Current Board Members

“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Carly Schaub

Board President, Grant Coordinator

Pronouns: she/her

Carly is a dance artist residing in Salt Lake City and teaches Ballet, Modern Dance/Contemporary, Early Court Ballet and Screendance. She works as an adjunct faculty member at Westminster University, and Salt Lake Community College. She also teaches young students at Wasatch Arts Center as well as individuals living with Parkinson’s in the regular open classes hosted by Westminster University and Deseret Experimental Opera.

Carly currently serves as Board President of Deseret Experimental Opera (DEXO) and has helped produce/choreograph/direct many shows with the performing arts non-profit. She is a regular teacher and dancer with Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative which is also under DEXO’s programming.

She moved to Salt Lake City to attend graduate school at the University of Utah earning a B.F.A. in Modern Dance with Screendance Certification. She earned a B.F.A. in Theatre and Dance from the University of Wyoming. Prior to graduate school, Carly danced, choreographed and served as the Education Coordinator at Northern Plains Dance in Bismarck, ND which led her all over the state performing and guest teaching and choreographing numerous musicals for Sleepy Hollow Summer Theatre and Bismarck State College.

Photo Credit: Deanne Landreaux

Kaitlynn Killian

Board Vice President

Pronouns: she/they/him

Kaitlynn is a Salt Lake City born and based Dance Artist. A 2020 graduate of Westminster College with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She was awarded Outstanding Graduating Senior in her cohort and continues to be an active alumni. In her time with the dance program she had the privilege to perform renowned José Limón and Doug Varone repertoire. Along with original works by dance department faculty Bethany Hansen, Natalie Desch, Michelle Armstrong, Allison Shir, Sara Pickett, Nathan Dryden and multiple collaborative student-generated dance works. Killian has performed in the plays Love and Information by Carol Churchill and Big Day for the Byrons by Max Huftalin. She also had the pleasure to design the lighting of evening length shows in Westminster’s dance department: The Right Kind of Ugly(2019), Kaleidoscope(2019), and Surrendered Contact(2021). Killian was awarded scholarship to Ririe Woodbury Dance Company’s 2018 summer Move-It intensive. Katelynn currently enjoys teaching as the Artistic Director of The Lab dance studio and performing as a freelance movement artist within and beyond the Salt Lake/Davis County areas. Killian also works for SLCO Arts and Culture as their Arts for All program coordinator in the Eccles Theater.

Photo Credit: Cam Welch

Michaela Gerard

Board Secretary, SLBC Founder

Pronouns: she/they

Originally from Boise, Idaho, Michaela moved to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah and graduated with a BFA in Ballet as well as a BS in Psychology. Michaela danced locally with Municipal Ballet Co, later becoming a founding member of Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative, and the Deseret Experimental Opera Board secretary. Michaela is a U of U Fine Arts Ambassadors and enjoys the opportunity to continue learning from and collaborating with so many talented alumni, as well as dancing and collaborating with other local dancers, artists, and musicians.

Photo Credit:

Sarah Rinderknecht

Board Treasurer

Pronouns: she/her

Sarah is a forensic accountant and dance artist based in Salt Lake City. She earned a B.S. in Accounting and a B.F.A. in Ballet from the University of Utah, where she was a 2020-2021 fellow in the Women’s Artistic Leadership Initiative program and a competitor in national and regional ethics case competitions representing the David Eccles School of Business. Her dual education in the arts and business continues to shape her interdisciplinary approach to both her professional and creative work.

Sarah currently works as Senior Professional Staff at Sage Forensic Accounting, where she specializes in forensic accounting with litigation support in cases involving economic damages, business valuations, and financial modeling.

Sarah also maintains an active presence in the Salt Lake City dance community. She performs in independent and collaborative dance projects and has continued her artistic practice alongside her full-time accounting work. Her background includes early training with The Portland Ballet in Oregon and a wide range of choreographic and performance experiences at the University of Utah and beyond.

Photo Credit:

She currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Deseret Experimental Opera (DEXO), where she supports the organization’s financial health and strategic planning while staying engaged in its creative mission. She also participates in DEXO’s programming as a dancer and collaborator.

Outside of her professional life, she enjoys skiing during the winter, hiking in the summer, and is passionate about supporting and staying involved in SLC's vibrant community.

Megan Fotheringham

Board Member

Pronouns: she/her

Megan has been a dancer since she was three years old. Primarily trained as a ballet dancer, she danced with Ballet Center Utah, Inc. from 2006 to 2021 where she performed many soloist roles in Ballet Center productions and choreographed many works for the company. During the summers of 2017, 2018, and 2019, she participated in the International Youth Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia and Salt Lake City. She had the privilege to train under Oleg Vinogradov and his acclaimed faculty. In 2019, she traveled to Incheon, South Korea with the University of Utah School of Dance to train with Mr. Vinogradov and Jay Kim. In 2021, she traveled to Detroit to study with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, where she performed work set by Clifford Williams. Megan graduated with a BFA in Dance from Westminster College in 2022. During her undergraduate she performed works by the faculty and students.

Photo Credit:

Past Board Members

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

- Margaret Mead

Luke Swenson

Founder, Board Member 2013-2023
Philosopher Emeritus
Meagan Bertelsen

Secretary of the Board, Developer
Emmett Wilson

President 2017-2019, Board Member 2020
Emmett Wilson is a dance artist, choreographer and director for DEXO. Born and raised in Houston, Emmett moved west to complete a BFA in Modern Dance at the University of Utah, minoring in Environmental Studies and Portuguese. Emmett’s involvement with DEXO began when they performed a dancing migraine in The Heavenly City (2015). They have since choreographed and directed Red Lake (2016), and is excited for future DEXO productions.
Emmett also jams with the improvisational dance and music ensemble, Porridge for Goldilocks, and has a solo performance project, LadyPrince is Yung&Bizzy. Wilson’s work has been presented at the The Barn (Houston), 12 Minutes Max (SLC), Mudson (SLC), Speakers Corner (SLC), Dumke Blackbox Theater (SLC), Jupiter XI Apparel (Chicago), and The Pilot on Navigation (Houston). Their writing can be found published in loveDANCEmore and 15 Bytes. Emmett is thrilled to choreograph in an operatic context in which various artistic languages simultaneously speak: making nonsense and creating meaning.