Cluny Madison

Executive Director

[email protected]

Cluny joined the J-Team in September 2023, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from a career in the nonprofit sector. Originally from England, she has held leadership positions at The Nature Conservancy in Florida and Washington, Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, and most recently, the National Audubon Society.

After 16 years in Seattle, she moved to Lynden with her partner Brad and their dog Maisy. Her experience, vision and passion for the arts are focused on ensuring that the Jansen Art Center continues to grow as a place where art brings people together, they find common ground, discover hidden talents, and build lifelong friendships.

Next time you’re in Lynden, stop by and say hi, or join Cluny and Brad at a Jansen Acoustic Jam.

Cindy Wadkins

Bookkeeper & Registrar

[email protected]

Cindy graduated with a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird in Glendale, AZ, and is a certified bookkeeper. She joined the J in 2015 and has loved using her left brain strengths through bookkeeping to support right brain activity through the arts. One of Cindy’s proudest accomplishments at the J was streamlining the financial data and reporting to further the J’s growth. 

One of Cindy’s favorite memories from the J was taking an enamel earring class with her sister. Her earliest experience of art was drawing portraits of her pets at age nine. An interesting fact about Cindy is that she grew up in Iran, Australia, and the Philippines and loves learning languages.

Amanda Slusser

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Amanda brings her passion and expertise in Marketing with over 9 years working for startups. With her educational background in digital design along with her experience in website management and brand development, she is a powerhouse in crafting together a compelling marketing strategy. She is a wiz at taking ideas and creating eye-catching and cohesive visual storytelling.

Rachel Adams

Programs Manager

[email protected]

Rachel Adams is a long-time Lynden resident and a passionate advocate for the arts. With 22 years of experience in the fast-paced corporate sector, including ten years as a program manager, Rachel has developed exceptional skills in project management, communication, and customer service. As the new Program Manager at The J, she brings a wealth of professional and creative experience, particularly in fiber arts, painting, and ceramics. Rachel is excited to contribute to the local arts community, combining her technical expertise and creative talents to make art accessible to everyone in her community. Her former colleagues praise her for her warmth, creativity, and relationship-building skills.

Margaret Irvine

Volunteer & Events Coordinator

[email protected]

Margaret brings an extensive background in customer service and event planning to the Jansen Art Center.  Upon retiring in 2003 after 40 years at Nordstrom’s, Margaret became the Executive Director of the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce in Seattle.

Five years later, after living in the heart of Seattle for 45 years, Margaret and her husband followed the family to Whatcom County where she joined the staff of the Jansen Art Center in 2012.  Margaret brings life to the J through our volunteers and events. She has seen the Jansen Art Center become one of the most valued arts centers in the Pacific Northwest.

Ryan Vaughn

Ceramics Studio Director

Ryan Vaughan is an experienced potter and ceramics instructor with a deep passion for all things clay. He previously served as a Ceramics Instructor at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas, where he taught wheel throwing to students of all levels. Ryan has also worked as a Production Potter at Sunset Canyon Pottery and a Studio Tech at the Craft Guild of Dallas. Now residing in Lynden, Ryan continues to pursue his love for pottery, creating thoughtful pieces that he hopes will become a part of people’s lives. In his spare time, Ryan is a club soccer coach for youth and teens

Monique MarcAurele

Gallery Shop Coordinator

[email protected]

Monique MarcAurele is a fifth-year undergraduate student at Western Washington University, majoring in Art History with minors in Museum Studies and Anthropology. Originally from Alaska, she now resides in Bellingham. Monique is passionate about the intersection of art and education, particularly within museum settings. With extensive customer service experience and a strong interest in arts administration, she is excited to put her academic knowledge and practical skills into action in The J’s Gallery Shop. Monique is eager to contribute to the Jansen Art Center, using her background in art history, her hands-on experience in customer-focused roles, and her enthusiasm for learning and growing within the arts community.

Fran Protzeller

Volunteer Coordinator

[email protected]

Fran and her husband Mike moved to Lynden in 1978. In her pre-retirement life, she had a career in retail & wholesale, including merchandising, inventory, operations, and management. Over the years, Fran has been an important contributor to the Lynden community and has served on the board and/or volunteered at the League of Women Voters, Friends of Lynden Library, and the Whatcom County Library System. She was instrumental in securing funding for Lynden’s new library, which at one time shared space with Lynden City Hall and the Lynden Fire Department in our very own J-building. She is a lifelong student and has taken classes at The J and other institutions to fuel her passions — fiber felting, watercolor, paper-making, thread arts and BOOKS!

Judith Gauthier

Jewelry Studio Manager & Instructor

Judith has been in the metalwork/jewelry-making world for the past 45 years. She studied art education with an emphasis on silversmithing at the University of Montana. Working for several jewelry production companies throughout the years, Judith has learned the ins and outs of metal fabrication. Judith enjoys art because it is essential in feeding the creative soul. 

She prides herself in helping develop the jewelry studio downstairs in the J when it first opened in 2012. One of Judith’s favorite experiences from the J is creating the jewelry challenge called “Falling Out of the Box.” She loves the exciting and amazing entries that are submitted by artists from around the country.

Leah Meleski

Metalsmithing & Jewelry Instructor

Leah was born and raised in Connecticut and moved to Massachusetts in 2004 to pursue her dream of creating jewelry. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education and Fine Arts 3D/Metals from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008 and has been teaching and creating jewelry ever since. Leah, as a former middle school art teacher, found that she loves teaching but found her true passion for teaching in continuing education classes for adults. She finds joy in seeing the drive of students in continuing education classes because they truly want to be there to learn.

Leah is proud of the partnerships between Whatcom Community College and the J’s jewelry studio and assisting with (and winning!) a grant from the Robert B. McMillen Foundation. She believes that art is something that everyone can do, it is just a matter of thinking outside the box and expressing what is inside. A fun fact about Leah is that she currently has a piece of artwork in the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of teapots.

Karen Visser

Music Studio & Performance Coordinator

Karen has taught the orchestra program at Lynden Christian Schools for 19 years and has taught private violin lessons for over 40 years. She has also played in the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra since it first started in 1976. Her mother was a musician and a teacher so music has always been a part of her life. 

Karen is honored and thrilled to be involved with the planning and facilitating of what happens at the J and strives to bring great programs and classes to the community and beyond. One of her favorite things about the J is the many opportunities it provides for live music and performances and the beautiful chamber hall that brings musicians and audiences together to engage in a personal setting.

Sheri Ward

Textiles Studio Committee Member

Sheri has been a weaver for many years. She was first introduced to weaving through a non-academic class during graduate school in which she learned how to weave on a frame loom. Sheri really enjoyed the class and later her husband gave her a small table loom and she has been weaving ever since. She first started teaching at the J to teach new people how to weave after the local Weavers Guild was going through a low point. 

Sheri believes art is important to a community because it builds community. She has witnessed this herself in the textile studio through weaving classes. Because weaving classes are often four weeks long, people at the end of the class become friends and form their own small community. Sheri’s proudest accomplishment involving the J was being a part of the growing Textile studio through support from each other and the J.

Marcia Ford

Textiles Studio Committee Member

Marcia has had a lifelong interest in fabrics and is a long time weaver, spinner, and crafter. Marcia began weaving in college when she minored in Clothing and Textiles and took her first weaving class and was hooked.

One of her favorite memories from the J is seeing yards of fabric unrolled from a loom and realizing that each cross thread was hand positioned. Accomplishments involving the J that she is most proud of are helping with WWGuild sales in the concert hall, sharing weaving experiences with the group of textile studio participants, and exhibiting in various displays. Marcia believes art is important to a community because life can become technical and repetitive and art gives the opportunity to express visual, auditory, and tactile senses directly.

Lisa Christianson

Textiles Studio Committee Member

Lisa’s love of art began early when she learned to draw as a child. She was a beekeeper before joining the textiles studio at the J.

Lisa’s proudest accomplishment involving the J is the textiles group organizing a wool show at a local fair. A favorite experience of hers at the J is taking a weaving class and interacting with fellow community members. She believes art is important to a community because art is an embodiment of the spirit of the community and of the individual.

Erica McCurdy

Textiles Studio Committee Member

Erica has been exploring the world of handcrafted textiles for a few decades. From spinning and knitting to weaving and natural dyeing, Erica is forever an enthusiastic learner and always happy to share or discuss all things related to fiber arts. The work she’s most proud of is her homegrown, handspun nettle yarn. She loves being a part of the inspiring and supportive community at Jansen and finds it especially sweet when folks wander into the studio with a curiosity about the throwing shuttles, beating looms, or spinning wheels they see when walking by.  She believes in Jansen’s mission to provide opportunities for all people to experience art and hopes she can help to facilitate those occasions in meaningful ways.

Joan Cunningham

Textiles Studio Committee Member

Bio coming soon.

Jenny Weeks

President 

Jenny is a certified public accountant and has been a long-time sponsor of the J. She has helped the J with various accounting tasks throughout the years and is also a fourth-generation Lynden-ite! 

Chet Noll

Vice President

Linda Enfield

Secretary

Linda is a longtime supporter of the Jansen Art Center and a lifelong resident of Lynden. She is the former co-owner of Hamann’s Gallery in Bellingham and currently part of the Enfield Farms organization.

Adrienne Stewart

Treasurer

Adrienne has been Board Director for many organizations close to her heart. She believes that art connects people and creates a community regardless of ethnicity, economic status, geographic location, gender, or age.

Jeffery McClure

Director

Jeffery is the founder of RMC Architects. He is proud to be a part of an active and committed Board of Directors who is interested in extending the reach of the J.

Sue Sharpe

Director

Sue Sharpe is an art enthusiast and community leader. She joined the Chuckanut Health Foundation in 2008 and served as administrator for the Eleanor and Henry Jansen Foundation, which was crucial in establishing the Jansen Art Center. Sue co-chaired the Bellingham High School renovation campaign in the late 1990s and has been an active Western Washington University Board of Trustees member since 2012. Sue’s extensive contributions earned her the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, recognizing her tireless efforts in enhancing the community.

Susan Laine

Director

Heidi Doornenbal

Founder & Emeritus Director

Heidi has been an influential Lynden community member. Inspired by her mother Eleanor Jansen, she founded the Jansen Art Center out of a need for a place to showcase creativity and to give opportunities to engage in the arts.

Brad Williamson

Emeritus Director

Brad has many years of experience as the president of the transportation company LTI and has served on various nonprofit boards.