OUR STAFF
Rachel Tibbetts, Artistic Director
Rachel Tibbetts has worked in arts education since 2000 as an Education Associate and Assistant Director of Education at the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington; and Arts Partners Program Administrator and Assistant Arts Education Director at Young Audiences of St. Louis. She been with PPA since 2005. Rachel received her B.A. in Theatre from Oklahoma State University. She is a graduate of the Community Arts Training Institute at the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and the GoodMultiplier Fellowship; mobilizing women and people of color to lead change by promoting equity and civic engagement. Rachel is a member of the Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, a St. Louis area based professional theatre company committed to highlighting the work of womxn artists. Rachel works in the community as an actor and director, working with ERA Theatre, The Midnight Company, R-S Theatrics, YoungLiars, West End Players Guild, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Tennessee Williams Festival, and Mustard Seed Theatre.
rachel@prisonartsstl.org
John Wolbers, Executive Director
Long-time PPA collaborator, John Wolbers (he/him), steps into the role of Executive Director bringing over fifteen years of experience in the non-profit world. Most recently, he served as the Producing Associate for Metro Theater Company where he navigated many facets of company management: from development and production to COVID safety protocols and education. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Southwestern University in Texas, and is a respected director, administrator, educator, actor, and playwright. John is passionately dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and support in the St. Louis arts community.
john@prisonartsstl.org
Tyler White, Program Coordinator
A native of St. Louis, Tyler White, is a full-time artist who’s been seen onstage with The Tennessee Williams Festival, COCA, Metro Theater Company, The Black Rep, Mustard Seed, Washington University, and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. She’s also worked behind the scenes with Union Avenue Opera, COCA, and The Black Rep. Tyler previously served as Education/Community Director for 3 years at The Black Rep. She teaches numerous theater and dance classes all around the St. Louis area with companies such as Metro Theater Company, COCA, The Black Rep, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Science.
Karissa Anderson, Marketing Coordinator
Karissa is a true champion of all things advocacy and equity and spends her days working to balance the scales for communities most often forgotten.
With training in communications, social work, community organizing, and being a self-taught graphic and web designer, Karissa uses her skills to try and make the world a better place, as corny as that sounds. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and has earned an MSW from Saint Louis University.
Personally, she is a big sister, a left-hander, and a lover of tacos and music (in no particular order.) With the brain capacity of a never-ending file cabinet, her ultimate goal is to use every tool in her personal and professional arsenal to help build self-governing communities.
Eric Satterfield, Production Coordinator
Eric Satterfield is a versatile, creative professional who works as an actor, writer, and graphic designer. Since 2012, he has been actively involved in PPA productions, initially as an incarcerated artist and later as a member of the Alumni Theatre Company after his release in 2018.
He co-wrote the full-length play Elsinore, which premiered with the Alumni Theatre Company in 2021.
Eric enjoys writing, painting, and spending quality time with his family and friends. His goals as an artist include creating opportunities for other justice-impacted artists and telling stories that speak to the human condition and connect us to one another in meaningful ways.
OUR FOUNDER
Agnes Wilcox, Founding Artistic Director (1947-2017)
Agnes Wilcox held a B.A. in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.A. in English from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and an M.F.A. in Directing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She taught at New York University, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center (Waterford, Connecticut), Webster University (St. Louis), and Washington University in St. Louis, where she was an adjunct faculty member for the last nineteen years. Agnes was a member of Equity, SAG and AFTRA. Agnes retired from Prison Performing Arts in 2016 and served as artistic director at Bread & Roses of Missouri at the time of her passing.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Knight
Board President
Director, COCAbiz, Retired
Jocelyn Matsuo
Board Vice President
Full Stack Developer, 1904Labs
Matthew Mahaffey
Board Treasurer
Assistant Public Defender
Paige Colón
Board Secretary
Human Resources & Admin Support Generalist, Keyway: Center for Diversion and Reentry
Lisa Cohn Durkin
Senior Program Manager, Jobs for the Future
Edgar Evans
Union Chief Steward, Veterans Administration Hospital, Retired
Mark Holly
Senior Structural Engineer and Manager, Boeing, Retired
Evan Kuhn
Financial Advisor, Stifel
Tim Mooney
Assistant General Counsel, Arch Resources
Tara A. Nealey, Ph.D.
Shareholder, Polsinelli
Dr. Philip A. Woodmore, PhD.
Artistic Director of Voice, COCA Center of Creative Arts