Staff and Board

Angela Seals

Executive Director

Bio

Angela Seals is a creative leader, project manager, public programs designer, and speaker with 24 years of experience with arts nonprofits. She has worked with the Cultural Office in a variety of roles since 2013, and in her time as Executive Director has led dynamic change within the nonprofit’s culture, operations, strategy, and impact. Angela has built a trusted professional reputation across her work in Colorado Springs and at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust / Pittsburgh Dance Council, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. Her experience in arts funding includes leading local funding programs ranging from $20k-$200k, and she has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and Indianapolis Arts Council. Her awards for service to the field include the 2024 Women of Influence Award from Colorado Springs Business Journal and the 2022 Juneteenth Community Award from Pikes Peak Diversity Council.

Becca Day

Office Coordinator

Bio

Becca Day has professional experience in office administration and communications with several Colorado Springs-based organizations. Over the past decade, Becca has worked in the arts as an abstract painter and exhibited in prominent local galleries. Visual arts are her favorite, with the literary arts a close second. Becca enjoys being a parent to two young adults and date nights with her husband to local restaurants and First Friday Art Walks!

Jonathan Toman

Program Manager, Cultural Promotion & Tourism

Bio

Jonathan Toman builds local and tourist arts audiences – and the Pikes Peak region’s visibility as an arts destination – using the marketing, communications, and storytelling platforms of the Cultural Office and its partnerships. To that end, he spearheads the Cultural Office’s flagship cultural promotion & tourism program, Peak Radar – the local creative sector’s most powerful promotional tool. Under Jonathan’s leadership, the Peak Radar program has flourished in quality, impact, and size, promoting thousands of events and hundreds of local organizations annually. He also leads relationship development and pitching with local and statewide media.

An experienced storyteller and program manager (and Pikes Peak region native), Jonathan enjoys amplifying and illustrating the value of the region’s arts sector…and saying all puns that occur to him!

LUKE HARPER PRINCE

Program Manager, CREATIVE ECONOMY

Bio

Luke Harper Prince is an accomplished operational leader and community advocate with skills in community engagement, management, events, and cross-sector partnership. During his tenure serving several prominent Colorado attractions, Luke was instrumental in the re-opening of the Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway and later became the first manager entrusted with concurrent leadership at Broadmoor Seven Falls. He has been honored as Manager of the Year by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Young Professional of the Year by the Durango Chamber of Commerce. Luke has served as an instructor with Road Scholar, leading educational programs focused on Colorado history, culture, and the state’s historic railroads. As a community advocate, he has supported the Durango Independent Film Festival, served on the Mobility and Parking Board in Manitou Springs, and is widely respected as a skating official for women’s flat track roller derby leagues across Colorado, where he’s fondly known as “Happy Bones.”

Melissa O'Rear

Program Manager, education

Bio

Melissa O’Rear brings over 20 years’ experience in arts education as a teacher, director and administrator to her role with the Cultural Office. She has worked in public, charter, and private schools and holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Theatre from NYU. A native to Colorado Springs, her work has taken her all over, including Chicago, New York City, Dublin, and London. She is passionate about creating collaborative spaces for students young and old to explore and discover their creative voices. Locally, she has taught at UCCS, School District 11, The Colorado Springs School, and also at multiple theatre and music organizations. Melissa is the founder and Executive Director of Theatre Across Borders, which focuses on arts-integration programs in schools, such as Science to Stage, along with interactive theatre hikes for families.