Think Explore Share Panelists
The Arts Work Fund
For the Summer cycle of Think Explore Share grants, AWF gathered a dynamic group of experienced practitioners, administrators, and culture workers to review the proposals.
Monique Brinkman-Hill
Monique Brinkman-Hill is a seasoned financial leader renowned for her extensive Chicago business network, exceptional fundraising success, and strong community connections. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the historic Southside Community Arts Center in Chicago, Illinois. In this role, Monique has demonstrated exceptional leadership, a talent for building high-performing teams, and a knack for fostering consensus. Under her guidance, the Center has seen significant growth in programming, cultural celebration, and community engagement. Monique’s track record of passion, community advocacy, and strategic insight has made her a sought-after leader in the arts, banking, and professional coaching sectors both in Chicago and beyond.
Sara Carranza
Sara Carranza is the Program Associate – Performing Arts at the Walder Foundation. She is an award-winning theater producer and has extensive experience as a director and stage manager. She is the Vice-President of the Board at Teatro Tariakuri, a Mexican theatre company in Chicago Lawn dedicated to highlighting Mexican Comedy and providing Spanish language low-cost performing arts education. Prior to joining the Walder Foundation, Sara served as Director of Communications at the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance where she worked to bring Latine stories to new heights under the mentorship and leadership of Myrna Salazar. She serves on the 2024 TCG Conference Marketing/Communications committee and National Louis University’s Communications Advisory Council. She sat on the steering committee for the Department of Cultural Affairs' 2019 Year of Chicago Theater and was nominated for Outstanding Stage-Management of a Play for the 2018 Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago Awards. She graduated with a BA in Theater Arts and a minor in Communications from Dominican University.
Channing Lenert
Channing Lenert is a Program Officer at Polk Bros. Foundation. His grantmaking is concentrated in the Foundation’s Strong Communities portfolio, including workforce and economic development, housing and homelessness, legal services, and gun violence prevention. He serves on a variety of citywide philanthropic committees, including the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance, Fund for Equitable Business Growth, Press Forward, Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities, LISC’s Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, and AFP Chicago’s Philanthropy Awards Luncheon. He additionally serves on the Economic Opportunity and Upward Mobility Initiative Team of the Mayor’s Office for Community Safety. Channing chairs the Chicago Board of LIFT, a national nonprofit that provides coaching and cash assistance to low-income parents and caregivers. His previous experience includes roles at Navy Pier, Working in the Schools, and City Year. He was a 2019 IMPACT Fellow of the Chicago Urban League and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Channing received his MS in Nonprofit Management from the Spertus Institute and a BA in Political Science from California State University Channel Islands, where he received the University of 2020 Distinguished Alumnus award.
Monica Rickert-Bolter
Monica Rickert-Bolter is a Chicago-based visual artist of Potawatomi and Black heritage. Her artwork uses traditional mediums such as charcoal and pastels, graphic design, and digital coloring to create expressive characters and tell diverse stories. After her undergrad, Monica became involved with Native nonprofits, combining her love of art and education to develop youth programs and resources, including illustrating children’s books. She advocates for cultural representation and serves as a consultant for various institutions and organizations. Monica is a co-founder and the Director of Operations at the Center for Native Futures, a Native fine arts gallery that opened in September 2023. Her artwork has been featured in exhibitions at The National Museum of the American Indian, The Field Museum, the University of North Carolina Stone Center, The Watershed Art & Ecology, and the Center for Native Futures. Her upcoming projects include a collaborative public art piece with the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights and an installation at the National Public Housing Museum.
Lauren Woods
Lauren M. Woods is a program manager for The Chicago Community Trust's Building Collective Power strategy. In this role, she leads grantmaking initiatives that support local journalism, media, and civic storytelling in the Chicago region. Lauren is an experienced civic practitioner whose work has focused on creating conditions to deepen engagement and build capacity for residents to be active participants in our democracy. As an artist and fourth-generation Chicagoan, Lauren believes in the transformational power of narrative and storytelling to activate community and spark systems change.