Staff

ArtForce Iowa is a 501c3 non-profit governed by a board of directors.  The organization is managed by Christine Her, Yvette Zaród Hermann, Emma Parker and Cody Sherman. Professional artists serve as Artist Mentors. These artists lead workshops and develop positive relationships with youth.

Christine Her Executive Director #1 Value: Honesty Christine@artforceiowa.org Christine is the daughter of Hmong refugee parents from Laos. She graduated from East High School and pursued her B.A. at Drake University majoring in Creative Writing, Philosophy and Political Science. As an agent of change, she is highly motivated to interrupt social and systemic injustices with hope and opportunity.

Christine Her
Executive Director
#1 Value: Honesty
Christine@artforceiowa.org

Christine is the daughter of Hmong refugee parents from Laos. She graduated from East High School and pursued her B.A. at Drake University majoring in Creative Writing, Philosophy and Political Science. As an agent of change, she is highly motivated to interrupt social and systemic injustices with hope and opportunity.

Yvette Zaród Hermann Program Director #1 Value: Safety Yvette@artforceiowa.org Yvette is a passionate advocate for the rights of young people. As a New York City Teaching Fellow, Yvette earned her Master's of Science in Education from CUNY Lehman College while working in a public high school in the Bronx. She has 13 years of classroom teaching experience and her favorite projects involve poetry, dance and theatre.

Yvette Zaród Hermann
Program Director
#1 Value: Safety
Yvette@artforceiowa.org

Yvette is a passionate advocate for the rights of young people. As a New York City Teaching Fellow, Yvette earned her Master's of Science in Education from CUNY Lehman College while working in a public high school in the Bronx. She has 13 years of classroom teaching experience and her favorite projects involve poetry, dance and theatre.

Emma Parker DSM Heroes Program Manager #1 Value: Growth Emma@artforceiowa.org Emma is a visual artist with a talent for envisioning collaborative projects. She graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA in Studio Art.

Emma Parker
DSM Heroes Program Manager
#1 Value: Growth
Emma@artforceiowa.org

Emma is a visual artist with a talent for envisioning collaborative projects. She graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA in Studio Art.

Cody Sherman Youth Engagement Specialist #1 Value: Justice Cody@artforceiowa.org Cody is a local artist with woodcut, printmaking and visual arts experience. His contagious creativity engages youth to make art.

Cody Sherman
Youth Engagement Specialist
#1 Value: Justice
Cody@artforceiowa.org

Cody is a local artist with woodcut, printmaking and visual arts experience. His contagious creativity engages youth to make art.

Board Members

Scott Anderson, Tax Director, FBL Financial Group, Inc.,

Kevin Hawkinson, General Manager - Operations, EMC

Meredith Olson, Board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with Everly Ball Unity Point

Beth Scheetz, Administrative Law Judge, Iowa Workforce Development

Alix Sanchez, Risk Assurance Senior Associate, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Carl Vieregger, Professor of Management & International Business, Drake University

Sharon Wegner, Attorney (specialist in Juvenile Courts)

Artist-Mentor Team 

Current Artist-Mentors Include:

Visual Arts
Garnet Nordine, Juan Lourido, Johnathan Fusco, Kathryn E. Sutton, Cody Sherman, Emma Parker

Fiber Arts
Chris Tran, Andrea Charnow

Music
Christine Her, Micah Smith, Jay Schneider, Cameron Schneider, Jacob Her

Hip-hop Production
Jason Gorsuch

Filmmaking and Photography
Dan Jaquez, Bobby Baccam

Theater and Creative Writing
Yvette Hermann, Rachel Vogel-Quinn, Sarah Welch, William Bortz