Dawn Bentley, MNM, MBA, CSM

Executive Director

Dawn (she/her) joined Fringe in April 2017 with a leadership expertise focused on navigating strategic vision to achieve greatest potential. In her previous position as the first Executive Director of Art Shanty Projects, she was charged with creating infrastructure and establishing improved outcomes in all key functional areas. Dawn is an arts aficionado and has played violin for over 30 years in various ensembles from rock bands to professional orchestras with a dozen recordings in her repertoire. She holds Masters degrees in Nonprofit Management and Business Administration from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN.

Email Dawn

Corinne Steffens

Technical Director

Corinne (she/they) is joining the full-time Fringe team in 2025 as Tech Director after starting as a Fringe Festival venue tech. During the non-Fringe seasons, she works all across the Twin Cities as a freelancer in all things theater tech, with an emphasis on sound and musical theater. Outside of work, she enjoys crafting, reading fantasy novels, and continuing her stage combat studies.

Email Corinne

Hailey Dickinson

Social Media Manager

Hailey (she/her) comes to Minnesota Fringe with years of experience managing communications and working with social change initiatives. She is currently the Communications Lead for Midwest Food Connection and a writer for Yahoo's Built By Girls. While she's not a regular in the theatre world, she is constantly exercising her creativity through storytelling and content creation in her everyday work online. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from the University of Minnesota.

Email Hailey

Lucia Granja

Communications Assistant 

Lucia (she/her) is a recent college graduate and is very excited to join the 2025 Minnesota Fringe team as someone who is passionate about community-based art. Lucia graduated from Occidental College with a BA in Religious Studies and focused her work on Interdisciplinary Arts & Media. After 4 years in LA, she’s excited to bring her experience in arts nonprofits and social media back home to the Twin Cities. Lucia loves making art, especially zines, using photography, drawing and mixed media, and she spends her free time reading, biking, and hanging out with friends.

Email Lucia

Amber Bjork

Office Manager / Artist Liaison

Amber (she/her) has spent several years acting, directing, writing, and producing as a Fringe artist before joining the staff as Office Manager and Artist Liaison in 2014. In her time outside of the office, she is a freelance artist and serves as the founding member of The Winding Sheet Outfit. She is a graduate of University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in English Lit and Dramatic Theory.

Email Amber

Felicia Cooper

Director of Audience & Volunteer Engagement

Felicia joins Fringe with eight years experience in community art and engagement and is thrilled to be part of the passionate team at Fringe. She is a listener of stories, an organizer of projects, and a dedicated people person. She holds an MFA from the University of Connecticut and has held artistic residencies at the Bell Museum, Winterthur, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, and more. When Felicia isn't fringing, she can be found covered in paper mache as a proud member of Minneapolis's puppetry community, or riding her bike, often to a museum.

Email Felicia

Ariel Pinkerton

Community Liaison

Ariel (she/her) is an actress, lighting designer and storyteller who has been part of the Minnesota Fringe since 1999. She has served as an artist, volunteer, front of house staff member and enthusiastic audience and will not hesitate to share her love of our festival with you. She is Co-Artistic Director of Fortune's Fool Theatre and a company member of Ghoulish Delights and Freshwater Theatre she is also the Co-owner of the Hard Times Cafe, located in the heart of Fringe territory. 

Email Ariel