Staff
Deborah
Thornton
Deborah L. Thornton has 25 years experience in organizational development, arts administration, fundraising and program development. These are rooted in a heritage of growing up in southern Louisiana - a rich mix of cultures, ethnicities, lifestyles, aesthetics, dialects, music, and stories. Upon graduation from college, armed with a Fine Arts degree in Visual Art, she engaged in a variety of life-education experiences that lured her out west. Visiting Colorado in 1982, she fell in love with the spirit of community in Manitou Springs and quickly became engaged with the arts industry/arts community of the Pikes Peak region. During her travels around the country, she saw that arts graduates around the nation were getting an aesthetic education but little business training to prepare them for an arts career. With a conviction to improve this condition and enhance the community, she helped develop the mission and programs, raise funding and open a new concept in arts facilities: the Business of Art Center. She stepped in as Executive Director for 4 years and was then hired by the Colorado Council on the Arts as an Associate Director running grants and technical assistance programs for over 400 arts organizations representing all arts disciplines throughout the state of Colorado. She has been part of Imagination Celebration since 1989 as a Steering Committee member, Steering Committee Chair, and on the Board of Directors. After several years of consulting with arts groups and communities around the state, she joined the Imagination Celebration staff as the Resource Development and Outreach Coordinator. Her service has been recognized with several awards including the Virginia Hagnauer Award for Service and Leadership and the Arts/Business/Education Pikes Peak Arts Council Award. She and her husband, Dan Wecks, jointly received the Community Weaver Award from Public Radio Station KRCC for arts, business and civic service to the Pikes Peak region. Contact Us
Board of Directors
The following people serve as the Board of Directors for Sprinkle Art Inc., doing business as Imagination Celebration, in Colorado Springs:
President • Diane Loschen
Treasurer • Jan Weiland
Secretary • Mary Helsaple
Director • Nancy Brown
Director • Wayne Paton
Director • Deborah Thornton