Say hello to our amazing new teammates!
/The COMPAS team is growing! We are thrilled to introduce you to the amazing new team members helping us unleash the creative potential of all Minnesotans! You’ll find their contact info on our staff page.
Ashley Lauren is from Minneapolis, MN. She is an artist, entrepreneur, published poet, journalist and photographer. Ashley Lauren is on a mission to enhance the quality of life for others, especially underserved/underrepresented youth, local artists, and businesses in our community.
Ashley Lauren is equipped with a wealth of experience in business due to her role as the Owner/Designer of Diva Rags & Suavé Clothing (Est. in 1999), and founder of the Diva/Suavé Project (Charity). She creates one-of-a-kind accessories, couture apparel, signature “Avid Evaus” aromatherapy oils. Ashley also offers complimentary scarf tying demonstrations for cancer patients.
Ashley Lauren graduated from Metropolitan State University (2011), where she obtained an individualized B.A. in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Community Outreach. Her academic achievements attracted the attention of local news outlets and helped propel growth in business.
St Paul, MN native Frank Sentwali Gardner, or “Sentwali” as he is known in the artist community, has been a fixture on the Twin Cities Hip Hop and Spoken Word scene for over 35 years. He is co-founder of the acclaimed Spoken Word troupe EduPoetic Enterbrainment and owner of BMF Enterbrainment LLC. Sentwali has been facilitating workshops and residencies since 1999 and has been a COMPAS roster teaching artist for 20 years. In addition, he’s been a concert promoter and show producer creating some of the biggest Spoken Word feature shows the Twin Cities has ever seen. He’s served on the Board of Directors of non-profits such as MNSWA (MN Spoken Word Association) and S.A.S.E Sentwali presently spends his time being a father, basketball coach, Spoken Word performance artist and award-winning arts educator.
Katie is the Arts Program Manager at COMPAS responsible for performances and the AnyPlace Arts program, facilitating art creation in non-traditional community spaces like parks and libraries. Katie has worked in non-profit arts and events management in a variety of roles for the last 15 years, both here in Minnesota and abroad in Scotland where she helped to facilitate the 75th anniversary of the largest international arts festival in the world!
Katie is passionate about the accessibility of art and creating spaces for people to stumble upon something beautiful and find their own creative spark. She has a BA in Theatre from the University of Minnesota and an MA in Arts, Festival, and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
Emrys graduated from Luther College with a BA degree in Visual Art and Management. At COMPAS, her primary responsibility is to coordinate the EYA (Emerging Young Artist) Program and assist with the development process. Her innate talent in visual art was discovered during her childhood when she took art classes with her grandmother. Unfortunately, due to the lack of art education opportunities in her hometown, Emrys couldn't pursue her artistic dreams until college. Through her personal journey, she has come to deeply value the importance of creativity and making art accessible, and she is passionate about providing more artistic opportunities to the community through her work with COMPAS.
