Our Team
Creative Arts Collective
Nina Woodard
Managing Director
Nina Woodard believes in the power of asking great questions. A former senior-level music industry executive with 30+ years of expertise in corporate leadership, career development, and brand marketing, she is uniquely suited to guide organizations and individuals toward developing strategies and achieving goals.
Woodard was fortunate to get her first dream job right out of college. While she didn’t realize it then, her first destination role as a marketing assistant with a small label in Nashville would lead to a 23-year career in Christian music that allowed her to pursue a personal passion, utilize her talents, and invest in a mission of great significance. As a member of the Career Development Team at Belmont University, specifically serving entertainment and music business students and alumni, she transitioned that same passion, skill, and purpose into helping others pursue their professional dreams. Her role with the Creative Arts Collective is yet another dream job, and the next step in what she’s realized is the throughline of her career – equipping creatives to achieve goals uniquely positioned at the intersection of art and faith.
A 2006 Leadership Music graduate, Woodard holds a B.S. in PR/Communications and an M.P.S. in Organizational Leadership. She is a former Chair of the Porter’s Call Board of Directors and a current member of the organization’s Advisory Council. Woodard and her husband are both active in church music ministry and love having their home filled with music. Their dog, Sadie, makes them laugh every single day.
Courtney Hicks
Associate Director of Grant Operations
Courtney Hicks serves as Associate Director of Grant Operations and brings over 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience to the team. She is a two-time Belmont alumna with a Master of Education in Nonprofit Leadership and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Hicks co-founded and led two nonprofit organizations in Nashville – Harvest Hands CDC / Humphreys Street Coffee & Soap and Cosecha CDC. She is a certified spiritual director and loves weaving together spirituality and creativity. The thread of relationship-building runs deep through all of her work in the world, and she is honored to be a part of building the nationwide Creative Arts Collective.
Nick Baird-Chrisohon
Budget Manager
Nick Baird-Chrisohon serves as the budget manager for the Creative Arts Collective, overseeing the team’s financial and budgetary operations. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, Baird-Chrisohon has served congregations in Georgia and Tennessee and most recently oversaw programmatic and business operations for The Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership at Belmont. He currently serves as the Vice Chair for the United Methodist Ecumenical and Interreligious Training team, encouraging people of faith to engage in interfaith cooperation. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University Divinity School and is pursuing a doctoral degree through Belmont’s College of Education.
Dr. Steve Guthrie
Professor of Theology/Religion and the Arts &
Senior Fellow, Creative Arts Collective
Dr. Steve Guthrie serves as a the Senior Fellow and previously served as a Thought Leader for the Creative Arts Collective. Steve Guthrie is Professor of Theology / Religion and the Arts at Belmont University and is Senior Fellow for The Creative Arts Collective. He began his professional life as a performing musician, and much of his research and writing is at the intersection of theology and the arts. He is the author of Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human (Baker Academic, 2011), and along with Bennett Zon is the General Editor of the five-volume Oxford Handbook of Music and Christian Theology (Oxford University Press, 2025).
Alyssa Dituro
Program Coordinator
Alyssa Dituro is the Program Coordinator for the Creative Arts Collective at Belmont University, with a decade of nonprofit experience in grant management. She has secured funding for diverse arts projects, showcasing her passion for supporting artists and fostering community creativity. Dituro excels in creating grantee relationships, managing budgets, and ensuring compliance. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and a Master’s from Northeastern Illinois University. Her interest in theology informs her holistic approach to community engagement, blending art and faith to inspire and heal. Dituro currently serves as a board member for TasteQuest and DoorStep Project Inc.
Raleigh McCool
Administrative Coordinator
Raleigh McCool serves as the Administrative Coordinator of the Creative Arts Collective. He is a creative nonfiction writer, storyteller, educator, and uncle of two. He loves learning new words, Atlanta Braves baseball, and introducing new friends to each other.
Stacie Vining
Marketing & Communications Manager
Stacie Vining is the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Creative Arts Collective and an adjunct professor at Belmont University. After receiving her undergraduate degree in the music business from the University of North Alabama, she led a career in artist management, marketing, artist development, and publicity. Vining decided to make a life shift and pursued her Master’s in Therapeutic Recreation from Middle Tennessee State University, working as a certified RT specialist for 3+ years. She then helmed a PR firm for three years before co-owning another PR firm for 13 more years. She was thrilled to join the Creative Arts Collective in July of 2024 and work alongside such an amazing creative staff and group of grantees.
In her free time, Vining, her husband, and their college-aged daughter love to travel and see as much of the world as possible. She is also the proud parent of two four-legged fur children.
Nicole Koester
Events & Special Projects Coordinator
Nicole Koester is the Events and Special Projects Coordinator, bringing extensive experience from her 15-year career in the Christian music industry. She holds a bachelor’s from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, and a Master of Biblical and Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. She is passionate about supporting artists and sharing art that draws people to understand the truth, beauty, and love of God. She is grateful that she gets to help create, facilitate, and share art as part of the Creative Arts Collective team.
Through her work at record labels and in artist management, Koester led and served in roles with events ranging from intimate gatherings for radio listeners to artist showcases and annual conferences drawing thousands. She enjoys crafting environments where people can connect, feel cared for, and be inspired. Nicole loves living in the Nashville area while fully retaining her Minnesota heart. She delights in history, theology, exploring the outdoors, and anywhere new she has the chance to travel.
Sarah Cates
Vice President for Imagination, Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships
As Vice President for Imagination, Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, Sarah Cates works closely with the President and Senior Leadership team to identify high-impact opportunities that set the university apart and serve students in unique ways while bringing the institution local, national, and global brand attention. In this role, she articulates Belmont’s vision, mission, and values with internal and external stakeholders; proactively identifies growth areas and partnerships; and serves as an external representative of the President as needed locally and beyond, among other responsibilities. Cates draws on her extensive relationships in the music industry and the arts to cultivate relationships that can help highlight Belmont’s commitment to beauty as well as goodness and truth.
Rick Rekedal
Chief Creative Officer, Belmont University; Creative Arts Collective Thought Leader
Rick Rekedal is an award-winning master storyteller who has brought truth, light, and lessons through the power of story, the arts, and artistic expression throughout his three-decade career. His expertise is centered on a heart for reaching families right where they are, including more than 20 years with DreamWorks Studios, where his roles included Chief Creative, Global Franchises; Global Head of Interactive and Online and Head of Consumer Products, Licensing & Retail. In 2023, he was interim CEO and President of David C Cook & Integrity Music as part of his consulting company TheStoryCrate.com, leading Cook/Integrity to three USA Today bestsellers and cresting over 1 million YouTube subscribers, reaching 237 countries with over 300 million views.
In January 2024, Rekedal joined Nashville-based Belmont University as its Chief Creative Officer and the Executive Director of the Creative Arts Collective. He now is a Thought Leader for the CAC and continues as Belmont’s CCO. A father to three strong, independent daughters, he has been married to his wife, Vicki, for more than 30 years.
Dr. Jennifer Duck
Executive Director of Story Studio &
Assistant Professor of Journalism
Jennifer Duck is a two-time Emmy Award winner and Assistant Professor of Journalism at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. She is also the Education Co-chair and serves on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Midsouth chapter. Prior to her work at Belmont, Duck was a producer with Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, and Oprah Winfrey, among others. Jen began her career at ABC News in Washington, D.C. During her time with ABC, she traveled around the world aboard Air Force One as a White House producer covering President George W. Bush and reported from the campaign trail as President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain canvassed the country in 2008. She earned her stripes as a local reporter and anchor at the NBC News affiliate in Bakersfield, California, and also worked with non-profit organizations to spread awareness about important social issues. She produced educational campaigns for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, produced a live event for the David Lynch Foundation, and taught music journalism classes for the Recording Academy’s GRAMMY Camp. Duck received her bachelor’s degree from Miami University, her master’s degree from Murray State University, and her doctorate from Clemson University. Her research focuses on online disinformation, social media, artificial intelligence, and the rhetorics/politics of identity. With a lifelong passion for storytelling, Duck continues to write, edit, and produce podcasts and documentaries. She receives some of her best inspiration from her students, as well as her husband, two daughters, and three dogs.
David Minnigan
Thought Leader for the Creative Arts Collective &
Belmont University Architect in Residence
David Minnigan serves as a Thought Leader for the Creative Arts Collective. With 41 years of experience as a practicing architect, interior designer, and urban planner – 24 of which are on Belmont’s campus – Minnigan has joined the University as Architect in Residence and the Creative Arts Collective. His passion for spaces and places that express the awe and wonder of the Christian experience has brought him to this place of cultivating new and renewed approaches to the faith-inspired arts that enable people and communities to flourish.