Staff Members
Kim Keith
Executive Director
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Kim Keith is a catalyst for creative oriented endeavors in Northwest Colorado with an eye for innovation and creative problem-solving. Her prodigious creative skill set and experience revolving around design, marketing and event coordination, advocacy and community development ensure a multi-faceted approach to the Steamboat Springs Arts Council non-profit organization (DBA: Steamboat Creates), benefiting the entire region of Routt County and Northwest Colorado. Kim is the Executive Director of Steamboat Creates and also serves on the CO Humanities Board of Directors, Colorado Mountain College Advisory Committee, the Routt County Economic Development Council, many task force and community collaborations. Prior to becoming an arts administrator and certified Change Leader through the Colorado Creative Industries, she worked as a creative consultant for Advocates – Building Peaceful Communities, conceptualizing and creating a symbol for the victims that had been helped by the Advocates organizations in their 30 year history (2013). Over 7,000 origami doves were folded, each one to represent each person helped by Advocates: men and women, children and adults, those who died and those who survived.
Kim believes that everyone has the capacity to create and through the creative process, we can live a more informed, empathetic and healthier life. She harnesses the powerful forces of talented staff, complimentary nonprofits, thousands of passionate volunteers, entrepreneurs and students. Art has the capacity to heal our hearts, communicate our
unique perspective and maximize our social sector to create the change we want to see in the world, in our communities and in ourselves.
Kim is an accomplished artist in her own right with work including sculpture installations, mixed media, poetry and photography. With numerous gallery exhibitions and vast commissioned work, her art resides in private collections throughout the United States and abroad.
Contact Kim at kim@steamboatcreates.org
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Robin Miller
Operations Manager
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Searching for a new adventure after college, Robin Miller packed up the car and moved to Steamboat Springs in 2002 sight unseen. It was a true leap of faith but making Steamboat her home is one of the best decisions she has ever made! Robin has a degree In Public Relations and Business Administration from The University of Tennessee. Like so many others, she began her career in town working various jobs in the resort industry. For the past decade she has been working in the corporate world refining her skills in sales, marketing and business management. She is passionate about the arts and it has always been a dream of hers to work for a creative nonprofit in Steamboat. She is thrilled for the opportunity to be the Operations Manager at Steamboat Creates and is excited to bring the knowledge she has learned over the years to help contribute to Steamboat’s wonderful creative community.
Robin volunteered for many years at the Routt County Humane Society and recently began volunteering with her dog as an animal-assisted therapy team for Heeling Friends. She loves birds, sparkly things and tropical beaches. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and exploring the outdoors with her partner, Jacob and their dog, Dolly.
Contact Robin at robin@steamboatcreates.org
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Jillian Tomlinson
Visual Arts Coordinator
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Jillian Tomlinson is a local artist of Steamboat Springs that is community-oriented and Earth-based. Presently, she is deeply immersed in the world of weaving earthen clothing & interior pieces for homes. Mural painting and teaching art classes are major passions for her, too. Jillian loves to teach art classes around weaving and environmental art to help students ground into a greater sense of relationship with their individual selves, our communities & the Earth. Jillian studied Sustainable Community Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she focused on cultural heritage, environmental design & transformative education to encourage regenerative social systems. Arriving at the Steamboat Creates Art Depot truly aligns with her mission to activate social, environmental & economic prosperity for the community and collective at large.
Originally from New England, living out West has been the greatest journey of Jillian’s life so far. The up-and-coming new art of the American West captivates Jillian with a strong heart & electric purpose, pushing forward works that relate to stories of the Wild West, Western expansion & our Indigenous roots. It is her greatest inspiration to honor what has happened on this land for generations & to create new life through healing relationships and beauty so we continue to realize our place in this cosmic, earthly web.
Jillian’s brand, Wovenomad, is a celebration of the legacy that the many roads less traveled share with us as we follow that call, traversing the land to explore what lies ahead, into the mystic and greater unknown. By adorning ourselves and our spaces with the fibers, colors & textures of the landscapes that span from the mountains through the desert to the sea, we celebrate and cherish all that the land & people provide for us to embark on a magnificent & timeless journey home, in connection with the qualities & needs of a thriving Earth.
Jillian has a studio downtown where she works on commissions, pieces for exhibits & collections to be sold. You can find her online at wovenomad.com as well as Facebook and Instagram @wovenomad.
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Steamboat Springs Arts Council Board Members
Jim Kissane
Treasurer & Finance Committee
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Jim has lived in Steamboat Springs, permanently, since 1979. He originally came to Steamboat in 1970 after graduating from Colorado State University. After spending several years as an accountant, controller and supervisor on the Front Range, he moved back to Steamboat Springs. He was the Chief Financial Officer for TIC at the time the company was acquired in 2008 and retired in August 2012. He has been married to his wife, Erin, since 1993. They have four children. Jim has served on the Board of the Family Development Center, the Yampa Valley Medical Center and the Steamboat Springs School District. He likes to ski, hike, mountain bike and read.
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Tom Atwood
Board Member
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Professional Bio
Tom has a passion for technology, with decades implementing various technology solutions and holds numerous industry certifications. He currently works for a FinTech startup focused on providing verifiably accurate financial information extracted from complex blockchain transactions supporting the growth of digital finance.
Personal Highlights
Tom enjoys numerous outdoor activities and takes pleasure in travel, reading, art and cooking. He feels it is important to give back to the community and has long-standing ties with several non-profits.
Passionate about Art & Art History, he has worked in various mediums: photography, printmaking (etching), drawing, bronze casting and oil/acrylic painting. His personal art collection has a focus on self-taught artists and he wrote his M.A. thesis on William Edmondson.
Master’s in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship/International Business Tracks, University of Colorado-Denver
Corporate Finance Certificate, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Master of Arts in Art History, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Bachelor of Arts in Art, Art History, German and Minor in Asian Studies, Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.
Certificate of German Language Fluency, Paderborn University, Germany
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Candice Bannister
Advisor
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- Has worked in Steamboat Springs nonprofit sector for 20 years; 14 years as Executive Director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum
- Colorado Creative Industries Certified Change Leader; Leadership Steamboat Graduate
- Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management | Bachelor of Science: Anthropology/Psychology
- Promotes and organizes Routt County and Steamboat Springs cultural and heritage events and tourism
- Creative District Seat = History and Heritage
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John Bristol
Advisory
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- Worked in Governor John W. Hickenlooper’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade
- U.S. Peace Corps, El Salvador and Peru
- Master’s Degree in Public Administration
- Works on activities, programs and policies that improve the quality for life and economic well-being across Routt County.
- Creative District Seat = Economic Development
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James De Francia
Board Member
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- Served on several non-profit boards
- Chaired Committee on Public Art for the Urban Land Institute
- Advisor on planning and growth, including public art placement, to several US cities as well as foreign governments
- Past public service in historic preservation in Colorado
- Graduate of the US Naval Academy
- Creative District Seat = At Large
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Tyler Gibbs
Advisory
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- Planning Director for the City of Steamboat Springs for 7 years.
- Previously, Urban Design Director, Planning Services/Historic Preservation Manager and Plan Implementation Manager for the City of Denver between 1992 and 2010.
- Chaired design committees for Denver Mile High Stadium, the Colorado Convention Center and Convention Center Hotel.
- Served on public art selection committees for numerous public projects in Denver.
- Licensed Architect and Founding Principal of City Design Architects and Planners in San Diego, CA, 1986 to 1992.
- Creative District Seat = Community Development and Planning
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Carrie Requist
Business & Tech
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Carrie moved to Steamboat in 2000 with her husband and three children (a 3 year old and 1 year old twins) for the outdoor lifestyle and the fantastic community. Carrie’s background is in technology, having worked at both large tech companies (Adobe, Symantec, Sun Microsystems) and startups. In 2011, Carrie co-founded her own technology Startup, U Grok It, here in Steamboat. U Grok It was acquired by a large tech firm in 2017. Carrie’s children took advantage of being raised in Steamboat by ski jumping with SSWSC and being part of the public school bands from 5th-12th grades. It is through band that Carrie was connected to Steamboat Creates and all it does to support the children of Steamboat as well as the full community. Carrie’s Linked In is https://www.linkedin.com/
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Lauren Yeates
President & Marketing Committee
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With more than 10 years of experience in in marketing strategy, content creation, social media, advertising, email, and SEO, Lauren offers successful digital marketing solutions for national insurance and financial services companies, publishers, small businesses, and nonprofits.
Lauren have her MBA from University of Denver’s Daniels School of Business. She is HubSpot Inbound certified, Hootsuite certified, and has won two national Azbee Awards. In addition, Lauren has served on the board of the Colorado chapter of the American Marketing Association and the Business Marketing Association.
Lauren is exploring the world with her husband and dog Telle, eating good food, practicing yoga, skiing, and gardening.
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Kirk Aigner
Secretary & Performing Arts
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Kirk Aigner vacationed in Steamboat Springs both winters and summers as a teen, and finally moved out here to stay back in 2007. He is a Case Manager with Horizons Specialized Services, an organization that he has been with also since 2007. Kirk is an actor who is proud to be one of the founding members of the Chief Players, and has also been in many Piknik Theatre and Cabaret productions. He is also proud of being voted as the 2nd best Community Actor in the most recent “Best of the Boat” awards. He serves as the Secretary for the Steamboat Creates Board of Directors.
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Jack Dysart
Performing Arts Committee
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Bio coming soon!
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Brad Kindred
Board Member
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Bio coming soon!
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