Meet Our 2025 Springboard Fellows

We’re thrilled to introduce the 2025 Springboard Fellows! The Springboard Fellowship offers emerging arts and culture professionals in Western New York the chance to grow their skills through hands-on experience and individualized mentorship with a local nonprofit arts organization.

Through this program, fellows gain real-world insight, build professional networks, and receive paid, meaningful work experience. We designed this program to remove the financial and structural barriers often tied to unpaid internships. Host organizations also receive a stipend to support their time and mentorship, helping foster a more equitable and inclusive arts community.

Both fellows and host organizations were carefully selected through an application process and have committed to this shared learning opportunity.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a vibrant performing arts hub, offering a full season of live music, theater, dance, cinema, as well as satellite presentations from the Metropolitan Opera and London’s National Theatre. With more than 100 events each year, the opera house serves as a cultural cornerstone for Chautauqua County, fostering community engagement and connecting audiences to high-quality arts experiences.

As the Community Engagement & Marketing Fellow, Reese is assisting with audience outreach, marketing, and strategies to connect underserved and diverse communities to performances and programs. Reese will gain hands-on experience in marketing, event promotion, and community engagement within a regional arts organization.

A SUNY Fredonia graduate with degrees in Voice Performance and Communication Disorders & Sciences, Reese brings extensive performance, teaching, and ensemble experience. His background includes solo and ensemble work, vocal instruction, research in voice acoustics, and leadership roles in choirs and music programs. Reese also has experience in event coordination, social media, and community arts engagement.

“I was inspired to apply for this role because I am eager to broaden my experiences to include more administrative aspects of the arts. This opportunity will also allow me to pursue my interests involving accessibility and outreach within the arts,” Reese shared.

artist engagement, and marketing, offering an immersive introduction to the behind-the-scenes work that brings film and media arts to the community.

Queline brings extensive experience in festival and media production, including social media management, content creation, and community engagement through the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and independent projects. Her background in video production, event coordination, and audience development equips them to support BIFF’s programming while building professional skills in arts administration and festival operations.

“I enjoy creating community around film and art, and I hope to do that at BIFF,” Queline shared. “I am looking to immerse myself within my local community and gain experience that could not be found in a virtual festival, while expanding my professional network.”

Nestled in Allegany County, the Fountain Arts Center has been nurturing creativity and supporting local artists since 2000. This rural arts hub offers classes, exhibitions, performances, and community programs that inspire self-expression and foster connection across all ages.

Katie, the Arts Administration Fellow, brings extensive performance and teaching experience, including serving as concertmaster of the Fountain Arts Center Orchestra, performing with regional youth and symphony orchestras, and leading her own ensembles. She also teaches violin, works as a cabin counselor at Camp JYC, and has experience in event support, tutoring, and arts-related roles.

“I’m excited to gain experience in arts management and build relationships with other aspiring musicians and artists,” Katie shared. Her skills and experience allow her to contribute meaningfully to the center while expanding her professional growth in nonprofit arts leadership.

Locust Street Art has been a cornerstone of Buffalo’s arts community for over 60 years, providing free and low-cost art classes to youth, adults, and seniors, with a particular focus on supporting low-income and minority participants. The organization cultivates artistic growth and skill development while fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for creative expression.

As the Archives Processing Fellow, Nehal is assisting in organizing, cataloging, and digitally documenting Locust Street Art’s permanent collection, which includes thousands of works of student and organizational art. This role offers hands-on experience in archival processing, collection management, and preparing the collection for a future retrospective exhibition.

Nehal brings experience working in galleries and museum spaces, including roles in exhibition planning, educational programming, archival research, and accessibility initiatives. Their background in art history, collections management, and attention to detail make them well-suited to support LSA’s archival work while gaining valuable professional experience in the arts sector.

Located in the heart of rural Western New York, Springville Center for the Arts (SCA) is a vibrant multi-arts hub dedicated to engaging the community through performances, exhibitions, education, and creative programming. As a catalyst for artistic inspiration and cultural growth, SCA brings people together to celebrate and participate in the arts—transforming the region’s rural landscape into a thriving creative ecosystem.

Through the Art Retail Fellowship, Caroline has helped launch a new physical retail space at Three East Main Street, curating artists, developing systems for sales and marketing, and helping design a welcoming community arts marketplace connected to Art’s Café.

A lifelong resident of nearby Collins, Caroline was drawn to SCA’s mission to bring new life and creativity to Main Street. With two decades of experience managing inventory, retail displays, and vendor coordination, as well as running her own equestrian business, she bring a strong entrepreneurial spirit and organizational expertise to the role.

“I’ve lived near Springville all my life, and the sense of community and positivity SCA brings to the village is amazing,” she shared. “This fellowship will help me build artist-to-artist relationships while also helping me stay inspired to create more art and allow for personal growth.”