SALT LAKE CITY, UT (July, 2026) – Ballet West has appointed several respected professionals to its Board of Directors this past year: Rachel Otto, Kelley Rogge, Shelley Ruff, Katie Tozer, and Mikaela Cook Wilson each bringing a distinct mix of professional expertise and community leadership.
“Ballet West prides itself on its engaged and active Board of Directors,” said Executive Director Michael Scolamiero. “These impressive additions to the Board bring a variety of skills and attributes, which will further strengthen the organization for years to come.”
Rachel Otto is an accomplished civic leader and attorney serving as Chief of Staff for Salt Lake City Corporation, supporting Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s office in advancing inclusive policy and effective governance. She previously served as Director of Government Relations for the Utah League of Cities and Towns and held earlier legal roles as Deputy City Attorney for West Jordan and Assistant City Attorney for South Jordan. Otto holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. She lives in the Salt Lake City area with her husband and daughter, Sasha, who trains at Ballet West Academy.
Kelley Rogge began her career in the performing arts, training with Ballet Austin as a child before earning a degree in Theatre and spending more than a decade at Houston’s Tony Award–winning Alley Theatre, where she held roles from Company Manager to Assistant Artistic Director. During a decade in Washington, D.C., she remained active in nonprofit leadership as Board Chair of Metropolitan Nursery School and a supporter of organizations including the Washington Ballet and the Corcoran Museum. Kelley now lives in Park City with her husband, Kevin, and their three children.
Shelly Ruff is a former 5th-grade teacher turned corporate strategist at Adobe, where she now applies her knack for organization, storytelling, and making the impossible seem doable to some of the company’s most complex initiatives. Coming from a long line of entrepreneurs, she’s constantly looking for ways to support education and help teachers and women upskill into thriving careers. At home, she’s raising four kids and has four bonus kids every other weekend, balancing the chaos with equal parts coffee and humor.
Katie Tozer divides her time between New York City and Park City, Utah. In New York, Katie is a residential real estate salesperson with Compass, along with owning and managing residential investment properties in New York. In Utah, Katie is an active real estate investor and owner of residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Tozer holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and enjoys skiing, hiking, and mountain biking in her free time.
Mikaela Cook Wilson is an attorney and is also active in pro bono work, including nonprofit corporate matters and teaches a course on the company life cycle at BYU Law School as an adjunct professor. Wilson was a member of BYU’s Theatre Ballet as a student. She now owns Dance Works, a small retail dance shop with locations in American Fork and Provo.
ABOUT BALLET WEST
Ballet West, led by Artistic Director Adam Sklute since 2007, has been celebrated for innovation and excellence for over 60 years. Based in Salt Lake City, it presents classical masterpieces, historic works like America’s longest-running Nutcracker, and groundbreaking creations with unparalleled artistic standards. The Company continues to build future ballet artists and audiences by providing classical ballet training through the Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy and its four campuses with more than 1,000 students.
