ACES Staff
Chad Caruthers
Executive Director
Chad took on the executive director role in 2010 and brings to it a deep familiarity with ACES. His most recent position with ACES was as development and marketing director, where he applied his diverse communication and marketing experience to markedly increase community awareness of ACES. He reminds everyone to become a Facebook Fan of ACES and to follow ACES on Twitter.
Chad has been a full-time ACES staff member since 2006, after serving as a part-time Team Leader during the 2005–06 school year. He was the ACES program coordinator at Cityview Performing Arts Magnet for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 school years, and at Lincoln Community School in 2006–07, both in north Minneapolis.
Chad holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and a master's of education from the University of Minnesota. His professional background spans casino marketing, book publishing, business communications, and writing and editing for fun and profit. He can be reached at chadc@aces4kids.org.
Catherine Diersen
Program Coordinator, Linwood Monroe Arts Plus
Catherine joined the ACES staff in 2006 as an AmeriCorps member at Green Central School. She assisted with the start-up of the ACES program at Cityview Performing Arts Magnet program in 2007 and co-led the expansion of the ACES program at Monroe during the 2008-09 school year. She also oversaw the ACES E-Mentoring Program at Cityview, Green Central, and Monroe. Catherine is a graduate of St. Olaf College, with a degree in English and Family Studies. She can be reached at catherinediersen@aces4kids.org.
Emmy Matzner
Program Coordinator, Green Central School
Emmy joined ACES in 2008 and is a graduate of Macalester College, with a degree in Psychology and Spanish. While working toward her degree, Emmy attended the Center for Interamerican Studies in Ecuador. She returned to South America in 2007 and spent a year working with nursing home residents in Argentina. As an assistant teacher in three Twin Cities K-8 schools, Emmy gained extensive experience in youth education, with a focus on improving the success of ELL students. Emmy can be reached at emmymatzner@aces4kids.org.
Anna Wienke
Special Events Coordinator
Anna joined ACES in 2008 as a volunteer and was named special events coordinator in 2009. She can be reached at annawienke@aces4kids.org.