Rhiannon Orizaga (she/her)
Executive director

Rhiannon is proud and excited to serve as ArtWorks for Milwaukee’s Executive Director. As a queer Chicana, she understands the significance of having a person who reflects the experience of Milwaukee youth in this role. She has been working in nonprofit administration since 2013, and is deeply committed to organizational development and iterative process improvement. She holds a BA in English Literature & History, and a Master’s in History; her original research on self-presentation and identity has been cited by over 11 scholars. She is a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional and has been tech support certified by CompTIA and Apple. 

Hailing from Central California, Rhiannon has spent most of her adult life in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. She fell in love with Milwaukee in 2018 after visiting friends, and in 2021 she, her wife, and their cat left the West Coast for the Fresh Coast. In her personal time, she is a fiber artist, community volunteer, and gardening enthusiast.

 

tracy lomenzo (she/her)
program manager

Tracy joined ArtWorks in 2023. After teaching high school visual art for over five years with Milwaukee Public Schools, she has developed a passion for projects that help connect students to their communities through the arts. Tracy holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing, a minor in Art History, and a post-baccalaureate in Art Education. She is committed to helping guide Milwaukee’s youth on their artistic journeys of empowerment, community activism, and professional growth. Tracy is skilled in program development, social and emotional learning, as well as a wide variety of art-making practices. She has witnessed firsthand the positive impacts and lasting impressions that ArtWorks for Milwaukee internships have had on her own past students. She looks forward to supporting the important work already taking place and to helping that work continue to grow in her role as Program Manager.

 

Megan Mathison (she/her)
Career Readiness Coordinator

Megan obtained her B.S. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and moved to Milwaukee in June of 2022. Megan's experience working with youth began in college, and her role as an educator across different environments has given her the opportunity to serve, mentor, and educate members of her community. Throughout the years, she has developed meaningful relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds while tutoring children in varying school districts, working alongside social workers to assist families in establishing and meeting their goals, and developing and implementing educational lesson plans for community programs.

Before joining ArtWorks, Megan began her journey in Milwaukee providing case management for a program that offered mentoring opportunities for children and families in the area. She is looking forward to continuing to build her relationships with Milwaukee youth while preparing them for their futures through the arts!

 

DIONNA HAYDEN (She/her)
lead artist - graphic design & mental health advocacy internship

Dionna Hayden, an award-winning creative, joined ArtWorks for Milwaukee in September 2021. Born and raised in Milwaukee, her love for the arts and artistic abilities were developed at a very young age. Some of her skills include realism, still life, abstract, illustration, and photography. Her extensive background in visual and graphic arts has enabled her to serve in the creative arts industry for over 20 years. This includes operating her own business, Pink Elephant Graphic Design, and being the creator of The Cookie-Flower Rock Kids book series under her publishing imprint, Lucky Boots. Her contributions and leadership at ArtWorks has earned Dionna the esteemed Teaching Artist of the Year award.

Graphic design, educating youth, and advocating for mental health are a few of Dionna’s passions that fuel the work she does in her community. It’s also very important to her to teach aspiring artists and designers how to find their own unique voices to enhance and diversify the creative field. To see Dionna’s body of work, check out www.dionnalhayden.com

 

marco romantini (he/him/they/them)
lead artist - environmental arts internship

A lifelong Milwaukee artist, Marco joined Artworks in summer, 2022. With a Bachelor’s of Arts in Leadership from Alverno College, he works as an artist and community arts educator to help inform and elevate the voices of young artists across Milwaukee. Apart from his time as an educator, Marco runs a small business, Anxious Ink, as a hub for his personal work. Additionally, he operates a small fundraising project called The Forget-Them-Not Flower Drive that sells illustrative flower sculptures, each dedicated to a victim of systemic violence, as a means to raise money and awareness for various humanitarian causes. You can find Marco’s work at Scout Gallery in Bay View and online at Anxiousink.com and @inkbirds on Instagram.

 
 

Adeline pumplun (she/her)
lead artist assistant - environmental arts internship

Adeline is excited to serve the youth of Milwaukee through ArtWorks. She was born and raised in Wisconsin and moved to Milwaukee 5 years ago. She received a BFA from Milwaukee's Institute of Art and Design in Illustration and minored in Graphic Design and Digital Media Production in 2023. She is passionate about supporting and uplifting others through art. Adeline is skilled in building community and educating youths. Outside of ArtWorks Adeline does Freelance Illustration and Graphic design for multiple businesses in and outside of Milwaukee. She is incredibly excited to make new connections through ArtWorks and widen her community.

 

Micha Scott (Any/all pronouns)
lead artist assistant - graphic design & mental health advocacy internship

Micha is a life long artist who has spent the last year settling into her new life in Milwaukee after moving Anchorage, Alaska to pursue a future in the arts. They have a strong passion for social justice, community building, and disability rights advocacy. Micha hopes to use his artistic abilities to inspire positive change in the world and foster the passion of youth to do the same.