ArtsBridge Staff Biographies
JENNIFER D. DOBBS
Executive Director
Jennifer D. Dobbs is the Executive Director for the ArtsBridge Foundation at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Since her arrival in May of 2017, Dobbs has increased revenue exponentially and acquired over $500,000 for the organization. She facilitated the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Gala that raised over $100,000, secured funding from many individual donors and corporations, hired and developed the new ArtsBridge Team, and organized various committees to assist with the educational programs the Foundation offers. Dobbs hopes to expand outreach at ArtsBridge and encourage businesses, organizations, foundations, and individuals to become invested partners.
Most recently, Jennifer Dobbs was the Executive Director of the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation in Atlanta, GA since 2015. Prior to that Dobbs was the Director of Development for the Center for Ethics at Emory University, where she raised funds for an inaugural international summit.
Before moving to Georgia from Pennsylvania, Dobbs’ previous positions include Director of Development for the nationally-recognized Erie Art Museum; adjunct English faculty for Mercyhurst University at its inner-city Booker T. Washington Center satellite location; Leadership Giving Coordinator for United Way of Erie County, where she inaugurated a new women’s leadership initiative, Women In Action; Target Area Local Leaders (TALL) Team Coordinator of the City of Erie’s Weed and Seed Program, where she coordinated residential participation in helping to eliminate problems in the city’s most impoverished areas; and higher education administration at Gannon University and LaRoche College.
Dobbs graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Writing in 1999 from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She is a 2001 graduate of United Way of Erie County’s Project Blueprint minority leadership development program. She was named a 2001-2002 Jupiter Fellow through the Clarence J. Jupiter Fellowship for Minority Professionals at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), a program that trained her in institutional advancement. She earned a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Organizational Leadership in August 2003 from Gannon University in Erie, PA. In 2008 Dobbs completed her international Resident Fellowship program with United Way of America (now United Way Worldwide), which trained her to be a CEO by developing her professional and personal skills. Currently, Dobbs is a doctoral candidate at Walden University studying public policy and administration with a specialty in policy analysis.
Jennifer Dobbs was a charter member and the inaugural Chair of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA – established in 2008), where she assisted in the distribution of over $20 million into the community for economic development purposes. Dobbs is a member of the American Society for Public Administration and The Pennsylvania Society.
Dobbs is a devoted mother to three children, Xavier, Roman, and Isis, and a proud new grandmother to twins Presley Rose and Peyton Lily.
LIZZY RHODES
Development Coordinator
Lizzy Rhodes is the Development Coordinator for the ArtsBridge Foundation at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. She brings years of experience in fundraising and development, and a unique perspective as a former educator with a passion for arts education.
Most recently, Lizzy was the Annual Giving Coordinator for the Art Center College of Design, in Los Angeles, CA, where she inaugurated the school’s first student phonathon program and assisted in the creation of the school’s first donor membership program.
Prior to that, Lizzy spent two years in Asia as an English teacher, spearheading a startup elementary afterschool program in China, and teaching learners of all ages in Hanoi, Vietnam. Throughout her college career, Lizzy worked as a fundraiser. She was a Student Manager and phonathon caller for the University of Kansas Endowment Association. She has always had an interest in art, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History with an emphasis in Art Education from the University of Kansas.
She and her husband, Jordan, and their cat, Raven, moved to Atlanta in June 2017 are enjoying their residence in Old Forth Ward.
AUDINE CROSSE
Program Coordinator
Audine Crosse is the Program Coordinator for the ArtsBridge Foundation at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Along with a passion for public relations and marketing, Audine has years of experience in various styles of dance and orchestral music.
Prior to joining the ArtsBridge team, Audine was a Public Relations intern at WellStar Health System in Marietta, Georgia where she conducted interviews with patients and physicians, assisted with special events and coordinated photo shoots. She also worked as a Media Relations and Grassroots Outreach intern for the international animal charity – The Humane League. In that position, she was in charge of maintaining reports on media coverage as well as assisting with various social media accounts.
A native to Acworth, Georgia, Audine has benefitted from numerous arts programs in the metro-Atlanta area. She attended dance competitions and conventions around the country from elementary school to high school. She has also played the viola for more than 12 years, performing at venues such as Morgan Concert Hall, the Cobb Energy Centre, Carnegie Hall and the Royal Academy of Music in London, England.
Audine received a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Kennesaw State University. In her free time, she loves to travel, attend concerts and try new restaurants around Atlanta.
