About Us

We are Wisconsin’s leading community cultural development organization. We bringing communities together through creative experiences and strengthen Wisconsin’s creative economy, workforce and communities.

A Wisconsin where creativity thrives as a driving force of the economy, workforce, and community life.

Our Mission

We believe in a Wisconsin where creativity thrives as a driving force of the economy, workforce, and community life. The arts, culture, and creativity are at the core of the Wisconsin’s communities, and it is through uplifting creatives throughout the state that we can realize a better future for Wisconsin’s communities. Through individual advocacy and community-building, we can grow Wisconsin’s creative impact together.

  • Investing in Wisconsin’s creative future relies on legislative support. Through advocacy and lobbying, Create Wisconsin is championing initiatives to create the resources necessary to support a thriving creative economy.

  • Create Wisconsin uplifts artists and local leaders in the arts by connecting creative communities across Wisconsin. Our strategy of advocacy and communication helps artists share their own voices, and amplifies those who are unable to speak up.

  • One of the biggest barriers of access to the creative economy is knowledge. Create Wisconsin seeks to eliminate that barrier by connecting creatives to jobs in the state, providing resources for non-profits and small businesses, and by hosting events where creatives and policy-makers can connect.

HISTORY

Create Wisconsin was founded as the Wisconsin Assembly of Local Arts Agencies in 1992 when the Wisconsin Arts Board called together local leaders from across the state to envision and establish a strong statewide network of people, organizations, businesses, and communities involved in creative endeavors. The organization has continually evolved, becoming the Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts in 1999, Arts Wisconsin in 2004, and Create Wisconsin in 2022. The purpose of the organization has always been to activate Wisconsin’s creativity for the benefit of everyone, everywhere in the state.

RECOGNITION

In Wisconsin, we live and work on traditional Native homelands. Wisconsin is home to the largest number of Native American tribes east of the Mississippi River. We honor those who have lived and do live, now, at the intersections of identity and experience. Native Wisconsin is made up of 11 sovereign Tribal nations that abide by their own constitutions: Bad River Ojibwe, Forest County Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Menominee Nation, Mole Lake Sokaogan Chippewa, Oneida Nation, Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, St. Croix Band of Ojibwe, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans.

Who We Are

Staff

Board of Directors

  • Anne Katz - Executive Director

  • Kelly McDowell - Legislative Consultant

  • Matthias Goscha - Web Coordinator

  • Hailey Fuller - Social Media Coordinator

Carolyn Nelson-Kavajecz, Superior - President
Director, Sterling Silver Studios and Board Member, Superior Council for the Arts

Dr. Nicole Foster, Ashland - Vice President
Associate Dean, Northwoods Technical College

Tom Targos, Kenosha - Secretary
Consultant and horticulture student, Gateway Technical College

Chris Clemens, Viroqua - Treasurer
Owner, The Noble Rind

Stephen Goodhart, Sheboygan - Volunteer Programs Coordinator, Victory Gardens Initiative

Olivia Hill, Wausau - General Manager/Associate Director, The Grand Theatre

Melissa Kono, Independence - Professor of Community Resource Development with UW-Madison-Division of Extension, and Clerk, Town of Burnside

Sam Luna, Phelps - Musician, Artist, Entrepreneur

Kim Willems Mauthe, Appleton - Events, Promotion and Social Media Coordinator, Mile of Music

Zach Vruwink, Madison - Deputy Director and COO, League of Wisconsin Municipalities