Officers:
Gary M. Ciepluch is the MUSE Board President. He was the director of bands and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University and the conductor of Cleveland Institute of Music’s University Circle Wind Ensemble from 1988-2016. In 1989 founded the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphonies. His university teaching responsibilities were in the disciplines of conducting and music education. He has his undergraduate and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Master’s Degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In 1980 he began his summer residency in Door County and moved here full time in 2016. He currently plays clarinet and bass clarinet with the Peninsula Symphonic Band, performs recitals locally, and is one of the founders of the Door County Northwinds Chamber Ensemble. In addition to performing, he guest conducts Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles both Nationally and Internationally. Gary serves on the Board of Third Avenue Playworks and is President of the Board for MUSE. He brings a lifelong background and commitment to the Arts that will hopefully translate into a rich artistic experience to both the residences and guests of Door County.
Sean Linnan, Esq. is the MUSE Board Vice President. A Door County native, he lives in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with his wife Kristine and three children (Ezra, Ophelia, and Paxton). Linnan is a licensed attorney with 22 years of experience and was the founder and sole owner of a 12-person law firm in the areas of business law, debtor and creditor law, contracts, and family law. Linnan is licensed by the Minnesota State Bar, the Wisconsin State Bar, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and the United States Federal Court (multiple districts). Linnan was a 4-time nominee for Minnesota Superlawyer recognition and serves on a number of nonprofit boards within the Door County community including as a past president of the Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club. Linnan has demonstrated non-profit leadership as an Eagle Scout, a 2-time publicly-elected chair of the Segregated University Fee Allocation Committee and the only 2-term student body president of his university, where he was awarded four consecutive University Leadership Awards and the Chancellors Medallion. He is the 2012 Ironman Race finisher, a 5-time marathon runner, plays piano and ukulele, and was a 2002 St. Paul Pioneer Press featured artist.
Linda Halfmann is the MUSE Board Treasurer. She chose Sturgeon Bay as the place to spend this chapter of her life, moving here in early 2022 following lifelong residency in Manitowoc County. She is a graduate of Lakeland University with a BA in accounting and an MBA with a marketing focus. Linda held various managerial positions over 25+ years at Kohler Co. in both accounting and marketing roles, focusing most of her career in new product development, strategic planning, brand management and retail channel management. She served as an ad-hoc instructor within Lakeland University’s School of Business and volunteered as her church Treasurer for 15 years. Linda and her family have long enjoyed the natural beauty of Door County, along with the vibrant and diverse arts scene and palpable feeling of community present throughout the peninsula. Currently, Linda holds the part-time, seasonal position of Customer Service Specialist at Destination Sturgeon Bay, thoroughly enjoying welcoming visitors and immersing herself in her new community via member business activities and events.
Avery Burns is the MUSE Board Secretary. She moved to the Sturgeon Bay area in 2022 to work at Sturgeon Bay Schools and instantly fell in love with the community and its abundance of art and music opportunities. At Sturgeon Bay Schools, Avery teaches choir for grades 6-12, middle school theater, and directs music for the high school theater production. She also serves on the school’s Auditorium Renovation Committee. Outside of school, Avery directs the Community Choir of Door County and assistant directs The Peninsula Singers, both adult community choirs in the area. She joined both the Third Avenue Playworks and MUSE Board of Directors in January of 2025 and has loved serving both organizations. When not in meetings, you can find Avery drinking coffee at Lawlss or checking National Parks and countries off her travel list.
Members at Large:
David Bell retired in June, 2023 as Professor of Clarinet at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. Before coming to Lawrence, he held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory, Baldwin-Wallace University, the University of Akron, West Virginia University, and Western Illinois University. Altogether, his teaching career spanned over forty years. His former students perform with major orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, while others hold appointments at colleges, universities, and secondary schools both in the United States and abroad. Currently, David is Principal Clarinet of the Weidner Philharmonic, and performs with the Fox Valley Symphony. He has held Principal chairs with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Ballet Orchestra, and Akron Symphony Orchestra, and recently retired from the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra after playing with them for 41 seasons. He continues to be a frequent performer, guest teacher and clinician nationally and internationally. David holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Milwaukee and Baltimore Symphonies. He has toured internationally with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Solaris Wind Quintet, and has traveled as far as Beijing, China to perform and teach.
Ernest Beutel is an artist, collaborator and owner of the Artist Guild, LLC, an art supply store in Sturgeon Bay, WI. Ernest’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the Midwest, including the Francis Hardy Center for the Arts in Ephraim, The Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, The Cedarburg Cultural Center, and the Wilmette Arts Guild. He is represented by the Pearl of Door County in Sturgeon Bay, WI. Ernest received a BFA from Barat College of DePaul University and his teaching license (Art K-12) from Silver Lake College (Holy Family College).
Michelle Lawrie is currently serving as Executive Director of the Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC). She has more than twenty years of experience in economic development at regional and local levels. Michelle’s career in Washington, D.C., Arizona and Wisconsin has focused on serving the public interest through economic development, issue advocacy and coalition-building. Michelle began her economic development career at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), in Phoenix, Arizona. After serving in several roles at GPEC, Michelle became the President and CEO of the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC) in western Maricopa County, Arizona. Michelle later also served as Economic Development/Community Development Director for the communities of Goodyear, Arizona and DeForest, Wisconsin. Michelle has extensive experience in the development of strategic plans and performance measures for organizations, as well as in leading teams toward achieving goals desired by residents, municipalities and governing boards.
Claire Morkin has been a professional singer and actress for more than 30 years. She recorded two jazz albums and has performed extensively in regional theaters in Chicago, Milwaukee as well as Off Broadway in New York. She served as the drama director and voice coach for musicals at Sevastopol High School and Tomah Middle School. She taught voice privately for ten years and was the forensics coach at Sturgeon Bay High School for six years. In addition to being a professional musician and actress, Claire also serves as the District 7 Supervisor for Door County.
Kyle Thiede, raised in Southern Door County, has built an impressive career in the music industry. After moving to New York City, Kyle took on exciting roles supporting songwriters with major brands such as EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and BMG Music Publishing. He now serves as Senior Director of Music Publishing Operations at Songtrust (Downtown Music Holdings). Splitting his time between New York City and Door County, Kyle is thrilled to give back to his community through his passion for music and its role in the growth of Sturgeon Bay.
Coggin Heeringa is the Program Director and Naturalist at Crossroads at Big Creek Learning Center/Nature Preserve in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she served as Executive Director for twenty years. Heeringa has ten years of classroom teaching experience and was an adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She also served as the naturalist at Newport State Park in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. She is a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media and public speaker. In addition, Heeringa has been the instructor of environmental studies at the Walter E. Hastings Nature Museum at the Interlochen Arts Camp since 1971.