Erico Ortiz (President) is a Puerto Rico native who served in various capacities within the Milwaukee Public Schools, including classroom aide, teacher, supervisor, and principal, until 2011. He has participated on multiple community boards, focusing on the arts, education, and religious organizations. In 2014, leveraging his extensive background in community theatre, Hispanic folk dance, Spanish folk guitar, and visual arts, he acquired a former funeral home in West Allis and successfully transformed it into an intimate and dynamic art gallery and performance venue known as Inspiration Studios. This establishment has become a welcoming space for both established and emerging artists and performers, fostering creativity and community engagement.

Codi Peters (Vice-President) is a local artist and small business owner from Miwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a 2014 UW Milwaukee alumni with a BFA in Digital Studio Practice. Codi has done freelance design and small local markets under her LLC FreshPrintsofMKE to sell her own paintings and artwork since graduating. In December of 2020 she and her husband Benjamin Buss opened Stalley Cats. Codi has become the resident designer and merchandise printer, marketing director, and bartender for Stalley Cats. She has developed their creative engagement in the community by hosting Gallery Nights monthly and also Art Classes. She takes pride in awareness and engagement in the artistic community and hopes to help showcase what makes West Allis a special place to be.

Suzann Campbell (Treasurer) studied Fashion Design and Theatre Arts at Mount Mary University, later earning a BA in Business Management and Communications from Concordia University. She’s owned MAC Costumes since 1995 and moved the business to West Allis, WI, in 2024. Suzann has been active in the arts community all of her career, including serving on boards for Modjeska Theatre, Charles Allis Art Museum, and currently, Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove.

Michael James Grassman is a Milwaukee based multi-instrumentalist, performer, creator, instructor, entertainment director, sound/lighting engineer and also an event DJ. Michael is the owner of Sound Check Entertainment, based in West Allis, Wi. Dabbling in just about everything music related.

Colleen Volland is the owner of Cream City Clay. What enables her to run this amazing business is the endless encouragement from her husband and two daughters.
Colleen has taught people of all ages since 1997. She holds a degree in K-12 grade Art Education and a Masters of Art. She loves to make large platters painted with a variety of materials such as slips, oxides, under glazes and wax resist. The finished pieces are often carved with figurative imagery. Working with others is her passion. Colleen loves to make collaborative public art works in the form of tile murals, sculptures and mosaic. In her free time you can often find her looking for new materials, tools and glaze recipes to share. Teaching is what she was put on the earth to do and she often says, “When my students excitedly tell me, they just created something that they didn’t think they could, I feel successful.”

Daniel Herro is an artist from West Allis, Wisconsin focusing on painting and small scale sculptures. His artwork was recently included in group exhibitions at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton and the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. Dan is currently the Head Designer and Preparator at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University and received his BFA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Chad Halvorsen brings over 20 years of experience in commercial, web, and film production. He has produced multiple award-winning projects and three feature films, with a strong focus on crafting compelling narratives across both fiction and documentary formats. In addition to his creative work, Chad is currently serving his first term as Alder for West Allis District 2.

Our board members—an inspiring group of dedicated volunteers—bring together diverse backgrounds and expertise from across the vast spectrum of the arts. With a shared passion for nurturing and promoting artistic expression in West Allis, we strive to create an inclusive environment where opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth flourish. Together, we celebrate the unique talents of our community, aiming to enhance the cultural landscape of our beloved city. Join us on this exciting journey as we cultivate the arts and inspire future generations of artists and art enthusiasts alike!

Meet Our Board

Our Founding Members

Carol Christ (The Rogues Artists Group)

Carol Glaser

Codi Peters (Stalley Cats)

Coelett Burgess

Colleen Volland (Cream City Clay)

Daniel Herro

Dan Kirchen

Debbie Callahan (The Martini Girls)

Deborah Mras

Diane Ulezelski

Erico Ortiz (Inspiration Studios)

Jacqulyn Tucker

Jean Kaldunski

Jenny Kosek

John Fleissner

Julie San Felipe

Kristin Gjersdset

Leigh White

Linnea Matthiesen (Wehr Nature Center Camera Club)

Marcia Hero (The Martini Girls)

Mary Kay Basso FLynn

Michael James Grassman (Sound Check Entertainment)

Patricia Eby (Suburban Singers)

Patrina & Jaime Hurtado (InTec)

Rob Barwick

Robb Hoffmann

Ronni Shmauz (Veronica's Palette)

Sky & Tony Capriolo

Sue Baker

Susan Hietala

Suzann Campbell (MAC Costumes)

Suzanne Singh

Tanya Gross

Teresa Amez

Terri Weninger

True McCarthy

WIllie Hailey

Yuliya Bay