Community Advisory Council
Interlochen Public Radio is owned and governed by the Interlochen Center for the Arts and its Board of Trustees, with advice from our Community Advisory Council.
Current members are listed below.
Objectives
Help IPR engage with the communities it serves
Help IPR think strategically about its mission
Help IPR find the financial resources needed to thrive
Structure
Advisory boards are required of most public broadcasting stations to help stations serve their community effectively. The CAC is composed of at least 10 members serving two-year terms. A member may serve two consecutive terms for a total of four years and then must rotate off for at least one year. Members are appointed by IPR’s Executive Director who chairs meetings of the full council.
Expectations of CAC Board Members
1. Represent the interests of the communities served by IPR.
2. Be well versed in IPR’s mission, programs, services, strengths and needs.
3. Participate in three annual council meetings.
4. Actively serve on council committees.
5. Be willing to serve in a leadership capacity when asked.
6. Support IPR financially at a personally meaningful level.
7. Actively engage in open and honest dialogue about IPR programming.
8. Offer advice to Interlochen Trustees regarding IPR as required by federal law.
9. Identify candidates to serve as new advisors.
The role of the Council is purely advisory. Fiduciary responsibility and governance of IPR rests ultimately with the Interlochen Center for the Arts Board of Trustees.
IPR's Community Advisory Council meetings are open to the public. Learn more about upcoming meetings here.
IPR Community Advisory Council Members:
Raul Gomez was 5 years old when he came to the U.S. from a tiny village in Mexico. His father, who had been working on farms in Georgia and Florida for many years, was legalized under President Ronald Reagan’s amnesty act in 1986. This opened the possibility for Raul’s mother and then Raul to join him. When Raul and his family moved to northern Michigan they found work on the Old Mission Peninsula, renting migrant housing from Joshua and Barb Wunsch, long-time cherry and apple farmers. The family connections grew. After graduating from Grand Valley State University, Raul returned to the area and is now the managing partner of Third Coast Fruit Company at Wunsch farms and an integral part of the OMP farming community.
Megan Holtrey was born and raised in Southeastern Michigan. She holds a BS in Anthropology and Classics from Grand Valley State University. She worked for five years within the Grand Rapids museum scene as a volunteer, intern and employee. After moving to Traverse City, MI, she accepted a job at the Dennos Museum Center and rose through the ranks to Operations Manager. In 2020, Megan was one of 15 arts and culture professionals to complete the Michigan Arts & Culture Council “Rising Leaders” leadership program. In addition to serving on the Community Advisory Council for IPR, she currently serves as vice president of the Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network board and as the treasurer for the Friends of the Traverse Area District Library.
Al Manner grew up in Traverse City where he was active in all aspects of the music department, and later went on to join the Michigan State University Spartan marching band while studying Ecology and Mathematics. Since returning to Traverse City he has baked countless pizzas and sourdough loaves in wood-fired ovens, and now puts the same care and attention into his work as the Director of Grants and Data at United Way of Northwest Michigan. Outside of work he can be found playing music around town or listening to IPR on his sailboat in Bowers Harbor.
Leah McCallum is the founder of Blue Orange Consulting – a Great Lakes place-based consulting firm connecting people, projects and places. She leverages nonprofit and political experience in her volunteer work and in assisting her clients. Before launching Blue Orange, she was a high school English teacher, and worked with Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, Rotary Charities of Traverse City, the Detroit Zoological Society, and Northwestern Memorial Foundation in Chicago. She also represented Senator Gary C. Peters throughout 26 counties in Northern Lower Michigan, serving as a liaison to federal agencies. Since launching Blue Orange in 2018, she’s served loads of fantastic clients in advancing community development endeavors that help Northern Michigan to thrive. In her volunteer capacity, she has served on the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors, the Munson Community Health Advisory Board, and currently serves on the boards of the Michigan State Police, the Michigan State University Agriculture and Biology Research State Advisory Council, and Planned Parenthood of Michigan. She's currently collaborating with a dynamic group of women to revive the Grand Traverse Region Athena Award - bringing it back in 2023! Her favorite color is green and she’s not a fan of The Doors.
Emily Modrall lives in Traverse City. She is Chief of Staff at Boomerang Catapult, a Traverse City venture capital firm, and is a board member of the Traverse Area Historical Society. Emily's family has a three-generation-and-counting connection to Interlochen; she is an alumna of Interlochen Arts Camp and Academy, and her husband is a year-round theatre faculty member. Before returning to northern Michigan where she grew up, Emily worked in higher education in the US and Europe as an archaeologist.
Jessica Ann Rickert, D.D.S. is the first female American Indian Dentist in the world, a proud member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Dr. Rickert attended the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1975. From 1975 to 2014 she owned her private dental practice. She served on the Michigan Urban Indian Health Council Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors of the Society of American Indian Dentists, among many others. Recently retired, she is the Anishinaabe Dental Outreach Specialist with Delta Dental of Michigan. Her first term on the council ended in June 2022.
Kama Ross recently retired from her position as the Forestry Assistance Program Forester for Leelanau, Benzie, and Grand Traverse Conservation Districts. She also enjoyed a career as an outdoor environmental educator. After receiving her forestry degree from Michigan State University, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, currently serving as the President of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Northern Michigan. Kama plans to return to volunteer service in West Africa as soon as Peace Corps is back. Kama has three grown children (two who graduated from IAC) and lives just north of Cedar. Traveling and music are two of her other passions which bring joy to her life. Her first term ends in November 2023.
Ty Schmidt was born and raised on the Canadian prairies, now proud northern Michigander, Ty is a physical therapist by training and a social entrepreneur at heart. Before founding the Good Works Lab to tackle community health, housing, and climate with science and stubborn optimism, Ty co-founded Carter’s Compost and Norte. He lives in Traverse City’s Oak Park neighborhood with his wife, Johanna, and two sons, where IPR plays on the kitchen radio from sunrise to sunset.
Tom Quinn, born and raised in Manistee, Michigan, is a graduate of Oakland University, Oklahoma City University, and Georgetown University School of Law. Tom began his legal career with the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, in Washington, D.C. Tom was also Tax Counsel at New England Mutual Life Insurance Company in Boston which eventually became the Tax Counsel at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York. For many years, Tom served on the Board of Directors and as president of the Insurance Tax Conference, an organization solely devoted to providing continuing education to insurance tax executives. He was also a very active member of the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation.
A long supporter of classical music, Tom was an early member of Interlochen Public Radio's Advisory Board and was on the Board during IPR's transition from an all music station to the two station format (news/music) in existence today. He worked with many members of the IPR community to expand IPR's signal strength in an attempt to reach as many listeners in the area as possible.
Whitney Waara grew up in Marquette, Michigan, and is now the Chief Operating Officer at Traverse City Tourism. She launched her professional career in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a consultant for Arthur Anderson, LLP, Sprint and the US Postal Service. She also owned and operated a USDA-certified organic produce farm.
Whitney spent a decade working for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in various management roles. After relocating to northern Michigan in 2014, she continued to bring her expertise in operations and project management to the Land Information Access Association (LIAA) and Ask Big Questions based in Evanston, Illinois.
Locally, Waara has served on the Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation Commission and as a volunteer at Interlochen Public Radio and the Glenn Loomis Montessori school. She and her husband Sam Augusta have three sons.
Liaisons from our Board of Trustees, Nancy Hoagland, Sumit Sengupta, and Cindy Hann.
Former CAC Members:
Elara Coleman of Traverse City
Ron Becker of Glen Arbor
Larry Mawby of Suttons Bay
Pam Horne of Interlochen
Walter Muellenhagen of Traverse City
Peter Bergin of Traverse City
Charles (Charlie) MacInnis of Harbor Springs
Karen Puschel Segal of Traverse City
Tom Quinn of Manistee
Suzy Voltz of Frankfort
Whitney Waara of Traverse City
Robert H. (Bob) Giles of Traverse City
Nancy Giles of Traverse City
Evy Kaplan Sussman of Northport
Marcia Curran of Frankfort
Stephie Luyt of Traverse City
Sarah Helge of Manistee
John Martin McDonald of Frankfort
Isaiah Wunsch of Traverse City