Our People

Cori Anderson is a Utah native, having grown up Park City and eventually migrating to the Ogden Valley. The years that Cori spent earning two Bachelors degrees in Art History and French Language from  the University of Utah, was time well spent. If she learned anything, it was that existing in an art-rich environment makes a world of difference in one’s attitude, perspective and approach to life. She holds certifications in fundraising and proposal writing, which is the focus of most of her professional and volunteer work.

Cori spent the early days of her career fundraising for non-profits and did a short stint selling death to the dying at a hospice agency in the Salt Lake Area, before landing in her current role at R&O Construction. She spends her work days organizing people, ideas, pictures and words.  She spends her free time in the mountains with her husband, toddler and two loveable shelter dogs. Her life philosophy is that the time between worn in and worn out is where the magic happens, so make every day count. Her favorite artist works in all mediums and favors improvised performance art, with an emphasis in exploring emotional reactions to life situations.(She’s three and is the absolute joy of her parents’ life.)

A social entrepreneur, Thaine has an extensive background in real estate acquisitions, development, and management. Most recently redeveloping historic commercial buildings in Ogden’s downtown core.

Founder (1989) of Fischer Villa Resorts he acquired, developed and operated multiple resort hotel locations including Arizona: Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tucson. Thaine sold the company to ResortQuest(NSE:RZT), Arizona in 1999.

In 2006 Thaine and wife Tahna moved to Ogden, Utah and shortly thereafter Fischer Regan Enterprises began joint venturing on the purchase and redevelopment of historic commercial buildings. Using NMTC, HTC and RDA tax credits Fischer Regan Enterprises has successfully redeveloped and stabilized multiple income producing assets.

Other career highlights for Thaine was co-founding the Arizona Chapter of Young Entrepreneurs Organization, now EO. Today, Thaine continues to be involved in the Utah Chapter of EO and various non-profit boards benefiting his community.

Born and raised in Utah, Jennifer Primbs spent her childhood playing basketball and volunteering locally in downtown Ogden. Service became a driving force in her life and she spent most of her 20’s working at local non profits, in the roles of Site Manager, Grant Writer and Education Coordinator.

Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis along with a double minor in Anthropology and Political Science from Weber State University. She then completed her Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Fiction from the University of Utah. Her work has been featured at the San Francisco Popular Culture Conference, University of Utah’s Working Dog, as well as the Salt Lake City Weekly.

A perennial student, Jennifer loves learning in all forms, particularly about creative and artistic process. She is both teacher and student to her two children who she flex schools. In her spare time she enjoys traveling with her family, shooting hoops, playing the violin and guitar, and exploring Utah’s mountains through hiking, biking and sometimes even a bit of trail running with her husband.

Jennifer is currently working on several writing projects, including a creative process book, essays exploring parenting, psychology, and landscape, as well as a volume of short fiction.

Ms. Brown also worked as the Chief of Corporate Transformation and Federal Women’s Program Manager for the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Ms. Brown was responsible for creating a culture of strategic collaboration, innovation and efficiency. She served as the liaison between the Air Force Enterprise, Hill Air Force Base, and Utah on workforce requirement strategies. Established collaborative partnerships with Silicon Slopes, federal agencies, state and local government, academic institutions, private sector employers, and community leaders. Developed and led the initiative to deploy innovation centers across the state of Utah, with a mission to drive innovation, a culture change towards cross functional teams, increased employment opportunities, implementing Agile/DevSecOps for F-35 and F-16 teams. She also led the civilian workforce strategy team which coordinates Hill AFB activities in established HR policy, development and deployment of HR tools across the Air Force, workforce analysis, nationwide strategic recruiting, branding, social media, mentoring, TEDx events, professional development, and retention initiatives.

As the Federal Women’s Program Manager, she served as the subject matter expert on employment needs and barriers for women as they relate to federal employment policies and practices. In this position, she advises senior leadership on the status, progress and concerns of women on the installation. Ms. Brown is responsible for coordinating recruiting locations and events, committee meetings, special monthly emphasis group activities, etc. Each year she analyzes base statistics that detail the hiring and promotion activities for Hill AFB and works on policy changes that can improve any barriers affecting women at Hill Air Force Base. In addition, she worked with the Pentagon to change DOD wide policies on barriers that affect women in the workforce.

EDUCATION: Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ

Mark is the Owner of Mountain West Architects (MWA) in Ogden with over 35 years of experience in a wide array of building types. Mark and his wife Lita, moved to Ogden in 2000 from El Paso, TX, and have fallen in love with the Wasatch Front. Lita teaches special education in the Weber School District.

Mark’s intense design focus on the practice of architecture has evoked a passion for all forms of art and creativity. He has been a creative driver for many renovations and new projects in Northern Utah. MWA has fully embraced the Nine Rails Creative district- with their offices located here. Mark is active in many organizations within the community.

His family has been rooted in the arts with his father having a successful architectural practice in El Paso for nearly 50 years. Mark’s uncle, Robert Massey, was a well-known artist and professor of art, at UTEP for about 25 years as well.

Mark’s interests include an intense love for outdoor activities- camping, skiing, hiking, traveling the West (and abroad), hunting/fishing, and conservation efforts. Also, dabbles in real estate investment and actually enjoys working in the yard. His Australian Shepherd, Remington (Remi), makes a very energetic travel and play companion and is always ready to roll.

Kaceelyn Pouttu is an Ogden transplant, born and raised in a small town outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She came to Weber State University to pursue an education as well as compete at the collegiate level but has since stayed after falling in love with Ogden’s recreational fortune. Kaceelyn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Weber State University and has pursued a career in public accounting at Eide Bailly. Her work has provided a tax background in a vast array of industries including real estate, state and local, and private equity.

Her passion is helping small businesses thrive by overseeing and assisting with what most business owners love to hate, i.e. taxes, and allowing business owners to focus on what matters most – running a successful business. She is excited to start devoting her time to give back to the community she has grown to love and is looking forward to being a part of OCA’s growth!

In her free time, Kaceelyn can be found running the trails with her puppy, eating out at the many local restaurants Ogden has to offer, or getting in a quick 18 at the Ogden Golf and Country Club.

Chief People & Technology Officer, Powder Mountain

Founder and President, Outdoor Mindset

Kyle grew up in a rural West Texas town called Petersburg. After studying Business & Technology at Texas Tech, he made the journey to Colorado chasing mountains. Following 20 years in Colorado, he lived on Maui for 3 years before joining Powder and moving to Huntsville in 2023. He’s worked in HR and IT for various industries including Travel & Leisure (Breckenridge Ski Resort, Vail Resorts, Powder), Software & Consulting (Cornerstone OnDemand, Talent Mountain), and Environmental Engineering (Brown & Caldwell). Kyle also founded Outdoor Mindset, a nonprofit focused on building community for adults affected by neurological challenges through connection with each other and the outdoors. He has a passion for the outdoors, travel, adventure and most days can be found riding his snowboard, bike, or surfboard – chasing the flow! Living an intentional life, working on purposeful missions with great teams, and enhancing experiences for others through community and the outdoors is at his core.

Alex Zhang is currently the Chief Creative Officer at Powder Mountain, a 10,000-acre ski resort in Northern Utah that is establishing an open-air land art museum in addition to a private residential community. He oversees Architecture, Art, and Marketing. Previously, he was CEO of Friends with Benefits, one of the most “culturally interesting applications of the blockchain”. Before that, Alex was the President of Summit Series, a global invite only event series for entrepreneurs and creatives.

Alex has guest lectured at various different institutions and conferences from MoMA, BoF Visions Conference, and University of Southern California on topics that range from community design, emerging technologies, and urban planning.

A native of Philadelphia, Jim Jacobs moved to Ogden in 1985 to teach visual arts at Weber State University. In 2015 Jim retired from teaching and now works full time as an artist. His work, explores our idealization of the natural world and our profound impact upon it. Jim has shown his work nationally, including the Axis Gallery in Sacramento, CA; the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City, UT; the LA Artcore Brewery Annex in Los Angeles, CA; and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston Salem, NC. Jim has a BFA in Painting from Jacksonville University, an MFA in Painting from East Carolina University, and a BA in Spanish from Weber State University.

George was born and raised in New Mexico, moving to Ogden with his family at age fifteen. After graduating from Ogden High, he pursued a degree at Utah State University and a graduate degree at Southern Methodist University. Returning to Ogden, he joined his parents to help grow a business spanning three generations. With origins during the depth of the Great Depression, that business is nearing the century mark.

His love of art and the people who make it was instilled in him at a young age. Parents Dick and Ione had a passion for art of the Southwest and collected paintings and Navajo and Pueblo jewelry and textiles. They maintained a warm and welcoming home filled with music, books and delicious food. Artists were often among their favorite guests. One of those houseguests, an early mentor to six-year-old George, invited him along as she set out on plein air painting adventures. He still has one of her paintings from those outings.

These days George is often out hiking our trails with his wife Mary and dog Cooper. They love to gear up for road trips, seeking out remote camping sites and new rivers to fish. With kids and grandkids in three different states they make their rounds to Portland, Chicago and Phoenix, trying to keep them all in line.

Jude Agboada is a graphic designer, researcher and visual storyteller whose work explores the connections between culture, language, memory and community. Through collaborative research and design, Jude investigates how stories are created, shared and preserved, with a particular interest in the ways visual communication can support cultural documentation and collective understanding.

Their practice spans graphic design, publication design and community-engaged projects. By working closely with communities and cultural organizations, Jude creates platforms for dialogue and storytelling that center local knowledge, lived experience and underrepresented perspectives. They approach design not only as a means of communication but also as a tool for building relationships, fostering participation and preserving cultural narratives.

At the core of Jude’s work is a belief that storytelling can strengthen connections between people, place and history. Through thoughtful research and creative collaboration, they seek to create work that is both visually engaging and socially meaningful, inviting audiences to reflect on the stories that shape our identities and communities.

Venessa Castagnoli is the executive director of Ogden Contemporary Arts, a non-profit art organization. Beginning March of 2020, she worked to rebrand, raise funds, and assist in the overall design of the space for OCA’s Art Center, with the goal of making art accessible and inclusive for Utah’s community. In her role at OCA, she maintains an impressive exhibition schedule, Artist-in-Residence program, developed the Artist Factory, a robust youth education program, and redesigned the Platforms outdoor exhibition space into a sculpture park, which now houses permanent installations. She has experience both as an artist and curator and early in her career created O-Town Arts, a contemporary art collective that was based in Ogden. Venessa’s artwork has been shown in the Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Finch Lane Gallery, as well as several state-wide exhibitions and public art settings.

Zayne Wilcox is a boutique luthier, audio engineer, and skilled gallery installation tech. He studied at Weber State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, minoring in Sound Design. While at WSU, Zayne worked on campus in the Shaw Gallery as the main tech advisor, lighting engineer and scissor lift operator. Led by his love of the arts Zayne continued working on installations with OCA as well as the Shaw Gallery and Dumke Plaza. His love of art also branches into music. Zayne is involved in the Ogden Twilight series as a stagehand and an audio engineer. He has also been involved in recording, mixing and mastering a number of local bands.

Kevin Burns has spent nearly ten years in the non-profit arts sector, managing millions of dollars in awarded funds from private foundations and federal grantors. In addition to growing OCA’s grant portfolio, he provides strategic development insight to ensure long-term organizational health. Kevin previously served as a development director and as a visual arts curator, working directly with contemporary artists on multidisciplinary projects. He holds a graduate degree in art history and philosophy from the University of St Andrews (Scotland).

Margo brings over 15 years of experience rooted in arts advocacy, public art, and education, with a practice deeply grounded in community connection. She holds an MFA in Public Practice from Otis College of Art and Design, where she was recognized for her Outstanding Contribution to College and Community, and a BA in Visual and Public Art from California State University, Monterey Bay; a program co-founded by Judy Baca, Amalia Mesa-Bains, and Suzanne Lacy.

Her work spans exhibitions and projects across the United States and internationally, including collaborations addressing women’s rights and social change through large-scale public engagement. She has worked with institutions such as the Oakland Museum of California, the National Steinbeck Center, and Valley Children’s Hospital, and has contributed to community-based initiatives like the 90404 Project with the 18th Street Arts Center. Margo has also collaborated with renowned artist Suzanne Lacy on projects in Ecuador, Ireland, and England.

Alongside her public practice, Margo maintains an active studio practice, creating vibrant, often whimsical work across a range of mediums including acrylic, charcoal, encaustic, and watercolor. Her work reflects a sense of play and curiosity, while her broader practice centers on creating hospitable, collaborative environments that foster long-term community relationships.

In addition to her artistic work, Margo brings strong experience in civic and cultural project management. She holds a Project Management certificate from Colorado State University and is PMI® certified, and has contributed to organizations such as the Getty and LACMA, as well as helping to launch family and community-centered cultural spaces.

She brings a thoughtful, relationship-driven approach to building partnerships and is deeply committed to creating inclusive, accessible opportunities for engagement through the arts.