Staff

Christina Martin-Wright

Executive Director

Christina holds an M.F.A. in directing and dramaturgy from the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and an undergraduate degree in Performance. She is one of the founders of Madison’s StageQ Theatre and has been an active member of the arts community for over two decades. Christina has nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and external relations experience with some of the area's most vibrant organizations and events, including the Wisconsin Film Festival, Children’s Theater of Madison, and Madison Children’s Museum. Christina is also a member of the Friends Board at UW—Madison Waisman Center and sits on the Wisconsin Arts Board Accessibility Committee and the Leadership Team of Any Given Child Madison, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts.

Christina has been with AFA since 2018.

Mike Lawler

Director of Development & Storytelling

Mike earned a B.S. in Theatre Arts and Anthropology from Western Oregon University, and has spent most of his working life in the performing arts. He is also a published author, former staff writer for TYA Today, and freelance writer, focusing on stories and articles about the arts advancing the way artists think about and execute their work. He has led and/or founded multiple arts organizations, including Arden Theatre in Salem, Oregon, Wisconsin Story Project, and Theatre LILA in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mike has been with AFA since 2019.

Jennie Mulliins

Director of Arts Education

and Teaching Artist

Jennie is a print and textile artist based in Madison, Wisconsin. She holds a B.A in Geography from UW Madison and an associate degree from Madison College in Graphic Design and Illustration. A longtime artist mentor and teacher in the area, Jennie most loves to share her knowledge of print, paper, and textile work with other students of art. Her personal artwork centers around placemaking, community and the passage of time, most often culminating in printed paper sculptural works and printed quilts.

Jennie has been with AFA since 2022

Matthew Sanborn

Program Associate

Matthew graduated from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls with a B.A. in fine arts concentrating on ceramics and photography. He has worked as an art mover, a blacksmith, a cook, and in Madison as a para transit driver for over ten years. Throughout his life Matthew has been involved in the arts, be it drawing and painting, theater (both on stage and backstage), and dance – but especially in music. He has given the occasional beginning guitar lesson and not only writes and records his own music but has recorded and produced albums for several other artists. Since 2014 Matthew has made the trailer soundtrack for the Wisconsin Film Festival.

Matthew has been with AFA since 2021.

Nancy Irizarry-Beachy

Choir Director - Appleton

Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from UW-Whitewater, and a master’s degree in Community and Mental Health Programming from Southern New Hampshire University. She has been involved in the Arts from a very young age, teaching herself to sing at the age of 8. She is also trained in music, songwriting, leadership, and many areas related to those with special needs. She directs the Fondy Idol show for the ARC of Fond du Lac annually, creating a performing experience for those with special needs.

Terry Kerr

Teaching Artist

Terry is an actor and director, and a teaching artist for Overture Center for the Arts, Disney Musicals in Schools, and ARTS for ALL Wisconsin. She has taught theatre skills to students from elementary schools to Master of Architecture Students at the School for Architecture at Taliesin. A member of the inaugural acting company at American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin, she performed with the company for twelve seasons in works by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Ibsen, Moliere, and Marlow. She has directed traditional plays and created original devised works. Terry is the Volunteer and Venue Coordinator for the Wisconsin Film Festival, and the lead programmer for Big Screens, Little Folks, the Film Festival’s children’s programs.

Mike Scheibinger

Teaching Artist

Mike is a certified learning disabilities teacher with over a decade of experience working with K-12 students in the public school setting. He is an accomplished teacher, musician, music producer, and program manager. As a producer, Mike has worked with many top artists, including Mick Fleetwood, Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), and star producer Bill Laswell.

Jim Turk

Teaching Artist

Jim Turk holds a Master's degree in Biotechnology and has a wealth of knowledge in the field. He has also applied his expertise as the former Director of Biosafety at UW-Madison. In addition to his professional background, Jim is a musician and former drum teacher. He has used his musical skills to lead drum circles for assisted living and memory care facilities, bringing joy and connection to people of all abilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jim started the "twelve o'clock shakedown," a daily music and movement program on Facebook and Zoom. Although he has since stopped hosting the program, others have taken up the mantle and continue to offer it to the community. Jim is also an active member of the Wisconsin Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, serving as the Chair of the Government Relations Advisory Committee and the Walk MS Madison event. He was named the Wisconsin MS Society Activist of the Year in 2019. In addition to his role as a grant reviewer for the MS Society, Jim is also a member of the disability vote coalition and a frequent speaker, writer, and interviewee on issues affecting those with disabilities. As a drum circle facilitator for AFA and assisted living and memory care facilities, Jim uses his musical talents to bring joy and connection to people of all abilities. He is also a writer and advocate for positivity and its relationship to health and productivity.

Anne Vanderbloemen

Choir Director - Madison

Anne is a veteran middle and high school band teacher with the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District.  She has directed the AFA Madison Choir since 2017. She has a BA in Music Education from UW-Madison and a Masters degree in Conducting from Sam Houston State University. Anne has been playing clarinet with the Madison Wind Ensemble since 1998 and singing all her life.

Junko Yamauchi

Teaching Artist

Pamela Anderson

Choir Director - Oshkosh

Pamela is a Board Certified Music Therapist with training focused on Neurologic Music Therapy. She received a first level certification through the Peter Hess Academy that focuses on sound vibration and the healing properties of sound, and is a registered Wisconsin Music Therapist.

Deb Neuman

Teaching Artist

Deb has worked for AFA since 1994 and is an educator with a BS in Music Therapy from UW-Eau Claire. She has held many positions with AFA, including as the founder and Choir Director of our Menomoie Choir, and the Western District Director.

Beth Turner

Teaching Artist

Beth is an Emmy-award winning television journalist who loves words and the power they carry to encourage, empower and equip people. She is a professional expressive writing facilitator and healing storyteller who hosts workshops, retreats, conferences because she sees over and over the transformative power of words. “I help provide platforms and expressions for those who don't typically have a voice or are unsure sometimes of the one they do have. It is life-giving work for all.” Beth is an author, published poet, wife, and mom to three boys, a large black lab, a rabbit named Esther, and a few wayward backyard chickens.