Broad Perspectives

Originally from the Washington,  DC area, Lisa Falk has lived and traveled many places and their colors, designs and rhythms make their way into her creations.

Lisa has been doing pottery on and off since she was a teenager. In Tucson she picked it up again 20 years ago when her son wanted to learn pottery. She did a parent-child class at the Tucson Clay Coop. While her studio is at home, she glazes and fires her work at the Clay Coop.

When not happily creating in her studio, Lisa works at the University of Arizona’s Arizona State Museum, which focuses on the history and culture of Indigenous peoples in the greater Southwest. Lisa holds a MAT in Museum Education from George Washington University, and a BA in Anthropology-Sociology from Oberland College.

Tracey Chapman: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution for our music break

Denise Marsa is a multi-talented and very versatile musician and businesswoman. She has spent decades building a fiercely independent path through the music world, starting with creating her own record label, KeyMedia Group back in the 1990’s. Denise has received much recognition and awards in the US, the UK, and across Europe. In 2021 her one-woman show THE PASS won the Best Concert Award at the United Solo Festival in NYC. She continues to produce her own music, and is about to release a new CD, called RISK AND HEAL.

Denise is also the founder of KeyMedia Public Relations, which has championed visibility and opportunity for independent creatives since the late 1990s.

Throughout her career, Denise has consistently refused to conform to industry expectations. From writing and producing her own material to launching a PR agency focused on elevating emerging voices, she has prioritized authenticity and creative autonomy.

Sarah Vitort, from Portland, Oregon, is 1/2 the duo, Fox and Bones. The other half is Scott Gilmore.  You may know Fox and Bones as the winners of the Tucson Folk Festival Stefan George songwriting contest in 2023. They also won second place in the International Acoustic Music Awards, as well as other accolades. Their fourth album titled “Long Time Honey” was awarded Best Folk/Americana Album of 2024 by the PNW Music Awards.

But Sarah has had a long and interesting history in the music world besides  Fox and Bones.  In 2014, she quit a day job to travel the world, and was awakened to her musical calling. In 2015 she returned home to Portland and has since performed in a number of different bands including Fox and Bones, Sasa Fox, Sarah Wild and the Watch, and Tragic Kingdom – No Doubt Tribute. She has played thousands of shows all over the world, planned and executed multiple national and international tours, released 6 albums, appeared on TV, radio and podcasts, and founded a music festival, Portland’s Folk Festival. Well, that is a lot!

Betsy Kruse Craig is an experienced actor, director, and educator with nearly three decades in the performing arts. Renowned for her innovative approach and passion for storytelling, she has directed acclaimed productions across genres, including Enemy of the People, Violet, Buried Child, The Lion King, Legally Blonde, and Twelfth Night, among others.

As a performer, Betsy has appeared regionally with The Paper Bag Players, The News in Revue in NYC, and Clue the Musical in Chicago. Her notable roles include Hedda Gabler, Barbara Weston in August: Osage County, Tallulah Bankhead in Looped, Morticia in The Addams Family, and Heidi in What the Constitution Means to Me.

Former Artistic Director at The Pear Theatre, she is now the Managing Artistic Director of The Invisible Theatre. Betsy holds a Master’s in Fine Arts and has taught acting, directing, voice, and movement at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona. Her work emphasizes collaboration and the transformative power of the arts for individuals and communities.

BRAVE by Sara Bareilles was played on our music break.

Krystal Popov is the founder of Futureprenaur, an organization that teaches children how to start their own businesses. Now before founding this company, Krystal already had a long history of business and entrepreneurship.

In 2019 she founded The L Offices in Tucson, a community events and workspace for Tucson businesses.  The space is designed to foster health, wellness and closer community engagement.  Krystal is also the founder of The Proper Shops in downtown Tucson, a collective of local merchants & artists.

Music played on our music break – I Was Here by Lady Antebellum

Hilary Van Alsburg serves as the Executive Director at Children’s Museum Tucson|Oro Valley, where interactive accessible learning is the core mission. She holds a Juris Doctorate degree from University of Arizona College of Law and a BA in Sociology from Northern Arizona University, as well as having earned state certification as a K-12 educator.

Hilary serves on the board of directors of the Association of Children’s Museums, Visit Tucson, and Downtown Tucson Partnership. Hilary served as a fellow with the Public Voices OpEd Project and was honored as the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fundraising Executive of the Year for Southern Arizona.

A native Arizonan, Hilary is active in community organizations focused on education, serving on committees including the United Way of Southern Arizona’s First Focus on Kids and the Institute of Museum and Library Services Information Literacy Initiative. In her role as Executive Director at the Children’s Museum, she is leading the organization through a period of growth with a $15million expansion to allow the Museum to continue serving as a trusted educational resource for future generations.

Littliest Birds by The Be Good Tanyas was played on our music break.

Oboist Erin Hannigan is the newly appointed Professor of Oboe at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston. She has been the principal oboist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2001 and, before coming to Dallas, she was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. Erin has been a member of the Southern Methodist University faculty since 2002, where she is adjunct associate professor of oboe.

She was previously a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music as instructor of Baroque oboe from 1996 to 2001. In 2018, Hannigan received the prestigious Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service from the League of American Orchestras for her annual Concert for Kindness, which has raised over $450,000 for animal rescue organizations, and the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a student of Richard Killmer.

Erin will be joining the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra this October to perform Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C Major.

Gabrielle Pietrangelo, (aka “Gabby”) is a Tucson-based multi-instrumentalist,  award-winning songwriter, harmony group leader and teacher of school age students and adults. You may know her from the many groups she has performed with in Tucson including “Silver Thread Trio”, “Blue Skies Trio” and a variety of choruses she directed.  Gabrielle won the John Lennon Summer Song Contest with her Tucson anthem, “Summer Losers.” (which we will hear later) She was also a finalist in 2025’s  Stefan George Songwriting Contest at The Tucson Folk Festival.  Last March, she released her finest collection of songs to date, with her album entitled, “Back to the Heart.” Duncan Hudson, Musical Director of KXCI said “Back to the Heart, is an album that was many years. . . in the making and which serves as a love song to this community. . .and the amazing Sonoran Desert region we call home.”

Mel Blumenthal is the President of Bloom Wealth Alliance, a boutique investment advisory firm dedicated to helping women and marginalized communities better plan for their financial futures.

She has been a sought-after public speaker on multiple areas of expertise for over 25 years. She has been a guest lecturer and speaker at several colleges and corporations.

Mel is passionate about storytelling and the impact it can have on strengthening communities and catalyzing personal and professional growth. She is the President of F*ST! Female Storytellers whose mission is to uplift the voices and stories of women and people of marginalized genders. She has conducted myriad storytelling workshops ranging from high school students to corporate business branding and marketing strategies for fortune 500 companies.

Music for our music break

Errin Mendibles is the founder of Una Bella Vita Tucson, a non-profit organization offering resources and peer support  to adolescents with eating disorders  and their families. Errin was motivated to establish this organization when her daughter was diagnosed with an eating disorder and she discovered there was no treatment in Tucson they could turn to for help.

Errin also serves on the Board of  the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals Southern AZ Chapter, where she helps expand education and awareness among professionals working in the eating disorder field.  Her mission is to make eating disorders a distant memory for AZ families by reducing barriers to care and building compassionate community support.