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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:

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.

Andrea Mack is currently the Director of Bands at Manistee Area Public Schools in Manistee; a position she has held since 2016. She conducts the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Bands, as well as the HS Symphonic, Marching and Jazz Bands. She held similar positions in Allegan and Litchfield, Michigan, as well as Fort Madison, Iowa and St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Mack graduated with honors from Michigan State University with a Bachelor's degree in Instrumental Music Education and with honors from Western Michigan University with a Master of Music degree. Andrea currently serves on the MSBOA State Executive Board as the Vice President of Jazz Activities and on the Equity, Music Selection, and Commissioning Committees. She is an active adjudicator for MSBOA, MCBA, and Scholastic Marching Bands. She is a member of ASBDA and NBA. In 2020, she was recognized by the membership of MSBOA as the Teacher of the Year for Band. She also serves as the treasurer of the Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the North Country Trail Association

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.

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.

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.

Margaret Pierson of Traverse City retired after 37 years as an Elementary music teacher. She continues to follow her passion of sharing music with people of all ages. She is currently on staff with Heart to Heart music, providing singing experiences with residents of various Assisted Living facilities in the Grand Traverse region. Her second term expires June 2023. 

Bill Northway, of Frankfort, is a newly retired orthodontist who has loved being able to improve the bites and smiles of Northern Michigan for the past 40 years.  He continues to publish, lecture and serve on the review committees for numerous orthodontic journals.  Having accomplished his secondary education at a boarding preparatory academy, he has come to know many of the Interlochen students as orthodontic patients.  Thus, he has seen first hand what a Wonderful World Experience is being provided at IAC and wants to participate.  His second term expires October 2023.

Beth Fitzsimmons, Ph.D, of Frankfort, founded and operated Information Strategists for 26 years, providing information services to high tech companies and government agencies.  She consulted for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and chaired the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.  She has served as Regent for Eastern Michigan University.  In Frankfort, she serves on the Board of the Oliver Art Center and assists EMU with programming at the Parsons Center for Arts and Sciences in Lake Ann. Her second term expires October 2023. 

Tom Berg, of Traverse City, is a retired food industry executive.  Tom  held various management positions in sales, marketing, private label and business development. He has served on the  boards and councils of Junior Achievement, Private Label Manufacturing Association, Michigan Grocers and Special Olympics of Michigan. Tom and his wife are active volunteers at Interlochen Center for the Arts. His second term expires October 2023.

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.

Tom Quinn

Whitney Waara

Raul Gomez

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