BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wendy Sosa has been involved with dance for over 40 years and has been teaching in Greeley and Northern Colorado for just over 25 years. She grew up in New Hampshire and danced for most of her adolescent years in Boston. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Colorado Dance Collective (CDC) in Greeley. She has also served as a board member for the CDC since its inception. She has witnessed the CDC ebb and flow, grow, change and improve over the last 14 years and is excited to continue on the journey. While teaching and choreography is her strong suit being an active member of the Board gives her up close looks at the very inner workings of the company, its finances, its bylaws and procedures. It is pivotal to her to understand how best to keep the CDC moving forward in all areas. Miss Wendy is honored to serve on the Board and excited to lead this amazing group of artists.

Stephanie began dancing around 5 years of age after watching her older sister take up ballet classes and has been dancing nearly ever since. She continued to train and perform throughout her 20s with various companies in Northern Colorado and the Denver area, including 8th Street Contemporary Dance Company, Colorado Dance Collective, and Dream Project Dance Company. While completing her doctoral studies at Purdue University, she also had the opportunity to continue her training in modern and contemporary dance, taking classes in the Dance Program there that approached the styles through Bartenieff Fundamentals. She began her dance teaching career at Dance Starz studio in Johnstown, CO where she found her passion for sharing dance with the next generation. Stephanie taught at Dance Starz for five years, working with their competition team and earning a regional choreography award for a contemporary small group piece. While living in Indiana for her graduate work, she also taught for Studio B in Lafayette, IN where she continued to choreograph for competitive dance teams in the area. Stephanie joined the Board of Directors for the Colorado Dance Collective in 2020 and has been an active member since, despite moving out of state to AZ after finishing her PhD in Sociology. She now runs her own digital media and sociology consulting company, Applied Worldwide, with her partner where they produce content for various blogs they run and provide consulting services in digital media strategy, research, writing, and more to small businesses, non-profits, and individuals. Stephanie also teaches online courses as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Northern Colorado where she earned both her BA and MA in Sociology.

I love dance! It has been part of my life in one way or another my entire life. Dance brings me joy and I have been able to share that joy many times during my adult life. Living in Texas for 25 years, I took classes in Houston and was able to get involved with the Houston Jazz/Ballet Company for a short while. I had a dance studio in Sonora, Texas and taught dance at the high school in Uvalde, Texas for four years. Duties also included cheerleading, drill team and color guard. I left the Highschool and went to work for a fortune 500 company providing residential services to people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I transferred with my job to Greeley in 1998, and soon after that began dancing at the Dance Factory. 

I have served on the board for many years. I actually started with the Colorado Dance Collective when it was in the development stage but had to resign due to work and travelling. I was able to come back around 2016. I have served in a couple of positions on the board including Vice President and currently as Board Secretary. 

I am very proud to be a part of this board and what it represents, the lives it touches (including mine) and the difference it makes in the community.

I’ve been a board member for over a year and serve as the head of the Grant Committee. When I’m not doing that, I participate in the beginning and advanced ballet classes, and I’m planning to give some of the others a try soon! My favorite part of being a dancer at the Colorado Dance Collective is the community. Every single person I’ve met through the CDC has been so supportive and welcoming. My only regret is waiting for as long as I did to start attending classes!

Jennifer is a graphic designer who has worked in the print industry for twenty years, specializing in color and print design. A Texas native, she grew up in Nebraska before moving to Greeley in her teens, graduating from Greeley Central. An alumna of Colorado State University, Jennifer graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in graphic design. She has acted as the unofficial graphic designer for the Colorado Dance Collective for the past five years, before officially joining the board of directors in 2023, continuing in her role as designer as well as sitting on the marketing committee. Jennifer’s life passion has always been in the creative arts, having worked in art, design, theater and writing, and she says it’s been a privilege to serve the CDC and be able to use her talents to help uplift the local creative community. In her (very limited!) free time, you will most often find her curled up on her couch with her laptop working on one of her creative writing projects, or spending time with her two kids, husband, and many, many cats.

Rena Perry began her journey with creative arts as a gymnast for 16 years. Dance found me by accident. After trying several different dance studios the universe led me to discover the Dance Factory where I began ballet with Miss Wendy. I danced competitively for several years in jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet hip hop and outside of the studio as a gymnast. Into adulthood dancing was limited but my passion continued at the gym taking Zumba classes. In 2020 I became certified as a Zumba instructor where I have been able to keep that dance spark alive. This is my first opportunity to serve on the board for the CDC, giving back to the community that has fueled my fire for life for so long. Ongoing feet issues limit my ability to dance a lot myself but being a part of the CDC gives me the perfect opportunity to support and uplift those who can. As I always say, to dance is to live. Outside of dancing Rena loves to hike, go to the gym, painting, all things coffee, spending time with her cats, being with friends and traveling. Rena currently spends time working as a real estate agent and at the family business, Perry’s Vac & Sew.

Dayna started dancing at the age of 6 and hasn’t stopped. The joy of movement and freedom of expression brought to her through dance called Dayna to turn passion into profession, an endeavor she continues today as the Academic Advisor and Adjunct Dance Faculty for the School of Theatre Arts & Dance at the University of Northern Colorado. Dayna comes to Greeley most recently from Winchester, VA where she worked as a full time Academic Advisor. Prior to Winchester, Dayna was the Dance Instructor and Performing Arts Coordinator at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, NV. Previously, Dayna was the Dance Director at the University of Nebraska, Kearney where she also served as resident choreographer and dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Crane River Theater Company. An active member of the National Dance Education Organization, Dayna has presented numerous research projects at national conferences and has also presented workshops at Region V of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and both the West and North Central Regional Conferences of the American College Dance Association. Notable professional endeavors include teaching with the Musical Theatre Faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lakes, MI, North Carolina Arts in Action and performing with Tobacco Road Dance Productions in Durham, NC. Dayna earned her MFA in Dance, Choreography at The University of Arizona and has taught dance in higher education for the past 8 years, working in concert dance, theatre movement, and musical theatre alike. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Dayna worked in the industry as a teacher at private studios throughout the Chicago area and director of youth performance companies and public outreach programs; she completed both her Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance degree and Bachelor of Business Administration degree at The University of Iowa. Dayna is passionate about community engagement through dance and assisting student success in the performing arts in all avenues. She is excited to step into the role of Board Member at the CDC! When she’s not dancing, volunteering or advising, Dayna enjoys keeping up to date on all things true crime, traveling with her wife, exploring new cultures and communities through food and art, and taking their dog, Clifford, on walks through the neighborhood.

I am a wife, mother to two daughters and a grandmother pf two. I retired from the University of Northern Colorado in 2009 after a 32-year career in Dining Services and Purchasing. I have always been involved in the performing arts, primarily in instrumental music and have always loved to move to the music. However, at the age of 45, I began taking dance lessons upon the urging of the studio owner where our younger daughter danced. What a game changer that’s been for me: I am more active now than I’ve every been before and am eternally grateful that, when asked to try dancing, I said YES! I’ve taken classes in tap, jazz and ballet and am currently taking ballet classes with the CDC. I love dance for what it does for my body, mind and soul!

I have been privileged to serve on the CDC Board since its inception in 2009 and have served as Secretary and Treasurer as well as serving on the fund-raising committee. I love being a part of the CDC because I am engaged with young people…and I think they help to keep me young. The Colorado Dance Collective is an opportunity for me to promote dance and support dancers who are passionate about their craft. The CDC Board is a group of positive-minded people committed to fulfilling the dreams of those who conceived of the Collective as well as our dancers.

Sandy has been involved in the movement arts for the past 40 years both as a continuing student and as a teacher. Currently she is teaching trans-cultural fusion dance (aka belly dance), yoga, pilates and meditation. Sandy is adjunct faculty at Aims Community College in the School of Allied Health & Wellness: Physical Education and has been teaching there since 2006. She has joyfully served on the CDC board since 2017 and started teaching classes there in 2019. One of the many things that drew Sandy to The Colorado Dance Collective is it's mission to serve adult dancers by creating a space to continue dancing, moving and performing! Volunteering is important to cultivating community and Sandy also serves on the board of The Greeley Creative District as well as volunteers at The Arts Picnic, Monster Day and a variety of other local events. When Sandy is not teaching or performing you can find her designing and making costumes, gardening, creating art for local shows and galleries, eating delicious food, reading, watching shows with a supernatural/sci-fi theme and hanging out with her partner and three kids.

I'm recently new to the board, but not to the CDC. I was a part of the tap company for CDC for almost 9 years, so the CDC has a very special place in my heart! I grew up competitively tap, clog, and Irish step dancing, so dance has always been very meaningful to me. I have loved to watch the CDC grow over the years and am very excited to now sit on the board and help that growth! Outside of dance, I work full time as a registered dietitian at a local hospital here in Greeley. I love spending time with my dog and trying out new recipes!

Ryan has been a member of the Greeley community for over 25 years. He currently works at ALLO Fiber as their PR and Events coordinator for multiple Colorado markets. His involvement with the CDC began when he was a dancer for the Dancing with the Weld County Stars event and joined the board a year later. Ryan is an active member of the community, serving in a variety of roles and boards over the years, including Habitat for Humanity selection committee, Frontier Academy Booster Club, Erie Chamber of Commerce, and the HPLD Foundation finance committee. He is a former Ambassador of the Year for both the Evans Chamber of Commerce as well as the Greeley Chamber of Commerce. Ryan and his wife Jennifer have four adult children, one cat, and a puppy named Bella.