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STAFF // BOARD OF DIRECTORS // DONORS
Meet the Team
The wonderful people who keep Mainframe’s mission thriving each day. Advocates, organizers, art movers and shakers. This team is a dream and they keep the machine running.
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Executive Director
Julia@mainframestudios.org
Julia Franklin is a nonprofits arts leader and an Iowa Artist Fellow who uses found objects to tell stories about what we leave behind. Julia creates immersive installations that memorialize everyday people, places, and moments to explore ideas of memory, loss, and identity.
Franklin received a BFA in Printmaking from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a MFA in Sculpture from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. She worked at the Dallas Museum of Art in community engagement and served as Professor of Art at Graceland University for 18 years, where she received awards in both Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship. At Graceland, Franklin taught studio and art history courses and founded Art Academy, a summer art camp for children in rural Iowa.
Franklin then managed Drake University ‘s Anderson Gallery before serving as the Community Investment Specialist for Bravo Greater Des Moines. Franklin leads the Friends of Drake Arts Board, chairs the Commissioned Print Initiative for the Des Moines Art Center’s Print Club, and teaches Art Appreciation at Des Moines Area Community College. She also assists arts organizations with grant writing, facilitates professional development sessions, juries exhibitions, and maintains a studio where she works on new projects and commissions.
Franklin has exhibited artworks in over 85 shows across the nation including the Dubuque Museum of Art, City Museum in St. Louis, the Arlington Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and participated in a pivotal residency at the Vermont Studio Center.
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Property Manager
lani@mainframestudios.org
Lani is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She received her Bachelor's degree in Vocal Music with Elective Studies in Business in May of 2022, and joined Mainframe Studios as the first onsite Property Manager in July 2022. Lani is also a Colombian-American local singer/songwriter and advocate for the arts in Des Moines. When she's not in the office, you can find her rehearsing with her band, recording in the studio, songwriting, or performing in the area.
Board of Directors
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Kelly Baum
Des Moines Art Center, Director
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Gretchen Bohling
Gretchen Bohling Design, Owner
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Jeff Chelesvig
President and CEO of Des Moines Performing Arts
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John Mandelbaum
Mandelbaum Properties, Principal
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Justin Mandelbaum
(Founder) Mandelbaum Properties, Principal
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John McGowan
(President) Mandala Financial Advisors, Owner
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David Schmitz
Iowa Arts Council, Administrator
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Meredith Stahl
Good Life Therapy, Therapist
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Michael Trettin
(Treasurer) LWBJ, Director of Audit Services
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Jill Wells
(Secretary) Artist, Advocate, Mentor
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Sarah Young
(Vice President) Renewable Energy Group, Corporate Strategy Manager
Thank you to our donors
We extend a heartfelt thank you to all who have helped to make this project an outstanding community asset for generations to come.
In-kind Donors
Arts Consulting Group
Li & Justin Madnelbaum
Cyril & John Mandelbaum
Debbie Lawerence
Simonson & Associates
Studio Melee
$1M+
The Lauridsen Foundation
$750,000 - $999,999
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines Catalyst Circle
QuikTrip
$500,000 - $749,999
Fred & Charlotte Hubbell
Fred & Emily Weitz
$350,000 - $499,999
Bravo Greater Des Moines
Meredith Corporation Foundation
$250,000 - $349,999
Polk County Board of Supervisors
Principal Financial Group
The Ruan Family
$150,000 - $249,000
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
Iowa Economic Development Authority
Cathy and Steve Lacy
The Fred Maytag Family Foundation
Nationwide
Mary Scanlon
W.T. and Edna M. Dahl Trust
Wells Fargo
$100,000 - $149,999
Barbara & Michael Gartner
Holly & Thomas Harty
Ellen & Jim Hubbell
Susan & Bruce Kelley
Linda & Thomas Koehn
Cyril & John Mandelbaum
Edwin T. Meredith Foundation
Prairie Meadows
Linda & Stevenson Weitz
$50,000 - $99,999
Athene
Bankers Trust Company
Jack Bell
Sibylla & Bill Brown
Patty & Jim Cownie
EMC Insurance
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Iowa Arts Council
John Deere
Jane & Robert Sturgeon
Toni & Timothy Urban
The Weathertop Foundation
$25,000 - $49,999
Margaret Brennan
Easter Family Fund
Allison & Jim Fleming
GuideOne Insurance
Iowa Foundation for Education, Environment, and the Arts
Mary & Suku Radia
Deborah & Douglas West
Wittern Family Charitable Foundation
$10,000 - $24,999
Margo & Don Blumenthal
Natalie G. and William H. Brenton Fund
Sue Rutledge Brenton and J.C. Brenton
Barbara and Thomas Carlstrom
Rich Eychaner
Johnnie & Bill Friedman
The Graham Group
Greater Des Moines Partnership
Cara & Kurt Heiden
David Hurd & Trudy Holman Hurd
Mary & Daniel Kelly
Patricia McFarland
O'Brien Iowa Fund
Riley Family Fund
Christine Lauridsen Sand & Rob Sand
Paul & Claudia Schickler
Jim Spevak
Connie Wimer