IC Imagine is governed by the non-profit organization Invest Collegiate Imagine, Inc.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
- Establishing and monitoring the school’s academic outcomes
- Establishing and monitoring management compliance with policies
- Overseeing and approving the use of operational finances
20-21 Board Meeting Calendar
All meetings are open to the public. We are returning to in-person meetings beginning March 2022. All meetings take place at 110 Champion Way, Asheville NC 28806 in room 1226. If you would like to join us via Zoom, please utilize the link below.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://icimagine-org.zoom.us/j/83028225419?pwd=aytQVEhtZ0Yydng1SW16aS8xUmxzZz09
Meeting ID: 830 2822 5419
Passcode: 337244
- Thursday, June 16, 2022 5:30 pm General Meeting
- Thursday August, 18 2022 5:30 pm General Meeting
If you have any questions or concerns you can email: board@icimagine.org.
Board Members
Adam Kissel – Board Chair
Adam Kissel is an Atlanta-area native who relocated to Asheville in 2013. He completed a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Georgia in 2009 and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership in 2013 from Central Michigan University, with a focus in Charter School Administration. He taught music and choir at the secondary level for several years, and has sung and toured with numerous world-class ensembles including the Atlanta Opera Chorus and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus. He also has extensive professional experience managing customer-facing teams and contact centers. He is passionate about 21st-century curriculum, arts education, animal welfare, business ethics, and modern workplace design and policy. In his spare time, he enjoys running in Asheville’s beautiful greenways, hiking throughout western North Carolina, baking, writing buggy apps with ugly code, and spending as much time as possible with his wife, Stephanie, and their two pets, Diego and Pasha.
Dena Rutter – Vice Chair
Prior to landing in the mountains she studied Visual Communication Design at The Ohio State University and in Berlin, followed by a stint living overseas in South East China where she was a package designer. In the past she’s designed for TEDxAsheville, served as Vice President on the Asheville Affiliates Board and is a member of Asheville’s AIGA chapter. In addition to running her design studio, she is a mother of two, gardener, hiker, and water aerobics enthusiast.
Drew Power – Treasurer
Drew grew up outside of Atlanta Georgia before attending The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). While at Ole Miss, Drew earned both his undergraduate and graduate degree in accounting. He relocated to Memphis, Tennessee where he took a position with Dixon Hughes Goodman. During this time Drew, obtained his CPA license, and worked as a consultant assisting pharmaceutical companies with business combinations and spin offs. In 2014, Drew transferred to DHG’s Asheville office. While in Asheville Drew has worked closely with local and tribal governments and school boards. In his free time Drew enjoys everything Western North Carolina has to offer.
Caleb Coaplen – Secretary
Caleb is originally from Louisville Kentucky. He started college at Montana State University in Bozeman Montana and graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Photography. Caleb frequented the Western North Carolina area as a child and young adult to kayak and explore the outdoors. During college he was a kayak instructor and camp counselor at Camp Mondamin in Tuxedo, NC. After the summer of 2001 he moved to Asheville, and except for a 2 year job in Pennsylvania, has been here ever since. He has worked in the outdoor sports industry and furniture/antique industry but eventually got his real estate license in 2009. He currently works for Beverly Hanks & Associates as a Residential Real Estate Agent. He and his wife Megan have 2 boys and their oldest is a champion at IC Imagine. They can often be found on the numerous trails and rivers in the area. Caleb is honored to be part of the school as both a board member and parent and strives to make the educational experience and environment the best possible for all champions and their families.
Robert Berls
Originally, from Kansas, Rob has moved around while pursuing his education. Rob has a dual BA in History and Theatre from Emporia State University in Kansas; he then pursued a master’s degree in Theatre History from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Rob worked as a professional technical director from 2000 to 2003 before getting his terminal degree from Michigan State University in production design, where Rob also taught. He moved to Asheville in 2005 to begin a tenure track position at UNC Asheville as a professor of Theatre Technology. Rob has been a professor for twenty-five years teaching at institutions around the country including Michigan State University, Albion College, Brevard College and UNC Asheville. Rob’s publications span national conferences and international journals in areas from Theatre Technology to Physics education. Rob’s research mainly focuses on rapid fabrication and 3D printing. He also does fight choreography and is skilled in many types of bladed combat styles. Rob has a passion for experiential learning and innovative pedagogy and looks forward to serving ICI as an advocate and community member.
Rose Jordan
A native of New Jersey, Rose went into the USAF after HS graduation. She attended technical school at Sheppard AFB for a communication specialist position in both South Dakota and Taiwan. After discharge, she took her skills to the Department of State Foreign Service and lived in Rome, Italy for four years. For twenty years, she had an IT career including her own training and support business and a Network Administrator position at Brown University. After adopting her first child, her passion grew for child welfare and at-risk youth. She began migrating her teaching skills to Moms on Welfare, Job Corp Youth, an alternative school setting, and taught multi-level GED at a local community college. She soon earned a BASW in a child welfare collaborative scholar program, and a masters degree in clinical social work. Throughout her careers, she has always had a passion for teaching, writing, travel, volunteering and learning. She is looking forward to serving on the IC Imagine Board. A Smoky Mountain Elementary, where she tutored at-risk youth and provided behavior intervention, she had the opportunity to teach Goldie Hawn’s MindUP program. She saw the benefits of teaching children how to regulate their emotions, become mindfully aware, and improve focus and empathy.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Mark is a Virginia Tech graduate and the founder and principal architect at Vellum Architecture & Design in Asheville. Prior to relocating to Asheville in 2015, Mark spent 15 years in the mountains of Colorado. He is a founding board member for the Aspen Young Professionals Association, and has volunteered for other non-profits such as Habitat For Humanity. An avid traveler, Mark has traveled to over forty countries, lived abroad in Spain, and spent significant time working in Italy. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife Heather, and their son Quinton. Mark strongly believes that there is not a single “one-size fits all” approach to education, and greatly values what IC Imagine provides for our community.
Mia Strauss
Mia Strauss is originally from Pennsylvania. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and following undergraduate school she attended the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and spent some summers living and conducting research in a remote field camp setting. Also while in Alaska she and her husband lived and worked as teaching parents in a home with at-risk teens. She and her husband relocated to Asheville in 2006 and couldn’t think of a better place to live. After moving here and trying to find a job to fit with her family she began bookkeeping, which led to general business management and marketing. Currently, Mia is self employed assisting business owners with bookkeeping, finance and marketing needs.
Mia has 2 children at IC Imagine and has been a parent since the doors were opened in 2014. She finds it really refreshing to have her children in an environment that is always striving to do what’s best for the students and willing to change and make adjustments as needed. In her free time Mia enjoys hiking, cooking and traveling. She is excited to be an ICI board member to help build a solid foundation for the school for years to come.
ICI Board Documents
All applicable financial documents are publicly posted to EMMA. For other questions, contact finance@icimagine.org.
ICI Approved Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday April 21, 2022, General Meeting
Thursday March 17, 2022, General Meeting
Thursday February 17, 2022, General Meeting
Thursday January 20, 2022, General Meeting
Wednesday January 12, 2022, Special Meeting
Thursday December 16, 2021, Special Meeting
Thursday November 18, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday October 21, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday September 16, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday August 19, 2021, General Meeting
Tuesday August 3, 2021, Special Meeting
Thursday July 22, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday June 17, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday June 3, 2021, Special Meeting
Thursday May 20, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday April 15, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday March 18, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday March 4, 2021, Special Meeting
Thursday February 18, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday February 11, 2021, Special Meeting
Thursday January 14, 2021, General Meeting
Thursday December 17, 2020, Special Meeting
Thursday November 19, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday October 15, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday September 24, 2020, Special Meeting
Thursday September 17, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday August 20, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday, July 23, 2020, Special Meeting
Thursday July 14, 2020, General Meeting
Tuesday, June 11, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday, May 21, 2020, General Meeting
Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Special Meeting
Sunday, April 19, 2020, Special Meeting
Thursday, April 16, 2020, General Meeting
Monday, April 6, 2020, Special Meeting
Thursday, March 19, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday, February 20, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday, January 16, 2020, General Meeting
Thursday, November 21, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, October 17, 2019, General Meeting
Tuesday, September 24, 2019, Special Meeting
Thursday, September 19, 2019 General Meeting
Thursday, August 22, 2019, Annual Meeting
Tuesday, July 16, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, June 20, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, May 16, 2019, General Meeting
Friday, May 3, 2019, Special Meeting
Thursday, April 18th, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, March 21st, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, February 21st, 2019, General Meeting
Thursday, January 17th, 2019, General Meeting
Tuesday, December 4th, 2018, Special Meeting
Thursday, November 15th, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, October 18th, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, September 20th, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, August 23rd, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, August 2nd, 2018, Special Meeting
Thursday, July 26th, 2018, Special Meeting Board Retreat
Thursday, July 19th, 2018, Special Meeting
Friday, June 29th, 2018, Special Meeting
Monday, June 12, 2018, Annual Meeting
Friday June 8, 2018, Special Meeting
Tuesday, May 29, 2018, Special Meeting
Thursday, May 17, 2018, General Meeting
Monday, May 7, 2018, Special Meeting
Thursday, April 19, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, March 15, 2018, General Meeting
Thursday, February 15, 2018, General Meeting
January 29, 2018, Special Meeting
January 18, 2018, General Meeting
January 2, 2018, Special Meeting
November 20, 2017, Special Meeting
November 15, 2017, General Meeting
October 12, 2017, General Meeting
September 15, 2017, Organizational Meeting