Do you believe in our mission?

If you believe in our mission, please join our Board of Directors. By contributing your skills, you can help us better serve the Triangle arts sector.

Our Board of Directors adds new members during its Annual Meeting in July. Our Board commitment is three years, with 6 meetings in (January, March, May, July, September and November) of the full Board, and committee meetings in between. We are looking for new Board members who:

  1. Believe in the mission and work of Triangle ArtWorks.

  2. Are committed to building Triangle ArtWorks into a sustainable nonprofit, serving the Triangle arts sector into the future.

  3. Have skills to bring to the table, In particular, event planning, human resources, outreach/ marketing, design, and accounting/finance.

Triangle Artworks Staff

BETH YERXA - Executive Director

  • Beth Yerxa has been involved in the arts community in the Triangle since 2001, when she was asked to serve on the Raleigh City Council’s Task Force created to write the initial Raleigh Public Art Policy and then appointed served on the Raleigh Arts Commission from 2003 to 2009, including three years as Chair.  Beth practiced environmental regulatory law and litigation for 13 years, most recently as a partner at Smith Helms Mullis and Moore in Raleigh.  She currently serves on the Board of Arts North Carolina.

CYNTHIA DEIS - Artswell Education Director

  • Cynthia Deis is an artist, writer, arts educator and consultant with a lifetime of connections to the art and maker communities. A founder of the Pop-Up Raleigh Market, she can be found at art events of all levels, from black tie to untied sneakers. A graduate of the Ohio State University, she has made her home in the Triangle for over 20 years. Her career has ranged from non-profit arts organizations to for-profit crafts retail, with time spent in classrooms, art studios and on sound stages, but she is never far from her sketchbook or her notepad.

TIFFANY COLEY - Artswell Program Coordinator

  • Tiffany is a studio jeweler, metalsmith and arts business educator.  For the past 12 years, Tiffany has been making and selling her jewelry professionally.  Tiffany has sold her work in many stores across the country as well as at major retail shows such as One of a Kind Chicago.  She also participates in locally-curated markets because she enjoys being a maker and supporter in the thriving local art community.   As an educator, Tiffany has conducted jewelry making workshops at local Triangle businesses as well as in her art studio.  Most recently, she has become certified in the REAL curriculum, where she has co-facilitated three cohorts of arts entrepreneurs, through TAW.  She hopes to continue her passion of supporting artists through art business education.   

    Tiffany lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and 2 children.  She creates her work at her studio space in Durham, NC, where she also serves as artist liaison and organizes pop-up artists during monthly art walks on the Golden Belt campus.  Tiffany loves movies, podcasts, music and cheering on her NCSU Wolfpack.  When the weather is nice, you can find her exploring the many greenways and trails in our area.

MAYANTHI JAYAWARDENA - Marketing Coordinator

  • Mayanthi is the founder and artist behind Serendib Creative. Mayanthi channels her art through murals, children’s book illustrations, photography, graphic design and fine art. You can find many of Mayanthi’s murals and paintings throughout the Triangle area. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, Mayanthi worked in the field of sexual violence prevention & advocacy for over 9 years in higher education and with national leaders such as Tarana Burke. During her career she began using art as a form of healing. Through these experiences, she decided to take the leap to invest in herself and her art full time. Mayanthi has blended her art and her advocacy to continue to impact the communities she serves.

    While Mayanthi grew up in the Midwest, she has loved living in North Carolina and has lived in the Triangle area for many years, with Durham being her home since 2020.

Board of Directors

RICK BENNETT

  • Rick Bennett grew up in the rural town of Arapahoe in eastern North Carolina. There, the Neuse River is 5 miles wide and he spent many hours barefoot on its banks. He has taught watercolor for 12 years at Pullen Arts Center, Cary Senior Center, and Elizbeth City.   In November of 2021 he left his job of 24 years as a customer service representative in a printing company to become a full-time artist. His work can be found in Belle Arts Gallery, Belhaven NC and Mattie King Davis Gallery, Beaufort NC.  He has lived in Raleigh since 1982. He enjoys gardening and has had city-chickens for 28 years.

    He has been a member and volunteer of VAE since 1989 and served as past board member and past president.  He is a board member of the Watercolor Society of NC and chair of the Permanent Collection Committee.  He is a member and volunteer of the NC Fossil Club, where he was a past board member and past president.

ASHLEY FRANKLIN

  • Ashley Franklin is an artist, entrepreneur, and educator based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. She believes that arts can connect people from around the world. Ashley leverages her influence and social media savvy to promote the arts and its positive effects in society. A recent graduate of The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a B.A. in Visual Arts and Design, Ashley serves as Art Director at the Triangle Cultural Art Gallery.

QUIANNA LEWIS

  • Raised in Durham, Quianna Lewis is a passionate advocate for justice and equity in the entertainment industry. A 2018 graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, she also holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from Elon University School of Law (December 2020) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Elon University (2024).  Quianna aims to utilize her JD and license to specialize in entertainment law, with a particular focus on supporting small businesses and managing intellectual property work. She hopes to work for an organization like SAG-AFTRA to ensure that entertainers receive fair representation and just treatment in the media space. In addition to her professional pursuits, Quianna volunteers her time with Kidznotes, Keep Durham Beautiful, and Restorative Justice Durham. She is an avid reader, podcast listener, and baker who enjoys trying new restaurants, attending musicals, and health and fitness.

VICKI L REES

  • Vicki Rees made art from a young age until after college. As she pursued her career in Human Resources, she moved from Indiana to Illinois, to Kentucky, and ultimately to North Carolina. What she didn’t do for 35 years was pick up a paintbrush.

    Several years before retirement Vicki felt the urge to create something other than a PowerPoint presentation and began anew her art education. In time, she began to exhibit her oil paintings in juried art shows and local venues, retired from the corporate world, and joined Tipping Paint Gallery. Today her base of operations is her home studio in Raleigh’s Historic Oakwood. vlrees.com

    CYNTHIA MOLLENKOPF - Immediate Past Chair

    In the spring of 2017, Cynthia opened Cocoon Gallery in Downtown Apex, NC. featuring high-quality, locally made, one-of-a-kind utilitarian art pieces from over 60 artists in a variety of mediums with whom she has developed first-hand relationships. Cynthia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, a Master’s in Geography (specializing in international trade), and an MBA in marketing. After some years in corporate marketing, Cynthia reignited her creative passions by delving into Feltmaking. As a fiber artist, Cynthia specializes in creating wearables, sculptural pieces, as well as wallhangings under the business name of ARTiFELTs. She also enjoys demonstrating and teaching felting as she believes creating public awareness of the felting process and sharing the potential of this medium are ongoing opportunities. Cynthia is a former member of the Town of Cary Cultural Arts Committee and, after years of participating in local arts festivals and juried art shows with her felted creations, Cynthia became a longtime member and Board member of Cary Gallery of Artists. Cynthia currently participates in the Apex Downtown Business Association and Women’s Power Networking.

GRACE LI WANG

  • Grace Li Wang is an artist renowned for her work of the radiance of nature in exuberant expressionist genre. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Grace graduated from the School of Design at the NCSU in 1974. She participates in numerous international, national, and regional design conferences as seminar panelist and jurist.  After many years of working in the Art and Design Director capacity for several major multi-national corporations, Grace became the gallery director for The Grace Li Wang Art Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the recipient of numerous international art and design awards, including the Designers Choice Awards from the International Design Publications, the Distinguished Awards from the International Society for Technical Communications, and others.  She was a board member of the NCSU Gregg Museum of Art & Design for 2 terms and also the designated signature artist for the 2011 Lazy Daze Arts Festival of Cary. Grace continues with painting, art licensing, arts advocacy, and exhibits regionally and internationally.

ANDREA DOBBIE

  • Andrea Dobbie brings a unique blend of financial acumen and artistic passion to the Triangle ArtWorks Board. Andrea works as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at a public accounting firm in Raleigh, as well as pursuing her passion for ceramics in her spare time. With a background as a CPA and extensive experience as a ceramics artist and teacher, Andrea embodies a commitment to both the financial stewardship and creative vision essential for contributing to the Triangle ArtWorks mission. Her career journey integrates a deep understanding of fiscal responsibility with a profound appreciation for the arts, along with involvement in the local arts community, making her a valuable asset in fostering the board's mission to promote and support artistic excellence.

SUSAN JONES - Treasurer

  • Susan Jones has been a tax accountant with Hughes, Pittman, and Gupton, LLP since moving to Raleigh in the mid-‘90s. A graduated of Virginia Tech, she has been a life-long ‘creative’ even though her initial career choice was not art. Once she settled in the Triangle,  she took advantage of several area art offerings beginning with Meredith College, Wake Tech, UNC Botanical Illustration and Duke’s Documentary Studies, ending with NCSU’s College of Design where she completed her Masters in 2002. Photography is her main medium; she uses colored pencils to hand color black and white photographs. Over the years, she has volunteered as an event photographer for several non-profits and served on the Board of VAE as Treasurer. She also volunteered with Chatham County Animal Shelter and did animal rescue for many years. Susan was a co-owner of Tipping Paint Gallery and is currently working with several artists to move that gallery to a virtual format. Learn more about Susan’s work here on her website. 

VERONIQUE MOSES - Chair

  • Veronique Moses is a software consultant practice leader and has spent her career launching and cultivating emerging technologies to market. A champion for diversity in engineering, she's served as recruiter, mentor and volunteer to K-University students including her alum, NC State University; where she achieved her MS in Computer Science. She received her BS in Computer Science from Winthrop University. S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math)– this perfect creative blend underscores her passions and need to create and innovate. Veronique is also a visual artist with a focus in documentary photography and creative writing where she aims to use her work for advocacy and change. She can be found in her free time supporting the Triangle arts community, indulging in all things interior design, drinking good coffee and working up a sweat­–in no particular order.

BRIAN SULLIVAN - Chair Elect

  • Brian is a partner with Wyrick Robbins and practices in the areas of venture capital, private equity, and general corporate and business law with a focus on growth stage companies, including early stage life science and technology companies. He advises companies and venture capital and private equity funds in matters ranging from initial formation and general corporate matters to financings and mergers & acquisitions. Brian earned his law degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a member of the Order of the Coif. He was a published member of the North Carolina Law Review and later served as the Publication Editor. Before law school, Brian spent two years working for a major international accounting firm in New York City. Brian graduated with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Psychology. Brian is a longstanding and active member of Law + ArtWorks.

LYMAN COLLINS - SMASH! Committee Chair

  • Lyman Collins can be found at art events throughout the Triangle and enjoys live music in almost any form. Lyman is a graduate of both Davidson College and UNC-CH with a long career in promoting and encouraging the Triangle’s art scenes. He served as Cultural Arts Manager for the Town of Cary for over 20 years, overseeing Koka Booth Amphitheatre and the town’s other outstanding arts venues: the Cary Arts Center, the Page-Walker Arts & History Center and the Cary Theater. In his career he has enjoyed presenting almost every genre of music - from the Beach Boys to Wu-Tang Clan to Andre Watts to Poison. Currently, Lyman Collins consults with municipalities and governments on arts programming.

SYDNEY GREENE

  • Sydney Greene is a multidimensional creative, storyteller, and birth doula based in Raleigh, North Carolina. With a background in journalism, political advocacy, and public policy, Sydney has brought her creative expertise and deep knowledge of communications and social media strategy to local and statewide political campaigns, news organizations, progressive issue-based campaigns, and more.

    At the beginning of her career, Sydney was a reporter covering issues like politics, policy, and culture for newsrooms like Teen Vogue, USA Today, Texas Monthly, and The Texas Tribune. Sydney then went into the world of politics and advocacy, specifically helping youth activists tap into their creativity and artistry to help move their communities to action and create social change at the local, statewide, and federal level. Sydney founded the brand and creative partnerships program at Advocates for Youth, leading the expansion of the organization’s brand through influencer, brand, and celebrity partnerships, experiential online & offline campaigns and activations, and artist commissions and collaborations. Recently, Sydney transitioned into the philanthropy sector, helping foundations, philanthropic asset owners, and other organizations deploy their capital for social and environmental change. Sydney also served as a board member and Culture and Operations Officer at Future Front Texas, an Austin-based organization that nurtures creativity, community-building and professional resilience among women and queer creatives, founders, and leaders in Texas. At Future Front, she helped curate and produce the organization's annual exhibitions, The Front Festival and The Front Market, along with other community events such as panels, annual fundraisers, and conferences.

    Using her authenticity, intuition, and curiosity to guide her interests and passions, Sydney connects to her creativity in a myriad of ways — through curating and writing her newsletter, "The Greene Room," continuing her lifelong dance practice, expanding her passion for interior decorating, and whatever else feels called to practice in the moment. Sydney's love for the arts comes from her childhood, where exploring her creativity and artistry was deeply valued and encouraged by her parents, and she continues to weave that into adulthood by supporting artists and creatives in her community.

YOLANDA MCGILL

  • Yolanda D. McGill is a Raleigh native, an arts-loving transactional lawyer and policy expert who has established a solid record identifying opportunities to proactively support agencies engaging on financial issues on behalf of underserved populations. For almost two decades Yolanda has remained committed to using her training to press for fairness and access in day-to-day transactions. As a manager, as well as a member of several boards of directors and strategic planning committees, she has proven her ability to establish an organizational vision and implement the vision in a continuously changing environment. In successive positions over several years Yolanda has created and implemented processes to stand up new initiatives by facilitating workflow through large coalitions and interdisciplinary teams. National in scope, these initiatives were successfully realized in large part due to her ability to identify opportunities for the new initiative to establish itself as a resource in the community, a worthy partner to other organizations and agencies already working in the field. Yolanda’s approach to her work incorporates grassroots organizing and tireless advocacy, offering legal analysis to NGOs as well as for-profits and government agency officials, and building and maintaining the trust of stakeholders and funders. Yolanda is a 1999 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a Darrow Scholar, coached IM football, and served as president of the Law School Student Senate.

KAREN TARKULICH

  • Karen Tarkulich (she/they) is a white, queer, middle/upper class straddling, neurodivergent, non-binary visual artist and arts administrator based in Durham, NC. Her work usually involves beading or sequins and examines the intersections of identity, particularly around class, race, inter-generational wealth, security and safety.

    Karen is currently the Grants Program Associate for North Carolina Community Foundation's Community Investment team. Prior to joining NCCF, they worked on grant programs for the North Carolina Arts Council and has over ten years of experience in nonprofit arts administration and community engagement including working in community engagement at The Scrap Exchange and in fundraising for Music Maker Foundation. Karen's currently a member leader of Resource Generation's Triangle chapter (current co-lead of chapter projects). Karen has a Masters in Arts Administration from Drexel University and a Bachelors in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

TERRY CONLON - Secretary

  • As a broad-based leadership coach to the private sector and to non-profits, Terry coaches executives, managers, project managers, and professionals at all levels in an organization. He helps them identify and choose key goals and outcomes. Once this has been done, he works with them to determine how they can prioritize and deliver on their goals in support of their businesses. This approach works with artists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and other professionals.
    He graduated from Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor of Science degree, was granted a CPA from the University of Illinois, and has a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from Villanova University. In addition, he was granted the ACC coaching designation from the International Coach Federation (ICF), the primary coaching certification body in the U.S. Finally, he became a PMI-certified Project Manager. He uses all these skills and abilities to help his clients more effectively develop their businesses.

ASHLEY HOLLAN

  • Ashley Hollan is an intermedia storyteller, entertainment and civil rights lawyer and educator. Ashley earned her BA in Public Policy and Visual Art/Art History at Duke, attended law school at the University of Denver and graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art with her MFA in Visual Studies and MA in Critical Studies. Ashley worked as General Counsel and Vice President for multiple private companies in media and recreation and founded an entertainment law firm before joining Live Nation, where she served as Associate Counsel supporting the Legal, Productions, and Media and Sponsorship divisions.  She has been a part of legal and production teams crafting groundbreaking movies, music, virtual reality, advertising and visual art content. Her volunteer membership has included service with the American Bar Association, Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts, Georgia Lawyers for the Arts and The Recording Academy and she serves as a Visiting Professor of Arts Administration and Art at Elon University. 

CYNTHIA MOLLENKOPF - Immediate Past Chair

  • In the spring of 2017, Cynthia opened Cocoon Gallery in Downtown Apex, NC. featuring high-quality, locally made, one-of-a-kind utilitarian art pieces from over 60 artists in a variety of mediums with whom she has developed first-hand relationships. Cynthia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, a Master’s in Geography (specializing in international trade), and an MBA in marketing. After some years in corporate marketing, Cynthia reignited her creative passions by delving into Feltmaking. As a fiber artist, Cynthia specializes in creating wearables, sculptural pieces, as well as wallhangings under the business name of ARTiFELTs. She also enjoys demonstrating and teaching felting as she believes creating public awareness of the felting process and sharing the potential of this medium are ongoing opportunities. Cynthia is a former member of the Town of Cary Cultural Arts Committee and, after years of participating in local arts festivals and juried art shows with her felted creations, Cynthia became a longtime member and Board member of Cary Gallery of Artists. Cynthia currently participates in the Apex Downtown Business Association and Women’s Power Networking.

JOEL TESCH

  • Joel Tesch is a full time artist and native of Raleigh. After over 20 years in corporate sales leadership (including leadership roles at Nasdaq, Cisco and Business Wire), he became a full-time artist specializing in 2D acrylic paintings.  A Millbrook High School and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate with a BA in Journalism in Mass Communication, Joel has an expansive network from both his professional connections and personal, having lived in Atlanta, San Francisco, and London before returning to his home city of Raleigh in 2021 with his wife and three daughters.  He enjoys participating in Triangle Area art shows and festivals and is a current Resident Artist at 311 Gallery in downtown Raleigh.