Meet the staff
THE PLAYHOUSE FLOOR STAFF
Rachel Aiello
Rachel grew up in Peoria and is currently a student at Illinois Central College studying Multimedia. Her favorite movie is The Lion King. She loves spending time with family and friends, and playing video games particularly Mario Kart. Her favorite part of the PlayHouse is Fossils Rock.
Robin Hasty
Robin has a bachelor’s degree in music. Her favorite exhibit at the PlayHouse is the Theater and her favorite movie is Mulan. She loves all things music and art, and animals, too!
Miranda Prather's
Miranda has lived in the Peoria area her entire life and loves watching how kids learn and grow. Her favorite exhibits are Motion Commotion and the Science Lab. Outside of the PlayHouse, she enjoys doing puzzles, taking care of her family, helping her daughter with her party princess business, and watching her perform.
Olivia Caspall
Olivia was born and raised in Evanston, IL. She attends Bradley University and is studying Social Work. Her favorite movie is The Angry Birds Movie and her favorite exhibit is Peoria, Then and Now, specifically the trains which she would have loved to explore as a child. Olivia loves to spend time with family and friends, and complete puzzles!
Krystopher Brown
Krystopher is a self taught recycle artist. He likes a lot of animated movies but his top favorite is The Iron Giant. He graduated from Peoria High School in 2011 for Music studies. At the PlayHouse his favorite exhibits are the Water Tables and Motion Commotion.
Taylor Tomlianovich
Taylor grew up in Peoria and is currently a student at Bradley University studying Early Childhood Education. Her favorite movies are Aladdin and The Princess and the Frog. Her favorite exhibits at the Playhouse are Real Tools and Fossils Rock! During her free time, she loves to hike, kayak, and travel.
Rebecca Mueller
Rebecca is from Northwest Indiana and is currently an Elementary Education major at Bradley University. Her favorite movies are Raya and the Last Dragon and Big Hero 6. Her favorite exhibits at the PlayHouse are Peoria, Then and Now, and the Theater. She loves visiting home to see her dogs, cats, and chickens!
BEHIND THE SCENES: THE PLAYHOUSE OFFICE STAFF
Melissa Sierra
Director
309.681.2853
msierra@peoriaparks.org
Melissa grew up in Illinois, and spent most of her childhood within a five-mile radius of Glen Oak Park. Her passion for learning and sharing comes for working in public libraries for almost 10 years, five of those years were spent serving the youth of Austin, Texas. She returned home to Peoria in 2019 and comes to PlayHouse with a passion to learn, grow, and share access to resources with our patrons and community members.
Jake Guzan
Exhibits Manager
309.323.6895
jguzan@peoriaparks.org
Jake joined the PlayHouse in November 2018. He is a printmaker, with a BFA degree from Bradley University and an MFA degree from West Virginia University. His favorite movie is The Lego Movie because he always loved playing with Legos when he was young, and because "everything is awesome!".
Nyk Sutter-Downs
Visitor and Member Engagement Manager
309.323.6892
nsdowns@peoriaparks.org
Nyk was born and raised in Peoria, with brief stints in both New York City and Chicago. He studied Musical Theatre and Dance Performance at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York, NY, and Business Administration and Project Management at DeVry University. At heart, Nyk is a performer with the philosophy of, “Why walk through life when you can dance?”
Jada Culberson
Community Outreach and Marketing Manager
309.323.6894
jculberson@peoriaparks.org
Jada is from Peoria, Il and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finishing with a degree in Communications. She believes strongly in making sure the arts are accessible to all communities. In her free time, she loves to roller skate, paint, and read.
Jennifer Stubbs
Education Coordinator
309.323.6896
jstubbs@peoriaparks.org
Jennifer is a proud graduate of Peoria District 150 Schools. She continued her education at Illinois State University in Normal, IL with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences and Education and at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, IL with a Master’s Degree in Child Development. From as early as she can remember, Jennifer has loved three things: family, learning, and the outdoors. As a mother and educator, Jennifer believes that science and nature can inspire play and wonder, foster a love of learning, and create time for togetherness -- for both children and their grown-ups.
Kaite Klaus
Operations Coordinator
309.323.6893
kklaus@peoriaparks.org
Ahliyah Culberson
Monticello Education Intern
309.323.6900 ext. 3824
aculberson@peoriaparks.org
Katie grew up in the Chicago suburbs and moved to Peoria in 2011 after earning her Bachelor’s Degree at Eureka College. She started working at the PlayHouse in 2017, two years after her son was born. She loves watching him grow up and explore at the PlayHouse. Her favorite toys as a child were her beanie babies because of her love of animals, especially cats.
Ahliyah grew up in Peoria Illinois. She recently earned a Bachelors degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She comes from a big family and has always enjoyed engaging and empowering children of all ages. Her favorite maker activity is coloring and painting!