Board of Directors
Alisa Lindsay
President
Alisa is a Professional Engineer with a Civil and Environmental Engineering degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She is currently a team leader and senior environmental engineer with Fishbeck in Kalamazoo. In her free time, Alisa enjoys dancing and playing the violin. She is a life-long learner of dance and continues to study dance with Wellspring. She is a company member with Movement Reservoir Dance Company and Breakin’ Ballet, and has danced with Chamberlain Dance Company, Atelier Dance Company, and Grand Rapids Dance Ensemble. Alisa also volunteers as a musician for local churches and was formerly a violinist in the Kalamazoo College and Community Orchestra (now the Kalamazoo Philharmonia). She and her husband live in Portage and have three children.
Lisa Wainwright
Member
Lisa (Chew) Wainwright, originally from Kalamazoo, MI, is currently a Treasury Management Client Services Manager for PNC Bank. However, Lisa’s true passion is the art of dance. She earned her BFA in modern dance from Western Michigan University and an MA from Columbia College Chicago in Arts, Entertainment, Media Management. She was involved with numerous Chicago based organizations such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Joseph Holmes Dance Company, and the Chicago Moving Company in marketing, development, and strategic planning roles. She owned/operated her own dance studio in the Chicagoland area for several years. Lisa also currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Partners in Dance Foundation at WMU, Ballet 5:8 out of Orland Park, IL and teaches as an adjunct professor within the WMU Dance/Theatre department. Her boys, Dan, an engineer, and James, a company artist of Ballet 5:8, are her pride and joy.
Emily Deering-Caruso
Vice President
Emily Deering-Caruso was born and raised in Kalamazoo, attending her first dance class at Wellspring as a toddler in 1992. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Depaul University in Chicago, Emily and her husband, Matthew, moved to Uganda to work on small business incubation projects with a local nonprofit. Upon their return home in 2015, Emily joined the team at YWCA Kalamazoo where she serves as a Director of Development overseeing the financial sustainability of the mission work of eliminating racism and empowering women. In addition, Emily co-owns and operates Bird Nest, LLC - the parent company of The Stamped Robin and sibling brands Lil Bird Cocktail Cart and Robin Bottle Shop. Through these roles Emily provides fund development expertise, accounting, financial management and strategic development to a variety of industries. She is grateful for her village in Kalamazoo including her colleagues, dear friends, close family and her boys - Matthew, Sebastian, Carson and Charlie.
Chunwu Wu
Treasurer
Christine VanderNaald
Secretary
West Nelson
Member
West Nelson is a graduate of Kalamazoo College and is the proprietor of Rosetta Consultants, specializing in documentation and training for corporations and municipalities in the process of upgrading their computer systems, valuable work that he has shared with students during several stints as an adjunct professor.
West came to know of Erick Hawkins and his technique through a phys. ed. class with Lynn Maurer at Kalamazoo College. He was so fascinated by it that he ended up doing his Senior Individualized Project on Hawkins, which entailed an intensive study period in 1981 at the Hawkins studio in New York City. While there, he learned of Cori Terry and, as soon as possible, West introduced himself to Cori upon his return to Kalamazoo. Shortly thereafter, West became Wellspring’s lighting designer. The rest, as they say, is family history. West has been on Wellspring’s board since 2010 and he has been known to cook for the company and the board when the conditions are right.
Cori Terry
Founder & Emeritus Artistic Director
Cori Terry, Wellspring's founder and Emeritus Artistic Director, was born in Brooklyn and attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook before moving to New York City to complete her dance training. In 1974, she joined the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, performing and teaching throughout the US and Europe. She moved to Kalamazoo as Artist-in-Residence at Western Michigan University in 1980 and founded Wellspring in 1981. In 1987, she received Kalamazoo's prestigious Community Medal of Arts Award. She completed a BFA in dance from WMU in 1989 and has taught master classes there as well as throughout Michigan and the Midwest. In 2006, Ms. Terry was honored by Kalamazoo College as recipient in the first-ever Women In Town Awards, recognizing the artistic achievements of local artists. Ms. Terry was awarded the 2008 Community Dance Advocacy Award from WMU's Partners in Dance for her outstanding contributions in dance in the Greater Kalamazoo community, and was a finalist for the 2008 Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award. She received a Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA in 2019. To date, she has choreographed more than 95 major works for Wellspring, and she transitioned to Emeritus Artistic Director in 2024. Ms. Terry is a certified Advanced Rolfer®, in practice since 1996.
Marisa Bianan
Artistic Director
Marisa Bianan (she/her) obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Western Michigan University in April 2018. Through her studies, Marisa had the privilege to work with leading choreographers, including Jeremy Blair, Monique Haley, Carolyn Pavlik, and Brendan Duggan.
Since graduating, Marisa has presented various choreographic works in the Midwest, including at the 2019 RADFest and Inaside’s Summer 2022 in-person/virtual hybrid concert. Recent accolades include becoming a finalist for the 2021 Maggie Allesee Choreography Competition; receiving a commission to create a new work for Western Michigan University’s First Year Performance class, which premiered in February 2022; and, being accepted into the 2023 + 2024 Detroit Dance City Festival Choreographer’s Showcase. Most notably, she received the 2024 Detroit Dance City Festival's Best Choreographer Award and presented at the 2025 Festival. Marisa stepped into the role of Artistic Director with Wellspring in 2024 and is excited to continue sharing her artistic vision with the Southwest Michigan dance community. 2026-2027 will be Marisa’s ninth season with Wellspring.
Julie White
Interim Executive Director
With a background in communications and a heart for artistic and community-centered work, Julie (she/her) brings creativity and a collaborative spirit to her role as Interim Executive Director with Wellspring. She is passionate about creating spaces where people feel welcome, valued, and empowered to thrive.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Purdue University, and she spent much of her career in the corporate world before shifting to the nonprofit arts sector to lead marketing and communications for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. There, she helped to broaden the symphony’s reach and strengthen community connections through storytelling, outreach, and experiences that made live symphonic music more accessible and meaningful to people of all ages and backgrounds.
More recently as a consultant, she partnered with both large organizations and individual clients, but she found special joy in working with small business owners, helping them to shape their brands, clarify their goals, and share their work in ways that resonated. Throughout her work, Julie is driven by a desire to remove barriers, lift others up, and spark meaningful impact.
