William Price III, Chair and Founder of the Arts Collective. Mr. Price is the Vice President of AKT3, a manufacturer’s representative of Entertainment and Architectural equipment. William was the Chair of the Opera House Foundation raising the capital funds needed for the construction of the Cultural Center at the Opera House. He is currently the Chair of United States Institute of Theater Technology, Chesapeake Section, and former Chair of the USITT Eset Council an education organization of the entertainment industry.
Price has designed and installed lighting systems for The Newseum, The Studio Theatre and Theatre J in Washington DC. As a free-lance Lighting and Set designer William has designed for the Olney Theatre, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Phoenix Festival Theatre, the Milburn Stone Theatre and the Kennedy Center. William received the 2013 and 2016 Broadway World Baltimore Awards “Best Lighting Design” for “Spring Awakenings” and “American Idiot”. He holds an Undergraduate Degree in Fine Arts Management from Johnson College and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from the University of Maryland. William is the recent past Senior Warden at Saint John’s Church and resides in the Havre de Grace historic district with his wife Gay Lynn.
Laura Kozak, MA, Vice Chair, is chief marketing officer and senior associate vice president in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs (CPA) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
A hands-on, do-it-now leader who directs a talented team that prides itself on high-quality results despite quick deadline demands, Kozak has demonstrated the ability to inspire all aspects of the communications and public affairs department to work together for the schools and administrative units that comprise the University, including many projects for the Office of the President and the Office of External Relations.
Mrs. Kozak is a 2018 graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Leadership Program, which aspires to enable participants to become more effective civic leaders individually and collectively for the Baltimore region. She is also a 2022 graduate of Leadership Maryland, a professional development program that brings together executives from the public and private sectors to learn about the state’s key issues. Mrs. Kozak holds a Master of Arts in publications design from the University of Baltimore.
Lauri Orzewicz, Secretary, lives, works and plays in this great City of Havre de Grace! She has been a resident for over 25 years, the City of Havre de Grace Tourism Manager for 7 years and in the HdG Tourism Department for over 11 years. Lauri also manages the Havre de Grace Visitor Center at 450 Pennington Ave. This facility is your go to place for everything about HdG, including buying your Opera House tickets! Lauri serves on several boards including Harford Leadership Academy Alumni Board, Harford TV board, Havre de Grace Alliance Board and the Visit Harford Board. She is also a member of the Maryland Tourism Coalition and the Maryland Bus Association.
Karen Heppen, Treasurer, is the retired director of finance and operations of the Center for Food Action which operates food pantries throughout northern New Jersey and serves as an advocate for hunger issues throughout the state. She has served on the Harford County Cultural Arts Board and is the former treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maryland. An active member of the Warped Weavers Guild of Harford County, Karen is a committed supporter of the arts – folk, visual, fiber, literary and performing.
Kate Darwent, Director, is a Director at Corona Insights, a firm that assists purpose-driven organizations with research, evaluation, and strategic decision making. At work she specializes in using data to answer critical questions for nonprofit, public, and private organizations. She has worked with many arts and cultural organizations, conducting both research and strategy projects. Additionally, she has been involved with cultural planning projects for both Denver, CO and Allentown, PA. Prior to joining Corona Insights, Kate completed a PhD and an MA in Social Psychology at the Ohio State University. She has volunteered for the HdG Arts Collective since the reopening of the Cultural Center at the Opera House.
Lucas C. Taylor, Director, is an Army spouse of 25 years. With his husband, Major General Randy S. Taylor, U.S. Army (Retired), he has lived and traveled around the world. He has been highly engaged in the military family community, providing crucial support for service members wherever the Taylors have been assigned, including deployments in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Turkey, Egypt, and Haiti. He worked abroad as a member of the creative and entertainment teams for the largest hotel chain in Israel. Upon returning to the U.S., he worked extensively as an event manager for the largest catering company in North Carolina. He has served in leadership and board positions with several non-profit organizations, including the Army Spouses' Club of the Greater Washington Area, the Capital Area Military Spouses and currently serves on the board of the MilitarySpouseJobs.org Diversity Council.
Bill Watson, Director, is a local Havre de Grace marketing professional and fine artist. He has been involved in promoting Havre de Grace and the arts for over 25 years both as a professional and volunteer. He has served as an officer or member of several boards and city commissions including: President of Havre de Grace Main Street (2007-2010) and Chair of the A&E District, board member - HdG Alliance, Chair of the Public Art Committee - Community Projects of HdG, Inc., member - HdG Ethics Commission, member and former chair of HdG Tourism Commission. Bill is currently a member artist at the Arts by the Bay Gallery. He is currently focused on the promotion and installation of public art in HdG while enjoying all HdG has to offer with his wife Gia.
Brian Wessel, Director, has over 25 years of experience in marketing, communications, public relations, events, and capital campaign management. Brian is an Artist/Maker/Craftsman who brings a unique and proven skillset to the Havre de Grace Arts Collective. Brian classifies himself as "an emerging artist," albeit one with a body of work spanning over 30 years. His early works were created out of the sheer joy of experimenting with shape, color and composition, and were often given away to people that loved them or donated to charity auctions. Wessel paints for self catharsis and has rarely shown publicly, with the exception of recent exhibitions at Gallery 220 and O.S.D. 1 in Havre de Grace.
Mindy Elledge, Bookkeeper, has spent the last 30 years doing non-profit bookkeeping in a wide variety of environments including: several museums, a dance festival and now the Arts Collective. Mindy’s passion is music. She joined the choir when in third grade and never looked back. In the course of her choral music avocation she has performed with the Akron Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Blossom Festival Chorus, Boulder Chorale and several small chamber ensembles. She had the opportunity to perform works conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin and others. Mindy has been a member of the Harford Choral Society for 22 years and has sung with the Bach Choir of Baltimore and the Herb Dimmock Singers as well as the cathedral choir of Incarnation Baltimore. When Covid isolation prevented live music performances, Mindy turned to writing. She published her first book in 2019.