Emily Killham - President
Emily was born and raised in Lincoln, NE and is an alumnus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she received a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Quantitative and Qualitative Research. She has spent her career building better places to work, or as one of her children once said, “helping bosses be better bosses.” When not working Emily finds her passion in raising 3 sons into fantastic young men, reading, and watching baseball. She has seen the power of performing arts bring confidence and joy to her kids and joined the YAAL Board as a way to help all kids find a home in the theatre.
Diane Gabelhouse - Vice President
Diane graduated from Doane University with degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education, and later received a Master of Education in Curriculum and Education. Diane is currently a substitute teacher and Pack Leader with her local Cub Scout pack. She found a love for YAAL after both of her children began the educational classes offered here. Diane found that learning about acting was not the only thing that her children took from YAAL, but also the people they met. She was compelled to give back to YAAL after seeing fun, accepting, positive, and encouraging instructional environment that is promoted here. She wanted to be involved to spread YAAL's educational programming to more kids in the community.
Jennifer Brown - Treasurer
Jennifer Brown graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and a minor in Russian. She is a Cytogenetic Technologist, providing patients with chromosome analysis for both cancer and congenital studies. Jennifer's oldest son became involved in YAAL's summer programming starting in 2015, at the age of 5, and her youngest son started taking classes in summer 2019, at the age of 7. Jennifer loves to watch the students at YAAL, including her own two boys, grow and develop skills and confidence through the instruction provided in performing arts. She is honored to help YAAL continue its mission as an inclusive educational academy.
Molly Andersen - Secretary
Molly graduated from Concordia University with a Master of Education in Curriculum and Education. She has been an educator for the last 16 year. Molly's oldest daughter has been involved with YAAL for the past few years, which has sparked a love of musical theatre throughout their household. Due to this experience, Molly was inspired to give back to YAAL and it's educational mission to help bring this opportunity to other students.
Alicia Bacon
Bio coming soon!
Brady Christianson
Bio coming soon!
Kelby Hansen
Kelby was raised in Lincoln, NE and is an alumnus of Lincoln High school and Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he majored in Mathematics and minored in Theatre Arts. In 2019, he returned to Nebraska after working in Japan. He is currently self-employed, specializing in financial and insurance software and analytics. In January 2020, Kelby joined the YAAL Board as treasurer after both of his children began participating in the programming at YAAL. Kelby saw how much his children loved the Performing Arts and wanted the opportunity to become further involved in the educational mission of YAAL.
Brooke Weesner
Brooke has called Lincoln home for more than 2 decades after growing up in Long Beach, California. She serves as the Senior Director of Human Resources at Family Service Lincoln, where she has built her career around supporting people, strengthening organizations, and creating positive workplace cultures. Brooke holds an MBA from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Brooke’s connection to YAAL began through her daughter, whose involvement in theatre gave Brooke a firsthand look at the confidence, friendships, and sense of belonging that the performing arts can create for young people. Seeing that impact sparked her desire to become more involved and support an organization that gives kids a place to be creative, take risks, and be themselves.
Cristi Wells
Cristi has lived in Lincoln with her husband and three children since 2017. Before making Lincoln home, she was born and raised (mostly) in Sherwood, Arkansas. Cristi earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Central Arkansas and worked as a Registered Nurse in the CVICU at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and later in the PICU at Children’s Nebraska in Omaha. She has since dedicated her time to managing her busy family. Cristi is passionate about supporting the arts in her community and was drawn to YAAL after seeing firsthand the positive impact it has had on her own daughter and son, as well as so many other students. She especially loves YAAL’s welcoming and accepting community, the way its staff encourages and celebrates each student, and watching students grow in confidence as they discover what they’re capable of.