Rich Forrester of Richmond, Virginia, hit the ground running when he moved to Seattle in the early 1990's. He joined the theater group Greek Active as a stage manager, helping deliver productions that changed the landscape of fringe theater there. He also stage-managed other numerous independent projects from one-person shows, ensemble casts, improv, and drag queen-staged productions and did prop work in film and television. While in Seattle, he served as a U.S. Marine stationed at Fort Lewis. Upon his return to his hometown on the east coast, Rich joined the board of Virginia Pride, where he served for over 7 years. His LGBTQ+ activism is for him both a calling and a need, and he’s proud of his contributions growing Virginia Pride from a startup nonprofit into an established one.

Jane Hodges of Seattle, Washington, founded and volunteer-directs the residency program that began as Mineral School and spends a third of the year in Mineral. A journalist, editor, book author (Rent vs. Own, Chronicle Books), and creative writer, she has worked on staff at Ad Age, Fortune, and The Seattle Times and published work in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and publications large and small. She completed University of Washington’s nonprofit management certificate program and training via the Artist Communities Alliance. A graduate of Dartmouth (BA) and Sarah Lawrence (MFA), she wrangles our residency program, food service, volunteer and contractor staffing, grant writing, and resident logistics. When a local paper misprinted her name, it invented a can-do character we know as June Dodge. She’s quietly working on a nonfiction project.

Carolyn McKelvie of Mineral, Washington, is innkeeper at the historic Mineral Lake Lodge, her second act after decades of work as a physician in the Southwest. In addition to running the lodge, she serves as a member of the Mineral Lake Lions Club, quilts, gardens, makes gourd art, and wrangles three affectionate cats, all from her perch above Mineral Lake. Since 2015, she has supported our program’s many visiting presenters with lodge rooms, and in 2024 she partnered with us to test our first-ever “big residency” with writers and artists living and working at multiple locations in town, including the Mineral Lake Lodge and its lake-view conference center.

Emiko Naito of Mineral, Washington, is a working ceramic artist and founder of The Soaring Boar, with a lifelong relationship to clay that began as a recreational potter in high school and continued into adulthood. After leaving a career in healthcare in 2023, Emiko shifted her focus fully to her pottery practice, with recent particular interests in atmospheric firings such as soda and wood firing. While newer to the formal arts community, Emiko served twice on the board for her local Roller Derby league. There, she worked to strengthen organizational structure after the 2020 Covid shut-down through digital archiving, restoration of previously lost data, and development of clear operational systems, while advocating for greater inclusivity, diversity, transparency, and equity in board operations and league culture.

We are actively looking to build our board to a group of at least seven and are particularly interested in finding Northwest-based folks willing to lead and participate in work including fundraising, board governance, and projects including jurying, programs in and beyond Mineral, and much more. We onboard new board in July and January annually. Interested? Write to us at takemetoyourleader@welcometomars.org.