KHAKI HERMANN, Executive Director and Teaching Artist/Performer

is an actor and educator, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, M.Ed. in Educational Pedagogy from John Carroll University. Hermann has also studied for four years at The Stella Adler Studio. Favorite New York credits include: Crimes of the Heart (Lenny), The Winter’s Tale (Shepherd), Kindertransport (Helga), Mankind (New Guise), and Factory Girls (Vera).

Hermann moved back to Cleveland in 2012, with a desire to give back to her hometown and to refocus on where her heart truly lies: arts education. Khaki became an Actor-Teacher with Great Lakes Theater and worked there as a teaching artist for five years, performing and teaching such plays as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, A Raisin in the Sun, and other classic children’s stories and myths in their acclaimed School Residency Program.

Khaki has additionally taught for Talespinner Children’s Theatre and Hathaway Brown School (HB), where she was Upper School Theatre Director for 2 years. While at HB, she directed such shows as All in the Timing, High School Musical, and Much Ado About Nothing, while also teaching classes to primary, middle, and upper school students.

In the summer of 2018, she attended a training program at Shakespeare’s Globe in London called Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance, which blends performance and teaching techniques for better. Khaki has also worked for Kulture Kids as Education Director and then Associate Artistic Director.

As an actor in Cleveland, Hermann has performed with Great Lakes Theatre, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Talespinner Children’s Theatre, and Mamaí Theatre Company. Favorite Cleveland credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), The Taming of the Shrew (Kate), Dancing at Lughnasa (Chris), and Arcadia (Chloe).

Off the stage, Khaki enjoys needle crafts like knitting and needlepoint, and was an ice dancer for 15 years.

ROBIN PEASE, Founding Artistic Director and Playwright/Performer
Robin Pease holds a Master of Fine Arts from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She has performed and taught drama/theatre, music, dance, literary arts and multiculturalism for people of all ages throughout the country.

Pease has been the Director of Theater/Dance and instructor at several schools and institutes of higher learning, including Hiram College, Hawken School, Notre Dame College of Ohio, and Lakeland Community College. She has been the Artist-in-Residence at Hathaway Brown School and Laurel School, as well as for the New Jersey and Nebraska State Arts Councils, and the Idaho Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Robin has presented for Arts Education Partnership, Kennedy Center, International Children’s Games, Cleveland Public Theatre, Corning Glass Museum, Carney Sandoe Diversity Conference, International Children’s Theatre Festival, Ohio PTA, New Jersey Arts Education Connect Conference, Cleveland Association for the Education of Young Children, India Festival USA, Walsh University, the Once Upon A Time Storytelling Conference, Cleveland Play House, Nonviolence Network and Artists for Peace, Cleveland State University Summer Institute, and the Initiative for Cultural Arts in Education.

She is on the roster of artists for Hartford Performs, the Center for Arts Inspired Learning, Ohio State-Based Collaborative Initiatives, Young Audiences: Indiana, Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut. She is a consultant/teaching artist for Playhouse Square’s Department of Community Engagement and Education and MetroHealth Hospital’s Arts in Medicine.

Robin has done performances for the Ohio Humanities Conference, Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival and directed for Brown Foundation and Washburn University. She has created a unique theatre program for autistic children with the Creative Education Institute, Co-Sponsored the Improv Olympics for High School students at The Cleveland Play House and the Aurora Pow Wow which featured Native American artists from all over the country. 

Pease has received the Seth Rosenberg Award, the Cleveland Community Healer Award, the Young Audiences’ Sunshine Award, is listed in Who’s Who in America and was named by the National Storytelling Network an “emerging, under-appreciated and regional treasure storyteller.”  Her audio CD The Talkative Turtle And Other Tales has fans all over the world.

MELISSA FOWLER,  Managing Director

Fowler manages the business operations and scheduling of Kulture Kids’ programs for a variety of audiences, helping to maintain longstanding relationships & collaborations & support the exciting growth ahead.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology & completed some coursework in the Nonprofit Administration Master’s degree program at her alma mater, John Carroll University.

Prior to joining the Kulture Kids team, Melissa served in various development, programmatic, and administrative roles at Rainey Institute, Make-A-Wish Foundation Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, & other nonprofit and community organizations.

From 2016-2018, Melissa volunteered as an Ambassador of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) Cleveland supporting outreach, managing social media, & writing about & connecting with local nonprofit professionals & organizations for YNPN Cleveland’s website. In 2017, Melissa was named YNPN Cleveland’s Ambassador of the Year.

KATE SHEPPARD, Grants Director

Sheppard provides volunteer services, including statistical analysis, program assessment and resource development, including grants, for Kulture Kids.

Kate has many years of non-profit experience including General Manager of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (2008-2014) and Regional Manager for Habitat for Humanity, International for the Mideast Region (1998-1999).

She holds a BA from Pomona College in mathematical economics and a PhD. in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1995-1996 Kate was a Fulbright Scholar in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is currently part-time Senior Instructor at the University of Akron teaching undergraduate and graduate macroeconomics.

GUY THELLIAN, Finance Manager

Thellian provides bookkeeping and payroll services. Guy’s responsibilities include all financial duties including payroll, accounts receivables, accounts payables, reconciliations, and the preparation of financial statements. 

TRACY BELLUM, Garden Manager

Bellum worked with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to her school, providing students with access to nutrition that is less-available in underserved inner-city communities. But to her, the most rewarding projects are the ones that take students out of the classroom and show them how they can work to make a difference in their own neighborhoods. Tracy works with Habitat for Humanity to show students how they fix porches, and mend fences. Tracy has grown over 900 pounds of food for the Pleasant Garden at A. J. Rickoff School. All produce is given away free to the community.

DANIEL PEASE-KERR, Multi-Media Artist

Pease-Kerr interned with Kulture Kids when he was in High School and we are happy to have him back. He has expertise with technology having worked for Nationwide Insurance, Commercial Vehicle Group, Pentair and other. Daniel provides sound design/production, video production/editing services, and data management for programs and grants.