John Christiansen is a retired school administrator who served as superintendent of schools for more than 30 years in communities including Red Wing, Lino Lakes, and Dakota County. A long-time member of the Anderson Center Board of Directors, John also serves as a board member of Proact: Rehabilitation Services for Adults with Disabilities; Construct Tomorrow, which provides high school students information on apprenticeship career training in construction; the Minnesota Association of Educational Administrators Foundation, to enhance leadership development in educational administration; and Foundation 191, which supports the Burnsville, Savage, Eagan School District. John received his doctorate in Education from Drake University, Des Moines, earned his Masters degree from the University of Nebraska, and did his undergraduate work at Doane College, Crete, Nebraska.

 

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.

Nan Bailly has been the owner and winemaker at Alexis Bailly Vineyard for 30 years, starting with her apprenticeship in the Loire Valley in France where she first learned her craft. Her winemaking experiences have been honed by stints in the Cotes du Rhone of southern France and in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, all leading back to Minnesota where she carries on the romantic notion of making wines in the world’s most difficult wine making region. Alexis Bailly Vineyard was established in 1978 and provides Nan with a limitless opportunity to engage with the arts community through her work and public opportunities. In creating her wine label, she has worked with many local artists and graphic designers including Lifeworks, a non-profit serving adults with disabilities, with an ongoing series of labels promoting their artist talents. In collaboration with Franconia Sculpture she established a sculpture park on the winery grounds for the students at Franconia to display their works.

Nan has served on the board of The Rosemount Research and Outreach Center at The University of Minnesota and is currently on the advisory committee of the University of Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center. Her position as a business owner continually involves her in community activities in both Hastings and the Twin Cities areas.

Nan has long been both interested and intrigued in The Anderson Center. She, her husband, and her dog have enjoyed walking through the sculpture garden and watching both the artworks and the trees grow over the years. They have often attended the open artist studio events and on rainy days when a hike isn’t possible, a visit to the amazing artworks in the permanent collection makes for a special occasion. Nan would bring her passion, vision and leadership experience to a board position in the hope of being a part of the continued growth of The Anderson Center.

Nan is married to Sam Haislet, a graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design, graduate of Atelier Lack Fine Arts and a current wine professional. As St. Paul residents, their active support and involvement in the local art, wine and food scene is a rewarding part of their lives.

Dobby Gibson is a marketing executive and poet. He currently serves as Senior Manager of Talent Marketing and Talent Experience at Land O’Lakes, Inc. Prior to that, he spent 13 years as a creative director at a Minneapolis-based agency working with a client roster that included Amerprise, FedEx, and Sherwin-Williams. 

As a poet, Gibson is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Hold Everything, which is forthcoming from Graywolf Press in 2024. His books have won the Alice James Award and been finalists for both the Minnesota Book Award and Believer Book Award. He’s been awarded fellowships from The Jerome Foundation, The Lannan Foundation, and The McKnight Foundation. In 2016, he spent a semester as visiting poet at the University of Texas-Austin. 

Gibson is a past board member of the Loft Literary Center and holds a BA from Connecticut College and an MFA from Indiana University. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Kathy, and daughter Scarlett. 

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.

From 1994-2022, Fiona McCrae was the publisher of award-winning, Minneapolis-based Graywolf Press, following eleven years with British publisher Faber and Faber, of which the last three were spent in Faber’s Boston office. She is the recipient of the 2014 Golden Colophon Award in Leadership from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, the 2022 Kay Sexton Award, and the 2016 Poets & Writers Editor’s Award, with Jeff Shotts. In addition to the Anderson Center, she is also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation and Orion Magazine, where she is also an editorial advisor.

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.