Anna (Maifeld) Anderson began crocheting rag rugs years ago as a way to use up fabric scraps and old clothing. She now sells her rugs on her Etsy shop "HeartlandHandmadeSD". You can see more of her rugs on her website annasews.net. She and her family live on a hobby farm near Sioux Falls and enjoy incorporating old time crafts with homeschooling, gardening, and animals.

Dr. Nadia Judith Bijaoui, Medical Board of California Certified Research Psychoanalyst.

Joshua Cooper is a local from Humboldt, SD and has recently returned after performing for the last decade! Before earning his BFA in Acting at BYU, he performed literally hundreds of times on multiple stages in dozens of roles. Most noteworthily as Wesley in a stage adaptation of The Princess Bride, Greg in Reasons to be Pretty, d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, and the title character in The Picture of Dorian Gray. He also toured elementary schools with a Children's Theater performing Babe. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue film acting. During his 4 years in California, Joshua landed two feature films, several guest star roles in TV shows and booked multiple commercials! As of 2021, you'll find him nurturing his roots and tending to his passion for plants and green thumb in his plant shoppe, The Deku Tree, in downtown Sioux Falls. 

Melanie Erickson has been known as the helpful fixer, teacher, creator - as owner of the Bead Co in downtown Sioux Falls from 2000 to 2019- while collaborating as a Community Education Instructor for most of those years. Melanie is grateful to continue sharing decades of beading experience, jewelry design, and hands on experience teaching beading and jewelry technique classes, custom orders and repairs, and parties locally; as she starts new life chapters within Community Ed helping organize fellow instructors' passions. Nature fires up her soul and jewelry creations and she loves to grab the kayak and head to the lake for peaceful inspiration.

When I was young I did yoga with my mother on the beach, then I did yoga stretching before and after my dance performances for many years. I incorporated yoga with my dance students to warm them up and cool them down. Finally, I took training and achieved all the levels of YogaFit to become certified. Yoga has always been a lasting and enduring part of my life. Yoga gives me joy and peace. I hope to share this deep and abiding satisfaction with all my students.

I began my career as a Paramedic in Pennsylvania. I managed an ambulance service about an hour south of Pittsburgh. I moved to Sioux Falls SD to raise a family in 1992. I continued to volunteer as a Paramedic as I raised my children. I now work full time at the Avera Heart Hospital and as a BLS/ACLS Instructor with Heartstarters. I was born third to the last into a family of 9 children and started babysitting early. I have three children ages 35,25,23 and two grandchildren ages 1 and 6. I teach many life support courses for Community Ed and have combined several classes for the Super-Sitter program. Students from the Supersitter class don't just learn to watch children, they learn to play, feed and care for children. They learn how to identify risks and prevent injury and illness and know what to do in an emergency! I enjoy teaching people of all ages to be prepared to prevent injury and illness and what they can do should if they are on the scene of a victim needing help.

Published poet, author, and proprietor of 221 Melsted Place Bed and Breakfast Inn, Chef Lonnette Kelley will share stories from her victorian themed bed and breakfast and the experience and tips she has learned over the years ... from tea parties to Victorian dinners and brushes with dignitaries. Join your friends and come for an interesting delectable evening. She loves sharing her Victorian all-season spa, torchlight croquet, evening bonfires, pumpkin carriage rides, fresh garden produce, berry picking, bird watching, star gazing, special event receptions, and small weddings. Lonette openend her Bed & Breakfast 30 years ago since has published her custom cookbook titled My Signature Dish.

Meet Lonnette: https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2020/08/12/someone-you-should-know-woman-writes-letters-to-bring-people-comfort-during-pandemic/

I grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota born in 1995. From a young age I was attracted to the idea of creating art from different mediums. It wasn't until my senior year of high school where I found my passion for ceramics. In 2013, I graduated from Roosevelt High School and began cooking at a restaurant in Sioux Falls. On weekdays I would cook, but when the weekend came I was volunteering at a local ceramic workshop in the Washington Pavilion.

My inspiration derives from the environment around me. Living in South Dakota my whole life has opened my eyes to the vast amount of natural resources just below my feet. Integrating the Earth with my own work truly gives me a better respect for my surroundings.

Mark Koterwski graduated from Gallaudet University in 1989. Mark has worked for Communication Service for the Deaf for almost 25 years as a Community Support Specialist. Mark has also worked in following areas: Community Support, Interpreting Mentor Program, Employment Services, American Sign Language Instructor, Advocacy, and Communication Assistance. Mark has worked with deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people with communication barriers for over 30 years in the states of Maryland, Washington D.C., Illinois, California, and South Dakota.

I first discovered working with glass when I was in high school and have loved it ever since. I enjoy working with all kinds of glass and am always playing with a new project. It's always exciting to learn how to make new glass designs and sharing them with friends. My inspiration is gathered from my family, friends, and everything around me.

I was raised in the mid-west but moved away during the early years of my marriage to Robert. We spent over twenty years in the military and traveled to many stateside and oversea posts. During this time I started teaching adult education classed to military family members and also to family members of people that were attached to the military facilities. After retirement I made the change from teaching in military classrooms to civilian classrooms. I also have a personal business where I sell the work I do. I specialize in knitting, crocheting, embroidery, quilting, needle point and tapestry work. Robert and I have lived in Sioux Falls for six years and we have really enjoyed our time in this great city. I also love teaching for community ed.

Learning Adventures Preschool- Sonia Sotomayor

My name is Yrene Parsons. I am originally from Peru. I studied Economics in my country for five years at the University of San Martin de Porres, Lima- Peru. I attended Augustana University, earning a bachelor's degree in Spanish. Before teaching with the Sioux Falls School District, I taught Spanish at Sioux Falls Lutheran School for two years. I also taught Zumba for five years. In teaching preschool at Sonia Sotomayor, I am able to combine my love of movement and dance with my teaching of the children. I love to teach my students to learn using all their senses, especially using movement in music, art and science. In my spare time, I love to hike with my family, traveling, being with friends, and shopping. I have taught at Mis Amigos Preschool since January 2018. I am so blessed to be part of a wonderful Community in Sioux Falls and be a little light in the life of these precious young people.

Bill has been serving clients as a Financial Advisor since 2004. He believes that the best financial advice comes from a comprehensive understanding of his clients’ needs. He thoroughly enjoys working with families to help reach their financial goals through customized and personalized solutions. Many of his younger clients are proactive about preparing for retirement now so they can achieve the lifestyle they desire. Bill also enjoys working with clients who are entering the final stages of retirement planning, and with clients living in retirement to utilize and manage their funds appropriately. Bill earned his Accredited Asset Management Specialist. (AAMS®) designation in 2008. He attended Augustana College and is a member of the Downtown Lions Club and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE).

Bill is an affiliated instructor with a national organization called the Financial Educators Network. This Network offers courses on Life Planning and Retirement Planning at over 400 schools throughout the United States. He is also a Level Two archery instructor and enjoys volunteering his time teaching archery to individuals with disabilities. He is actively involved as a youth leader and teacher at his church. Bill’s wife, Anna, is a social worker at the VA Hospital and together they have two young daughters who will both be participating in the Spanish immersion program in the Sioux Falls School District. He is an avid reader, softball player and fan of eclectic music.

Stephanie is a graduate of Rapid City Stevens High School and Augustana University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She has eight years of political experience in Washington, DC where she worked on Capitol Hill for former Senator Tom Daschle.

Moving home to South Dakota in 2014 with her husband and two teenage sons has allowed Stephanie to reconnect with her roots and her passions. Last year, she founded Fruit of the Coop, LLC, a wholesale egg business, on their farm near the Big Sioux River and Brandon, South Dakota. In addition to selling eggs from her own flock of heritage chickens, she sources eggs from other small flocks within the Sioux Empire. All the chickens are pasture-raised on natural grains and forage, which gives the yolks of their eggs a deep golden color and strong shells. You can find her eggs at Cherry Rock Farm and Glory Garden (a local CSA) and served at Josiah's, Breadico and Morrie's Steakhouse. Stephanie believes in bringing local food to Sioux Falls area establishments and helping to revitalize small and mid-level agriculture in rural economies and communities. She also serves on the board for Dakota Rural Action and is active in DRA's local chapter, Homegrown Sioux Empire.

My name is Lyndsay Seivert; I am a mom, wife, full-time Registered Nurse, and Silver Leader with doTERRA Essential Oils. I have been using oils on myself and my family for over 2 years and providing education on oils for over a year. Learning about essential oils, what they are, how they work, and how to safely and properly use them can be overwhelming at first. I love to teach and educate on all the amazing benefits essential oils can provide, how to use them, when to use them, and how they work. Having a solid foundation of knowledge is vital for anyone looking to start utilizing essential oils in their everyday life, and I want to provide that foundation. Having the platform Community Education provides will give people interested in learning about natural options the opportunity to do so, and allowing me to continue to educate and enhance and empower lives with natural options.

Master Troy Vink 

Sioux Falls Taekwondo in Action:    https://youtu.be/f_ACBUkxtMg

I started Taekwondo when I was 14 yrs. old and now I am forty____ ... I can let you do the math. I obviously have a love and passion for this! I am a 5th degree black belt and have been teaching for over 25 years now. Over 15 years have now been with Community Education in Sioux Falls. I have the pleasure of teaching students the aspects of Respect, Confidence, and Discipline. I cannot think of many things in my life that has been more gratifying than the companionship and connection that I have through this experience.

The Siouxland Woodturner's (SWT) is a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). The AAW is an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the woodturning craft. Our mission is to provide information, education, a meeting place, and an effective organization for all who are interested in turning wood.