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!
Haley Gray
Haley is a studio artist who received her BFA in Painting from Illinois State University. She loves helping kids use their imagination to create projects in Real Tools.
Jody Holtz
Jody graduated from Bradley University in May 2021 with a theatre arts, television arts double major. She loves performing, stand up comedy, and cooking delicious meals. Feel free to talk to her about movies, TV shows, and anything funny.
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!
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!
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.
Taylor Kilgus
Taylor is from Pekin, Illinois and attends St. Ambrose University. Her favorite animal is a kitten and she loves the movie Tangled. Her favorite exhibit at the PlayHouse is the SciLab!
BEHIND THE SCENES: THE PLAYHOUSE OFFICE STAFF
Rebecca Shulman
Director
309.681.2853
rshulman@peoriaparks.org
Rebecca moved to Peoria in 2013. For nearly 25 years prior to that she lived in New York City, and worked in the Education Departments of art museums, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Noguchi Museum. She is the author of the book Looking at Art in the Classroom and writes the blog Museum Questions.
Jake Guzan
Exhibits Manager
309.323.6895
jguzan@peoriaparks.org
Nyk Sutter-Downs
Visitor and Member Engagement Manager
309.323.6892
nsdowns@peoriaparks.org
Jada Culberson
Community Outreach and Marketing Manager
jculberson@peoriaparks.org
Tessa Martinez
Education Coordinator
tmartinez@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 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 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.
Tessa was born and raised in Laredo, TX. She received he master’s degree in ceramics. She loves traveling, dancing, and making cards. She is passionate about having children and their adults learn about new materials, tools, and ways of making.
Kaite Klaus
Operations Coordinator
309.323.6893
kklaus@peoriaparks.org
Tori Hatchell
Monticello Intern- Educator
309.323.6897
vhatchell@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.
Tori is from Readfield, ME and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in May of 2020. She developed a passion for museums when she was young after visiting them on family vacations and school trips, and was able to spend the summer of 2019 interning at the Maine State Museum, where she gained experience working with collections and conservation staff.