Though relatively new to Clifton, lifelong Cincinnatian Betsy Neyer is not new to working with Cincinnati’s talented arts and volunteer community.  Over the last 20 years she has served as both consultant and volunteer leader for Madcap Puppet Production Theater, ArtWorks, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Cincinnati Opera and many other community and civic organizations.

Her day job as Chief Operating Officer of School Outfitters has her busy working with her team to create outstanding learning environments through the sourcing, sale and delivery of 21st Century furniture for education.  Through her work Betsy gets to see firsthand the changes happening in education, and the difference that excellent space makes in educational outcomes, both in and out of the classroom.

Betsy and her wife live in Clifton with their twin daughters.  Joining the board in 2017, Betsy said “I am thrilled to be part of the CCAC Board to help build on the great programs and creativity already happening here everyday.  That foundation provides an exciting launchpad for even more opportunities to be a treasured community resource, not just for Clifton but for the entire City.”

Patty Cottingham is a native Cincinnatian, who spent her career at The E.W. Scripps Company where she worked for two of its newspapers – The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post. For the last 19 years, she served as Vice President of Administration for the Scripps Howard Foundation, the charitable giving arm of the company. At the foundation, she administered grants to Greater Cincinnati nonprofit organizations; created and managed the Nonprofit Internship Program designed to provide college students with internship opportunities at regional nonprofits; and oversaw the foundation’s budgeting and financial administration.

Patty learned about the CCAC through her work, started volunteering at the CCAC, and then joined the board when she retired in 2015. She lives in Dayton, Kentucky and invites all her Northern Kentucky friends to attend CCAC exhibits and programs – especially her favorite – Wednesdays in the Woods summer concerts.

“One of the many things I love about the CCAC are the sounds…the sound of a voice warming up, the soft sound of a guitar being strummed, the sound of tap shoes doing a shuffle, the sound of oohing and aahing over a work in an exhibit, and the sound of children’s laughter.”

Patty Cottingham

Barbara Sferra became involved with CCAC in 2006 by writing grants as a community volunteer, and subsequently joined the Board of Directors in 2007, where she served as Treasurer from 2009 to 2017. Barbara has over 22 years experience in Human Resources Management, specializing in Employee Relations. She is also a budding fiber artist, specializing in art quilts, using hand-dyed fabrics in the majority of her work. She is a member of the Contemporary Quilt and Fibers Artists Guild (CQAFA), Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), the Weavers Guild of Greater Cincinnati (WGGC), and the Bombshells of Cincinnati.  Her work has appeared in shows at CCAC, Kennedy Heights Arts Center, the Weavers Guild of Greater Cincinnati and the Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln Nebraska. She also curated CCAC’s “Fiber IS Art” exhibit in 2019, which featured artists from the WGGC and SAQA.  Barbara is also passionate about fitness and is a Certified Pilates instructor teaching classes at CCAC, Anchor Wellness and Pendleton Pilates.  She received her Master of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, and her Bachelor of Business Administration from Kent State University.

“It has been very exciting to be involved in CCAC’s growth and viability over the years. CCAC’s success is a direct result of dedicated members of the Clifton community, as well as the city as a whole. The diversity of programming we have accomplished in our short life span in incredible. We had our doubters, but have proven to be a strong, successful cultural arts center.”
Barbara Sferra

Steve is a lifelong lover of the arts. It started with his oldest cousin, who was a student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, Steve would pore through his cousin’s sketchbooks and then go home and copy as much as he could. Then he started sketching basketball shoe designs with his grade school friends. Later, it was music, learning the guitar, taking piano lessons, singing in a Southern Gospel quartet and playing a weekly guitar gig in college. When Steve and his wife started dating, they took en plain air painting lessons through UC’s Communiversity and he still tries his hand at it every now and then. In short, arts have been a constant source of challenge and fun in his life, and he recognizes how important it can be for others. That’s why he volunteers with the CCAC, so that people in his community have a great place to learn, share and create art together. For his day job, Steve is an attorney, which is not quite as fun as drawing, playing music and painting all day. He is married with three kids, who he hopes will also find joy and fun in the arts.

Joe Huber is a native Cincinnatian who has worked as the Chief Operating Officer for the Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) since 2006, financing significant community development projects in Greater Cincinnati. Prior to CDF, Joe worked ten years at Fifth Third Bank. Besides the CCAC, Joe’s board experiences include The Cincinnati Preservation Association, Hamilton County Development Company, the Community Development Corporation Association, Price Hill Will and Warsaw Federal Savings and Loan.

Joe, his wife and three daughters, who are students at CPS, have been Clifton residents for over 15 years. His hobbies include running, singing and coaching soccer. Regarding his passion for the CCAC, he states, “My life has been enriched by music, from my high school glee club through my current performances with my band. Everyone deserves meaningful exposure to the arts to help shape them and create positive experiences, and the CCAC offers this creative outlet. In addition, the CCAC has helped bring our diverse community together, allowing people of all walks of life to share in the joys of art, music, and dancing, while making connections with new friends. The CCAC is an absolute TREASURE!”

George Vredeveld moved to the Cincinnati area in 1977 where he and his wife Rose raised their three children. In 1999 they moved to the Clifton area and have been active in the community. In October 2016 George joined the board of CCAC an organization that he has admired and supported since its beginning. He is especially impressed with the positive role CCAC has played by offering a variety of programs that are of interests to different demographics in the area.

Prior to his retirement in 2013, George was a professor at the University of Cincinnati where he held the Alpaugh Family Chair in Economics and was the past director and founder of the UC Economics Center for Education and Research. He is noted for his observations of the local and world economies and especially factors that affect regional economic development. He has directed more than 100 studies on regional labor markets, economic impact of institutions, economic development and the role of education in meeting the needs of industry.

George is a member of the Academic Council and a Research Associate at Varna Free University in Bulgaria and a member of the Board of Advisors for the European Leadership University in North Cyprus. He also serves as the lead independent director for a national mutual fund.

Dr. Vredeveld received his Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University, a Masters degree from Purdue University and his B.A. degree from Calvin College.

Craig is a certified public accountant and has over thirty-five years of experience working in the public accounting and private industry sectors. He recently retired as a principal at the public accounting firm of Clark, Schafer, Hackett, where he specialized in financial statement-related audit and assurance services, and business consulting. His focus included serving clients in a variety of industries including financial institutions, SEC, employee benefit plans, not-for-profit, manufacturing and distribution. He previously worked for the national public accounting firm KPMG and served as the local market chief financial officer for PNC Financial Corp.

In his retirement, Craig is passionate about volunteering and giving back to the community. He is excited about the opportunity to serve CCAC and participate in an organization that focuses on important multi-generational arts and cultural needs of the greater Uptown community.  Craig also devotes his volunteer efforts by currently serving on the leadership council and is the finance director of Clifton United Methodist Church, serving on the Audit Committee of the Easter Seals Tristate, and has frequently consulted with the Clifton Market. Craig has also served on a variety of not-for-profit boards and audit committees, including the American Red Cross – Greater Cincinnati Chapter and the Freestore/Foodbank. Craig is a graduate of Purdue University and received his MBA from Miami University. He and his wife, Valerie, have lived in Clifton since 1993 and have two grown children.

Since 2017, Ms. Cull has served Xavier University in the role of Associate General Counsel.  Prior to returning to her alma mater, Ms. Cull had been a partner at the law firm of Kohnen & Patton, where her work focused on general litigation, employment law, and appellate practice. During her third year of law school, Ms. Cull served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Northern Kentucky Law Review. She is a St. Louis, Missouri native and stubbornly remains a Cardinals baseball fan. She and her husband, Brendon, live in Clifton with their young daughters, Maggie and Ginny.  The Cull family loves all that the CCAC has to offer, especially the summer Wednesday concert series, and Becky looks forward to collaborating with the Board to creatively and carefully steward the CCAC into its next chapter.

Cindy and her husband, both lovers of urban living, moved to Cincinnati in 2002. Cindy has channeled her passion for viable urban communities as a trustee of the Clifton community council, member of the steering committee for the Clifton Main Street program, community representative on the Fairview School Local Decision Making Committee, news editor of the Clifton Chronicle and as a founding director and board chair of the regional Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC).

In 2012 Cindy received the annual Woman of Distinction award from the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, honoring women leaders in the greater Cincinnati region, who demonstrate strong initiative and personal leadership on issues relating to women and girls. Cindy was recognized for her work with CCAC in 2009 as one of five Cincinnati finalists for the Jefferson Award. During the 1990s Cindy formed and operated Source Markets International, Inc. an exporter of consumer goods to major retail chains in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavors, she has worked in marketing positions in film and packaged goods companies and has a Bachelor of Science of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering. In 2014 Cindy completed a 500-miles walk across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago.

“Through its central location, the Clifton Cultural Arts Center is an ideal gathering spot for the diverse population of Uptown to gather and build cross-cultural connections through engaging with the arts.”
Cindy Herrick

Jens Rosenkrantz is a Cincinnati-based photographer who has exhibited at many local galleries, shows, and venues and his works are in several private and corporate collections. When he is not driving the back roads with his cameras and old maps, he is working on his current Cuban Art Exchange with his wife Kay Hurley, a local landscape painter. In January 2019 he opened Pendleton Street Photography which features his work and the work of other artists and hosts Bridges Not Walls, the Cuban-US Art Exchange project.

Sander Vinks moved to Cincinnati and Clifton in 2000 from The Hague, The Netherlands with his wife, who is an artist and painter, and son. As art and music lovers and supporters, he and his wife have been supporting CCAC from the beginning and have actively participated in events such as the Golden Ticket, the Center’s annual prestigious award for local working artists in the Cincinnati region. Sander joined the board in the summer of 2018.

Sander is a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine and holds the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation Endowed Chair in Clinical Pharmacology. His research focusses on precision medicine and predicting response to medications based on genetic make-up (pharmacogenomics). He directs a National Institute of Health (NIH) supported training program to train the next generations of pediatric clinical pharmacology subspecialists. He serves on several professional boards including as an advisor for federal agencies.

Sander received his Ph.D., Pharm.D., and MSc from Leiden University, in The Netherlands and has a Masters degree from the University of Toronto, Canada.

“I have enjoyed being involved in CCAC and seeing its diversity of programming flourish and expand over the past years. It has been inspirational to be surrounded by so many dedicated members from the Clifton community and beyond who all actively contribute to the growth of the cultural arts center. I look forward to contribute to furthering the success of the CCAC in bringing highly accessible arts and cultural programs to the Uptown communities and beyond as part of my role as board member.”