DEBBIE KRISTOFEK, from Evanston, IL, was a scholarship student at the National Academy of Dance at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and went on to perform as a soloist with the Sybil Shearer Company, Gemze de Lappe’s Off Broadway Touring Company, and the Evanston Concert Ballet. Debbie is recognized as a dynamic, process-oriented administrator with a keen ability to bring artistic vision to projects, programs, and organizations.  A former teaching artist for the Kennedy Center, she has authored award-winning professional development workshops and pioneered new strategies for interdisciplinary partnerships among major arts organizations in Chicago. She is a recipient of the Service Recognition Award for Outstanding Artist from the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education for her work with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and Kraft Art Discovery project.