The Heart of Foxfire

Kristin Seibert has been working in the entertainment industry for over 20 years.  She graduated from UCLA’s producer’s program and started her career developing screenplays for studios and managing the careers of various screenwriters and directors.  She utilized her background in business along with her creative talents to successfully produce two independent feature films, The Pledge and A Christmas Tree Miracle, that received both national and international distribution.  Kristin is currently developing the sequel to A Christmas Tree Miracle and is on the board and co-founder of Foxfire Film Festival, an international documentary festival. 

Molly Hughes is a Production Designer and Art Director with more than 20 years in the film industry. After earning her MFA in Set Design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she began her career in New York’s Off-Broadway theater scene before transitioning into feature films. A pivotal opportunity came when she worked with the multi-Oscar and BAFTA-winning Production Designer Stuart Craig on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by Alfonso Cuaron. She went on to work on six Harry Potter films, serving as Art Director on The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 and 2.

Following the series, Molly was an Art Director on Warhorse with Steven Spielberg and served as Supervising Art Director for Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy. Her design credits include the global box office hit The Fault in Our Stars, which earned over $300 million on a $12 million budget and two film collaborations with Ron Howard, including the critically acclaimed Thirteen Lives for which she won a British Film Designers Guild award. Molly is currently designing a Warner Brothers action thriller directed by Ben Richardson (1923) and written and produced by Taylor Sheridan. 

Molly is a Wheeling native and is proud to be a co-founder of the Foxfire Film Festival. A dual UK and US citizen, Molly splits her time between London and Philadelphia, working on films across the UK, US, and Europe.

Lisa Silver Shats is a former corporate marketing executive turned entrepreneur, bringing over 20 years of experience in advertising, digital media, and brand strategy to her direct-to-consumer ventures.

Born and raised in Miami Beach, Florida, Lisa earned her B.A. in English from the University of Florida before launching her advertising career in Boston at Digitas. She was soon transferred to New York City to help grow the company’s presence there, leading major brand strategy efforts for clients like American Express.

After a decade in New York, Lisa and her husband relocated to Philadelphia, where she switched gears and got into the healthcare advertising space where she managed multi-million-dollar pharmaceutical accounts—including AstraZeneca—across both marketing and digital media disciplines.

In addition to building her own businesses throughout the years, most recently Lisa helped launch her husband’s medical practice, Shats Gastro, where she continues to lead all marketing, advertising, and patient engagement efforts. These days, you’ll often find her brainstorming the next best slogan or campaign to help his growing practice stand out in a crowded healthcare landscape.

Now based in West Virginia with her husband and two children, Lisa thrives at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and entrepreneurship—applying her corporate expertise to every venture she touches.

With more than 30 years of experience working in the arts, education and social service sectors, Danielle Cross McCracken has expertise in non–profit management, development, and marketing. She has a strong record of securing private and public grants and executing annual fund and capital campaigns. Her efforts have contributed to generating more than $20 million for organizations with which she has worked. 

She came to Oglebay Institute in 2015 from Wheeling Country Day School where she served as director of advancement for five years. During her tenure, annual giving and enrollment increased significantly, and the school exceeded its $1.8 million goal for its capital campaign. Prior to joining Wheeling Country Day School, Danielle worked as a development consultant for the Wheeling Symphony Society. Previously, she worked in the advancement office at West Liberty University, serving first as director of major and planned gifts and later as director of development and regional development officer. Early in her career, she worked as director of community relations at Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center. 

Danielle has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public administration from West Virginia University. She is very active in the community, having served on the boards of many local and state–wide non–profit organizations including the Red Cross Board of Directors and State Service Council, the Junior League of Wheeling, the Women’s Giving Circle, Elmhurst, the Seeing Hand Association, the Wheeling Arts and Cultural Commission and is past president of the Wheeling Rotary Club. She is a member of the WV Arts Advocacy Board, Vice Chair of the WV Commission on the Arts, the Wheeling Rotary Club, serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at West Liberty University’s School of Creative and Liberal Arts, and the Italian Festival of the Ohio Valley Board of Directors. 

As President, Danielle oversees all aspects of Oglebay Institute, meeting regularly with the department directors, both individually and as a group. She reports to the Board of Trustees monthly and collaborates with the Budget & Finance, Investment, and Executive Committees to ensure that the organization is being fiscally responsible. Danielle advocates for the organization throughout the region, meeting with lawmakers, funders, and community stakeholders and ensuring that Ol is meeting the needs of all its constituents. 

She is a life–long resident of West Virginia and the proud mother of two adult sons.

Tim Thompson is Oglebay Institute’s Director of Performing Arts and the Towngate Theatre. He earned a BA in the Theatre from Bethany College and an MFA in Acting from West Virginia University. 

He was first employed by Oglebay Institute as technical director with Hal O’Leary at the Towngate Theatre. He later served as Assistant Professor of Theatre at Bethany College and Wheeling Jesuit University and an adjunct professor at West Liberty University. Tim then spent 6 years in Minneapolis, MN working as an actor in plays, improvisation, and commercials and teaching drama camp for McCallister College in St. Paul.

He returned to Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theatre as the Youth Theatre Director in 2004 where he created an outreach program to Elementary and Middle Schools with acting classes, camps at the Towngate, toured a children’s play to local schools for 21 years, founded a High School Improvisation Company called the “Crazy 8’s” as well as an adult Company called “The Left of Centre Players,” started a Children’s Theatre Season at the Towngate that includes two plays and two of OI School of Dance ballets annually. Tim was also successful in igniting the resurgence of the Parcel Players, a summer theatre program for young people, ages 13-21. 

Tim has acted in over one hundred plays and directed over forty. He has been an actor, director, and theatre teacher for 40 years. He resides in Wheeling, WV with wife Rachel and daughter Grace.

Born and raised in Wheeling, WV, Mimi Parsons brings a deep love for her hometown and a passion for bringing people together. Mimi earned her business degree in marketing from West Virginia University and has built a career centered around creativity, community engagement, and exceptional event planning.

She currently serves as the Advancement Coordinator at Wheeling Country Day School, where she leads all aspects of event planning and community outreach for the school. Prior to her work at WCDS, Mimi was the Executive Director of The Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley, where she spearheaded numerous successful programs and events for families throughout the region.

Mimi lives in Wheeling with her husband and their 16-year-old son. In every role she takes on, Mimi brings energy, vision, and a true love of creating memorable experiences — qualities that shine through in her work.