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

Madie D. Gustafson, chair, 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.

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.

Linda Treibitz, secretary, 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.

Les Crispelle is a retired attorney who has worked in recent years on various committees, both private and governmental, focused on alcohol addiction and recovery.

Wendy Handler has lived in Denver since 1994 and has enjoyed a successful real estate career since 1998. In addition, Wendy has a strong commitment to the community. She sits on the Board of Directors of Denver Academy, as well as the Stories on Stage Board. Wendy graduated from Barnard College and received an M.B.A. from New York University Tisch School of Business. Previously, she worked at Citibank, then as a private consultant in consumer online banking systems. Her husband is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital in Denver. Her children attended Graland, the IB program at George Washington High School, Denver Academy, Columbia University and Carlton College.

Susan Kelly Henderson bio forthcoming

John McKiernan earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa. He subsequently taught and coached forensics at several universities. He currently works for Advanced Digital Information Corporation (NASDAQ: ADIC), a recognized leader in intelligent data storage for the open systems market. He is an active volunteer in a local church congregation, Canine Companions for Independence, and Bonfils Blood Center.

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.

Paul B. Repetto graduated from MIT with a degree in Management and spent 18 years in the advertising business in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. During his career, he was responsible for work on DuPont’s Teflon and Lucite, Mazda, Kleenex, Huggies, and other well known brands. He entered the natural foods business in 1978 by acquiring a small manufacturer of snack products which, after a successful merger, became the leading producer of granola and fruit bars. After three years as president of Westbrae Natural Foods in Los Angeles, Paul cofounded Horizon Organic Dairy in 1991, now one of the largest organic food brands in the country. The company had a successful IPO in 1998, and was sold to Dean Foods in 2004. Paul was a founding member of the Organic Foods Alliance and served on the board of the Organic Trade Association. He served as board chairman of E-TOWN, the National Public Radio program, and as president of the Colorado Music Festival. He is presently a general partner in Greenmont Capital Partners, a private equity fund. Paul has been a guest lecturer at the University of Colorado, as well as at Yale, Northwestern and the University of Southern California, among others. He lives with his wife, Janet Pyle, in Boulder, Colorado.

Fern Seltzer, 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.

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.