Passionate and Dedicated

Jennifer Minicucci

Executive Director, she/her

MS Arts Administration and Cultural Entrepreneurship Northeastern University

Jennifer is a strong proponent of the power of art to bring about transformational change. She believes art can build understanding, connection and belonging, creating a more just, inclusive, and equitable world. She is delighted to bring to Arts in Reach her passion for art, education, and community building along with more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience.  

After early stints in corporate public relations at Ogilvy, Adams & Rinehart in Washington, DC and Cone Communications in Boston, MA, she chose to transition to a focus on development and strategic planning for cultural and educational nonprofits. After building fundraising functions at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH and Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) in Portsmouth, NH, Jennifer began a consulting practice. Clients included Portland, ME-based Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA), an artist residency supporting Black and Brown artists; the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra; and Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth, NH; InventiveLabs, a startup incubator and gap-year program for alternative learners in Amesbury, MA; and Pinetree Institute in Eliot, ME, offering community resources to address the effects of childhood trauma. Jennifer also co-founded Polaris Charter School, a public elementary school for neurodiverse students, in Manchester, NH, and has served on the Board of Trustees for the Academy of Science and Design and Granite State Arts Academy. 

She recently served as President of Art-Speak, the Cultural Commission for the City of Portsmouth, NH, and presently sits on the Board of Advisors for the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire, on the Advisory Circle for IAA, and on the Visual Arts Committee of PMAC. An avid oil painter and metalsmith, she has sold her work in several New England galleries. 

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in Arts Administration and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She lives with her family in a 202-year-old farmhouse in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and studies drawing at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston, plays flute in the New Horizons Band at PMAC, and especially enjoys reading, cooking, running, museum-going, and listening to live music.

Cara Cabral

Program Director, any pronouns

BFA University of New Hampshire

Cara believes that the arts are a powerful vehicle for self-expression and community-building. As a teenager in Manchester, Cara frequented a free teen art center where she found supportive relationships and a healthy outlet in the arts. The experience was transformative and inspired her drive to expand access to the arts for NH youth. Cara is grateful to serve as the Program Director for Arts In Reach (AIR), where she has the opportunity to support the creativity and voices of youth through accessible arts and mentoring programs.

Cara has a fine arts background and is chipping away at her MSW like a perseverant tortoise. Passionate about mental health, stigma reduction, and youth development, she is a steering member of the grassroots Dover Mental Health Alliance and serves on the Somersworth Youth Connection advisory board.

Cara loves to carve out space for her creative practice. She lives in Madbury with her partner and feline sidekick, Carole.

Haley Searcy

Program Manager, they/she

BS Appalachian State University

Originally from NC, Haley moved to NH after graduating from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Sociology with a concentration in Social Inequalities and minors in English and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. During these undergraduate years, they volunteered at App State’s Women’s Center and Girls Rock NC, worked on the Poetry Committee for the school’s literary magazine The Peel, and worked at the campus coffee shop. 

Haley joined Arts In Reach in 2020 as an AmeriCorps VISTA. The mission of AIR mattered to them so much they decided to stay on full time after their VISTA year ended. Through AIR she has received a certificate from UNH in Coaching Children and Teens and has been certified in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid.

When Haley isn’t working at AIR she spends her time playing in her queer folk band Ratland, making art in her studio, volunteering at the artist collective Wrong Brain, and exploring different places in New England. Haley loves frogs, specifically ones that say “yeehaw.”

Liliana Mangan

Program Coordinator, she/her

BA & MEd University of New Hampshire

Liliana is an educator and musician currently living in Newmarket, NH. In college, she studied Music and Philosophy with a focus on ethics and social responsibility. She earned her master’s degree in Educational Studies at the University of New Hampshire and is invested in facilitating creative environments centered on equity and self-expression.

Liliana grew up in the seacoast area of New Hampshire and has experienced the transformative value of supportive artistic communities firsthand. She began working for AIR at the beginning of 2023 and is excited to contribute to an organization that builds the positive creative spaces that have been so meaningful in her own life.

Liliana loves reading scary stories and feels the freest when she is outside exploring natural environments. Writing and playing music with her friends is her favorite thing to do.

Laura Portalupi

Operations Manager, she/her

MSW University of Denver

Laura has an eclectic professional background, with broad experience in writing, editing, research, and community building. Most recently, she worked in educational tech in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has also worked at nonprofits in Colorado and Thailand. Living abroad as a child sparked in Laura a love of cross-cultural exchange. One of her most meaningful experiences has been the relationships she built during her two years in rural South Africa with the Peace Corps. 

In addition to her Master of Social Work degree, Laura has Bachelor of Arts degrees in creative writing and French. She also completed one and a half years of a Master of Fine Arts program in poetry. 

Laura is especially interested in the role of art in social movements, the intersection of art and nature, and how engaging with art can help us reconnect with our authentic self. These days, Laura dreams of creating street art in Paris that encourages people to reflect on our relationship to other animals.

caitlin little

Marketing Maven, she/they

caitlin is a multi-modal artist, curator, and culture cultivator based in Dover, NH. With the arts at the forefront, she believes in challenging traditional ideas of essential needs and strives to create programs, narratives, and systems that create equity, opportunity, and combat gatekeeping.

caitlin is co-founder of Petshop Gallery(Omaha, NE) and has dedicated the last decade to creating artistic community and unique opportunities to support the arts in their hometown of Omaha, NE. #payartists

caitlin moved to the NH Seacoast in 2021 as an AmeriCorps Vista for Arts In Reach, excited for the opportunity to connect more hearts through the arts.  Since her move, she has graduated from Leadership Seacoast, served a short term on the city of Dover NH Arts Commission, and has been featured on the podcast Creative Guts. She is currently the resident curator for NHAA’s W.C. Gallery. 

caitlin lives with her cat children Lewis & Lucy and spends her free time sleuthing which of the North Shore roast beefs are truly famous. 

Kathi Hardy

Teen Artist Transporter, she/her

Kathi is an exceptional person who is an integral part of our team at AIR. Not only does she play a crucial role in transporting our teen artists, but she also serves as a mentor at The School of the South in Seewanee, TN.  Kathi loves reading and exploring fiber arts, with a particular love for knitting and crocheting. She spent many years traveling the world through serving in the Navy, and one of the fascinating places she lived was Iceland. She believes that everyone has unique gifts to give to the world, and AIR provides youth the environment to find and bring forth their gifts.