Community organization hires executive director
The Waupaca Community Arts Hub has hired a new executive director, Laura Colbert, the former principal at Waupaca Middle School.
The Arts Hub was started by a committee under the Waupaca Community Arts Board in the spring of 2021.
It offers private music lessons to all ages, and art classes designed for children.
The volunteer committee that is managing the Arts Hub realized that a dedicated executive director was needed to fulfill its mission to provide quality, sustainable, accessible arts programming.
The Waupaca Community Foundation provided a generous grant which is helping to subsidize the position.
“Laura Colbert brings so much talent, experience and passion to the table, we are thrilled to have her join our team,” said Laura Reynolds, co-chair of the Arts Hub.
Colbert is a 2000 graduate from Waupaca High School who, during college, joined and served in the Army National Guard, and was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, from 2003-04.
Professional background
After returning home, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
In 2011 and 2012, she earned master’s degrees in educational leadership and experiential leadership from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
She has worked as the activities director in Fargo, North Dakota, for individuals with special needs, and taught physical education in Aylesbury, England,
From 2008-17, Colbert taught physical education, was the dean of students, and then became the academic and career planning coordinator at Madison West High School.
From 2017-21, she was the principal at Waupaca Middle School. SheColbertis currently a business and leadership consultant and is the author of the book, How to Pee Standing Up/Sirens: An Alarming Memoir of Combat and Coming Back Home.
Colbert noted that when she moved back to Waupaca in 2017, she was pleasantly surprised to find a bustling art community.
“The more that individuals within our community feel a sense of belonging and inclusion, the happier and healthier they are. I am excited to be a part of the Arts Hub, assist in its development, and to be a part of its evolution into a thriving and bustling home for our community,” Colbert said.
“The entire Arts Hub committee looks forward to supporting Laura in the upcoming months,” said Liz Kneer, Arts Hub executive committee member. “We have so many great ideas and look forward to continuing to build the Arts Hub.”
For more information on the Arts Hub music lessons and art classes, go to www.waupacaartshub.org.