Board Members

Sarah Tisdale, Former President

Santa Cruz, CA

In addition to being on the Board of Atelier5, Sarah is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist. She spends much of her free time walking her 2 dogs-Comet and Lord Humungous "Huey", petting her 2 cats-Persephone and Carmelita, playing with her 2 mice-Sam and Dean and watching her 2 leopard gheckos-Lilitu and Lalya. Sarah has loved dance since her first Tap class at age 4. She still can be found Shuffling off to Buffalo today. Sarah is excited to be a part of Atelier5 and the mission of Artpath.

Angela Lindsay-Feist, Acting President

Santa Cruz, CA

Angela’s education in the arts began early on with special focus in visual art, dance, and creative writing. The arts have influenced her life powerfully, developing her abilities to consciously create her life, opening her mind, enhancing (uplifting or deepening) everything she does and experiences. She found the arts provided magical pathways for self-development and expression; divine connection and healing; and social understanding and influence.

In the visual arts she has twelve years of study in a variety of styles and mediums. Creative writing became an interest for Angela in high school through her studies in Russian and European literature; she has spent the last four years studying with local author and mentor Carolynn Brigit Flynn and Sonoma County author, writing mentor, and vision quest guide Susan Hagen. Angela also has twenty-six years of dance training: performance, stage production, and choreographic experience. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at San Jose State University, formally graduating in spring of 2016. Her most extensive technical training was in ballet, the modern technique of José Limón under the tutelage of Gary Masters, and contemporary choreography with Fred Mathews and Mina Garman. Angela is also a teacher and coach. She is a Certified Natural Rhythms Dance Facilitator. In addition she is a Divine Pathways™ Life Support Coach, Women’s Guide to Emotional Liberation and Divine Empowerment.

She believes the arts are essential for all people and excited to see how she can support ARTPATH to bring wonderful experiences to children. She feels that the arts provide sacred pathways and create safe spaces where people can explore, discover, and express the individual and group experience.

Emily Coffee, Treasurer

Santa Cruz, CA

Emily is excited to join the board of Atelier5 as well as support the growth of ArtPath within our communities. As an artist herself, she believes it is important to providing youth with the opportunity to experience, practice and empower themselves through the utilization of expressive/creative arts. Emily graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University with a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis in Art Therapy. From childhood to her early teens, Emily enjoyed various types of dance including ballet, tap, and jazz with fond memories of building friendships and performing. In her spare time she enjoys taking walks to the beach with her husband and dog or giving her cat cuddles. She also enjoys spending time in her garden growing vegetables or creating art.

Monique Vasconcellos, Advisory Board Member

Santa Cruz, CA

I have been involved with the arts my entire life. I went through various stages of practicing art, from dancing as a young child, documenting my late teens and early adulthood through a lens, to discovering how to create and build complex forms with my hands. Now I am able to give back my experiences and knowledge in the arts to my high school students. When I am not engaged in the arts, I enjoy spending time with my husband, our two cats, friends, family, relaxing and possibly enjoying a movie or a book. In my spare time I am co-owner of local company that creates all natural, body care products.

Morgan Boyd, Former Secretary

Santa Cruz, CA

Morgan Boyd graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Hunter College in New York. Returning to California he went on to earn an MA in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University, with a thesis entitled The Gold Mountain Theater Riots: A Social History of Chinese Theater Riots in San Francisco during the 1870s and 1880s. Morgan is now actively writing noir crime stories and most recently had “Finder’s Fee” published by Shotgun Honey, an online fiction publisher. He now resides in Santa Cruz, California with his wife, two cats and a menagerie of carnivorous plants.

Lauren Cox, On-call Legal Advisor

Santa Cruz, CA

Lauren is very excited to be the legal advisor for Atelier5 and Artpath. Lauren started dance classes at a young age in Louisiana and spent summers studying at Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and the Rock School of Ballet in Philadelphia. She attended North Carolina School of The Arts for her final two years of high school, after which she went on to perform with the Washington Ballet and ARKA Ballet Company in Washington D.C. The arts education Lauren received gave her an outlet for her imagination and helped her develop a sense of discipline, self-motivation, and creativity that continues to aid her in her work as a trial attorney and mother of a rambunctious and music-loving toddler.

Donna Von Joo-Tornell, Artistic Director

Santa Cruz

Donna Von Joo-Tornell is the Artistic Director for Atelier5, a nonprofit contemporary dance company based in Santa Cruz, California. Under her artistic direction the company’s objectives include collaborations with other artists, dance performances in alternative spaces, and is informed by the belief that everyone is entitled to dance. She has an AA in dance from Cabrillo college and a BA in dance from San Jose State University where she had the opportunity to dance with Limón West and UDT. She has been seen in Cat Wiilis’ Diaspora; with Stamping Zebra Dance Company; Crash, Burn, and Die; BelCobra Dance; Shipp Dance Theatre, and Margaret Wingrove Dance. She has seen her work produced throughout the Bay Area including The Santa Cruz Fringe Festival; 418 Project; DanceWorks; Eddie Gale's Concert for World Peace; Modernbook /Gallery 494, the Retail Dance Festival, San Francisco and has enjoyed several collaborations with installation artist Sieglinde Van Damme. In addition she has been on Faculty at Dancenter in Capitola; Shuffles, Ben Lomond; TWDCC, Santa Cruz, and is a resident dance artist for ArtPath, a program that brings dance to public schools.

Gregory Graalfs, Business Director

Santa Cruz, CA

In Cambridge, Massachusetts during the 1990s Greg Graalfs first attended a performance by Mark Morris Dance Company and, for the first time, enjoyed the art of dance. Back in California, he continued to enjoy dance including ballet and modern dance. He has especially enjoyed learning about choreographer Jose Limón and seeing the company perform. Greg has been a board member and Business Director of Atelier 5 since its founding. He is especially excited about the company’s efforts to bring dance into public schools and to audiences not usually given a chance to see modern dance performances. Otherwise, his career has been in printing and publishing. He is the Northwest Sales Representative for Sheridan Books. He has a BA in “The Art of the Book” from The University of California, Santa Cruz and an MBA from Boston University. He has published articles on book history topics and curated exhibitions including a recent one entitled Outlaw Publishers. He also enjoys I photography, singing in a choir, and riding his mountain bike at Wilder State Park.