JCA Board of Visitors
Michelle Jarvis, Interim Dean, Jordan College of the Arts
Michelle Jarvis has served as Associate Dean of the Jordan College of Fine Arts since 2009 and was Chair of the Department of Dance and Artistic Director of Butler Ballet from 2003-2010. She also served as the Jordan College of Fine Arts Interim Dean for the 2010-11 academic year. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Butler University. She joined the Jordan College of Fine Arts dance faculty in 1986 after teaching at Millikin University (Decatur, Illinois) and at the Jordan College Academy of Dance.
A company member of Dance Kaleidoscope and their company teacher for the 1985 season, she has also performed with the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre. In addition to her duties at Butler University, she has been guest teacher at the Hartford School of Ballet, the American College Dance Festival, Springfield Ballet, Young Audiences of Indiana, Summer Arts Institute, True Academy of Dance Lincoln, Nebraska, and Ballet Arkansas.
Committee Chairs
Trevor Yager, Board of Visitors Chair
Pam Blevins Hinkle ('83), Board of Visitors Assistant Chair, Butler Community Arts School Committee Chair
2016-2017 Board
Christopher Beltran
Co-Founder & Vice President of Passageways LLC
Christopher Beltran is an energized entrepreneur with a particular passion for working with amazing people building high-impact companies that move the world forward in a positive way. Mr. Beltran is co-founder of a successful industry-leading software company, Passageways, which he started out of his dorm room at Purdue University and turned into an industry-leading internal corporate management software for CEOs, Board Members, and Operations Groups in over 6 countries. His company also was recognized by Inc. 500, for being the 27th fastest growing software company in the country.
Christopher is also involved in the humanities, receiving the Governor's Award for Tomorrow's Leaders by the Indiana Humanities Council. Christopher was an organizer of the inaugural TEDxPurdueU event as well as the inaugural TEDxIndianapolis event. Christopher is the longest-standing mentor for entrepreneurship high school kids at the Purdue Entrepreneurship Academy and has taught at Purdue University graduate-level entrepreneurship.
Christopher is from McAllen, Texas and moved to Indiana to attend Purdue University. He resides in Carmel, Indiana and is actively involved in the technology startups and investment community in Indianapolis.
He currently serves on the boards of several software startups in a variety of industries and has previously done work for Purdue University's IBM WebSphere-based portal implementation, Purdue University's Discovery Park Research Center and Prudential Financial Real Estate. He holds a bachelor of science from Purdue University.
Alpha Blackburn
President and CEO of Blackburn Architects
Artist, designer and community leader who's served on more than 60 boards and committees, and president and CEO of Blackburn Architects, whose projects include the National Underground Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her firm also had a hand in the interior design of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, and the design of the Purdue University Black Cultural Center, The Malcolm X Center at Wabash College, and the Artsgarden in downtown Indianapolis.
She's always been interested in the arts-as a dancer, actress, and singer when she was younger, through architecture and design in her career, and as a civic leader on the boards of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Indianapolis Art Center, among others.
When asked to serve on the Board of Visitors (BOV), she said "yes" for several reasons. One was that her father-in-law, Cleo Blackburn '32, earned his bachelor's degree from Butler. Another was because she saw Butler "as being in the middle of my neighborhood and a steadfast presence, quietly cultivating both audiences and artists."
Craig Gigax
President, Meridian Music
A native of Carmel, IN, Craig Gigax is the second-generation owner of Meridian Music Company. Craig bought Meridian Music Company in 1995 from his mother after the death of his father and its founder, Richard Gigax. Craig attended Carmel public schools as well as Ball State University and Northwestern University.
Craig worked in various sales and management positions within the semiconductor industry in both the Chicago and Minneapolis areas before relocating his family to Carmel in 1995 to operate and manage Meridian Music Company. Craig and his Minnesota-native wife have 3 grown children and are also the proud parents of 2 Portuguese Water Dogs, Bentley and Yogi.
Craig has been active in the music industry and in the Central Indiana Arts community through Board service with NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), the American Pianists Association, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Opera and the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University.
Craig's involvement with JCA goes back several decades - as a high school French Horn player, he studied with Harry Michaels at Butler University and played under the baton of Jackson Wiley in the Central Indiana Youth Symphony Orchestra. The role JCA played in forming Craig's love of the arts led him to become involved as chairman of the first Board of Visitors.
Giving Philosophy: As the owner of Meridian Music Company, whose success depends upon an interested and motivated arts community, Craig strongly believes that he has an obligation to support those organizations with demographics and patrons which closely resemble his.
Kristen Hess
Associate Consultant, Flashpoint
I'm really looking forward to continuing to connect students to the Indianapolis community," Hess said. "I so appreciated my time at Butler and the experiences I had. Having an opportunity to give back as an alum and shape that experience for other students is something that excites me."
Hess graduated from Butler with majors in multimedia studies (now Art+Design) and Spanish. While at Butler, she was named top multimedia studies student and one of Butler's Top 10 Female Students. She was junior class president, helped shape the Art+Design major, and was a featured artist in the Harrison Center's Food Con exhibition, where she debuted her senior thesis, Farmers' Market Society.
She also was a teaching fellow in the Butler Community Arts School, where developed a curriculum to teach digital art to underserved local students.
In Hess's role at Indiana Humanities, she develops the organization's visual communications and creates statewide programs that have become nationally recognized models for making humanities programs relevant, accessible and fun. In 2012 she published her first book, Food for Thought: An Indiana Harvest, with author David Hoppe.
Pam Blevins Hinkle ('83)
Hinkle Board of Visitors Assistant Chair; Butler Community Arts School Committee Chair; Director, Spirit & Place Festival
Pam Blevins Hinkle is director of the Spirit and Place Festival (www.spiritandplace.org), a major civic collaboration managed by The Polis Center, part of the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. A native of Franklin, Indiana and a 1983 graduate of Butler University, Hinkle formerly was executive director of Sweetwater Art Center and special projects director for the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1992. In the late 1990s, she founded The Hinkle Group, Inc., a consulting practice that provided grant writing, funding research, program development, and strategic planning services for cultural and historical organizations, libraries, faith-based organizations, social service and civic agencies, educational institutions, as well as health and human service organizations.
A recipient of the 2003 Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship awarded by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, Hinkle is also a singer, choral conductor, and instrumentalist. She has led college, church, and community choirs for 18 years, including 13 years as artistic director of the Indianapolis Women's Chorus. Presently, she is the choir director for the Midwest Unitarian Universalist Summer Assembly (since 1998), teaches music improvisation at the Indiana Women's Prison, and is a member of THIN AIR, a five-piece ensemble that creates fully-improvised performances.
Giving Philosophy: Pam notes, "For me, music is a ministry ... a ministry that sustains my spirit, a ministry that connects me to other others and to the sacred, a ministry that transforms individuals and communities. The roots of this lie in my childhood church where I sang hymns, in my high school where I experienced the joy and camaraderie of ensembles, and in my Butler years where I performed some of the great choral/orchestral masterworks. I gladly support and serve on the JCA Board of Visitors, teach at the women's prison, and lead workshops. Some call this 'giving back,' but I think it's really 'giving forward.' When I help others discover the profound beauty and sacredness that lies within them, I am securing that sacred beauty for the future."
Barry Hohlfelder (BS, '66)
Retired Television Producer, NBC
A two time Emmy Award winning television producer, Barry Hohlfelder retired from NBC- Universal after nearly 37 years producing and writing news and sports programming. Barry earned his B.S. degree in Radio/TV, with a minor in Drama, from Butler in 1966 and immediately joined the staff of channel 6, WFBM-TV, in Indianapolis as a producer/director. In 1969 he returned to Chicago producing news programs for the CBS owned station WBBM-TV.
WNBC-TV lured him to New York in 1972 to produce "The Sixth Hour News" from 30 Rock. Later that year, Barry transferred back to the NBC owned Chicago station, WMAQ-TV, producing news and sports. He co-created a half hour sportscast in the mid 70's, "Sportsunday" which continues its run today. His first Emmy came for on-camera work broadcasting championship high school football in 1979. Later that year he joined the NBC News Chicago Bureau as a network field producer for "NBC Nightly News" and "The Today Show". His News and Documentary Emmy was awarded in 1982 for a "Nightly News" series, "College Sports: The Money Game".
Barry returned to WMAQ-Sports in 1986 and created "Speedsunday", a popular weekly motor sports news segment. In addition to chairing the JCA Board of Visitors, joining the CCOM Board of Visitors, serving as vice president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Barry is a member of the Ovid Butler and Butler University Heritage Societies and is a licensed foster guardian for rescued Golden Retrievers in Northern Illinois. His philosophy of giving to the university is simple.
Giving Philosophy: "My Butler education is the foundation of a career I dreamed of from the day I arrived on the Fairview campus. If my contributions help keep dreams alive for future generations, my life will have been well spent."
Riley–Hill Kartel ('17)
JCA Student Representative; Arts Administration major
R.K. Kelley ('87)
Retired Director of Entertainment Strategy & Operations, Walt Disney World Entertainment
R.K. Kelley has worked with The Walt Disney Company for twenty-four years in the entertainment field. Prior to Disney, R.K. received a Bachelor's of Science in Arts Administration from the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University.
William Kleinman, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon; Clinical Professor of Othopaedic Surgery, IU School of Medicine
Greg Kueterman
Director of Diabetes Communications, Lilly Corp.
Richard Miles ('87 & '91)
Alumni Committee Chair; Vice President, Audio Services and TV Programming, WFYI
Richard Miles graduated from Butler not once, but twice, with bachelor's ('87) and master's ('91) degrees in what was then Radio & Television. From 1987 till 1999 he helped manage Butler's radio and television stations WAJC and WTBU, and taught in the department. In 1999, he transitioned to WFYI (PBS) as part of the WTBU-WFYI television joint operating agreement and has been there ever since. He is currently the Vice President for Interactive Media and Content Strategies, which means he works with the folks in programming and operations who pick and schedule the content from PBS, NPR, BBC, APM, PRI and others, including local shows, to create the channels, stations and Web sites that WFYI offers to the community.
Richard is an active leader, serving on several boards including the Public Television Programmers Association, WEDM-FM (Warren Central High School), Y-Press, the Lacy Leadership Association, Butler's new College of Communication's Board of Visitors and of course here at JCFA. Richard is obsessed about soccer, particularly the English Premier League, loves old radios, and good food! He lives in Indianapolis and has two daughters.
Giving Philosophy: Richard's giving philosophy is that time and talent is as valuable as treasure. Find where you can be of use, and be there!
Jenny Mobley ('87 & '89)
Adjunct Instructor, School of Music, Jordan College of the Arts
Jenny Mobley received her Master of Music Education degree from Butler University; she has an undergraduate degree from Butler and another from Indiana University and has done post-graduate work at Indiana University and The Juilliard. A pianist, she has taught privately for over 20 years, has been an instructor at Butler since 1987 and was the founder and director of the Indianapolis Piano Academy. She has performed in Bloomington, IN with the Chamber Music Association and Town Theater and was also a keyboardist with the Bloomington Town Theater Orchestra and Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Mobley has conducted workshops for IPTG and IPTA and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, MTNA, IMTA and GIMTA, and has served on the Committee on Independent Studio Teaching of The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy.
Diana Mutz
Community Volunteer
Diana Hartley Mutz graduated from Vassar College in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in psychology, and she earned her M.B.A. from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business in 1989. She has been a stay-at-home mom for most of her career, home schooling both of her children. Her community volunteer work has included volunteering on political campaigns, serving two terms as Precinct Committeeman, working on Conner Prairie Alliance, and spearheading neighborhood beautification projects. She has served her alma mater as President of the Indiana Vassar Club and as Chair of the Indiana Vassar Alumnae/i Admissions Committee. As a high school student, Diana studied flute with a Butler professor, and she is now a fledgling harp student with Butler adjunct Wendy Muston. A balletomane, Diana faithfully curled her daughter's hair for six seasons of Butler's The Nutcracker, where her daughter danced in the children's cast.
Giving Philosophy: Diana believes strongly that giving her time and financial resources to JCA is a fruitful way to extend the benefits of Butler into the Indianapolis community.
Michael O'Brien
President, Printing Partners
A University of Wisconsin graduate with a dairy background, Michael O'Brien began his career as a dairy extension agent with the American Peace Corps in Punjab, India. Upon returning to the United States, O'Brien worked in agricultural marketing for companies including Countrymark Cooperative, Elanco Products Company and Central Soya where he was responsible for both communications and marketing. In addition, his career includes agency experience working for Trent-Jones, Inc. in Princeton, NJ and Bader Rutter & Associates in Milwaukee, WI.
Following the birth of their son, Patrick, in l987 he and his wife, Jackie Nytes, bought an Insty-Prints franchise in Indianapolis. Within ten years the business had expanded to four locations and sales increased more than tenfold. Before discontinuing the franchise in 1999, Printing Partners was the largest multiple-unit Insty-Prints in existence.
Today, O'Brien and his partner, Joel O'Brien, operate Printing Partners from two Indianapolis locations. During a period of industry consolidation, Printing Partners has made significant investments to become a G-7 Master Printer and to acquire FSC and ISO certification.
Throughout its history Printing Partners has been known for its generous support of the arts and in 2011 Americans for the Arts recognized Printing Partners as one of the top ten companies in the United States in terms of art support.
O'Brien currently serves on the boards of CICOA Foundation, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Indianapolis School of Ballet, University of Wisconsin Alumni Club of Indianapolis and St. Joan of Arc Church Pastoral Council.
Fred Schlegel
Attorney, Faegre Baker Daniels
Fred Schlegel has extensive experience in utility rate and other regulated activities. He practices before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Legislature, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. His expertise involves electric, water, gas and sewage disposal utilities and financings as well as litigation and rule makings. Fred regularly advises privately and municipally owned utilities and users of their services. Mr. Schlegel received his B.A. degree, with honors, from Northwestern University, and his J.D. with distinction from the University of Michigan Law School.
Patricia See ('74)
Community Volunteer
Kathleen Shields
Senior Vice President, Simon Property Group
Marianne Tobias
Program Annotator, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
A native Hoosier, Marianne Williams Tobias attended Harvard University, where she accompanied the Harvard Glee Club and was pianist for the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. She graduated cum laude in 1962 with a degree in European History, focusing on national socialism and communism.
Marianne continued her musical education at Longy School of Music, where she received an Artist Diploma in 1967. She spent the next 19 years in St. Paul, MN, earning her M.F.A. in 1973 and her PH.D. in 1977 from the University of Minnesota, where she also taught; she also worked for Dominick Argento. After her children were born, she worked at St. Paul Academy and Summit School and for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. After returning to Indianapolis, Marianne continued post-doctoral work with pianist Menahem Pressler, Distinguished Professor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Besides music, Marianne has collected a diverse resume of experiences. In Boston, she worked as an assistant producer of WGBH's The French Chef, working directly with legendary chef Julia Child. She also spent two years working with Harvard Professor Robert Albion in American History courses as an illustrator for sailors on Polaris submarines. Having earned a Legal Translation Training Certificate in Spanish from the University of Chicago in 2008, Marianne translates personal documents and recently gave tours in Spanish at the IMA's Sacred Spain exhibit.
Marianne is the author of Classical Music Without Fear: A Guide for General Audiences and co-author of Opera for All Seasons: 60 Years of Indiana University Opera Theater, from the Indiana University Press. Currently, she is working on two books: a history of Crown Hill Cemetery and a celebratory biography of David Higgins, set designer at the Indiana Opera Theatre at Indiana University's School of Music.
Employed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as their resident musicologist and writer of program notes, Marianne has frequently collaborated in concert with ISO musicians, and since 2009, has also written program notes for the Ensemble Music Society. Zach de Pue (ISO concertmaster), Geoffrey Lapin (ISO cellist), and Marianne were recently appointed as Trio in Residence for the new concert hall at the Old Centrum.
Always ready for a new endeavor, Marianne began studying the cello in 2009 and recently completed Veterinary Technology School. She works part-time at the Cat Care clinic, and at the heart of her daily life are Patches and Isabel, both "rescue kitties." She has 2 children, five grand children and five step grandchildren.
She serves on the Boards of the Indianapolis Symphony, IMA, Indy Baroque, Indiana Landmarks, Crown Hill Foundation, and over the past five years has rotated off 10 other boards in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Cambridge, MA.
Marianne says, "The board of Visitors at Butler gives an opportunity to link into a fascinating University right in my back yard. I see Butler as a city asset as well as a place of learning, and as a citizen I hope it will flourish. As an "outsider" I hope to bring perspectives from other arts organizations to the Board of Visitors which might be of use to them in their strategic plans, in their concepts of the school and its activities, and to provide a link to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (where I work) which could be helpful."
Giving Philosophy: First of all: you have to feel good about the request and confidence in the institution making the ask. Engage yourself in an institution or cause only when you have emotion or respect for it. Try to engage in the future of an organization as well as the present. A gift is something for the future, and if that future idea or plan has merit: then join in making it happen. The giving does not have to be money, but I am aware this is keenly important in making anything emerge in our modern society. Budget your own giving carefully..... try not to get carried away!
Jerry Toomer
Membership Committee Chair; Executive in Residence, Andre B. Lacy School of Business; Retired, Dow Chemical Company
In this professional career, Jerry has worked closely with key leaders to design effective strategies that clearly link individual and team effectiveness to total organizational performance. With 30+ years as a Human Resources Executive, Educator, and Psychologist, he has effectively worked with a wide range of individuals and work groups in achieving their professional and personal goals in complex organizations.
At Butler University, he has been actively involved in the development of a "Real Life, Real Business" curriculum and also serves as an Executive Partner in the College of Business as well as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program.
Jerry's academic credentials include a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Wartburg College and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa. For over 25 years, Jerry worked at The Dow Chemical Company and Dow AgroSciences, where he held senior leadership positions in Human Resources. He was a key member of Dow executive management teams that have successfully completed several corporate mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and global diversification initiatives. His effective blend of teaching experience, executive coaching & consulting skills and highly successful corporate work experience has provided a basis for sound, fundamental transition management.
Jerry's particular areas of expertise are Executive Coaching and Consulting; Not-for-Profit Leadership Development; Human Resources Strategy; Family Business Succession Planning; Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructuring and Global Diversification; and Leadership Selection & Development.
Giving Philosophy: Jerry Toomer's passion for music and the arts extends back to his youth. In high school and college he was part of several choral groups: "as a small town kid, it was my ticket to expanding my horizons in getting to know a wide range of people, and to travelling the US and the world. Now that I have time to give back to the Indianapolis and Butler communities, I find that the JCA is a perfect fit."
Anna White
Anna Seim White is a magna cum laude graduate of Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD, with a degree in music and English. She earned her M.M. degree from the University of Minnesota in American Literature and Piano, and studied at the Aspen School of Music and the University of Michigan. She served as an Associate and Assistant Professor at Chadron State University and at the University of North Dakota.
After moving with her husband, Jim, to Indianapolis, Anna taught private piano and began giving time as a volunteer with a number of arts organizations. Serving first as a volunteer for the arts education organization Young Audiences of Indiana, she subsequently served as its Executive Director. During her tenure, a number of YA collaborations were developed with Butler University, including an Artist/Intern program and a Summer Arts Institute for Teachers and Artists.
Anna has served as chair of the Board of Governors of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, as president of its Alliance and the Contemporary Art Society; she presently serves as a Trustee and a member of the Collections and Nominating Committees. She is also a board member of MIPB (WFYI). Anna served as chair of the International Violin Competition from 2002-2006, and continues on the board, and also served for a number of years on the boards of the Indianapolis Symphony, Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana Youth Institute and the Arts Council of Indianapolis.
Retired, Executive Director, Young Audiences of Indiana
In addition to being named a Sagamore of the Wabash, Anna has received the ARTI Award from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and the NUVO Cultural Vision Lifetime Achievement Award.
Timothy Wright ('73)
President, WTW, Inc.
Trevor Yager
Board of Visitors Chair; President and CEO, TrendyMinds
Trevor Yager began his career in 1995 while in college by founding TrendyMinds Inc., a full-service advertising/public relations/interactive firm. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Anderson University and less than a year later signed a contract with Tony Stewart to work with the professional racecar driver's public relations team handling online sales, marketing and advertising engagements. Trevor went on to work with various motor sports sponsors, team owners and sanctioning bodies, including The Home Depot, MBNA Bank, Emerson Electric, Dewalt, Coca-Cola, Circuit City, Shell, Pontiac, NASCAR and Joe Gibbs Racing.
In 2000, Seurat, a CRM solutions company, asked Trevor to become principal of motor sports sponsor relations and develop a Web portal that would enhance entertainment for fans while increasing sales and marketing for Seurat. The process Trevor developed led to several similar consulting engagements.
The next year, Trevor led TrendyMinds into a consulting relationship with LexisNexis and a $1.6 million dollar interactive solution implementation that combined product development, marketing, sales and an employee intranet.
Next up was Spirit Systems in Medicine, a disease management software company for which Trevor built the marketing and communications department. In addition, Trevor has consulted for and owned portions of several start-up entities dealing in technology, real estate development, restaurant and entertainment.
Today, he provides various levels of strategic planning, business development, marketing and technology guidance and support to Starbucks, Kevin Harvick Racing, Indiana University Health and other local, national and international clients.
In 2009, Junior Achievement recognized Trevor as one of Indy's Best & Brightest. In 2010, the President of the United States and the First Lady invited Trevor to the State of the Union. Also in 2010, Trevor was appointed to the Indiana Arts Commission by Governor Mitch Daniels. He is a board member of the Damien Center, a past board member of the American Cabaret Theatre, and is a member of the Fall Creek Place Homeowners Association.