Quynn Johnson, a graduate of both Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Harvard University, and native of Flint, Michigan, is an award-winning performing, teaching artist and author. She has toured as the tap soloist in the Tony Award-winning production After Midnight(NCL) and performed both nationally and internationally. Highlights include featured soloist in the Washington Ballet production of The Great Gatsby, Cirque du Soleil’s Mosaic production, the Festival Folclóricodel Pacífico and in Buenaventura and Cali, Colombia and has toured Peru as part of the Festival Internacional de Cajón Peruano. Quynn is the co-creator of the D.C.-based percussive dance company SOLE Defined with Ryan Johnson. A National Credential Residency Teaching Artist with Young Audiences and a WolfTrap TA, in 2014 and 2017, she won the Individual Artist Award for Dance Choreography (MSAC). As a teaching artist, Quynn has reached over 9,500 youth from pre-k through 12th grade with assemblies, residencies, and workshops. Her arts-integrated residencies bridge tap dance with literacy, math, Social-Emotional Learning. In 2011, Quynn became a self-published author with her children’s book, Lucky’s Tap Dancing Feet.  

Christina Farrell received a BFA in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University. She a Master Teaching Artist with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts and has led arts-integration experiences across the United States, as well as Singapore, India, South Korea and Mexico. She attended the 2018 Leadership Lab with Lincoln Center Education under the direction of Eric Booth and is a recipient of a 2011 Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship. Christina serves as a consultant, artist trainer and professional development provider for many arts organizations. Her collaborators have included Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Turnaround Arts Des Moines, ArtsBASICS Davenport, Toledo Opera, Any Given Child Iowa City, Iowa Arts Council, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Cedar Rapids Opera, Des Moines Ballet, and PNC Grow Up Great. In 2020, she founded Throughline Arts to foster teaching artist partnerships in her home state of Iowa.

Akwi Nji is a multidisciplinary artist creating in visual art, words, and voice. She was a 2016 Iowa Arts Council Fellow and has created art with and for communities across the country and in the state of Iowa including Ames, Decorah, Perry, Marshalltown, Waterloo, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines. Akwi is an arts ambassador currently serving on the Iowa Arts Council board of directors and Brucemore's board of trustees. She has produced over 100 events in recent years, involving more than 300 writers and performers, and has served as an advisor of Arts Midwest initiatives. Akwi was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and raised in Cameroon, Africa. Her experiences as a Cameroonian and Cameroonian American inform her work as artist and advocate. She lives in the Midwest with her two daughters, the family dog, and her daughters' cats. 

Since January 2022, Jennifer has served as the community relations manager at the GBPAC at UNI. Jennifer leads the educational programming and community outreach efforts of the center and guides collaborative community projects throughout northeast Iowa. Jennifer also serves as the campus liaison for Imagining America, a collective of colleges, universities and community partners dedicated to using public scholarship to create more just and equitable communities.  A longtime volunteer in the Cedar Valley, Jennifer has served on several local boards dedicated to equity and justice, including the city’s human rights commission, the school district’s equity committee, an regional economic inclusion council, and other area boards that address the concerns of marginalized groups.

Steve Carignan, celebrating his twenty second year as Executive Director at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, is responsible for overseeing all operations at the Center.   Steve also serves as Associate Dean for Outreach and Special Programs for the College of Humanities Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Iowa, overseeing all events and events facilities on campus.  Prior to moving to Iowa, Steve worked at the Maine Center for the Arts at the University of Maine for 14 years.  Steve is a leader and manager, a marketer, a fundraiser, and educator, a consultant, a husband and father of two fine young men. 

Since arriving in Iowa, Steve has worked with the Iowa Arts Commission and served on volunteer boards for Boy Scouts (Winnebago Council), YMCA, Waterloo Arts and Culture Board, Iowa Performing Arts Network, Waterloo Rotary and Iowa Public Radio. 

Steve Carignan received a bachelor's degree in history, a bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Dickinson College and also a Master's degree in theatre from the University of Maine.  Steve was named a fellow of the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Center for Social Innovation in 2003 and received his PhD in Higher Education at Iowa State University in 2012.

Travis Gratteau-Zinnel currently serves the Waterloo Community Schools as the district's Instructional Coach for Fine Arts. Under his umbrella of responsibilities, he supported K-12 art, music, and physical education teachers. Additionally, Travis supports arts integration initiatives through a partnership with the Kennedy Center and the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Travis is a former music educator, with experiences of PreK-12 vocal and 5-12 instrumental music. Travis has adjudicated festival choirs and directed middle school honor choirs.

In addition to his K-12 education career, Travis is a PhD candidate at Iowa State University. As part of the social and cultural studies of education program, Travis focuses on the ways in which students and communities are represented and sustained through curricular experiences. 

Kelsey Bowers, a literacy consultant with Central Rivers AEA, has served K-12 educators in both rural and urban districts for the past 6 years. In this role, she collaborates with leaders and educators to engage in professional learning to support the continuous improvement process, especially in the areas of early reading and writing, teacher clarity, social-emotional learning, and coaching. Kelsey holds an MAE in Literacy Education and K-12 Reading Specialist from the University of Northern Iowa. As a former elementary classroom practitioner, she has vast experiences with early and intermediate disciplinary literacy. Kelsey is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive learning environments, centering on authentic experiences, engagement, and learner agency.