Summit Artspace Leadership

Staff

Person with long brown hair with highlights wearing a black patterned blouse smiles at the camera.

Natalie Grieshammer Patrick​

Executive Director

Email: natalie@summitartspace.org

Phone: (330) 376-8480 ext. 1

Natalie Grieshammer Patrick is an arts leader, artist, and curator from Akron, OH. Over the past decade, she has dedicated her visionary, results-driven leadership to serving local artists in Northeast Ohio. Grieshammer Patrick’s work is driven by the goals of empowering artists to create their own path to success and to create a more sustainable landscape for artists to call home. 
  
Through her previous role as Director of Artist Resources at Summit Artspace, Grieshammer Patrick has made a significant impact on the organization, the artists it serves, and the community. Her contributions have been instrumental in defining how Summit Artspace serves local artists and carries out its mission.
Over her tenure, she reimagined its galleries and hallway spaces throughout the building to more strategically serve exhibiting artists and engage visitors while expanding artist professional development programs, grounding them in research from nationally based organizations to ensure they address artists’ most pressing needs. 
 
In addition to leading artist-serving initiatives, Grieshammer Patrick has been influential in creating a more financially stable organization in partnership with previous Executive Director, Heather Meeker. Natalie’s work at Summit Artspace has included strategic planning, relationship building, and fundraising. Her concepts for new artist programs led to transformative grants from the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Peg’s Foundation, and the Ohio Arts Council
Before transitioning to a staff role at Summit Artspace in early 2021, Grieshammer Patrick served on the Board of Directors in 2020. Previous arts leadership roles include Gallery Director at Praxis Fiber Workshop, Donor & Member Program Manager at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Arts & Programming Manager at Akron Soul Train. She served as a member of the Community Advisory Council at the Akron Art Museum beginning in 2022. In 2021, Grieshammer Patrick was the recipient of the 30 for the Future Award by Greater Akron Chamber, which recognizes up-and-coming leaders in the community. 
  
For over fifteen years, Grieshammer Patrick has been a practicing fiber artist. She employs non-traditional materials to create large-scale weavings that highlight the celebrations and challenges of feminine identity. Her artwork has been shown in galleries and museums throughout Northeast Ohio including at the Akron Art Museum, McDonough Museum of Art, and Transformer Station. Natalie is also a partner and strategic advisor at Akron Recording Company, which she founded with her husband in 2017. 
  
Grieshammer Patrick holds an M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Akron and B.F.A. in Fiber and Material Studies from the Cleveland Institute of Art. 
A man with short sandy brown hair and a beard smiles at the camera.

Antonio Rion

 

Operations and Event Manager

Email: antonio@summitartspace.org

Phone: (330) 376-8480 ext. 0

Antonio Rion (he/him) joined Summit Artspace as Development Intern in August 2021. Antonio earned his undergraduate degree from Kent State University in Music Performance with a concentration in flute. He has always been interested in the arts, specifically music. Antonio is active in numerous ensembles, and operates a private flute studio.

A woman with curly brown shoulder length hair

Anna E. young

Director of Artist Programs and Exhibitions

Email: anna@summitartspace.org

Phone: (330) 376-8480 ext. 3

Anna E. Young is an artist and arts advocate. She holds an M.F.A. in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a B.F.A. from the University of Akron, with minors in Printmaking, Art History, and Professional Photography. Young is an assistant lecturer at the University of Akron, Myers School of Art, in the 2D Design and Photography department. She is the co-founder of KINK Contemporary, an arts organization whose mission is to support emerging artists and curators. Artistically, she creates fine art photographs, prints, and silicone sculptures revolving around contemporary social issues, body dysmorphia, trauma, and mortality.

Artist standing and smiling in front of colorful mixed-media wall art and a bright painting of cake with the text 'You deserve the entire world, but you especially deserve to be made cake' on the gallery wall.

Nyki Fetterman

Curriculum Specialist & Teaching Artist

Email: nyki@summitartspace.org

Phone: (330) 376-8480

Nyki Fetterman (she/they) is an artist and educator. Nyki earned an undergraduate degree in Art Education from the University of Akron’s Myers School of Art in 2018, and worked as a museum educator and classroom art teacher before joining the staff at Summit Artspace in 2024. As a practicing mixed-media artist, Nyki is interested in exploring the many facets of humanity and the American socio-political landscape through storytelling, mystical symbolism, and sentimentality.  

A person with long dark brown hair wearing a black button up t-shirt smiles at the camera.

Nick Lee

Gallery & Programs Coordinator 

Email: nick@summitartspace.org

Phone: (330) 376-8480

Nick Lee is a painter and 2021 Kent State University graduate. Lee’s work is inspired by the diversity of the human experience. As a Japanese-American, Lee’s visual art strives to better represent minorities like himself in American portraiture and Western art. Motivated by self-discovery, Lee uses symbolic Japanese objects in his paintings to connect with a culture that was never taught to him growing up.  Lee is the 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Citizen for Art Education for the Northeast Ohio region by the OAEA. Lee is also the recipient of the 2024 Arts Alive Emerging Artist award by Summit Artspace. 

Board of Directors

Person with long blonde wavy hair wearing red lipstick smiling at the camera

Kristen Nervo Dowey

PRESIDENT
CEO, OneKey Virtual Care
Person with short hair wearing a blue shirt, patterned tie, and brown suit jacket standing in front of the American flag.

RObert L. tucker, ESQ.

VICE-PRESIDENT
Attorney at Law, Retired
Person with shoulder length brown hair with highlights wearing a floral shirt

Jill Oldham

SECRETARY
President/CEO, Greenleaf Family Services
Summit Artspace colorful Starburst Logo with no tagline.

Amanda Novelli

TREASURER
Dir., Development & Communications, Grace House
person with shoulder length wavy blonde hair wearing a black floral patterned short sleeved shirt

Alexandra Eliopoulos

DIRECTOR
Visual Art Teacher/Dept Chair, Old Trail School
Person with long black hair wearing black thick-rimmed glasses, a white dress shirt, and light blue striped tie.

Ace Epps

DIRECTOR
Artist and VP Diversity & Community Programs, Chase
person with short sandy brown hair with a moustache wearing a blue button up shirt

Micah Kraus

DIRECTOR
Artist/Owner, Work Studio Ltd
woman with short curly hair with red lipstick wearing a mustard yellow blazer and blue shirt

Nikki Marchmon-Boykin

DIRECTOR
Kent Roosevelt High School, Black Diamonds
person with shoulder length black hair wearing a navy blazer and black shirt.

Catherine McKinley

DIRECTOR
Artist and Admissions Counselor, Stark State College
Person with shoulder length brown hair wearing a black blazer and a light and navy blue polkadot shirt.

ROBERTA ROGERS

DIRECTOR
Recreation Supervisor, City of Akron Recreation and Parks
Person with short blonde hair wearing a brown leather jacket

Karen Starr

DIRECTOR
Co-Owner and Interior Designer, Hazel Tree Interiors
Summit Artspace colorful Starburst Logo with no tagline.

Bronlynn Thurman

DIRECTOR
Program Officer, The Cleveland Foundation
Person with a beard wearing a dark gray blazer with a lavender button up underneath

Brandon Waithe

DIRECTOR
Director of Education and Learning, Urban League
Shopping Cart

stay informed!

Subscribe to receive the Summit Artspace newsletter