The City of Fishers announced today the newly appointed members of the inaugural Fishers Arts & Culture Commission. The Commission will become effective in January.
In August, Fishers City Council adopted an ordinance to create the Commission to facilitate a more comprehensive and strategic approach to arts and culture in the city. Over the past several years, there has been increasing momentum around advancing art and culture in Fishers. Earlier this month, the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) officially designated Fishers’ Nickel Plate District as a Statewide Cultural District.
The Commission will be facilitated by the Department of Planning & Zoning and will seek to engage and promote all forms of performing and visual art in Fishers in support of community and economic development efforts. One of Commission’s first tasks will be updating Fishers’ Community Art Master Plan, which was developed in 2013.
The Commission is comprised of seven board members appointed by the Mayor to serve two-year terms. Members include:
Cecilia Coble
City of Fishers Councilwoman
Coble has served on the Fishers City Council since 2015, where she currently serves on the Non-Profit and Finance Committees. She also chairs the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability and is passionate about highlighting the artistic talents of those with unique abilities in the Fishers community. In 2017, the City of Fishers was the recipient of the Champions of Inclusion Award as the result of the Committee’s efforts to bring more awareness, education, and celebration of those with intellectual and physical disabilities in Fishers.
Coble received her B.A. from the University of Arizona and she holds a J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. After law school, she worked as a Government Relations Representative for Bank One Consumer Lending Group, and as a Project/Account Manager for Pangea Lingua Translations & Communications in Indianapolis. She currently serves on the boards of the Bev Hartig Huntington’s Disease Foundation and the Giving Hope Foundation. Coble is an Associate Member of the Christamore House Guild and a former member of the Junior League of Indianapolis. She is also a former co-chair of the Indiana Chapter of Talk About Curing Autism and a former board member of the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities.
Coble has been married to her husband, Mike, for almost 25 years. They have two teenage daughters, Alexa and Crysta, whom has developmental disabilities. She enjoys the performing arts and traveling with her family.
David Decker
Owner of ACo and Co-Founder of Hub & Spoke
A persistent and successful entrepreneur, Decker is the founder and owner of ACo, a flooring, cabinet and kitchen and bath remodeling company. He is also the founder of Haven, a design and construction industry marketing firm & lifestyle publication. His latest endeavor, Hub & Spoke, was created to foster discovery of purpose and cultivate passion in children of all ages through experiential and entrepreneurial based exploration and learning. Anticipated to open in Fishers next fall, the Hub and Spoke Design Center will be a center of activity for the home building and design industry alongside a one-of-a-kind Makerspace for hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and students to design and create.
Growing up in a family-run business, Decker spent his summers working alongside his father, where he learned the values of work ethic and entrepreneurial ethos. His subsequent college experience sparked an awareness of the need to fuse industry and education, due to the glaring absence of hands-on learning from his college courses. After discovering a love of architecture, but not getting the experience he wanted, he left school to pursue working full-time. Decker finally found his passion when he launched his design and remodeling company. Decker hopes that Hub & Spoke will help those at any stage of life to uncover their own purpose and passion.
Jeremiah Follis
Teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School, Founder of Olio Productions, and Sculptor
Follis is a social studies teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School and a professional sculptor. In 2013, he founded Sillof LLC to showcase his sculptures and work he has done for Disney/Lucasfilm and the television show Supernatural, as well as individual work he has done, notably for Guillermo Del Toro, Seth Myers, and Patton Oswalt. As a filmmaker, he has worked as a producer and in the production design and art department field on over 15 films. Most recently, he served as the art director for The Storyteller, which won the Audience Award at the 2018 Heartland Film Festival.
For 20 years, he has been educating and creating a passion in students for film by teaching an after-school film studies course. In 2014, he formed the student production company, Olio Road Productions, which gives students the unique opportunity to create a completely original, feature length film each year.
Follis has a degree from Ball State University and has served as a trainer and guest speaker on the topics of culture, religion, and First Amendment issues. He has been selected as an ambassador to Fishers’ sister city, recognized by the U.S. State Department for teaching religion and tolerance, and has served as a member and chair of HSE District level committees for Equity and High Ability Planning. Earlier this year, Follis received the first-ever Arts Educator of the Year Award from Nickel Plate Arts. Follis lives in Fishers with his wife, Tammy, and daughter, Katie.
Kathryn Haigh
Chief Operating Officer at Newfields
Haigh oversees and directs day-to-day operations of the 152-acre Newfields’ campus, including management of the fine art collection and exhibition program at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and historic Lilly House. She oversees the Historic Preservation program and manages the Lilly House, Westerley House & Gardens—the Director’s residence in Golden Hill—and the Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana. Haigh is also responsible for managing the Facilities Maintenance, Culinary Arts, Events, and Security departments, as well as all related capital assets. Recently, she worked with the CEO and the Buildings and Grounds Committee to develop a 30-year master plan for Newfields.
Haigh studied Art History at the University of Cincinnati and has been working in major fine art museums for 24 years. Before coming to Newfields, she was the Chief Registrar at the Cincinnati Art Museum. In 2007, she relocated to Fishers with her family. Her daughter, Madeleine, is a graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School and attends Ball State University where she studies Interior Design. Her son, Ryan, is an 8th grader at HSE Intermediate/Junior High and is a member of Fishers Boy Scout Troop 199.
Chris Lingner
Founding Company Member of the Indianapolis Ballet
Lingner began his career with the 2009 National Tour of Twyla Tharp’s Moving Out, where he was one of the youngest performers to ever dance the principal roles of Eddie and James. He has been a featured guest artist with Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, Indianapolis School of Ballet, New Albany Ballet, Peoria Ballet, in the Young Stars of Ballet Gala presented by Indianapolis City Ballet, and Chamber Dance Project in Washington D.C. In 2012, Sonya Tayeh created a new work on him for a NFL Super Bowl-Super Cure event.
Lingner studied ballet in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He joined Cincinnati Ballet in the 13-14 50th Anniversary Season in the Corps de Ballet. While with the Cincinnati Ballet, Lingner performed in works by Adam Hougland, Victoria Morgan, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre, Viktor Plotnikov, Jessica Lang, Jennifer Archibald, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Yuri Possokhov, and Kirk Peterson. He toured with Cincinnati Ballet to The Joyce Theatre in New York City and the Kennedy Center. His musical theatre credits include Hairspray (Oasis of the Seas), Guys and Dolls (Flatrock Play House), and Jerome Robbins Broadway (The MUNY). As a producer, Lingner was nominated for a Tony Award as a Co-Producer for Broadway's On the Town and Best Show of 2016 for his production of the first Ballet Royalty Gala in Havana, Cuba.
Marisol Sanchez
Vice President, General Counsel at Endress+Hauser, Inc. USA
Sanchez serves as legal counselor and strategic advisor to Endress+Hauser, Inc. USA and oversees all legal and compliance functions of the North American organizations. She leads the company’s Women’s Integrated Network, serves on the Philanthropy Committee, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Community Career Education Forum.
Prior to joining Endress+Hauser, Sanchez was a partner in the Litigation, Appellate and White Collar Crime Practice Groups with the law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans, LLP in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before joining Bose McKinney, she served as a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court.
Sanchez received her Bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Puerto Rico, and a Jurisdoctorate Degree at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She is active in the community and serves on numerous boards, including the Indianapolis Zoo, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Indy Chamber’s Regional Strategy Council, Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, and IFSA-Butler. Sanchez was named as one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty under 40 and was a Nominee for the YWCA Salute to Women of Achievement Award in 2010. She is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, the IBA Bar Leader Series IV, and the FBI Citizens Academy.
Jocelyn Vare
Owner of Propeller Marketing, Former President of Fishers Arts Council, Nickel Plate Arts Board Member, and President of Fishers Music Works
Vare has served as an arts volunteer in Fishers for over 10 years, most recently as a steering committee member for the City of Fishers’ successful Statewide Cultural District application. She currently serves as a co-chair of Spark!Fishers vendor committee, board secretary of Nickel Plate Arts, and president of the community’s performing arts non-profit organization, Fishers Music Works. She previously served as president of Fishers Arts Council, board member for the historic Ambassador House, task force member for Fishers’ 2040 Plan, and a coordinator of the annual Arts Crawl event.
Vare is a graduate of Ball State’s Community Development Course, Fishers City Government Academy, and the Hamilton County Leadership Academy. She is a member of the Fishers Community Chorus and has performed with Nickel Plate Players at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater.
In 2001, Vare started Propeller Marketing, an advertising agency that promotes Indiana communities for tourism and economic development and is a certified Indiana Women-Business Enterprise. Her office is in the historic Eller House in Fishers.