mission, staff & board

Leah Gabriel, Tarah Flanagan, Vanessa Morosco, Sarah Mountjoy-Pepka,
and Alex Campbell in Twelfth Night, 2022. Photo by Sydney Swanson.

our mission

Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF) is a nonprofit, professional theater company in Winona, MN 

The mission of the Great River Shakespeare Festival is to enrich people’s lives by creating dynamic, clearly understood productions of Shakespeare and other playwrights who celebrate the spoken word.

Our core Values

Respect, empathy, and compassion

Excellence, authenticity, and innovation

Diversity and inclusiveness

Outreach and education

Accessibility and affordability

Honesty, responsibility, and accountability

OUR YEAR-ROUND STAFF

OUR BOARD

Board Chair

Kris Blanchard
Vice President, VA CCN Deputy Program Manager, Logistics Health, Inc.

Vice-Chair

Paul Mundt
Attorney, Legal Aid – retired

Treasurer

Alan Leonhardt
CFO, Peerless Chain – retired

Secretary

Mary Alice Anderson
Media Specialist, Winona Area Public Schools – retired

 

Directors

Mary Adams
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer; Senior Officer, TCF Bank – retired

Jacquelyn Banicki
Loan Processor, WNB Financial

Cherisa Broadwater
Owner, Cherisa’s Skin Care Spa; Adjunct Professor, Minnesota State College Southeast

Gary Diomandes
Theater Professor Emeritus, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Jack Hedin
Owner/Operator, Featherstone Farm

Jill Krase
Owner, Ovenbird Bindery – retired

Beth Forkner Moe
CEO, Envision It Together

Amaria Najem O'Leary
Librarian, retired; Arts Volunteer & Docent

Kelley Olson
Philanthropy Director, Lutheran Campus Center

Gaby Peterson
Owner, Yarnology

Tom Stoa
Physician, Mayo Clinic Health System & Winona Health