NAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024
Sheen Watkins, PRESIDENT (interim)
Sheen has been an active member with Northport Arts Association since 2016 and joined the board in 2019. She continues to serve on the Photography Committee, Pottery Committee, Enchanting Night Skies, Tables on the Tip, provides input to our social media strategy and is on our website team.
She’s conducts photography workshops and leads discussions across multiple venues for NAA.
Artist statement: “Art and artistry is both simple and complex. Simplicity resides in the beauty and respect for my subject. The complexity is translating what my eyes see, my heart feels into a body of work. Every moment spent in nature brings joy to the spirit, attitude and heart. Enjoy the journey.”
Sheen Watkins is a full time photographer, workshop instructor (Zoom and in-person) and editor of Aperture and Light, a photography and lifestyle blog. She also offers Etsy and website setup services for photographers and artists.
Her photography and writings have been featured in The Leelanau Conservancy, National Audubon Society, various state Audubon Society chapters, The Nature Conservancy, corporate calendars, Fox 2 New Detroit, Light Stalking, Loaded Landscapes and other travel publications.
She lives Northport, Michigan with her husband, Dave and their two dogs. As a family, they spend many hours each week outdoors immersed in nature across all four seasons. Prior to moving to Northport, she spent many years working in senior leadership capacities in the staffing and IT industries.
Her websites include: her Etsy shop, her website and her Aperture and Light blog.
LINDA BAYER, vice president
Linda and her husband Bob, moved to the friendly Cherry Homes Shores neighborhood in early 2016. They were thrilled to discover this creative, artistic community. “It’s exactly what we were looking for.” They both became members of the Northport Arts Association in June of 2016.
Artist statement: “Finding our way back to inspiration happens unexpectedly. Returning to various art forms learned from years past ignites creativity. It is fascinating as an artist when our work comes to life from our minds eye.”
Shortly after the grand opening of the Village Arts Building in October of 2016, Linda jumped in as Treasurer and continues to serve the organization in multiple capacities. Her involvement in writing grants and partnership with other NAA Leaders has raised over $29,000 in project and operational grants. Linda chairs several of the NAAs exhibits - Gene Rantz Memorial Plein Air Paint Out, Art & Vintage Sale, Northport Photo Exhibit, Holiday Arts & Crafts and is happy to be involved wherever she is needed or whatever springs up.
Linda brings many valued skills to NAA. These include: Project Management, Change Management and Graphic Design with skills in Microsoft Office, Google, Squarespace and Adobe Creative Suite.
In her spare time, she’s re-discovering her passion for art and enjoying pastels, mandalas and the new Clay Studio.
Lisa Westling, Secretary
Lisa is a new member of the Northport Arts Association and the Board. Elected in 2021, she is interested in finding ways to support, inspire and provide opportunity for artists across all ages.
Artist statement: “I look to nature for my inspiration. I enjoy packing up my supplies in a backpack, heading out on a trail or on the water and reconnecting with the natural world.”
Lisa has over 30 years experience as a K-12 art educator.
During her time in the classroom, she engaged her students in many individual and community based projects. Promoting diversity with the arts, she also introduced her student to a wide range of methods and materials.
As a creative and caring former art teacher, Lisa successfully looked for ways to offer support to her students. Additionally, she nurtured an appreciation for the arts and the creative process.
Linda Gits, Treasurer
Linda, a fine artist and graphic designer, joined NAA in 2015. Her primary focus as a board member is in the finance area. She brings a history of serving on boards and committees, retail management experience, familiarity of accounting
As a third generation Leelanau resident, Linda is excited to share her capabilities to help Northport Arts Association and fellow artists grow and thrive.
Artist Statement: “Art enriches all of our lives from childhood through retirement – whether we are the audience or the creators.”
Linda’s deep roots in the arts span her entire life . Her mother Diana Silvius and father Gerry Gits were both artists. Diana was a Michigan State Student at Leland’s Old Art building in 1957. Diana, nationally recognized for her large copper enamel paintings, went on to teach art at The Gross Point Day School. Gerry, a renowned metal sculptor taught high school and college.
Art instruction was brought home to their three daughters. Linda was sent to arts camps, Hull House and Interlochen, where she studied dance, art and music. She attended Chicago’s Art Institute for drawing, painting and sculpture. Linda graduated from University of Illinois with honors in Communications Design. Linda opened Gits Graphics and proceeded to spend the next 30 years as a Graphic Designer in downtown Chicago.
It is Linda’s goal to make sure the NAA 100% compliant with all US tax codes as they pertain to a 501c3 charity organization and to have a clear audit trail that helps our organization make financially sound decisions for our future.
Betsy Ernst, member at large
Betsy was very instrumental in starting the Northport Arts Association when it began to talk about finding a permanent home in 2014. She was elected as Vice President of the NAA in fall of 2018. In summer of 2019 she became the President and holds the position until fall of 2022.
Betsy has managed several exhibits for the NAA. She also initiated Tables at the Tip of Leelanau. Artists found tables and painted or reconstructed into pieces of art and donated to the NAA to raise funds. She provided oversight to the 2020 Enchanting Night Sky exhibit and will be manager of the 2021 Enchanting Night Sky Exhibit. Betsy is also leading the development of our Clay Works Pottery studio.
Artist statement: “My work is stimulated by my fascination with the stories, legends and my research of the time when the land was virgin and not developed. The ways the people of the land used rocks, beaches, forests and waters long before the European’s came to this continent.
I paint how the land feels. My desire is to portray in my work, how the land and waters speak an ancient language that only those who see and listen can understand. “
Betsy has a BFA in Studio Art, a Masters in Art Education and is currently a certified Landscape Designer with her degree from MSU. Betsy taught art in the Forest Hills School System for 18 years before moving back to Northport.
When not engaged in the arts, you’ll find Betsy at Peninsula Perennial Nursery. As president and owner, she helps many homeowners create gardens of their dreams with her vast selections of trees, shrubs, flowers and landscape design knowledge.
Mimi DiFrancesca Heberlein, member at large
A member of the NAA since 2016, Mimi has participated in several shows displaying her photography and painting and in coordinating the first online poetry event; The Dark Skies Poetry Project.
She brings her skills as not only an artist, writer and designer but also decades of experience in creating and facilitating events, large and small. She is co-owner of Willowbrook Mill, a premier Northern Michigan event venue located in Northport. Her event coordination and fundraising design won her a Beacon of Light Award from the Food Bank Council of the State of Michigan for her creation of the Empty Plate Event; Lansing’s largest fundraiser that has fundraised more than $4 million dollars since its inception in 2007.
Artist Statement: “My creative endeavors in words, art and photo manipulation come from a rising up of emotion from the quiet center we all fish from. I like a little dash of chaos in my creations. Like deep sea diving, writing lets us conjure a word painting of what’s going on in our depths and brings those word pictures to the surface where they delight or disturb the reader. My photos and paintings don’t necessarily capture what is; more what could be.”
Work/Prior History: former columnist for the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel iCE Magazine, a Southwestern USA Tour Guide, Ground Transportation and Field Coordination for city wide conventions, freelance marketing and design consultant for the hospitality industry; stage & set design, concert and festival coordination in Florida and Michigan, and special catering only when Gene Rantz asks her to. She is passionate about creating spaces and events that bring people together to celebrate life in all its technicolor wonder.
Writer Blog: Word Ninja Girl
Chris Woomer, Member at Large
In 2014 Chris was very involved with the brainstorming group to find a home for the NAA, making numerous scale drawings in the process. She was elected to the board in 2018, re-elected in 2020 and will serve until fall of 2022.
Chris has been vital in hanging many of our exhibitions. She researched new hanging systems for our gallery then managed a crew to refresh the gallery and install our current system.
She also initiated NAA’s first weekly Figure Drawing Studio where artists can gather, create and learn together in a fun, no-pressure creative atmosphere.
Artist Statement: “My paintings, prints and drawings are inspired by light, shadow or pattern. I find capturing a fleeting moment in a figure, still life or nature exhilarating. I always hope the viewer can relate to the moment and feel the emotion behind the image I create.“
Work/Prior History: Chris received her BFA in Drawing from MSU. She has had several Solo exhibits. While illustrating two children’s books and completing numerous commissions, she volunteered to teach watercolors at Gilda’s Club for 17 years before moving to Northport. She is passionate about helping others realize their own creative potential.
tami maisel, Member at Large
Information coming soon
Jayne Robinson, Member at Large
I was a Professor of Microbiology for over 30 years, at the University of Dayton. I taught both undergraduate and graduate students and maintained a funded research program. I retired in May 2022 but as a Professor Emeritus I am pursuing the commercialization of a novel antibiotic that I invented and patented.
As a scientist I have always been interested in the intersection of art and science. Scientific research can find solutions to specific problems and lead to a greater understanding of how the world is put together but art is perhaps the highest expression of humans and humankind. With AI coming at us like a hurricane I think it is time for those in science and the arts to work together to promote the benefits and speak out about the dehumanizing aspects.
Gene Rantz, Emeritus Board Member
Please refer to: In Memory of Gene and Judy Rantz
You can visit Gene’s work on his website: Gene Rantz
Nina Collins, Emeritus Board Member
NAA board member and Northport resident Nina Collins is portrait painter whose career began when she won the Art Prize at her junior high school.
This early success was followed up with a four year scholarship to Moore Institute of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Her resume includes a seven years stint as in-house artist at Nel’s Advertising Agency in Birmingham, MI, seven years as Interior Designer at the Vixen Motor Co. in Pontiac, MI. Her creative career continued for several more years as a window display designer.
Affiliations include 20 years as a member of the Birmingham/Bloomfield Art Association, where she took numerous classes, eight years as an active member of the Old Art Building in Leland. She also served eight years as a member of the Jr. Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Art.
She now enjoys designing and painting sets for local stage performance, pen and ink drawing, and portraiture. You’ll find Nina frequenting the Figure Drawing Studios too. Nina is also a philanthropist whose family has been instrumental in the recent renaissance of Northport, including the construction of the Village Arts Building, which the NAA now leases as its home .
Lydia Woodruff, special projects
Lydia Woodruff was a board member at large from 2018 to January of 2024. Lydia helped implement youth programs at NAA. She remains active on the website committee, and volunteers her time across projects with the organization.
Currently she is working on an art film about her father, titled Follow the Art: The Creative Journey of Tom Woodruff, which is tentatively set to premiere at NAA end of 2025.
Artist Statement: “Art brings me to life. I express myself through the many mediums of stained glass, sculpture, painting, poetry, and modeling. It especially brings me joy to help bring others’ artistic visions to reality. “
Work/Prior History: She is an artist, film maker, model, and web designer. Lydia and her father, Tom Woodruff, run the family business Woodruff Designs, which works to educate individuals through interactive art programs.
Her Website(s) Include: Woodruff Designs, Lydia Keen
