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Arts Midwest Welcomes Three New Members to Board of Directors 

Arts Midwest is excited to welcome Rishard Allen, Cari Hatcher, and Christine Her to our Board of Directors. Representing the states of Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa, respectively, these individuals bring experience and knowledge in philanthropy, arts presenting, and marketing to our Board.  

“We are so fortunate to have Rishard, Cari, and Christine joining our Board,” said Board Chair Brian Tiemann. “Their wisdom, energy, and skills will serve us well as we embark on Arts Midwest’s newest chapter.” 

“Rishard, Cari, and Christine are joining the Board at an exciting time for our organization,” said President & CEO Torrie Allen. “I am looking forward to working with them as we support, inform, and celebrate Midwestern creativity.” 

Headshot of a smiling person of dark skin tone and very short black hair and beard/mustache, wearing a striped suit jacket with a red tie and flower. In the background many gold and red glass light fixtures hang from the ceiling.
Photo Credit: Rishard Allen

Rishard Allen 

Rishard Allen is a philanthropic leader with experience in grants management and administration, program management, and racial equity initiatives. He currently serves as an Equitable Initiatives Officer at The Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), and is responsible for managing the foundation’s role in a national cohort of community foundations developing a common strategy to dismantle systemic racism—entitled Nexus for Equity + Opportunity Nationwide (NEON)—along with other projects to expand support for grassroots community organizers and to expand the foundation’s community leadership into the public policy arena. 

Formerly, Rishard served as the Director of Grant Services at the Arts Council of Indianapolis and as a Program Director at Arts for Learning Indiana prior to that. He has also lent his talents to several local, regional, and national working groups and committees, including IndyHub, WolfBrown, Americans for the Arts, Arts Midwest, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Community Foundation Opportunity Network. 

Rishard obtained his B.S. in Arts Management from Indiana University Bloomington in 2017 and is currently pursuing his M.A. in Philanthropic Studies at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.   

Headshot of a smiling person of light skin tone and long black hair, wearing hoop earrings, a necklace, and a maroon shirt under a black jacket.
Photo Credit: Cari Hatcher

Cari Hatcher 

Cari Hatcher is the Director of Business Development & Customer Support at Northrop at the University of Minnesota, where she is responsible for all marketing, communications, and ticketing at Northrop; ticketing services for customers on all five U of M system campuses; and the U of M Twin Cities Campus Events Calendar. Cari has 30 years of experience in marketing, communications, media relations, fundraising, campus and community engagement, education, analytics, and strategic planning, and has worked in arts administration for the last 17 years. She served on the Arts and Entertainment Committee of the 2018 Minnesota Super Bowl, University of Minnesota Institute for Advanced Study Advisory Board, St. Louis Park Community Foundation, and the City of St. Louis Park’s Arts and Culture Grant Committee, and has done event planning and corporate sponsorships for Volunteers of America of Minnesota.  

Cari received her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Arts and Culture Leadership, also from the University of Minnesota. 

A smiling person of medium light skin tone with pink and black hair, wearing red lipstick and white rimmed cat eye glasses, and a black and white jacket.
Photo Credit: Christine Her

Christine Her

Christine Her currently serves as the Executive Director of ArtForce Iowa, a nonprofit organization based in Des Moines. Founded in 2012, ArtForce Iowa has a mission to transform youth in need through art. The organization is pioneering a non-pathologizing approach to working with youth who have court involvement or identify as refugee and immigrant, offering a critical humanizing perspective using art and music.  

Christine is also a HealthConnect Fellow with the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, focusing her project on developing diverse and healing-centered texts reflecting authentic stories of individuals who are minoritized and marginalized. She is also part of Capital Crossroads’ DSM USA 4 Equity Collective and the Des Moines Performing Arts (DMPA) Equity Diversity Inclusivity (EDI) Community Task Force.  

Christine is highly motivated to interrupt social and systemic injustices with hope and art while helping others rise in their own power and lean into their purpose. 

Christine is the daughter of Hmong refugee parents from Laos. She graduated from East High School in Des Moines, Iowa, and pursued her B.A. at Drake University, studying Creative Writing, Philosophy, and Political Science. She was named “One of 15 people to watch in the State of Iowa” for 2021.