxuries, but rather intrinsic human rights. Over the past 10+ years, Suzanne has had the privilege of teaching and co-creating with folks from 3 years-old to well past 80; and on every occasion, she has been endlessly awed and inspired by the outpouring of life that springs up when folks come together to dream. She is passionate about dissolving barriers, in her work as a poet and within the non-profit realm, and finds there no greater place to begin than by nurturing and fostering genuine relationships, in and beyond the classroom. Suzanne is the author of the hybrid-poetic chapbook, When We Were Birds (Porkbelly Press, 2022), and has received awards from Writer’s Digest and Atlanta Review, among others. She is currently at work on her new book.

Branden Hood is the Director of Education at Detroit Opera and a seasoned baritone and music educator. His professional experience includes serving as a guest lecturer at Wayne State University and Hillsdale College, Assistant Director of the Detroit Youth Choir Boys Choir, and Assistant Administrator for the Cranbrook Project at Christ Church Cranbrook. He has also maintained a private voice studio in metro Detroit for nine years, teaching students from schools including Dakota High School and Walled Lake Central High School. As a performer, Hood has appeared with Detroit Opera, Opera MODO, and Opera Grand Rapids. In 2022, he performed in Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert alongside Audra McDonald and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London. He also received the Angel Scholarship from Detroit Opera to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and has been a young artist with the Pine Mountain Music Festival and the Lyric Opera Studio in Weimar, Germany, performing roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. He holds master's and specialist degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Shirley Verrett and Stephen West. His work is driven by a commitment to arts education, community engagement, mentorship, and expanding meaningful access to opera for learners of all ages.

Jessica Ivey is a vocalist, songwriter, teaching artist, DJ, and emerging scholar from the West side of Detroit. Jess’ vocal style is an expressive blend of alternative R&B, gospel and melodic Hip-Hop. A classically trained vocalist and student of Black music, Jess blends her various musical influences in a multi-faceted one woman show with vulnerability at the center of all her live performances. She leads a program in Kalamazoo called Sounds of Our Stories at The Institute of Public Scholarship, providing transformative, holistic experiences through community pathways to participatory musical discovery, healing modalities, and cultural reclamation. She got her start performing live shows and recording music with Last Gasp Collective and recently released a single entitled “Winter Bourbon.”

Connar Klock (they/them) is a queer, Michigan rooted theatremaker, facilitator, and advocate whose work puts new plays, humanist values, and intersectional voices at the center. In sixteen years of theatre involvement, Connar has worked on over 75 shows, directed for 12 companies and 12 new play festivals. Primarily a director, producer, and intimacy coordinator, recent credits include Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy: A Queer Cabaret featuring the Satanic Doo-Wop of Twin Temple (QTK, Creator/Director), She Kills Monsters (Three Rivers Community Players, Director), ‘Art’ (Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Director), Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches (Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Intimacy Coordinator), and Red Days (SW Michigan College, Intimacy Coordinator.) Connar also helps coordinate entertainment for both Kalamazoo Pride and Ludington Area Pride. They currently serve as the Artistic Director of Queer Theatre Kalamazoo and as the Services Manager at Kalamazoo’s LGBTQIA+ resource center, OutFront Kalamazoo. They hold a BFA in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University, where they are a Cultural Competency Consultant in the School of Theatre and Dance. Connar grew up in small towns scattered along the Lake Michigan coast between Ludington and Traverse City and is the first born, of a first born, of a first born.

Alexandra Myers is a Petoskey native and lifelong lover of the performing arts. After earning her degree from Adrian College, Alex returned home to Northern Michigan and started a freelance business focused on marketing, photography, and graphic design. Not long after, through a connection with one of her former middle-school teachers — a small-town perk — she learned about a Marketing Director position at the soon-to-open Great Lakes Center for the Arts. Today, Alex serves as Marketing Director for the Center, a role that brings together so many of the things she loves most: storytelling, communication, graphic design, photography, community connection, and the arts. She is proud to do this work in the place that shaped her. After getting married last year, Alex and her husband bought a house and claimed their own piece of Northern Michigan paradise. Outside of work, you can usually find her on a walk withher dog, talking a little too much with friends, trying a new craft, playing tennis, or — every once in a great while — finding her way back on stage.

Sahara Sidi is a writer, educator, and philanthropy professional based in Detroit. She is currently a Council of Michigan Foundations Philanthropy Fellow placed with the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, where she supports Arts and Culture grantmaking and initiatives that strengthen the resilience of Southeast Michigan's non-profit sector. Prior to joining the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, Sahara served as Public Programming Coordinator and poetry instructor at the Arab American National Museum, where she developed programs at the intersection of arts, culture, and community engagement. Her writing has appeared in The Offing, Rusted Radishes, Beloit Poetry Journal, Salt Hill Journal, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of the YoungArts Lin Arison Award, the Winchester Fellowship, and the Rackham Merit Fellowship. Sahara holds a B.A. in English and Sociology from Wesleyan University and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program. Upon completing her fellowship in 2027, she hopes to continue building a career in philanthropy, supporting innovative approaches to arts and culture funding and strengthening the communities that artists and cultural organizations serve.

Giles Simmer is Senior Manager of Philanthropy at Fair Lane Estate in Dearborn, Michigan, where she leads fundraising programs, donor engagement, grants, membership, and signature events supporting the historic estate’s ongoing care and future. Since joining the Fair Lane team in 2023, she has helped build the philanthropic infrastructure for one of Southeast Michigan’s most significant cultural institutions. A classically trained soprano, Giles brings the same creativity and commitment to collaboration to her work as a fundraiser. She is a staff singer at Christ Church Grosse Pointe under Scott Hanoian and performs with choral and opera organizations across Southeast Michigan. Working simultaneously as a nonprofit professional and an active performer gives her a distinct perspective on what it takes to sustain arts and culture from the inside. A longtime Detroit resident, Giles is actively engaged in the Corktown community and values building strong connections between cultural institutions and the neighborhoods they serve.

Athena Stanley is Executive Director of Kaufman Auditorium and Founder and CEO of Athena Global Learning. A proud sixth-generation Yooper, she is passionate about expanding access to the arts, strengthening communities through education, and creating opportunities for lifelong learning. Athena holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning from the University at Buffalo, SUNY, and both a Master's in Educational Instruction and a Bachelor's in Elementary Education from Northern Michigan University. An educator since 2010, she spent 14 years living, teaching, and leading in Ecuador, Turkey, and China before returning to Michigan. Most recently, she served as Assistant Professor of Applied Workplace Leadership at her alma mater, where she supported teacher candidates in Michigan's Talent Together and Grow Your Own initiatives and taught students representing more than 45 academic majors. A lifelong performer, choreographer, and arts advocate, Athena has participated in more than 30 theatrical productions and enjoys giving back to the stage that helped shape her journey. She serves as Vice Chair of the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and as Director at Large for Great Lakes Great Responsibility. Athena is committed to building partnerships that strengthen Michigan's arts, culture, and communities.

Vania Word “V” believes creativity is worth protecting. She has made it her purpose to defend and uplift artists and creators, and to build space for them in communities that have too often been told there isn't room. She has built that belief into something real as the founder and Executive Director of the Art and Culture Collective of Battle Creek (ACCBC), a grassroots, artist-led nonprofit she started to expand access to arts and culture across Calhoun County, Michigan. She pairs a background in business and leadership with an artist's instinct to build and sustain creative work. Through ACCBC, her work spans programming, community partnerships, fundraising, and building creative infrastructure, always with an equity-centered, community-first approach. At her core, she is an artist. A musician and multidisciplinary maker, that practice is her deepest passion and the place all of this work begins.

Michigan Arts and Culture Council Rising Leaders Program

Heading into its seventh cohort, MACC’s Rising Leaders program has been developing and uplifting the state’s arts and culture leaders since 2018

Read About the Program's Success

Testimonials from former Rising Leaders Participants

While I can say I've participated in several leadership institutes in the past, "Rising Leaders" blew the other ones out of the water. I'm thinking this is for two reasons. 1) it was specific to arts leaders so I already had that common denominator w/ my cohort going in. 2) with each in-person session being shorter, lessons were more concentrated and focused so it felt like every minute was worth it, plus there was plenty of time to relax and let it all "soak in" mentally. Excellent pacing!

I refer back to my notes from our workshops more often now in the urgency to meet the moment. I feel less alone knowing that a whole network of friends and allies are out there.   

I now have more tools to utilize in my daily leadership opportunities and have noticed growth as a leader within myself.

This was my first time working with a cohort over a long period of time, rather than a single day workshop, quick series of short workshops. I loved the opportunity that gave me to reflect and put things into practice, come back to discuss, learn more and do it again.

I am more confident in where I stand as a leader. I have taken stock of my values and I am more grounded in how I approach others in problem solving.

I’ve taken time to pause listen and consider more before responding and ensure that my response is building upon the other thoughts being shared in the space. This additional awareness and skill has been helpful in communication both in and out of the workplace.

Loved being able to connect with a group of peers from throughout the state, and get to know them personally and their work and passions.

What a wonderful experience to do leadership training with people of like minds and from different areas of the state. I enjoyed learning about all their various art forms. It gave me a real appreciation for mediums outside of my own and expanded how I thought about my own artistic medium in relation to others.

The connections facilitated between other young leaders in the state, the commitment by the arts council to invest in young leaders in the arts, and the space to share insights, experiences, and ideas for new ways of working with peers were truly the most valuable aspects of this program.

More than anything I think the experience of participating in the program was as valuable as the content itself. Unlike other workshops and conferences, the small intimate size of the participant group did indeed lend itself to a richer learning environment.

I am forever thankful for the experiences that I have gained in this program and it's made me feel supported overall in the arts.