Leadership Team
Our all-volunteer leadership team believes for all of our children to thrive, an arts-infused education is vital.
Connie Schlelein
Creative Bridges Co-Chair, Community side
From a family of creatives, Connie Schlelein grew up nurtured by parents who one could call “bohemian.” The family’s mid-century modern dining room table was reserved for art projects being built, assembled and painted and her mid-western family ate on tv trays. Art, music, theater and drama were the nexus of their existence. Success was measured by creativity and community service. As a youth, she often resented how kooky her inventive, artistic parents were but now she marvels at her luck.
In her career as a Colorado high school and college visual art teacher Connie was dedicated to inspiring creativity in her students. After retiring, she traveled to every continent but one and then relocated in 2014 to Sonoma Valley.
She now volunteers as a community arts activist to restore Arts Education to the local arts ecosystem. She helped a group of 36 nonprofits form to restore Sonoma Valley public education’s inclusion of creativity, self-expression and K-12 quality arts education.
Cheryl Coldiron
Creative Bridges Co-Chair, SVUSD side
Cheryl Coldiron is the district art teacher for Sonoma Valley’s two middle schools, and is a long-time arts educator. She teaches about contemporary and historical art from many countries, building students’ understanding of people outside our own community. Students create paintings about endangered species, expanding their knowledge of the environment. Art is made of various mediums and types, including ceramics and paint, and STEAM projects such as mobiles. Cheryl uses VTS (visual thinking strategies) in the classroom. Every year, she brings her students to Bay Area Museums to experience different styles of art.
Cheryl serves as a Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair, on leadership committees, a public art committee, and other arts-related committees in Sonoma County.
Prior to becoming a teacher, Cheryl was a successful executive in the software industry. She volunteered in her children’s schools and helped coordinate a student exchange program between Sonoma County and Aix-en-Provence, France. In her free time she enjoys traveling with her husband to see friends and museums around the world, walking, gardening, and painting.
Jill Valavanis
Sonoma Community Center
Lexi Bakkar
Sonoma Community Center
Youth Programming
Kate Rogers
Mentoring Alliance,
Retired Art Therapist
(New Name?)
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Arts Education Coordinator
Natalie Wallace
Boys & Girls Club Arts Educator
Lisa Carlsson
Creative Advisor
Lori Winter
Creative Advisor
Sarah Parker
Artist / Educator
Artist & Teaching Artist with over 20 years experience, she believes firmly that the arts develop and deepen our humanity and help us develop patience, kindness, and empathy for both ourselves and others.
She is also an experienced arts administrator, skilled in grant writing, digital engagement, curriculum development, and arts integration.
Samantha Villaneuva Myers
Corporate Lawyer,
former Science Teacher
Bill Schlelein
Retired Counselor,
SEL Specialist
“Connie quote” (see Cheryl’s below for reference).
Connie Schlelein
Creative Bridges Committees
Marketing
Lisa Carlsson
Student Recognition
Niki Gibbons
Fundraising/Grants
Laurie Hogan
Research/Literature Review
Sarah Parker
Data Collection
Nikko Kimzin
Website
Lori Winter
Outreach and Roadshows
Samantha Villaneuva Myers
Collaborative Projects
Lexi Bakkar
VAPA Communication
Cheryl Coldiron
“Art is the foundation of human creative expression - whether singing, dancing, or painting. When children are provided supplies to create art, their world expands. For many students, art is the one place where they fit; and they enjoy the creative process of making things with their hands. Through art, they develop creative thinking. Art encourages them to be curious, learn about themselves, and understand there is more than one solution to a problem.”
Cheryl Coldiron
