Lisa Woodruff Hedin, Executive Director came to us highly recommended from the arts community. She has nearly ten years experience in non profit management, and another ten plus years in for profit event management/food service/catering. She is well connected across northwest Indiana in the arts. A decade ago, she served on the steering committee for the Towle Theatre in Hammond, turning an abandoned century-old opera house into the now-popular premier downtown venue for music and stage productions. More than five years as marketing director with South Shore Arts, she assisted expansion of the organization from its parochial Northwest Indiana Arts Association roots to a current embrace of all Lake Michigan communities. And today, her mission is to transform a shuttered Indiana Harbor library building into a state-of-the-art regional arts center.
Lauren Bukovac, Director of Administration, is a native of East Chicago and a graduate of Saint Mary’s College, in Notre Dame, IN. Lauren previously worked as a Senior Account Executive for a prominent advertising agency in Chicago where she managed several national accounts. Upon her return to Northwest Indiana she began working as Campaign Coordinator for the Board of the Carnegie Arts Center and has been instrumental in securing funding for this pivotal project. Lauren has a strong sense of community and is an active member of the St. Joseph Carmelite Guild.