Our DKAF Board Members:

  • Teresa Aportela Sergott is a graduate of Villanova University with a BA in Religious Studies and a minor in Theatre. She also holds an MA from UW-Parkside in Professional Communications with an emphasis in People Operations and is certified in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She is a Fractional Operations Director for remote-first digital companies and small business consultant. Teresa has acted in the NE Wisconsin area with local companies such as Theatre Z and Play-by-Play Theatre. A first-generation Cuban-American, she is a live theatre enthusiast and performing arts advocate in Green Bay, WI.

  • Joseph Kaftan graduated from UW Madison, studied graphic design at the American University in Washington DC. He designed booked and CD covers. He is currently a mosaic artist represented by many fine galleries through the country including Edgewood Orchard Galleries. Joseph produced the tribute to Pat MacDonald CD series, as well as a concert of the same 70 plus artists. Joseph teaches workshops nationally, including The Miller Art Museum. Joseph is a part time kayak instructor and lives half his time in Seattle WA.

  • Tom McKenzie is a 1995 graduate of Lawrence University where he majored in English. After graduating Lawrence University, Tom moved to Door County, where he and David Eliot co-founded the Peninsula Pulse newspaper. Tom lived in Los Angeles for over 20-years where he cultivated and stewarded public-private partnerships to benefit the Los Angeles Arts Education Collective, an initiative of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. He also worked for a variety of LA-based arts nonprofits and for the California Association of Professional Employees MEBA AFL-CIO. He now serves as the Director at Björklunden, Lawrence University’s north campus. In addition, he volunteers in leadership roles for community groups such as the Door County Climate Change Coalition, the Door Kinetic Art Festival and the Peninsula Arts and Humanities Alliance. Tom is a network weaver, capacity builder, and fundraiser who translates these qualities into a leadership style rooted in reverence, collaboration, and creativity.

  • With a diverse background spanning from event management to digital marketing, Jess is an event producer with nearly 20 years of experience activating brands through engagement. Prior to starting her own marketing and communications business, she served as the event director and property manager at the Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, where she played a pivotal role in launching and managing the Kress Pavilion, fostering over 700 community events. She spent most of her early career in brand activation based in Portland, Oregon. There she worked with the city's cornerstone music festival, MusicFestNorthwest, launched the beloved Eat Mobile food cart festival, and brought brands to life with Portland Monthly, and Willamette Week.

  • Artist Stephanie Trenchard has a BFA from Illinois State University. Since 1998 she and her husband, artist Jeremy Popelka, have owned and operated Popelka Trenchard Glass, a hot glass studio in Sturgeon Bay’s Creative District. They also own SŌMI Gallery, a contemporary art gallery that exhibits the work of a select few local artists. Trenchard is known for her cast glass sculpture, abstract oil painting and poetry. In addition to many private collections, her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Wisconsin Art and the Warehouse Museum. She has been published in The Write Launch, Black Fox Literary Magazine, and other fine publications. She taught glass art at Corning School of Glass (New York), Bangkok Glass (Thailand), Pratt (Seattle) and the Richter School (Amsterdam). Prior to moving to Door County to start their glass studio, Trenchard worked for twelve years as a textile and product designer in San Francisco. Today, in addition to the Door Kinetic Art Festival, she serves on the Board of Directors of Peninsula School of Art and the Steel Bridge Creative Foundation; she also is a member of the Sturgeon Bay Local Arts Board.