About - Anderson Center at Tower View

Who We Are

Mission Statement

Anderson Center is a rare, rural oasis, a place that celebrates the imagination and supports the development of new arts and ideas through residencies, studios, and public engagement.

Our Vision

A vibrant community where art continues to be created and valued for its power to enrich lives and society.

About the Anderson Center

Anderson Center at Tower View is celebrating 30 years of service to the national arts and humanities community and the citizens of Minnesota. Founded in 1995, the organization has grown into one of the North's top artistic destination points. Anderson Center is based at Tower View, a grand national registered historic landmark and a rare, rural oasis for creative work in the scenic Mississippi River town of Red Wing, Minnesota. The organization celebrates the imagination and supports the development of new arts and ideas through residencies, studios, and public engagement.

The Anderson Center serves creative people of all kinds - writers, poets, visual artists, sculptors, composers, dancers, archaeologists, anthropologists, scholars, and others. The interdisciplinary nature of the Center inspires creative dialogue among the disciplines and places the Center at the forefront of thoughtful exchange.

In addition to 20 on-site artist studios, the Center offers a black-and-white equipped dark room, glass blowing studio, blacksmith shop, and printmaking facilities.

Header Image Credit: David Husom

Staff and Board

A light-skinned woman with wavy, shoulder-length brown hair. She is wearing glasses and a navy shirt.

Stephanie Rogers
Executive & Artistic Director
stephanie@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009 x1

Stephanie Rogers is the Executive and Artistic Director at the Anderson Center, and is responsible for administrative and creative leadership of the organization. She has formerly served as the Gallery Director of The Third Place Gallery and Assistant Director of Thomas Barry Fine Arts, both in Minneapolis. She has worked as Graphic Designer for Holmes Design, Marketing Coordinator of In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, and coordinated special projects for The History Theatre in St. Paul. Stephanie was born in Rochester, Minnesota and grew up in Chillicothe, Missouri. She earned a BA in Studio Art from St. Olaf College and an MFA in Photography from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia. Stephanie’s own visual art work started in photography and now takes the form of multi-media installations.

Joe Loer
Property & Finance Director
joe@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009 x3

Joe Loer is the Property and Finance Director at the Anderson Center. He manages facilities staff and contractors and develops capital planning and operational budgeting documents. He is an environmental engineer by trade who has worked with private, nonprofit, and public sectors, in the United States and abroad. Before moving back to Red Wing in 2010, Loer was the Managing Director of a nonprofit effort to develop land in Jamaica into an eco-resort. He has rented a writing studio at the Anderson Center since 2011. He is currently working on an environmental novel.

A light-skinned woman with light brown shoulder length hair. She is wearing a black sweater and smiling.

Laurel Stinson
Advancement & Residency Director
laurel@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009 x4

Laurel Stinson is the Advancement and Residency Director at the Anderson Center. She has previously served in leadership roles with the Hunger Prevention Council of Pierce County and on the Red Wing City Council. Laurel has a BA in Theater and Drama from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She is a trained actor, singer, and stunt performer and worked in Stage and Production Management and a variety of production roles in Madison WI, New York City, and theaters across the United States and Canada before returning to Red Wing.

Amanda Nodolf
Accountant / Bookkeeper
amanda@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009 x5

Amanda Nodolf is the Accountant/Bookkeeper for the Anderson Center. She is responsible for the day-to-day financials of the organization including invoices, billing, and payments. Amanda brings to the Anderson Center many years of experience in construction and project management. In addition, she has served in many capacities for local non-profits including Goodhue County Habitat for Humanity, Mothers of Preschoolers, and the Red Wing Soccer Association. She earned a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (with a minor in Mathematics) from Seattle University. Amanda grew up outside of Seattle, WA and has resided in Red Wing, MN for the last 9 years. She loves experiencing different cultures through cooking and travel. In her free time she enjoys camping with her family.

A brown-skinned person with long hair that is black with bright blue highlights. They are wearing gold glasses.

Sri Rudich
Visitor & Administrative Coordinator
sri@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009

Sri Rudich is the Visitor and Administrative Coordinator for the Anderson Center. Her responsibilities include ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment for visitors and providing administrative support to the Executive Director, Stephanie Rogers. Sri's professional background is in the hospitality industry, and community-based victim services. She has been creatively inclined since early childhood and engages in a multitude of art forms. Her favorites include mixed media painting, jewelry making, poetry, and costume design.

Scott Tisland
Maintenance Supervisor
scott@andersoncenter.org
(651) 388-2009

Kailey Laqua
Custodian

Janet Ohles
Visitor Assistant

Adamantia Everett
Visitor Assistant

Board of Directors

Karen Mueller has served as Managing Director of the History Theatre in St. Paul since 2010. A graduate of Macalester College, she brings years of experience to the Board of Directors, working in and with nonprofit organizations and foundations, locally and nationally, in areas of management, facilitation, strategic planning and fundraising development. Karen has worked with the Myrna Loy Center for the Arts, the National Black Arts Festival, Harlem Stage, and for many years served as a Program Officer at the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Ralph Balestriere retired in 2021, following 11 years as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Red Wing Shoe Company. In this role, he was responsible for global finance and business development for this worldwide developer, manufacturer, marketer, and retailer of purpose-built footwear, PPE garments and accessories under the brand names of Red Wing, Irish Setter, Worx, and Vasque. Ralph currently a member of the Red Wing Shoe Company Board of Directors and leads the board's audit committee. The privately held company is based in Red Wing, Minnesota, and also owns the S.B. Foot Tanning Company and the St. James Hotel. Ralph is a graduate of Boston University and holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance. He has served on the Board of Directors of Evergreen Medication Technologies LLC and Financial Executives International – Twin Cities. Ralph has been married to Judy for many wonderful years with three adult children and two grandchildren. With roots just north of Boston, MA, Ralph is an avid Boston professional sports team fan.

Carolyn Hedin is the co-founder (along with her husband, Robert) of the Anderson Center at Tower View. Born and raised in Red Wing, Minnesota, Carolyn was educated at Mackinac College and earned a Masters degree from Middlebury College School of French in Paris. Her study of the stock market began in 1980, an interest she continues managing equity investments for her family and for the Anderson Center. Interested in investing into Red Wing’s historic downtown, Carolyn restored and renovated four buildings on Main and Bush Streets, founded Bluewater Yoga Studio in 1996, and Indigo Properties in 1998. She continues to teach Yoga and train teachers, oversee her downtown real estate, and support the Anderson Center as Treasurer and Board Member.

Sean Dowse was Executive Director of the Sheldon Theatre from 1989-2015 and Mayor of Red Wing from 2017 - 2020. Prior to coming to Red Wing, he worked as Associate Director and General Manager of the Cricket Theatre in Minneapolis and in the Literary Department of the Guthrie Theater. He has served on numerous local and statewide boards, including the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. A member of the founding committee of the Anderson Center, Sean served as Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors for many years.

Hugh Hedin, great-grandson of A.P. and Lydia Anderson, was born and raised in Duluth, MN before earning his BA in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. During his time in Seattle, he began working with Noble House Hotels & Resorts to develop and operate a portfolio of notable travel destinations along the West Coast, including Hotel Deca (Seattle, WA), River Terrace Inn (Napa, CA), and Kona Kai Resort & Spa (San Diego, CA). He has also led projects at Bernardus Lodge & Winery (Carmel Valley, CA), the Edgewater Hotel (Seattle, WA), and Jekyll Island Club Resort (Jekyll Island, GA), among others. In 2021, he returned to his home state of Minnesota with Davidson Hospitality Group and currently oversees Emery, an award-winning boutique hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to fostering positive workplace culture, implementing new environmental initiatives, and building strong community partnerships at each property he has managed. Hugh lives in Golden Valley, MN with his wife Katie.

Robert Hedin, grandson of A. P. Anderson, was born and raised in Red Wing and educated at Luther College and the University of Alaska. The recipient of many honors and awards for his work, he is the author, translator, and editor of more than two-dozen books of poetry and prose. He is co-founder (with his wife, Carolyn) and former director of the Anderson Center and served as editor of the literary journal, Great River Review, from 1997-2015. He has taught at the University of Alaska, St. Olaf College, and Wake Forest University, where he was poet-in-residence from 1980-1992. In 2001-2002, he served as the Edelstein-Keller Writer of Distinction at the University of Minnesota, a special chair in the Program of Creative Writing. In 2013, he was honored with the Kay Sexton Award for his lifetime contributions to the literary community of Minnesota.

Named a composer "who will enrich your life" by The Guardian, Shruthi Rajasekar is an Indian-American artist whose work draws from her unique dual background in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) and Western classical music traditions. Recent honors include the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, the screening of her work at Cannes Film Festival, and Associate Membership to the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM).

Shruthi was a 2021 artist-in-residence at The Anderson Center, then served as a panelist for residencies, and is now excited to be joining the board. She has also been a resident artist at Britten Pears Arts (Snape, UK) and Tusen Takk Foundation (Michigan, USA). Shruthi additionally serves on the board of chamber music ensemble Zeitgeist. She moved back to Minnesota in 2020 after completing her bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and her two master’s degrees in the United Kingdom as a Marshall Scholar.

Steven Swanson grew up on a farm in Martin County, Minnesota and holds a five-year Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota. He spent 20 years working as a professional artist in the media of painting and printmaking. Steven studied with Fritz Scholder and Nathan Oliveira and was represented by galleries in Santa Fe, Chicago, New York, and Minneapolis. His work is included in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of New Mexico, and the Anderson Center (among others).

Steven began Danish Teak Classics as a hobby business in 1996 collecting, restoring and retailing vintage Scandinavian classic modern furniture and related arts and crafts. The business has grown to include a staff of 10-12 and now includes restoration services and interior design through the DTC design unit.

Prior to joining the Anderson Center Board of Directors, Steven spent 12 years serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association. He lives in the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood of Minneapolis with his wife, Phoebe.