Forward Performing Arts, Inc. is pleased to announce the election of Diane Goetsch as board chairperson and welcomes newly appointed board members Michael Bender and Josh Payton. As well, Susan McKay was reappointed to her second term on the board.

Completing the elected officer positions on the Executive Committee are Doug Tholo as Vice-Chairperson, Josh Payton as Treasurer, and Drew Hadley as Director-At-Large.

Diane Goetsch is currently the Arts Education Coordinator at DC Everest Area School District in Weston, Wisconsin. At DC Everest, she develops the K-12 curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the visual and performing arts programs that serve over 4000 students. She joined the FPA board in March of 2018 and was elected to a three-year term later that fall. She also serves as the event coordinator for The Northwoods Encore and recently served on the Executive Committee.

Michael Bender is an IT Professional living in the Madison area. He is currently an Author Evangelist for Pluralsight, Inc. where he develops professional educational online content for technology professionals. Previously he worked for Microsoft as a Cloud Advocate, developing and delivering educational content for Microsoft platforms. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Michael is also an alumnus of the Madison Scouts.

Joshua Payton is currently the director of business development for Celebrity Attractions, an event production company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before that he was an Associate at Gilmore & Bell, P.C. where he practiced in the area of tax-exempt financing. Josh holds a B.S. in Socio-Political Communication from Missouri State University and a J.D. from the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law and is an alumnus of the Madison Scouts.