FEATURES
Gladys DeVane: Storyteller
Gladys DeVane, 81, is a storyteller, scriptwriter, and actor. She first learned stagecraft competing in oratorical contests as a child and acting in plays in high school and college.
Jacinda Townsend: Novelist & MCCSC Board Member
Jacinda Townsend is a novelist, a software trainer, and a Monroe County Community School Corporation board member.
Priscilla Barnes: “Pracademic”
As a master’s student at Indiana University, Priscilla Barnes researched public health disparities and the connection between faith communities and public health.
Vanessa McClary: Kiwanis Leader
Whether it’s ensuring that local elementary school children have winter coats or cheering up the Bloomington skyline with hot air balloons, Vanessa McClary cares that the work she does in the community has tangible results.
Elizabeth Mitchell: Historian
For more than 40 years, Elizabeth Mitchell has been documenting African American history and correcting the white version of that history.

FEATURES
Gladys DeVane: Storyteller
Gladys DeVane, 81, is a storyteller, scriptwriter, and actor. She first learned stagecraft competing in oratorical contests as a child and acting in plays in high school and college.
Jacinda Townsend: Novelist & MCCSC Board Member
Jacinda Townsend is a novelist, a software trainer, and a Monroe County Community School Corporation board member.
Priscilla Barnes: “Pracademic”
As a master’s student at Indiana University, Priscilla Barnes researched public health disparities and the connection between faith communities and public health.
Vanessa McClary: Kiwanis Leader
Whether it’s ensuring that local elementary school children have winter coats or cheering up the Bloomington skyline with hot air balloons, Vanessa McClary cares that the work she does in the community has tangible results.
Elizabeth Mitchell: Historian
For more than 40 years, Elizabeth Mitchell has been documenting African American history and correcting the white version of that history.
Selena Drake: Social Justice Advocate
Selena Drake, who was raised in Gary, Indiana, says she never truly experienced racism prior to attending Indiana University. A racially charged incident that occurred as she started her freshman year in 2016 changed that.
Nicole Bolden: Bloomington City Clerk
Nicole Bolden comes from a lineage of women with a legacy of firsts.
Black Women of Bloomington: Recognizing Their Accomplishments & Contributions
The achievements of Black women are being recognized nationally as never before, thanks to the ascent of Kamala Harris to the vice presidency, the impact of Black women on the presidential election, and the several Black women appointed to cabinet and other key government positions. Finally, and long overdue.
15th Annual Wedding Guide
There is an existential expression that pretty much sums up the year 2020: “Man plans, God laughs.”
Jeannine Bell: Scholar of Policing & Hate Crimes
Professor Jeannine Bell, a nationally recognized scholar in the area of policing and hate crimes, has written extensively on criminal justice issues.
Doris Sims: 40 Years in Public Service
Doris Sims has seen the country “go through hills and valleys” when it comes to race. “A lot—especially within this past year—has happened within our country with dealing with racial inequality, and dealing with issues of equity and diversity,” she says.
Jerry Smith: En Plein Air Painter
Initially finding it easier to paint in a realist style, Jerry Smith says his work has adapted with time.
Dixie Ferrer: Texture Artist
Brown County resident Dixie Ferrer considers herself an artist of texture, exploring the combined mediums of oil paint and cold wax.
Joel Washington: Music Is His Inspiration
A self-taught artist, Joel Washington’s work can be found in Bloomington galleries and restaurants, in departments across Indiana University, and at the Indiana State Museum.
Jennifer Mujezinovic: Portrait Painter
For four years, Bloomington’s Jennifer Mujezinovic painted the whimsical portrait covers for the All About children’s book series. After 12 total book covers, Mujezinovic has decided to begin taking a new creative direction.
Meg Lagodzki: Painting an Unnatural Landscape
After Meg Lagodzki had a serious illness that resulted in the removal of her thyroid, she was entirely unable to speak for two months, and then only in a whisper for a year. Depressed, she coped by returning to oil painting, something she had given up for 10 years to focus on her family.
Mark Blaney: Versatile Artist
Even before painter and ceramicist Mark Blaney moved to Bloomington in 2010, he had contributed artwork to various local arts endeavors, including albums and publications by local composer Malcolm Dalglish.
Kevin Pope: Artwork That Tells Stories
Cartoonist Kevin Pope has illustrated for Playboy magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Mad Magazine, the NBC animated show Sammy, Pepsi TV commercials, and the comics Inside Out and The Far Side.
Jerome Harste: Multi-Genre Artist
Upon retiring from Indiana University as a distinguished professor of literacy, culture, and language in 2006, Jerome Harste began studying with renowned artists in several states.
Patricia Rhoden: Prolific Artist
After 37 years as an art teacher, Patricia Rhoden retired in 2013 and now spends most days creating oil and acrylic paintings in her Nashville, Indiana, studio. Much of her work is impressionistic, and she’s known for her silver and gold leaf floral landscapes.
