Team

Heather Adams, Executive Director

Ms. Adams started her artistic journey in Phoenix dancing at South Mountain Center for the Performing Arts High School, Lydia Torea Spanish Dance, Phoenix School of Ballet and Ballet Arizona before venturing to Philadelphia, PA, where she earned her BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts.

Embracing the vibrant energy of New York City, Heather embarked on a journey of professional growth, training at Alvin Ailey and Paul Taylor. However, the allure of the Montana mountains beckoned her in 1999. Since then, she has been an unwavering advocate for arts education, performance, and cultural enrichment within the Missoula community.

She directs and choreographs musical theater productions both locally and regionally and has produced non-profit fundraisers.

Heather’s love for the arts transcends the stage, sharing her expertise in various styles at local studios and the University of Montana as well as across the region and as far as South Africa and Malawi. Recognizing the transformative power of dance, she founded the Downtown Dance Collective and served as its Executive Director for 13 years, nurturing budding artists and fostering a thriving dance community, producing an Artist in Residence series, and creating an inviting space for people to engage in and support the arts.

She currently serves on the University of Montana College of Arts and Media Advisory Council and is in the role of State Captain for Montana in the esteemed Americans For The Arts organization based in Washington, DC. In this capacity, she actively champions the importance of the arts on a national level, advocating for the preservation and advancement of creative expression in communities across the country.

Heather Adams’ dedication to the arts and her love for Missoula continue to intertwine, as she thrives in her role as Executive Director at Arts Missoula, Missoula’s Local Art Agency. 

Zola Kell, Development & Engagement Coordinator

Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, where she completed a BA and MA in Germanic Studies, Zola has worked for the past decade in supporting roles for arts organizations and in the field of Indigenous language revitalization.She completed a Post-Baccalaureate in Art at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, Ireland, in 2018. Zola has also been a visual artist, primarily working with textiles and installation art.

She has known Missoula was where she wanted to be since attending the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in 2007. She was finally able to make the international move in January of 2023, and has been devoted to the creative communities here ever since. Her dream is to open an artists’ residency to allow artists time and space to realize their creative work. She is most excited to be able to bring her expertise in grant writing and her passion and enthusiasm for supporting the arts to her role at Arts Missoula.