2018-2019 School Board Elections

Dear PiM Arts High School Community,

I offer my services as a parent on your school board. In summary, my qualifications are:

• Parent of a recent grad and current sophomore.
• Professional fundraising experience in the Minneapolis community.
• Leadership roles in nonprofits, as member of the board and as executive director/CEO.
• Administration of successful performing arts programs.

My daughter, Skylar, graduated last year after two successful years at Mainstreet. We moved to Minnesota in 2015 and were so pleased to find the school that enabled her to complete her academic preparation for college while enjoying her creative side. She’s now a freshman at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. My daughter, Rachel, is a PiM sophomore. She recently served on the tech crew for Cabaret. She’s in the upcoming Dance concert. Both girls enjoyed performing in No Shame.

I work for Alzheimer’s Association. I’m a professional fundraiser. I work with individuals and foundations that want to have a positive impact in the Minneapolis community. I have researched donors, written and delivered proposals, and closed over $1,500,000 in gifts in the past year. I help plan the annual gala with silent auction, live entertainment, food and beverage, and corporate sponsorships.

I’ve run two nonprofit fundraising organizations. In each we’ve conducted donor events, developed donor communications, conducted individual donor meetings, and matched the mission of the organization to their interests. As CEO I also revamped financial reporting, governance, marketing strategy, and operations, resulting in increased revenue and reduced expense. I’ve built and mentored high-performing teams. I recruited and built a strong base of volunteers that helped supplement the staff in implementing successful fundraising programs.

I began my nonprofit work as a member of the board of directors for an institution where half of the revenue was derived from an early childhood education program. I implemented competitive benchmarking and leveraged best practices from other schools. I understand the role of the board and the role of the staff, and keep the board focused on vision and ambassadorship, while empowering the staff to bring their expertise and professional judgment to their functions.

In my role as CEO of the JCC in Louisville, Kentucky, I oversaw a very successful performing arts program called CenterStage. I worked with the leadership to update old tech equipment, renovate the stage and dressing rooms, build successful fundraising programs, and leverage the performers’ talent in other venues such as our annual meeting.

I look forward to contributing my experience and suggestions to continue building PiM to be a world-class performing arts high school.

I’m the father of three graduates of MSSPA/PiM. Cooper (Class of ’14), Macalaster (Class of ’16), and Benjamin (Class of ’18). My wife Wenonah and I have lived in South Minneapolis for 20 years. I have served as a board member and Board President over the past 4 years, overseeing the school’s transition to its new space and brand.

We have experienced first hand the incredible transformative power of the PiM culture. We have seen tremendous growth in our boys from personal, academic and artistic perspectives. We truly believe this would not have happened at any other school. What we have at PiM is unique and incredibly special – and it’s made me want to get involved and give back.

I’m an architect and Principal at DLR Group. An international architecture, interiors and engineering firm. While we have a thriving education practice, my speciality is in Hospitality and Retail work. Recent projects include designing the expansion of the Mall of America, restaurants and entertainment facilities including the Varsity Theater. I lead our design efforts in Minneapolis and am also responsible for leading individual teams to success. I develop our professional fees, negotiate contracts and work with our clients to understand their needs and objectives and align our team and skill sets to successfully deliver a compelling solution. I work with contractors to deliver and build our designs – taking our inspiration to reality.

New to PiM, I have completely embraced and fallen in love with our school and community. It has been a tremendous experience building a new arts program and expanding our new/evolving arts school community. Our new Media Arts program is really starting to come together, students are starting to really apply their skills and create incredible works and finding ways to celebrate the rest of our school. For this summer I’ve helped put together a summer PiM middle school camp experience to hopefully serve as a feeder program for our high school. Before my time here I had been teaching photography, documentary filmmaking and career skills for the last fourteen years. I’ve received a couple of recognitions for my teaching as I was nominated as a candidate for MN teacher of the year and also was SkillsUSA Advisor of the year. I have also served as a contract negotiator for eight years and really came to learn how a school operates beyond what we do in the classroom and the ever present need to make some difficult compromises.

Outside of school I am a practicing photographer and cinematographer. Working on commercial, client and personal work, I’ve been operating my own image making business and consulting service for nearly twenty years.

Thank you for your consideration,

John Raasch

Media Arts

Steve Mollick is in his 7th year teaching music at PiM Arts High School. He has directed choirs, taught music theory and music history, supervised the yearbook, provided music direction for four school musicals, and has functioned as coordinator for the school’s monthly NO SHAME shows. He also served on the facility committee during the school’s work on finding a new building and on a benefits/insurance committee. As a teacher, Steve believes strongly in developing informed and independent musicians, and for students to take ownership and find intrinsic value in their learning. He and his beloved spouse have two of their own young artists: PiM Arts High School classes of 2031 and 2034.

Laura has taught Special Education at PiM since 2016. Before starting at PiM, she worked in St. Paul Public Schools. Prior to that, she earned her Special Education Teaching Credential from St Mary’s University of Minnesota and her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from San Francisco State. Prior to moving to Minnesota Laura lived in Seattle where she owned and operated a Pre-school/After School educational Institution through Seattle Public Schools. Laura is passionate about improving academic outcomes for all students.

Ms. Klun is passionate in her belief that learning a second language broadens perspectives, deepens empathy and provides opportunities to more fully engage with our global community. Her love of Spanish has taken her to Chile and Spain, where she lived and studied, and has inspired her to share those experiences with her students at PiM. Over the past nine years, Ms. Klun has taught various levels of the Spanish language curriculum in Minnesota, Arizona and New York. She holds an M.A. in Spanish Literature from Middlebury College and a B.A. in Spanish Education from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Jennifer is a Social Studies teacher at PiM. Prior to her return this year, she was a Social Studies teacher for seven years at MSSPA and is overjoyed to be back at PiM working with its talented and top notch students, faculty, and staff. Jennifer has an MA in Teaching and a BA in History from the University of St. Thomas.

Jennifer feels that serving on the board is important as members affect the future of the students and school community at PiM. She wants to make a difference by sharing and promoting the vision and goals for academic and arts achievement at PiM through collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders. Jennifer truly enjoys being a teacher at PiM and would like to play a broader role by serving as a board member.