In 2021, Ashley Hineline took a bold leap and relocated her family of six to Ouray, Colorado, sight unseen, quickly falling in love with the stunning landscape, relaxed pace of life, and remarkable strength of the local community. This place soon became home, and she is committed to making Ouray her long-term residence for many years to come. As the owner and operator of IronStone Property Management, a locally rooted company, Ashley emphasizes intentional stewardship, strong relationships, and hands-on care in serving property owners across Ouray County. Outside of work, she and her husband are deeply engaged in the community, actively raising their four children while participating in local schools, events, and activities. This involvement deepens her dedication to Ouray and shapes how she supports both her clients and neighbors. The Wright Opera House became one of her family's favorite treasures early in their time here, captivating them with its historic charm and vibrant role in local life. Ashley is honored to join the board and contribute to preserving this iconic venue as a cornerstone of arts, culture, theater, and music in Ouray. She looks forward to helping maintain its excellence while pursuing improvements so even more residents and visitors can experience its magic. Ultimately, she values how this beloved community gathering place fosters connection, creativity, and and a shared sense of continuity that ties Ouray’s past, present, and future together.

Isabella grew up in South Africa in the beautiful historic town of Kimberley, the diamond capital of the world and origin of the Hope Diamond, gifted to Evelyn Walsh McLean of Camp Bird. She remains married to her childhood sweetheart and together they raised four children and has two grandchildren.

Isabella moved to Ouray in search of a better quality of life and a more inclusive and welcoming community for their son, Philip, who has Down syndrome. She found much more than that – stunning mountain vistas, culture, history, architecture, and the Wright Opera House! In her travels abroad, she frequented historic performing art venues such as the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Mariinsky Theater in St Petersburg, and London’s West End.

Isabella has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and started her career by choosing to only serve marginalized communities such as people on probation and parole as well as Medicare patients. She believes she has the best job in the world and today she has thriving psychology practices in Denver and Ouray.

John Kissingford studied with Shakespeare scholars at Princeton (BA '89), Harvard (Ed.M. '95), and the Bread Loaf School of English (MA '00) in Middlebury and Oxford before earning his MFA in acting in 2003. Since then he has acted with various regional and touring companies and explored Original Practice approaches to Shakespeare with both the New England Shakespeare Festival and No Holds Bard, which he and his wife Kate founded in 2005. They founded UpstART Theater in 2015, and have been instrumental in producing professional theater here in Ouray County, largely in partnership with The Friends of the Wright Opera House. Meanwhile, he taught high school English in various states and countries over the decades, culminating in ten years at Ouray High. John feels fortunate to serve on this and other philanthropic boards, and to participate in the life of this beautiful community.

Liz Owens and her husband, Brian, fell in love with Ouray during trips spanning over 20 years. Her husband’s family has roots in the area with his mother and siblings growing up in Ridgway. Some of the Noble family still live in Ouray County. Liz is originally from California, where she earned her degree in Accounting from CSUB and became a CPA in 1993. After marrying in 1994, Liz and Brian became parents to two boys (200 & 2002). With her husband's company, they moved multiple times including living in Doha, Qatar (4.5 yrs) and Bogota, Columbia (2 yrs). Liz’s youngest son graduated from Ouray High School in 2020. She splits her time in both Denver and Ouray. She loves music and singing and the Wright is a great place to enjoy music and theatre.providing the time to travel and get involved with great organizations like the Wright.

After 30+ years, Lou and her husband John Hart are back as full-time, permanent residents in the little mountain town they never stopped calling home. Her family, the Tankersleys, moved to Ouray in 1960, bought a property, and began building the Twin Peaks Motel. Like most all businesses in Ouray at that time, it was a family affair. Her father and brothers built, while she and her sister and mother cleaned, made beds, took reservations, and together built a business on growing tourism that became a destination place notable for its owners’ love of this beautiful place and their southern hospitality. “At the time, I had no idea how blessed I was to be growing up in a beautiful mountain town that was safe, community-minded, and would never leave my heart,” she says. Lou married her high school sweetheart, John Hart, joined him in Hawaii as he served in the US Navy, and returned to Ouray to make our home here. John was employed by San Miguel Power, while she was at home raising two sons. Together they opened Ridgway True Value Hardware on Clinton in 1983. Southwest Colorado was not thriving at the time and they struggled to make ends meet, running the store and working extra jobs. Eventually they moved to the Phoenix area to try and secure their financial future. Their two sons grew up in Phoenix and attended NAU for their degrees. Lou too was able to go back for her degree in education and a Masters in Counseling, and enjoyed a 20 year career in public education and counseling in the Community College system.

In 2005 the Harts built their home on Oak Street, thinking at the time that it would be a summer place and a great escape from the heat of the desert. Once John retired for the second time, he was anxious to spend more time here in our Ouray home. Lou was still enjoying her college students but in 2019, they made the decision to sell their Arizona home and move back full time. Lou says, “we are so happy to be back. It’s different in some ways, more opportunities for adventure and culture and business. But there is some part of this place that is still just as captivating for us as it ever was. Maybe it’s Mt Abram that looms faithful out of my front window, maybe it’s the waterfalls or the Uncompahgre I can hear flowing endlessly from our windows, and maybe it's the spirit of timelessness that speaks from the mountains, and certainly it is the connection with people who call this place home because they too have been captivated. Probably it is all of these things. So we’re back; we’re home.”

Lou’s interest as a member of The Wright Board has everything to do with her appreciation for what Ouray has become and how The Wright has been “reborn” to bring a variety of arts and culture to our community. She views it as a place of community where both locals and visitors can come together for conversation, entertainment, arts and a sharing of the best parts of us that reflects both creation and creativity. “It is my honor to do so as a Board Member of The Wright Opera House,” says Lou.

Mark was introduced to Ouray through his aunt, a longtime resident and local business owner, who first brought him to the Wright Opera House and instilled in him a deep appreciation for both the venue and the community. That early connection sparked a lasting love for the beauty, history, and culture of Ouray and the Wright. Mark is passionate about supporting the arts and helping create fresh, exciting, and innovative experiences that enrich the community. He is honored to serve on the Board and contribute to the continued success and growth of the Wright Opera House.

Mark began his career in public safety as a paramedic and later transitioned into Next Generation 911 technology, working to strengthen the systems that support first responders and emergency response professionals.

Outside of work, Mark is the proud father of three wonderful children and an enthusiastic grandfather to two grandchildren. He is married to Christine, the brilliant CEO of Marmots Açaí, located next door to the Wright Opera House.

Mark currently holds the prestigious title of administrative assistant—which mostly means doing whatever the CEO tells him to do, with a smile. Mark and Christine are grateful full-time residents of Ouray and love being actively involved in the many events and activities that make the Ouray community so special.

Susan Yoder is a 20 year resident of Ouray. Her only son graduated from Ouray High School in 2004. She is responsible for restoring the home on 4th Street in Ouray next to the courthouse, known as the “Zanett House”, originally built in the 1890’s. Growing up, Susan’s family moved frequently all over the country from small, rural towns to cities including Chicago and Los Angeles. This gave Susan the exposure to and love of different cultures, art, music and history across the country. And, especially a passion for saving old buildings. “I went to events at the Wright since I first moved to town and always imagined her original beauty. I was so happy to hear about the acquisition by the Friends of the Wright to save this amazing historic building and am so thrilled to see it become the premier venue for the arts, social events and education in the county.” Susan has been an avid event-goer and has done some volunteer work for the Wright. She feels lucky for any opportunity to support the mission of the Opera House to continue to contribute to the economic and cultural viability of our Community.

Terry Kiser is a graduate industrial engineer from Kansas University. After working for six months after graduation at cornhusker paving company in Omaha Nebraska, he moved to New York City to pursue his first love…acting. He is a lifetime member of the actors studio in New York ,having been mentored by legendary acting coach Lee Strasburg. Terry was nominated for a Tony award in Neil Simmons play God‘s favorite on Broadway. He has won both an Obie and theater world award for the dramatic play “ Fortune and Men’s Eyes “ As a stage actor, he has been in over 70 stage plays and has over 140 television and movie credits. He is a lifetime member of the Academy of motion picture arts and science.

Vivian began visiting Ouray in the early 1970’s to visit her mother and father -in- law, Edith and Winthrop Toan. She continued to spend parts of summer and winter vacations in Ouray, as she and her husband raised four children. Ouray was a very important part of the childrens’ lives, as they perfected their tree house in the front yard, sledded on the Camp Bird Road, held secret club house meetings with their local friends, and hiked and camped with their parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. After Vivian retired in 2009, she spent increasing amounts of time in Ouray, and moved here full time in 2020.

Vivian spent her early childhood years in the Appalachian mountains, and then in several Iowa communities. She attended Grinnell College and NYU Law School, and remained in New York for the next 50 years.

Her first six years, as a young attorney, were with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, with great deal of time in the southern states, litigating on behalf of workers. After a break of a few years with her young family, she became a lawyer for the New York City Department of Health, and was Counsel to its Division of Health Care Access and Improvement. Ouray has benefitted from a strong and vibrant volunteer community. The preservation of the Wright Opera House, and its wide range of programming are a testament to the efforts of so many, and Vivian is delighted to join the Board, and assist with their endeavors.