Welcome New Staff and New Board Members!

The Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance has had some changes recently. In November 2022 the board of directors elected several new members. In January 2023 PRAA hired a new staff member to manage the Folk and Traditional Arts partnership through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. We are delighted to welcome them!

Lindsay Herring has just started her work as a folklorist/consultant in the Folk and Traditional Arts program.  She has a Masters of Arts in Food Studies from Chatham University and a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre and Dance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is a creative journalist, folklorist and programmer.  She will work with PRAA’s executive director and board of directors to create and build our newest program.  We are so excited to see this new initiative grow! Welcome Lindsay!

At the November 2022 board meeting, Kristie Taylor, Andrea Verobish, and Mary Briggs were elected to the board of directors. We are delighted to have these new board members as a part of the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance!

• Kristie Taylor is an educator, school administrator, and a theater artist. She is currently a teacher in the Dubois Area School District, and is also involved with several non-profit organizations in the area. During her time in education, she has worked to enhance the lives of her students and communities by implementing and supporting arts programs.
• Andrea Verobish is a Constituent Services Representative for Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15).  Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Master of Public Administration degree, both from Gannon University in Erie, PA. Over the past ten years she has worked in local, state, and federal government.   She is a former president and active member of the Hollidaysburg Area Women’s Club and a Blair County Republican Committeewoman.
• Mary Briggs, a native of Westmoreland County, returned to the area in 2013 from Arlington, Virginia where she worked as an artist, fiddler, and arts manager at Arlington Cultural Affairs. There she managed services to artists, developed programs to support folk and traditional arts, and created projects that reflected history, culture, and the evolution of local communities. After moving to Pennsylvania, she worked for Folk Arts, PA and was on the faculty at Goucher College in Towson, MD as an adjunct lecturer before joining forces with Jen Costello to create You Are Here: a place for art in Jeannette, PA.

Click here to learn more about our newest board members and the rest of our board members.