Meet the Advisory Board
Owen Woods is a lead journalist for Alamosa Citizen, a screenwriter, filmmaker, and director. He is also embarking on a documentary journey to push his own limits as a creator. Owen was born and raised in the SLV, he left for a few years to attend Full Sail University and returned to the SLV to share stories of his hometown. He continues to discover unexpected stories in our rural communities, and The Church Project is honored to have his expertise and lived experiences at the table.
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IG: @owenuhwoods
Beata Ramza currently lives and works in Alamosa Colorado. Originally from Chicago, she has spent the last couple of years working seasonal ranger jobs for public lands.
Everywhere she goes, there is a sketchbook in her backpack so that she can doodle when inspired. Though she considers herself a hobby artist, she believes art is a part of everything we do.
Beata has a heart and mind that continues to welcome new perspectives and questions those floating ideas that live above us. I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon working adjacent to Beata in an "open studio day" and listening to her ideas around how her lived experiences have shaped who she is. The Church Project is honored to have Beata as a part of the team moving forward.
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IG: @4frodoyoyo
Lares Feliciano (b. 1985 Oakland, CA, USA) is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker based in Alamosa, CO. She uses animation, installation, and collage to create worlds where marginalized experiences are front and center, and all of time exists at once. Her work explores the in-between, layers of diaspora, and the complexity of memory.
She holds an M.F.A in Cinema Production from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in Film & American Studies from Smith College. She has completed residencies with RedLine Contemporary Art Center and Grand Canyon National Park and was a participant in the Colorado Creative Industries Change Leader Institute.
Feliciano’s films have screened all over the world, including San Francisco, Berlin, London, and Melbourne. Her visual art has exhibited at Denver Art Museum, Clyfford Still Museum (Denver), RedLine Contemporary Art Center (Denver), The Storeroom (Denver), Breck Create (Breckenridge) and Pochron Studios (Brooklyn).
Lares is passionate about the power of the arts to create change and strengthen communities. In 2020, she joined the RedLine staff as Art Grants Manager, where she supports artists and organizations across Colorado. Previously, Feliciano served as Program Director for Think 360 Arts for Learning and launched the Artist in Residence program at the Children’s Museum of Denver. Lares believes that everyone is an artist and is on a mission to support creativity in all. Lares and Madeleine were "Ships in the Night" as our paths have crossed multiple times, yet The Church Project is what has brought us together in the light.
IG: @lareslovesyou
Joel Terrell currently lives and works in Columbia Missouri, however, has lived in the SLV and visits on occasion. Over the last 4 years, he has further leaned into his Sculpture practice, allowing shapes and forms to reveal themselves from a raw piece of limestone. Slowly and by hand, he creates abstract and realistic shapes from stone. An art that many believe is lost, but for Joel, it is just the beginning.
Joel and Madeleine met in 2013. Our conversations span from the conceptual nature of works of art in different mediums, to technical attributes of stone, and our longest running theme...ultimate freedom.
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IG: @417mols
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Eugene Schilling was born in Seattle, Washington but grew up in a small town in Nebraska. He recently retired as Professor of Art and Gallery Director at Adams State University in Alamosa Colorado. Schilling earned his BFA Degree at the University of Nebraska and his MFA at Colorado State University.
Schilling’s paintings and drawings have been exhibited nationally (Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Denver, CO, Philadelphia, PA, and Taos, NM) and internationally (Wales, Brazil, China, and Japan). His work is also represented in private, corporate and permanent collections including Kaiser Permanente, Trans World Bank, Chevron Corporation, Chongqing University, Isetan Museum of Fine Art, and the Berman Museum of Art.
Schilling was awarded Honorary Professor of Painting at Chongqing University, Chongqing, China. He has also received the Francis Vreeland Award in Art at the University of Nebraska, the Colorado State University Fellowship in Art and the Presidential Teacher Award, Adams State University.
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Ariel Cisneros is an experienced professional dedicated to working towards solutions to create more affordable housing options in Colorado as she currently works as a Portfolio Manager with The Department of Local Affairs. Ariel is skilled in Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership and she Values professionalism, inclusion, and equity in the workplace. Ariel is a Strong community professional with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Colorado State University, she moved to Monte Vista from the front range in 2023 and has immersed herself in the community not only in Rio Grande County but also in Alamosa County where she first met Madeleine at a Volunteer Search and Rescue meeting, they have been comrades ever since. Ariel is a fervent advocate for the arts, leveraging creativity to address housing challenges. She believes that art and creativity are around all of us all the time, and if we have open opportunities to lean into the transformative power of the arts there is ample innovation and problem-solving techniques that can take place.
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IG: @therealarielcisneros