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Melissa Levin is a values-driven arts administrator, artist-centered curator, and steadfast advocate for just and equitable practices in the arts. For more than 12 years, Melissa worked at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) where she was the Vice President of Cultural Programs. Her role encompassed wide-ranging institutional and artistic leadership, overseeing LMCC’s major artist-centered and public-facing initiatives including the River To River Festival, the Arts Center at Governors Island, and LMCC’s artist residency programs. She next led a newly formed Artists, Estates, and Foundations division at Art Agency, Partners in its inaugural three years. Starting in 2016, with collaborator Alex Fialho, Melissa has stewarded the legacy of and curated critically acclaimed exhibitions dedicated to the late artist Michael Richards, including Michael Richards: Winged (LMCC, 2016; Stanford University, 2019) and Richards’ first museum retrospective, Michael Richards: Are You Down? (The Bronx Museum, 2023–24; North Carolina Museum of Art, 2023; MOCA North Miami, 2021).

Melissa additionally serves on the boards of the Artist Communities Alliance and Danspace Project. She holds a B.A. with honors in Visual Art and Art History from Barnard College.

Ryan Stopera is a photographer, filmmaker, producer, and consultant based in Minneapolis. A self-taught artist, Ryan began his career working with individuals experiencing homelessness, children and families, and foster care youth, as well as in program development and affordable housing development. He began documenting protests in Minneapolis in the early 2000s, and since then his photos and films have helped elevate narratives not seen in the mainstream media and catalyzed his passion for documentary and narrative storytelling. Ryan is inspired by collaborating with artists to create intentional work, build authentic connections, and hold space for challenging conversations to move hearts and minds towards cultural and social change.

Born in Saigon and rooted in Minneapolis, Truc Anh (TA, pronouns she/hers) is a queer, Southeast Asian artist/maker, and racial justice grantmaker. She is passionate about creating the conditions for transformative change that centers racial, gender, and disability justice, especially at the intersections of LGBTQIA+ and Southeast Asian communities. In her previous role at Borealis Philanthropy, TA supported the Racial Equity to Accelerate Change (REACH) Fund which supported racial equity practitioners/capacity builders in the nonprofit sector.

As a 1.5 generation immigrant by way of war, Truc Anh is powered by stories of resistance and resilience. She practices art for healing and for joy. In her spare time, TA can be found outside in her garden, exploring the North Shore, cooking with her friends, or reading. Truc Anh graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology with a minor in Women & Gender Studies. 

Sun Yung Shin is an award-winning Korean-born poet, writer, educator, and cultural worker based in Minneapolis. She has worked in various sectors as a business analyst, technical writer, news editor, freelance journalist, equity and arts consultant, K-12 educator, and union steward. Her creative writing has been awarded grants, fellowships, and residencies from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the MacDowell Foundation, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), and elsewhere.

She is the author of a new memoir and five collections of poetry, and has edited three essay anthologies including A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota and What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories about Food and Family. Her volumes for young readers include the recent picture book Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs, co-authored with Mélina Mangal and illustrated by Leslie Barlow. Her creative and critical work can be found in BOMB Magazine, Frieze Week Seoul, American Composers Forum, Poetry, and many collaborative community spaces.

With Su Hwang she is the co-founder of Poetry Asylum, and she also teaches creative writing with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, the Loft Literary Center, and The Multitudes. As an author and frequent speaker she is represented by Aevitas Creative Management and Blue Flower Arts Literary Speakers Agency. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Coffee House Press, the Board of Directors of Loft Literary Center, the Editorial Board of Black Lawrence Press's Immigrant Writing Prize, and the Advisory Board of More Than a Single Story. In alignment with healing- and disability-justice frameworks, she also maintains a community-based practice as a somatic healing practitioner, facilitator, and biodynamic craniosacral therapist.

She is currently a Distinguished Dayton Hudson Visiting Artist/Writer at Carleton College for 2026-2027. Sun Yung holds a B.A. in English from Macalester College, a Master of Teaching degree from University of St. Thomas, and an M.F.A. Creative Writing and Poetics from Naropa University.

Photo by Karen Nygard.

Andrea Brown joined the Jerome Foundation in 2016. She came to the Jerome Foundation after five years at the Walker Art Center, where she was Associate Director of Strategic Marketing, and prior to that Associate Director of Digital Marketing and Marketing Manager. She worked in the New York office of the American Academy in Berlin before taking a 7-year detour into software at Marketing Bridge/Gage Marketing where she was Lead Account Supervisor.

Andrea has a B.A. in American Studies from Smith College.