Managing Director
Colby K Smith (Director)
Smith received his B.F.A. from Emporia State University and his M.F.A. from Southern University of Illinois at Carbondale. Smith taught at Emporia State University and Southern University of Illinois before relocating to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2002. Since relocating, he has owned an operated numerous creative ventures in the area, including but not limited to: Gallery HQ @ The Hobbs Building, The Idea Barn, and The Video Garage @ 1918 Wyandotte. In 2003, Smith co-founded The Studios Inc (formerly Review Studios) and in 2004, to dedicate his time and energy to developing The Studios Inc, he closed all other ventures. He currently serves as The Studios Inc Director. As Director, Smith reports directly to the Board of Directors and works closely with all resident artists, volunteer support staff, interns, vendors, and independent contractors. He oversees the administrative functions of The Studios Inc including aspects of finance, administration, human resources, marketing and promotion, media relations, development, and special events. He is also responsible for developing and implementing innovative and proactive strategies for communications with broad and diverse constituencies and producing special events that further build the identity of The Studios Inc while maximizing revenue. Additionally, Smith is an experienced contractor, a visual artist, an entrepreneur, and a patron and collector of the arts. He has a 20-year career of entrepreneurial and creative ventures in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. As an artist, he has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and has been reviewed locally and nationally in publications like Sculpture and Review.
Board of Directors
Kanon Cozad
Kanon has well over two decades of information technology experience in both the consulting and corporate world. He has served in a number of diverse roles during his career, and is currently Chief Information Officer of TranSystems, a transportation engineering company headquartered in Kansas City. Kanon received his Bachelor of Arts in English from William Jewell College. Kanon has served on the Board of Review Inc and is a long standing Patron of The Studios Inc.
Kathy Dowell
Kathy Dowell is an independent curator, art consultant and cultural/creative producer based in Kansas City. She has direct responsibility as the Regional Manager for the national launch of Eric Fischl’s visionary project, America: Now and Here; and was recently the art consultant for Sprint’s inaugural Art in the Prow exhibition, “Everything We See is Never Enough” in the historic NYC Flatiron Building. Other clients include the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas City Missouri Parks Department, and FotoBild, Berlin. Kathy previously served as the Executive Director of the Society for Contemporary Photography (SCP) for seven years, where she held primary curatorial responsibility for over seventy exhibitions. She is strong supporter of Kansas City’s cultural community, having served as a founding member of both ArtsAlive, an interdisciplinary cultural awareness initiative; and 360 Degrees, Kansas City’s first philanthropic giving circle organized through the Women’s Foundation of Kansas City.
Pam Gradinger
Pam has significant experience in serving not-for-profit organizations including serving on the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Kansas City and the Board of Directors of Kansas City Young Audiences. She and her husband, Gary, were recognized for their significant efforts in the Kansas City not-for-profit community with the 2005 Volunteers of the Year award presented by the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy.
Jack Holland
Jack has a 35 year career in investment banking, and is responsible for numerous project financings of regional and national significance, including: The Sprint Center, Truman Sports Complex, Kauffman Center Parking Garage, Plaza Library, Kansas City International Airport , American Royal Exhibition Center, and Brush Creek Improvement Plan. He has served on a number of non-profit boards in the Kansas City area, and currently serves on the boards of Theater League of Missouri and the Western Golf Association. Jack and his wife, Karen, are collectors and active supporters of the arts in Kansas City.
Mike Lyon
Mike is an artist in Kansas City whose work is in the permanent collections of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Springfield Art Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art, and the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky. Mike received a B.A. in Architecture and Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, a B.F.A. in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1975, and studied Japanese Woodblock Printmaking under Hiroki Morinoue in 1996 and 1998. He has served on a number of visual and performing arts boards and as Midwest Regional Director of Shotokan Karate of America since 1988.
Brad Nicholson (Chairman)
Brad is the Founder of the Studios Program and an avid art collector. His company, the Nicholson Group, is a boutique real estate development and investment firm located in Kansas City. While the company’s investments have a national footprint, much of the firm’s effort over the last 20 years has gone toward developing the Crossroads Arts District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri into a vibrant cultural district. He has served on a number of boards and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at the Kansas City Art Institute along with his duties as President of The Studios Inc.
Linda Nicholson
Linda is an English major and a former Creative Director at Hallmark Cards, Inc. Now retired, she was with Hallmark for almost 30 years but now devotes most of her time supporting various different not-for-profit endeavors with a passion for animal welfare and the arts. She is the co-director of the Bradley W. and Linda J. Nicholson Foundation Fund formed in 2003 and currently serves as an advisor on several boards and is an active board member of The Studios Inc.
Brad Satterwhite
Brad Satterwhite is a co-founder and Principal of KEM STUDIO and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional. KEM STUDIO is a design firm fusing architecture and industrial design. Brad is the recipient of design awards from the American Institute of Architects, Industrial Design Society of America and ID Magazine. He teaches an architecture design studio at the University of Kansas and an annual, multi-disciplinary design workshop with his firm at Virginia Tech. A Centurions Alumni, he has been involved in a variety of art and charitable organizations including the Urban Culture Project of the Charlotte Street Foundation and The Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.
Frank Uryasz
Frank is President of the National Center for Drug Free Sport, Inc. with more than 20 years of senior management experience in educational and athletics organizations; President of the Kansas City Club, a Section 501(c)(7) organization; and Art patron and collection.