Board of Directors
The Board of Directors works to help Waterfall Arts meet its organizational, financial, and programmatic objectives.
Board members are responsible for governing Waterfall Arts and ensuring that it fulfills its mission: Creating community in harmony with nature through the transformative power of the arts.
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President
Scott Kelley
Vice President
Scott Kelley
Scott Kelley has worked in commercial real-estate management for nearly the past 20 years; starting at MBNA and continuing his career at CBRE and now at ABM Industries, Inc. As a community leader, Scott has had the pleasure of being a Co-Den Leader and Assistant Cub Master of his son’s Boy Scout unit. He was the Treasurer of the Cornerspring Montessori School from 2009 – 2018. During this time, he helped raise funds through a capital campaign and oversaw the construction of a new school building. When he is not working, Scott enjoys the outdoors by hiking with his son or camping with his family. Most mornings before work you can find him running with his dog along the Passagassawakeag River (“the Passy”) in Belfast, Maine.
Vice President + Treasurer
John Steed
President
John Steed
John Steed currently works for a small DC-based government contractor building teams to leverage the power of location intelligence and GIS through the creation of quality data visualizations for their clients. He has previously worked in the areas of humanitarian aid and international development in West Africa and Latin America respectively. John grew up in California, working in construction, mechanical maintenance, manufacturing, woodworking, and welding. He has spent most of his life making a living working with his hands, and used these skills to pursue an education and alternative career path. John also spent a large portion of his early adult life working in the art community, building the tools and supplies for art glass, working as an assistant to a fine woodworker, and providing technical support to a close welding artist/colleague. He is very interested in the intersection of art, trades, and community, and is thrilled to bring his skills and experiences to the Board of Waterfall Arts.
Secretary
Jody Henderson
Secretary
Jody Henderson
Jody Henderson resides in Northport with her husband, Stew Henderson and enjoys spending time with her grown children who reside in Portland. The newest member of her family, Rosie, is a rescued dog and their first dog! Thank goodness for doggie school! Jody and Stew are newly retired and looking forward to traveling, outdoor adventures and experiencing new opportunities. Art has always been an important element in her life, learning much from her husband who is an artist and retired art preparator from Colby Museum. She is honored to be on the Waterfall Arts Board, Executive Board and Chairperson of the Development Committee. She is also an active member of the Waldo Retired Educators Association, helping to raise money for scholarships for future teachers.
Board Member
Eli Kao
Treasurer
Eli Kao
Eli Kao is a filmmaker, musician, and community media worker. Eli grew up in Belfast, has worked mentoring media-makers in the Boston area, and produced network shows for millions of viewers across the Asia-Pacific region. While based in Taiwan, he worked for one of Asia’s largest factual TV production companies producing award-winning science and engineering programs for Discovery Networks and the National Geographic Channel. He currently works independently and as a producer for Camden-based Compass Light Productions. Eli is particularly interested in the nexus of art, culture, and technology, and is dedicated to supporting inclusive creative infrastructure that fosters community.
Board Member
Michele Bird
Board Member
Michele Bird
Mike ‘Mike’ Bird and her husband, Geoff, retired to Belfast six years ago. Both native New Englanders, they spent their working years in Southern California and France. Mike was an admissions officer, an academic advisor and a dormitory head in a boarding school in Ojai, California, then spent over twenty years, in France and Studio City, California, serving as a college counselor.
Many years ago they built a timber frame house, nearly a decade long do-it-yourself project, on Vinalhaven where they spend much of the summer with their two daughters, sons-in-law and four grandchildren. She is involved in a political activism group, is a denizen of the Y and joined the Waterfall Arts board in 2020. She loves gardening, cooking, dabbling in art, books and travel.
Board Member
Lisa Cohn
Board Member
Lisa Cohn
Lisa Cohn has been a Landscape Architect in California and Connecticut for over 30 years. In 2016 she completed an MA in Art Therapy. Since 2014 she has been facilitating arts based therapeutic groups and workshops in person and online. She currently facilitates the Art Hive at Waterfall Arts, and co-facilitates two online groups, The A+ Art Club for young adults on the Autism spectrum, and SoulCollage®, a creative mindfulness practice. Lisa has been a lifelong community volunteer, artist, and maker, and loves to create in community with others.
Board Member
Joanna Owen
Board Member
Joanna Owen
Joanna Owen has spent her entire adult life as a practicing attorney in the Midwest licensed in Missouri and Illinois. Known for taking leaps into the unknown, Joanna and her family moved to the Midcoast after dropping a child off at school in Maine. She and her husband instantly bonded with the people, the culture and the environment of the Midcoast. After being admitted to the Maine bar in record time, Joanna set up a law practice in Belfast where she focuses on real estate, estate planning and developing and growing small and medium businesses. A deep-seated belief in the value of nonprofits to the community as well as her lifelong interest in the arts, led Joanna to Waterfall Arts in the first week of her family’s move to the Midcoast.
Board Member
Ken Schweikert
Board Member
Ken Schweikert
Bio coming soon.
Board Member
Gianne P. Conard
Board Member
Gianne P. Conard
Gianne P. Conard FAIA, is an architect, retired from the Federal Government, where she served as Chief Architect and Regional Recovery Executive of the New England Region and National Director of the Border Center. Prior to her work with the Public Buildings Service, Gianne was a partner with a firm in Philadelphia and a professor of architecture at Drexel, Lehigh, and Cornell universities. A Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and former board member and volunteer with numerous professional and non-profit organizations, Gianne is currently on the In Town Design Review Board in Belfast ME and on the Board of Directors of Coastal Mountains Land Trust in Camden. A resident of Belfast, she can be seen around town with her golden retriever, Mr. Digby Wallace.
Board Member
Andrew Herrmann
Board Member
Andrew Herrmann
Andrew Herrmann lives in Belfast and currently works as the Senior Director of Digital Strategy for the Office of Communications at Colby College. Prior to joining Colby, Andrew lived in New York City and served in various roles at NBCUniversal for 10 years. In his latest role there as Editorial Director for Bravo’s digital group, he oversaw the team managing the digital footprint of the network’s programming. Previously, Andrew served as the Associate Editor for online reference at Oxford University Press, commissioning hundreds of entries and overseeing the review and revision process.
Board Member
Tyrone Townsend
Board Member
Tyrone Townsend
Tyrone Noble Townsend is a native Seattleite, who married a Belfast native decades ago. Her career, focused on decades of revenue development for broadcasters, professional sports programs, non-profits and events sponsorships. In the late 90’s, she started her own interactive media company writing fundable business plans for multiple interactive media companies, large and small. Soliciting strategic business partners, and establishing sales, branding, operations and marketing team coordination as an inside interim executive or outside consultant put her at the forefront of multi-media today.
In 2017, she and her husband Hugh Townsend, moved full time to Belfast after visiting with family here since the 1990’s. As six generation owners of their home, she’s proud of the remodeling she and her husband did, preserving the historic nature of the house while brightening it for better living!
Tyrone is a Member of the Belfast Curling Club, Belfast Garden Club, and former adviser to Our Town Belfast’s Economic Advisory Committee. As an art collector and aficionado, she’s honored to be added to Waterfall Arts Board, and looks forward to helping Waterfall Arts meet. and exceed, its strategic goals and plans for the Belfast Community.
Board Member
David Leach
Board Member
David Leach
David P. Leach, JD. With a deep professional background in philanthropy, general management, and program implementation in corporate, government, and nonprofit settings, David brings a broad perspective to institutional leadership and strategic partnerships. Now retired, David was most recently the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Northern Light Health Foundation. In this role he engaged key institutional funding partners from Maine and beyond to support priority healthcare initiatives impacting communities across the state. David’s previous positions include grant making, fundraising, legislative advocacy and executive roles with community planning, land conservation, historic preservation, arts education and higher education institutions in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Oregon. Prior to emigrating to the United States in 1988, he worked in Australia as an organizational development specialist in the banking industry after a career as a communications staff officer in the Australian Army. A native of New Zealand, David is a graduate of Australia’s Royal Military College and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law. A serial house remodeler and DIY’er, David’s interests include scale model building, model railroading, cooking, and being generally obsessed with making things.
Ghost Ship Series
Online
Co-founder Al Crichton interviews artists whose shows were mounted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
