Board of Directors
Cary A. Thrall | Creative Executive Director | Lead, SD
Cary A. Thrall is an artist, educator, and changemaker who has aligned her passions and skill sets to develop community artworks that weave people and places together. Her work demonstrates how interconnected we truly are. Cary seeks community members to work with each time she connects with a town. In her process, she leads and mentors those individuals, creating the leadership team. Cary also works with emerging and professional artists with her projects. Her work spans communities throughout the Black Hills and Central South Dakota. For these initiatives Creative Community Collaboration is the goal to tell that community’s story. By working with unique groups, she schedules multiple touchpoints that create a series of engagement events culminating with a final showcase, public artwork, or BIG event. Cary is a team-oriented leader, always focused on supporting people, deep and wide.
Maria Grosek | Board Chair | Colorado Springs, CO
Maria Grosek was born and raised in the beautiful Blacks Hills of South Dakota and is a Lead High School alumna. During her undergrad experience at Gonzaga University and yearlong volunteer endeavor with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, she realized her passion for social justice and working with children and adults with developmental disabilities. For the past 15 years, Maria has worked as an occupational therapist where she strives to empower and guide families to embrace and support their children’s unique developmental journey. In addition, Maria has volunteered in her community by decorating bags and delivering food to individuals with terminal illness. She is an active member of her local church and volunteers in religious education youth programs and provides meals and fellowship to homeless families. Maria lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and three children. She loves spending time with her kids and attending all their activities as well as hiking, camping and backpacking. Maria is honored to be a part of this organization and its vision.
Sarah Anderson | Board Co-Chair | Spearfish, SD
Leveraging her expertise in grant writing, Sarah works with local, state and federal governments and nonprofits to seek and secure both public and private financial opportunities for projects that protect and restore natural resources and revitalize communities. Sarah received her B.S. in environmental science from Colorado and M.S. in biography from South Dakota. A native to the Black Hills of South Dakota, Sarah has traveled the world to explore different cultures and landscapes. She values sustainable outdoor recreation and community connectiveness.
Passionate about natural resource sustainability, Sarah represents the interest area of State, County, Locally Elected and Appointed Offices in Wyoming on the National Forest Advisory Board, which provides advice and recommendations on programs and projects that may have forest-wide implications, such as USFS Forest Plan revisions and amendments, travel management, forest health, monitoring and evaluation, recreation fees, and site-specific projects. Sarah also serves on the Black Hills Christian Academy Board where she provides guidance and recommendations on educationally based initiatives and helps identify grant funding opportunities to better equip students to impact the world for Christ. Sarah joined the Creative Explorations team to help bridge connectivity opportunities amongst communities and to augment funding prospects.
Rachel Lovelace-Portal | Secretary | Queensbury, NY
Rachel Lovelace-Portal is a museum professional. She is passionate about caring for museum collections and making them accessible to the public. Rachel is the registrar and collections manager at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York, where she manages the museum’s art collection. Before that, she held positions as curator of collections for Deadwood History, Inc. in Deadwood South Dakota, and curator at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. in English and History from Southern Adventist University and a M.A. in Public History from Appalachian State University. She previously served on the board for makeSPACE in Spearfish, South Dakota, where she assisted with grant writing and planning equity focused book study groups. While not a professional artist, she enjoys many creative hobbies including embroidery, crocheting, painting, block printing, and sewing. Over the past few years, Rachel has been cultivating a more holistic lifestyle including hiking, exercising, meditation, and cooking healthy food.
Casey Burrus | Treasurer | Burke, SD
Professionally, Casey is not an artist. She brings with her fourteen years of experience working in county government in the County Equalization Office as a Certified Assessor Appraiser and also filled the role of County Planning and Zoning Administrator for eight years.
Personally though, Casey is an active member in her community and has helped Burke Business Development write and obtain grants to provide websites for businesses, as well as sat on the board for Burke Business Development to help businesses obtain funding and support. She was one of the founding board members for the Burke Daycare and is currently the secretary/treasurer of the daycare. While employed by the county, she obtained a grant to build the Gregory County website.
Casey is active with South Dakota Specialty Producers and is on the Executive Team as the Secretary. The organization promotes local foods, specialty crops and educates potential producers on how to succeed in the specialty crop market. Casey has written block grant applications to help fund the organization's goals. Casey is also a Bush Foundation Change Network Member and has worked to obtain grants to help fund art and community projects within Gregory County. This undertaking has included musical events, speakers, and artist outreach.
Casey loves rural living and dreams of bringing more art and culture to the smaller towns and communities in her area to nurture relationships. She was integral in bringing a Linking Fences project to Gregory!
Jake Bernards | Board Member | Lead, SD
Jake Bernards and his wife live in Lead, SD. They have two children, ages seven and four. He grew up in the area and is a firm believer in supporting the community.
He worked in various positions through college in the automotive industry. After school he landed a position with First Interstate Bank. While at the bank he spent time in Billings, MT and Rapid City, before transferring to Deadwood to work as a Commercial Relationship Manager.
Jake is involved with several other local and state boards and organizations including the Abbott House (Operational BOD, and budget committee), TeamMates (Mentor, Treasurer), and the local Elks Lodge (previous Exalted Ruler, retired treasurer, and now a volunteering member).
Jake’s favorite dinosaur is a velociraptor, based entirely on Chris Pratt being able to train them like bird dogs in the Jurassic Park movies.
Creative Explorations honors our friend, mentor and former Board Chair Stan Goodshield Hawkins. It is with deep sadness that we share Stan made his voyage to the spirit world in June, 2023.
Stan was an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. He operated his creative company, Black Hawk Creations from the Racing Magpie Studios in Rapid City, SD. He created Native regalia, jewelry and wooden pieces. Black Hawk Creations products had become a known regional brand. The experience and inspiration Stan had from prior vocations were all combined to make products of the highest caliber. Stan produced art that he considered a traditional style. That's left room for interpretation to add his ideas into the design. Stan made Native American art while honoring Grandmother Earth.
Research, honoring elders and fellow artists was part of his construction process. Stan took great care in his work. It has been recognized in arts showcases and events. Stan’s work placed first in Native Pop, an annual Rapid City, SD arts and culture showcase. Stan was a mentor and teacher and had offered several demonstrations at Oglala Lakota College He Sapa center over the last several years.
December 23, 1952-June 21st, 2023
Stan Hawkins | Former Board Chair | Rapid City, SD
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
~Margaret Mead