STAFF & BOARD

OFFICE STAFF

MICHELLE WOSTER

Executive Director
mwoster@thecedar.org

Pronouns: She/Her

Michelle has a long history of organizational and development leadership in the Twin Cities' non-profit sector, having served as Managing Director for two Minneapolis performing arts organizations: Theater Latté Da and Ten Thousand Things. She also was proud to spend several years raising funds for The Center for Victims of Torture and The Family Partnership. Supporting organizations in service to working artists is a passion. She holds an MPA from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. She lives in northeast Minneapolis and is a proud parent in the Minneapolis Public School system.

John marks

Operations Director
jmarks@thecedar.org

Pronouns: He/Him

John brings 20 years of experience building community and fostering collaboration across disciplines in the Twin Cities arts landscape. He served as a technical coordinator at the University of Minnesota’s School of Music for over 15 years. John is co-founder and co-director of Art of This, a project-driven nonprofit arts organization focused on creating platforms for local culture. He co-curated the Soap Factory’s 2013 Minnesota Biennial, and was co-organizer of the Tuesday Series for Improvised Music.

John is an active artist and performer working at the intersection of sound, moving image and visual art. His work has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center and Red Eye Theater, and presented at museums, festivals, and underground venues throughout North America. He is a founding member of Mirror Lab, a studio collective and programming space in South Minneapolis.

John holds a Masters of Professional Studies in Arts and Cultural Leadership from the UMN, where his studies focused on artist-led, horizontally managed organizations. He lives in the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood with his wife, musician Crystal Myslajek and their two daughters.

James Taylor

Program Director
jtaylor@thecedar.org

James comes to The Cedar from First Avenue, where he worked on the booking team for eight years, presenting developing and internationally-recognized artists in their six venues. He served on the Board of Directors of Twin Cities Catalyst Music, helping all-ages music venues in the Twin Cities navigate the post-COVID landscape. Prior to moving to Minnesota, James was a venue owner and operator in Austin, TX where he started his career in concert promotions and artist development.

BO YOUNG AN

Marketing and Communications Manager
ban@thecedar.org

Bo Young An joined the Cedar staff intially as the Marketing and Programming Associate before taking on her new role as the Marketing and Communications Manager in January 2024. Bo moved to Minneapolis from Seoul, Korea in the summer of 2020 to pursue her Master of Fine Arts degree at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has become a master of many trades since moving to the Twin Cities, thriving in a diverse professional landscape and demonstrating expertise in graphic design, sponsorship coordination, marketing and in the arts as both artist and curator. She is an enthusiastic listener of pop, classical, and jazz music and has a biased fondness of the rich tones of brass instruments as she used to play the trumpet.

Elinor jones

Donor and Audience Services Associate
ejones@thecedar.org

Pronouns: They/Them
Elinor is new to the Cedar as of May 2026. Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Northern Colorado, Elinor is a proud Minnesota transplant. They hold a B.A. in Theater & Dance and Music from Macalester College. Following several years working with kids at Stages Theatre Company, they are thrilled to further cultivate their artistic and professional life at The Cedar. A devoted singer and collaborative artist, Elinor sings with several choirs around the Twin Cities, including the VocalEssence Chorus. As the former Operations Director for the Minneapolis Choir Collective, Elinor facilitated the transformation of a small community choir into a flourishing 501(c)(3) non-profit. In their free time, you can find Elinor birding, thrifting, and enjoying time with their loved ones.

Rachel Fulkerson

Development Consultant
rfulkerson@thecedar.org

Rachel brings over twenty-five years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, communications, operations, and events. As the former Director of Programs and Communications at the Friends of the Hennepin County Library, former Director of Advancement and Operations at Graywolf Press, and owner of her nonprofit consultancy, she has worked with hundreds of world-class artists. She holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Publishing Certification from the University of Denver. Based in the Minneapolis area, she has served on the boards of Grand Marais Arts Colony, Rain Taxi (producers of Twin Cities Book Festival), and Minnesota Association of Library Friends.

EVENTS

caleigh souhan

Sr. Events Manager
csouhan@thecedar.org

Pronouns: She/Her

Caleigh has been sneaking out to see shows in Minneapolis since the early 2000’s and has been a part of many DIY spaces and venues across the Twin Cities. While attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, she found Radio K and was able to join the staff first as Traffic Director, then was promoted to Music Director shortly after. While serving as Music Director, Caleigh was nominated for two awards at CMJ: Music Director of the Year and Outstanding Leadership in College Radio. She also served as Program Director for Radio K before graduating in December 2012 with a Bachelor of Individualized Studies in Art, Theatre Arts, & Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature.

Caleigh was hired as a Booking Assistant at First Avenue in August of 2013 where she learned what it takes to make a show happen. She was promoted to Talent Buyer and was in charge of booking, settling, and advancing shows.

After leaving First Avenue at the end of 2016, Caleigh worked as a stagehand and audio assistant for Slamhammer Productions, booked Punk Bowling at Memory Lanes, managed her father’s podcast network and website, and worked at The Mill NE as a wait assist. She briefly worked for Amsterdam Bar & Hall in 2019 as an Assistant Event Manager before being hired as a neighborhood organizer for St. Anthony East Neighborhood Association. During the 2020 uprising, Caleigh started working in shelters in an effort to more directly assist her community. Caleigh joined The Cedar’s team in September of 2021.

Caleigh has a beautiful 6yo mutt named Shadow who loves love and demands snuggles. When she’s not out at shows, she’s probably hanging with Shadow at the dog park or at home.

Jared Hemming

Event Manager/Volunteer Coordinator
jhemming@thecedar.org

Volunteer Coordinator/ Events Assistant
volunteer@thecedar.org / jhemming@thecedar.org
Pronouns: He/Him

Background: As a biracial kid growing up in Coon Rapids and Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, Jared has always understood music is vital. Playing percussion and drums in various school bands kept him out of trouble (surprisingly) and helped him realize our differences bond us. Desperate for diversity, he moved to Minneapolis in 2012. He dove into the Twin Cities music community immediately, attending and playing shows with glee. His first show at The Cedar was of Montreal, a perfect entry into the colorful world existing inside this old movie theater. In 2016, he joined the Cedar as a house manager, and he’s thrilled to work closer with The Cedar’s amazing volunteers as Volunteer Coordinator and Events Assistant. He previously worked as a special education teaching assistant at Saint Paul Public Schools, assisting special needs students as they learned how to produce music. He earned his BA in journalism from the University of Minnesota in 2016, and has written for City Pages, MPR News and the Minnesota Daily. When he’s not attending, working or drumming at shows, he likes to write, joke around and get tattoos.

Contact Jared about:

How to become a volunteer

House Managers

Patrick Larkin

House Manager

Pronouns: He/Him

Patrick joined the Cedar as an office assistant working 3 hours a day five days a week in 2011, before transitioning into a House Manager position the following year. In addition to working as a House Manger, he is currently working as an Associate Librarian in Hennepin County Libraries at a very loud and lively library. In the past, he's worked as a gas station attendant, flower waterer, personal care assistant, and a newspaper editor at the East Side Review in St. Paul. When he's not working, he endures to do home improvement, and enjoys curating music events and playing in longtime band the Miami Dolphins, or solo under the moniker P. Larkin, which is pretty much just the first initial of his first name and then his last name. He also likes to fish.

Esther Cervantes

House Manager

Esther is a lifelong dancer and music lover who started volunteering at the Cedar in late 2023, immediately after attending her first show there (Fatoumata Diawara) and experiencing the diverse crowds the Cedar serves joy to. In the summer of 2025, Esther left a 20+ plus year career in accounting to pursue work that brings her joy and serves joy to others. That includes joining the House Manager team at the Cedar in September 2025. Esther also leads fitness dance classes and can be seen on stages and at events around the state as a burlesque, drag, pole, and stilt performer.

Mollierae miller

House Manager

Pronouns: They/She

MollieRae moved to Minneapolis in 2012 to study art and quickly found their unique passions for the live music to be found in the Twin Cities. While growing up they were lucky enough to be exposed to all kinds of folk music and trade craft scenes while tagging along with their folk artist parents. Having gone to school for art and returning again to study library science has accelerated MollieRae’s quest for all sorts of knowledge and creative expression. The Cedar is a space where they could find the kinds of music and dance they love as well as revisit favorite musicians they fell for years ago. Having been working in Minneapolis nonprofits for years, they carry a constant excitement to help the community become engaged with the gift of the Cedar as well as with the beauty of the Twin Cities’ arts and culture. Currently an acrylic painter and a student, MollieRae can also be found biking through the city, reading, dancing, cooking and laughing while telling long stories.

Matt “doc” jones

House Manager

Pronouns: He/Him

Matt "Doc" is an eager but profoundly mediocre guitarist who moved to the Twin Cities in 1989 to continue his medical training just in time for the birth of The Cedar as a live music venue. He discovered it fortuitously en route to the Cabooze one night and since has logged 100+ nights of communal aural bliss in the venue that, in his opinion, has a sacred, loving vibe that is unmatched on this planet. Now semi-retired, he finally has time to devote to the staff side of The Cedar experience, enjoying it tremendously. In the world beyond The Cedar, Doc basks in the warm glow of tube amps while spinning all-genre vinyl for anyone who visits his audio lair. He loves his wife and children, critters Althea, Cirrus, and Sahil, hiking, biking, skiing, and travel, volunteers for local and international medical projects, and teaches high performance driving.

Jacob strauss

House Manager

Pronouns: He/Him

Jacob started volunteering at the Cedar in 2018 shortly after moving to the area for graduate school. He joined the Cedar staff in the fall of 2020 as a house manager. When he's not working, Jacob enjoys attending shows, playing with his cat, and hanging out at Palmers.

drey darst kereakos

House Manager

Pronouns: They/Them

Drey is a long-time music player, writer, and enjoyer, as well as soon-to-be Augsburg University grad through the Music Business program (Spring 2022). After graduating from the music department at Perpich Center for Arts Education in 2017, and into their start at Augsburg the following Fall, Drey began performing and releasing music independently under the name "drey dk", where they write, record, produce, mix/master their work as well. Their first globally distributed single "Pity Party" was released in early September of 2019. As a Seward resident of many years, they recently joined the House Manager team at the Cedar in December 2021, and hope to build on and expand their knowledge within multiple facets of the Music Industry outside of performing. You may also spot them working over at Jack's Hardware and Farm Supply, and occasionally as a Camp counselor/music instructor for local non-profit She Rock She Rock over the summer. As much as Drey loves going to shows for fun, when not working, they likely are just eating copious amounts of pizza, shopping for vinyl, or snuggling with their cats.

KAMA JOHNSON

House Manager

Gonkama is a first generation Liberian American from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. In in the past he has worked as a Teaching Assistant for special needs children in the Saint Paul Public School District, and as a Youth Coordinator at the Brian Coyle Community Center here in Cedar Riverside. When not playing with his band or being a super foodie you can catch Kama reading a book or in the steam room at the gym. Kama is currently pursuing his licensure in alcohol and drug counseling, and when not being a House Manager, works full time as a Youth Advocate at a drop in day shelter.

PAUL MCCOYER

House Manager

EMILY LAZEAR

House Manager

Pronouns: She/Her

Emily grew up in the Twin Cities and credits The Cedar for inspiring her to be a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and artist. She shadowed a Cedar employee for her 9th grade career day and is thrilled to be now working toward the Cedar’s mission of supporting local and international musicians and encouraging intercultural understanding through music. Emily is also a preschool teacher, a volunteer with Women’s Prison Book Project, a Minneapolis Election Judge, and a member of several past and present local bands. She lives in south Minneapolis and enjoys reading, camping, and rockhounding.

KENDALL PRUITT

House Manager

Heidi James

House Manager

Heidi hails originally from Denver, CO, but spent much of her younger years living around S.E. Asia as the child of a geologist. She first came to Minnesota in the early aughts for college. She stuck around post-graduation and quickly fell in love with the local arts and music scene, in large part thanks to the Cedar where she attended her first local music performance. The communal coat rack along the north walls of the Cedar’s main hall will always hold a special place in her heart! In 2014, Heidi’s sister (local musician extraordinaire Hilary James) convinced her to pick up the guitar and start a band together, which became the feminist punk trio Fiji-13. In addition to appreciating and participating in live music, Heidi has been a longtime Montessori elementary teacher, but recently hung up that hat to pursue a library science degree. She’s excited to join the Cedar team in its work as an amazing community arts venue.

Bailey

House Manager

Bailey (they/them) is a mustachioed community organizer, musician, and visual artist from the twin cities. Lover of bats and numerology- which explains their band name, 26 BATS! a trip hop group thats been active locally for almost a decade. Bailey organizes shows and open art hangs at a DIY event space in Minneapolis bringing together the talented local queer community. They also work with TCUP, who are organizing to make MN the best place in the world to be a performer. Bailey joined the team at The Cedar September of 2025 as a House Manager. For fun- they write songs, paint, hike, and do drag.