Arts Administration Faculty & Staff

Brenda Lee Johnston received her Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management with an emphasis in Dance and a minor in Theatre Arts—Drama from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She held an internship in the Marketing and Public Relations Department at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Following her internship, Brenda filled in during a maternity leave in the Development Department at First Stage Children’s Theater. Her first full-time position was as the Development Manager at Skylight Opera Theatre (now Skylight Music Theatre).  In August 2004, she took on the role of Founding Director of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center (SMPAC). After six years at SMPAC, she pursued a dual Master’s degree in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University and Innovation and Organization of Culture and the Arts from Universita di Bologna in Italy. Her graduate thesis research was conducted at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History under the guidance of Nina Simon. Her thesis is entitled, “The Roles of Museums in Communities: Social Inclusion & Community Engagement.” She joined the Arts Administration faculty at Butler University after serving as the Executive Director of the Schauer Arts Center and teaching as an adjunct lecturer at UW-Stevens Point. She has performed with Skylight OperaTheatre, Wild Space Dance Company, Katie Sopoci and Michelle DiMeo for DanceWorks Performance Company’s “Art to Art”, Cantare Chorale, and others.

Amy graduated from Northern Michigan University with a BS in mathematics and a minor in Computer Science. She worked for 15 years as a computer programmer before staying home with her two children. At Butler, she was previously the administrative assistant for Computer Science and the Faculty Senate before moving to JCA where she is the administrative assistant for the departments of Art and Arts Administration.