The Story Behind Stories on Stage
Stories on Stage creates programs from the belief that literature is a rich source of powerful stories and actors enhance the impact of literature on people’s lives.
We present literature by writers of diverse cultural groups, read by professional actors of varying backgrounds to an audience that is as broad-based as our community.
In March 2008, the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross awarded Stories on Stage its first-ever Leadership in Inclusiveness Award. In being the Community Inclusiveness Hero, Stories on Stage was cited for giving audiences “an experience of identifying with people and situations outside of their own worlds.”
Our Board of Directors
Linda Treibitz, chair, a Denver native, is senior manager of Product Support for SunGard iWORKS. She earned a B.A. in Music from Pomona College and an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado at Denver. Linda has sat on the Alumni Board of Pomona College and has been on the board of Stepping Stones, an interfaith religious school program. She loves to sing and is a soloist for her congregation and leads music at a monthly healing service at Swedish Hospital. Linda is married and has two daughters, both graduates of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Noel Hefty, treasurer, received her dance education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her accounting degree from Stephens College. This combination has enabled her to work in the creative and administrative sides of many organizations. While living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, she was a founding member of the Steamboat Dance Theatre. For 10 years she served as the producer/artistic director and choreographed the annual concerts. She has served as staff member, board member, or both, for the Steamboat Springs Council on the Arts & Humanities, Steamboat Repertory Theatre, Steamboat Dance Theatre, Friends of Perry-Mansfield, Harriette Ann Gray Dance Company, Boulder Ballet Ensemble, Jane Franklin Dance Company, Colorado Dance Festival, Community Dance Collective and Boulder Dance Alliance. Noel’s background in accounting has been instrumental in the development of comprehensive financial management systems for nonprofit arts organizations within Boulder County. Additionally, she has served on the panel for the Colorado Council on the Arts Grants to Artists & Organizations, Westaff Grants panel and as the Northwest Colorado Arts Councils’ representative to the Colorado Council of the Arts. She also served on the advisory board of the departments of Theatre and Dance at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She currently serves on the Board of the Colorado Alliance for Arts Education and the Board of Visitors, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fern Seltzer, secretary, Ed.M., coaches students who are preparing for the SAT and other standardized tests. She is a former president of the Rocky Mountain Harvard University Club. Past volunteer work includes serving as president of the Littleton Englewood American Association of University Women and founding a preschool in Eugene, Oregon. She does the New York Times crossword puzzle daily.
Les Crispelle practiced law in Colorado for many years prior to his retirement. The first part of his career was spent in the area of corporate law and the last part was spent in the mental health and substance abuse. Les founded the Colorado Lawyers Health Program (a peer support group for lawyers and judges who were dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues). He also was legal consultant to Governor Romer’s “Communities for a Drug-Free Colorado”, and served on the boards of a number of groups including the Phoenix Concept, the Mile High Council on Alcoholism, Peer Assistance Services, The Mile High Institute. He was the founder of the American Bar Association’s Youth Advisory Commission on Alcohol and served on several American and Bar Association committees. He is a certified trainer for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies for the required jurisprudence workshop for mental health practitioners, a faculty member at Metro State College and a consultant to various business and trade associations relating to substance abuse and mental health issues.
Kelley Dunn is the founder and president of Insight Sales Solutions, a Denver based consulting firm which specializes in helping organizations improve the performance of their selling teams. In addition to Stories on Stage, she volunteers as a mentor at the DU Daniels College of Business and is an active participant in the Denver Public Library's Read-Aloud program. She received her B.A. in English from
the University of Colorado.
Madie D. Gustafson is a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and specializes in telecommunication and cable law. Before joining Davis Wright, Madie was AT&T Broadband’s senior vice president–Franchising and Local Government Affairs, where she was responsible for local government relations, franchise renewal, transfer and compliance. She entered the cable industry 16 years ago as corporate counsel for United Cable Television Corporation. She subsequently served as General Counsel of United Artists Cable Systems and senior vice president of Franchising and Local Government Affairs of Tele-Communications, Inc., and AT&T Broadband. She was national treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee of Women in Cable & Telecommunications. Madie serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of 100 for Northwestern University and served on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. She currently is chairman of the Board of Directors of Stories on Stage. Madie holds a bachelors degree from Northwestern University and masters and law degrees from the University of Denver.
Susan Kelly Henderson has been advising, facilitating and conducting workshops for 20 years. Ms. Henderson's professional experiences cover corporations, government agencies, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals. She has a B.S. in Nursing and Psychology from the University of Colorado and M.B.A. from the University of Denver.
John McKiernan earned a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa. He taught speech and coached forensics at several universities, then worked as a researcher in nonprofit leadership and administration. He currently works for Quantum Corp. (NYSE:QTM), the leading global storage company for backup, recovery and archive. He is an active volunteer in a local church congregation, an organization focused on hospitality and service with International students at Denver University, and Canine Companions for Independence.
James V. (Jim) Neely's career includes more than 40 years as an engineer, manager, consultant and business owner. In retirement, he has engaged in various activities, including tax advisor, property maintenance, real estate sales, and as a mentor and tutor for high school students. He has traveled extensively in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and enjoys theatre, music, poetry, opera and sports. Past and current activities are as follows: Registered Professional Engineer (inactive); B.S. and M.S degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico; other graduate and undergraduate work at the Universities of West Virginia and Pittsburgh; licensed Realtor since 1990, member, Graduate Realtor Institute, Senior Tax Advisor for a major tax preparation firm (12 years); board member (treasurer and financial advisor) for a 1,800-member condominium association, board member, Colorado Senior Sports Development Council, Rocky Mountain Senior Games medalist (800 meters and 1500 meters); member, Arapahoe County Cultural Council (SCFD Tier III Funding); member, Standby Draft Board (U.S. Selective Service Commission); and a former referee and umpire for high school, college, AAU and Industrial League sports.
Janice E. Thomas has more than 13 years of public relations experience. Prior to beginning work with the TradeWinds team, Thomas was director of public relations for the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. During her tenure, Daniels garnered more than 250 positive mentions by the media, including coverage on ABC Evening News and NBC Nightly News, and was ranked one of the top 50 business schools in the world by the Wall Street Journal. Before joining Daniels, Thomas was a director of public relations for U.S. West Communications. In that role, she directed announcement efforts for new market and product launches, developed and managed relationships with trade press, and secured coverage for the company's technological achievements. Thomas holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications, a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a master's degree in Public Communications. A journalist as well as PR professional, Thomas received the gold award for feature writing from the International Academy of Communication Arts and Sciences in 2005 for the article “Welcome to the Real World,” which explored the Millennial generation's mid-life crisis, and received the silver Excel award for feature writing from the Society of National Association Publications in 2007 for the article “Bad Love,” which investigated animal hoarding.
Star Waring is a partner at the law firm of Dietze and Davis, P.C. Ms. Waring practices natural resources and water law and has lived in Colorado for over 35 years. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in anthropology and archaeology. She attended law school at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Colorado. She serves on a number of boards and is a strong supporter of the arts.