Meet the Board of Directors
Jeni Hegsted is the founder and Executive Director of Emerge, Jeni worked in the arts for the past fourteen years and was instrumental in bringing awareness to homelessness through art installations, volunteer artists, and special events. Jeni has received the accolade for distinguished service including the 2014 Inlander Peirone Prize and the 2014 Mayor’s Arts Awards for excellence in arts education.
Tom Perkins has been on the Emerge Board since 2018 and currently serves as the President. Tom and his wife have had a home in Coeur d’Alene since 2003. Tom retired in 2018 from Core-Mark International, Inc., a Publicly Traded Fortune 250 company where he served as the Chief Executive Officer and board member. His 25 years of experience with Core-Mark encompassed finance, sales, operations, strategy, investor relations, M& and board management. Tom held a variety of positions over his 25-year career with Core-Mark; Controller, Division President, Vice President of US Divisions, and Senior Vice President – Resources prior to being named President and CEO in January 2013. Tom worked in a variety of financial roles prior to joining Core-Mark. He worked for Arthur Andersen & Co and was a CPA in the state of California. He was part of PepsiCo’s Corporate audit group and was the Controller for Pepsi Cola Bottling Group’s Southern California Business Unit. Tom serves on the Northern Arizona University Foundation Board. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University in 1980.
Mark Rakes has been a director on the Emerge Board since its inception in 2015. Originally from El Paso, Texas, he moved with his family to Coeur d’Alene in 1985. He has worked in software engineering for the last 20 years. Mark is a founding board member of the Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities PTO, which has raised over $500,000 in funds specifically to support an Arts and Humanities-focused school curriculum. He is also currently the Vice President of the Board of the Coeur d’Alene Education Partnership, an organization formed to support quality and excellence in Coeur d’Alene schools. He holds an AA Degree with an emphasis in Music Theory and Composition from North Idaho College, and a dual BS in Computer Science/Computer Information. In his spare time, Mark still actively plays music and hopes that through his involvement with Emerge he will someday learn to paint.
Maya Rumsey joined the Emerge Board of Directors in 2018. Maya is a ceramic artist currently living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated in 2008 from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a BFA in glass and ceramics. After graduating, Maya did some wandering around, worked at the Omega Institute (where she met her husband), lived in Costa Rica for a while, became a yoga teacher, and then settled in Colorado where she started making ceramics again. Rumsey lived in Denver for seven years growing her business and then moved to Idaho. She now lives here with her husband, two little girls, and a pup, making pottery in her basement.
Danica Gilbert a North Idaho native and avid outdoor enthusiast that really takes in all that this area has to offer. Having grown up here, owning a small business in Coeur d’Alene, working for the Chamber of Commerce, and enjoying the entire Panhandle as her backyard, supports our local art community by sitting on the board of directors for Emerge.