Our Staff
Shelley Darcy, Executive Director
Shelley has fifteen years experience studying and performing improvisational theater both in Los Angeles and Portland. She performs in Portland with Brainwaves Improv Comedy . For the last seven years she has also been a trainer/facilitator for On Your Feet a consultancy that uses improv theater techniques in the corporate world to teach creativity, collaboration and communication. On Your Feet’s clients include Disney, Nike, Intel, GE and many more. In 2007 she began using improv theater to teach life skills to kids.
Nicholas Kessler, Education Director
Nicholas Kessler is the Eduation Director for Super Project Lab, the Education Coordinator for The Liberators, and a Teaching Associate with Portland Center Stage. Nicholas consults throughout Oregon with non-profits such as United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, Outside In, Future Business Leaders of America, Portland Bus Project, Politicorps, and Hillcrest Detention Center. Nicholas has acted, directed, and produced theatre in Manhattan, he carries a degree from Kalamazoo College, and currently performs with the most talented and popular casts throughout Portland.
OUR BOARD
Gwen Schnurman, Treasurer
Gwen is an independent consultant with a strong focus on political strategy, fundraising and outreach. She has worked in Portland since 1990. She has worked for Attorney General Hardy Myers, Multnomah County Chairwoman Bev Stein’s (during her run for Mayor), Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, the Children’s Levy (known as The Children’s Investment fund), The Library Levy and The Parks and Recreation Levy.
Chris Thompson, Secretary
As a technical communicator, Chris provides information-management and architecture solutions to enterprise software companies.
Chris studied improvisational theater with the Groundlings in Los Angeles and was a main-stage company player with San Francisco’s BATS Improv for many years. An award-winning photographer and filmmaker, Chris’ most recent film screened at prominent film festivals around the country. Chris currently writes and produces Cowboy Little’s Big Wild West Show, a monthly variety show in Portland, Oregon.
Susan Fodell, President
Susan is a speech and language pathologist with a focus on the pediatric population. She has worked with a wide range of children from infancy through the teenage years in both clinic and school settings. Currently, she works for Portland Public Schools at Madison High School and at Oregon Health and Sciences University as a research associate.
Cathy Calvin, Board Member
Daryl Newmark, Board Member
David Mayne, Board Member
Strategic Creative Director/Director David S. Mayne is a filmmaker with over 30 years experience. As a veteran storyteller David has created commercials, PBS documentaries, shorts, screenplays, and a feature film. He was a creative director and the sole director at R2C Group for eight years and helped nurture the growth of that company through award-winning successful campaigns. His clients include: AOL, Adidas, Chase, Electrolux, HP, Netscape, Philips, Sunbeam, Sports Illustrated, Vonage and Goodwill.
As an accomplished documentary filmmaker. His work includes two PBS films, Soleri’s Cities: Architecture For Planet Earth and Beyond, about visionary environmental architect Paolo Soleri, and Taliesin: The Legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright. David is a producer/director/writer for the popular national PBS series History Detectives and was the winner of Cine Golden Eagle award for Wet Alberta, a theatrical environmental education documentary created for the Government of Alberta.
David’s company, Very Sirius Productions is an innovative Creative Services Agency that specializes in strategic creative media that strengthens brands, educates customers and compels them to buy. Very Sirius Productions operates on the principle of Sustainable Advertising and forms creative partnerships with its clients.
Keith Forman, Board Member
Gary Hirsch, Board Member