UCROSS WELCOMES ARIN WADDELL AS LATEST TRUSTEE

Ucross today announced Arin Waddell has joined the artist residency program’s board of trustees. A former Ucross Fellow, Waddell has continued to make art, teach, and serve the greater community. 
 
“Arin Waddell is an impressive artist and leader whose strong background in the arts, philanthropy, and community building are a perfect fit,” said Ucross President and Executive Director William Belcher. “As a two-time Ucross Fellow, she also has firsthand knowledge of how the time and space we provide artists changes lives. We welcome her to the board, and we look forward to her input and guidance.”
 
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Waddell was raised on a Black Angus cattle ranch west of Billings, Montana. She is the daughter of oil painter Theodore Waddell and writer, musician, and scholar Betty Whiting. Mother of three, Waddell resides in Sheridan, Wyoming, with her husband John Heyneman and their youngest son. Recently, she developed an online storefront to market custom home products inspired by her original art. 
 
Waddell holds three degrees in visual art: a B.A. from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York; an M.A. from California State University, Chico; and an M.F.A. degree from the University of Texas, San Antonio. She has been featured in more than 150 solo and group art exhibitions throughout the Western United States, and has taught drawing, painting, sculpture, design, and installation art at several colleges and universities, including Montana State University, Sheridan College, and SAGE Community Arts. 
 
With a deep passion for philanthropy, community service, and education, Waddell has served on several nonprofit boards, including the Whitney Center for the Arts, Sheridan County YMCA, Science Kids, and Sheridan Economic and Educational Development Authority. As a former founder and president of The Food Group, she spent a decade providing nourishment and literature to children in Sheridan County. Waddell has served 12 years as chairman of the board of trustees for the Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation. In 2018, she was elected trustee for Sheridan County School District No. 2 and was re-elected in 2022; this is her fourth year as vice-chair of the district. In addition, Waddell served on the Sheridan County Recreation District Board of Directors for four years and is an active member of Rotary and Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church.
 
“For years, the Ucross Foundation has set a very high bar in its commitment to artists, writers, composers, and dancers from all over the world, who, like me, are deeply inspired by this special place and landscape,” Waddell said. “As an artist, philanthropist, and school board trustee, I hope to humbly serve this organization with creative collaboration, fiscal discernment, and good governance. It is an honor to join the Ucross team.”