Misty Herget has been a resident of Raleigh for 29 years. Her time in Raleigh began as a student at NCSU, and she decided to make it her home. Misty is the chief program officer at the NC Rural Center, a nonprofit, economic development organization that serves 78 rural communities across the state. She oversees the Center’s leadership and engagement, research, policy and advocacy, strategic partnerships, and communications teams. In her leisure time, Misty enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, traveling, enjoying the arts, and trying a variety of new foods and restaurants.

Jessica Pope was born and raised in Raleigh, NC and has a passion for marketing, dancing, and human connections. She grew up dancing at Arts Together where she was a member of Rainbow Dance Company from the age of 10 until she attended ECU to get her Bachelor's Degree in Communications. Jessica currently works at Cisco Systems as a part of their Customer Experience organization and still enjoys dancing with Michelle Pearson at Arts Together.

Chania Wilson is a dance artist and educator from Raleigh, NC. She received her BFA in Dance at UNC Greensboro with a concentration in Performance and Choreography. For the past couple of years, she was co-Dance Director at Enloe High School where she taught honors Modern, Jazz, and started a county-wide dance intensive in 2022. Currently, she is a first-year, MFA in Dance student at Duke University and a 2023 NC Dance Festival Artist in Residence.

Heather Strickland is currently the Senior Director of Communications for the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Heather’s work spans both state government and performing arts organizations, and she is a communications professional and organizational leader with over 20 years of experience. She spent several years leading the Raleigh Little Theatre, and before that she spent seven years as the Communications and Development Director for the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), the organization that leads the Smart Start network across the state. Prior to NCPC, Heather was the Director of Communications for the NC Department of State Treasurer and Marketing Director for Carolina Ballet.

Diana Hurtado, M.Ed., is a Strategic Partnerships Manager focused on Military Outreach at Western Governors University. Hurtado develops partnerships with education, healthcare, business, and IT industries, educational institutions, and government and nonprofit entities. A U.S. Army veteran and military spouse of a disabled combat veteran, she has taught in public and private schools in Wake and Durham Counties and was an education consultant with Duke University Health System.

Bio coming soon!