Staff & Board

FWDC Staff

Liz Monnier
Co-founder, Artistic Director

Liz is a graduate of Indiana University’s Modern Dance Department and has studied with such nationally renowned artists as Alwin Nikolais, Ruth Zaporah, Joe Goode, Remy Charlip and many more. She was a founding member of Windfall Dancers in Bloomington in 1977 and the FWDC in 1979.

Liz received two artist fellowships from Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne and six Philo T. Farnsworth awards for video productions for public access television. She also received first place in the “Hometown Awards”, a national competition for access producers, a Margaret Ann Keegan award and the Gene Wyall local access production award. In 2007, she won the John Enwright distinguished alumni award from the Indiana University school for Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

She has served as Artistic Director since 1985 and have developed a curriculum for dance education for disabled adults. Since 1993, Liz has annually created a full-length story dance with FWDC co-founder Lisa Tsetse which allows for a wide range of ages and skill levels. These productions are performed at the Arts United Center.

Liz has taught Modern Dance and related forms for 25 years and I served on the Dance Standards Committee for the Indiana Department of Education.

Alison Gerardot
Outreach Director

Alison has been involved in the Fort Wayne dance scene her entire life.  She has studied and taught dance at numerous studios around the city and region and has choreographed for shows at IPFW as well as for the Fort Wayne Dance Collective.  Along with her knowledge of dance, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English with minors in Dance and Communications as well as her teaching license.  Alison not only has a passion for dance but an appreciation for all arts and has close ties with local musicians and artists as well.  She looks forward to sharing her love of dance and the arts with the community through her work at FWDC. She first became involved professionally with the Fort Wayne Dance Collective when she conceived of and co-created Eaten Alive: Seven Deadly Sins, featuring the work of seven local choreographers, each creating a dance focusing on a mortal sin. All three shows were sold out, and FWDC now produces a spooky Halloween show each October. Alison coordinates outreach bookings and develops the program with FWDC, as well as leads the Indiana Dance Festival steering committee for April 2011.

Jarin Hart
Managing Director

Jarin is new to the non-profit world, coming from a background in health care working nearly 13 years for Parkview Health Systems. She graduated from Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2009 with a B.A. in Communications and minors in Media Production, Journalism and Public Relations. With a strong passion for media and the arts, Jarin found a home with the Fort Wayne Dance Collective.

Jarin believes her love and appreciation for dance, wellness and the arts, as well as her passion for social media and communication, will flourish in this unique and necessary organization. She looks forward to learning and being a part of the Fort Wayne Dance Collective’s rich history and bright future.

Board

Paul “P.J.” Thuringer | Board President

Project Manager , Redevelopment

Megan Corcoran | Vice-President

Former Speech Aide, J.E. Ober Elementary School

Nathan Smith | Treasurer

Customer Service Representative, Individual Annuity Operations,  Lincoln Financial Group

Jennifer McKinney | Secretary

Children’s Librarian, Allen County Public Library

Joyce Kyle

Director of Compliance, Tri-State Medical Group, LLC

Heidi Prussing

Former Systems Analyst, Allen County Public Library

F. John Rogers

Attorney, Thompson & Rogers

Lanette Robinson

Community Advocate for Disabled Populations

If you are interested in becoming involved with the board of directors and our committees, please check out the “Join the Board” page.