ABOUT OUR TEAM

JOHN SWEENEY
Keynote Speaker and Corporate Trainer, Owner of the Brave New Workshop

John grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and received a BBA from Saint Norbert College in De Pere, WI. He quickly excelled in corporate real estate as a tenant representative. Despite his success, in 1993, John’s love for the art of improvisation compelled him to leave it all and become a full time actor and improviser. He has entertained thousands of audiences at the Brave New Workshop (BNW) Theater in Minneapolis and at Second City in Chicago. In 1997, John and his wife Jenni Lilledahl purchased the BNW, the nation’s longest running satirical comedy theater, from founder Dudley Riggs. Since then, John has applied the philosophies and behaviors of his theatre to business. Using the 8 Secrets described in his book, Innovation at the Speed of Laughter, John has become a much sought after keynote speaker and corporate trainer. John and the Brave New Workshop deliver over 150 custom speaking and training engagements every year which focus on innovation, idea generation, cultural change, teambuilding and leadership. John has presented to hundreds of corporations and organizations around the globe, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, Target, General Mills, Hewlett Packard, US Bancorp, PricewaterhouseCoopers, McKinsey and Company, Medtronic, the MN Timberwolves and the Toronto Blue Jays. He has been featured in Leadership Excellence, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily, Executive Traveler and you may have even glimpsed him on ESPN or the Today Show. Most recently, a quote from John’s book appeared on 14 million Starbucks cups as part of Starbucks’ “The Way I See It” program.

JENNI LILLEDAHL
Executive Director of the Brave New Institute for Improvisation, Owner of the Brave New Workshop

Prior to becoming a full-time actress and co-owner of the Brave New Workshop (BNW) Theatre with husband John Sweeney (above), Jenni spent eight years in the field of public relations. Jenni has nurtured the Brave New Institute, BNW’s school for improvisation, and helped to develop the curriculum that the BNW uses in our corporate training workshops. Under her guidance, the Brave New Institute has become a nationwide leader in the study of improvisation. In addition, Jenni’s understanding of corporate culture, her experience in training people in improvisation, and her unmatched passion for the art form have combined to inspire thousands, including clients such as Sprint PCS, Texas Instruments, and Hewlett Packard. At the heart of the theatre flows Jenni’s core belief that people from all walks of life can embrace the philosophies of improvisation to find their most creative, innovative, and confident self.

CALEB MCEWEN
Artistic Director, Trainer, Writer, Actor, and Emcee

Caleb has worked at the Brave New Workshop (BNW) for over ten years and is the theatre's artistic director. In addition, he has been instrumental to the success of our training workshops and corporate entertainment productions. Among his clients are US Bancorp, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Toronto Blue Jays, Hewlett Packard, General Mills, REI, and many, many others. Besides training, scriptwriting, emcee and performance work with corporate clients, Caleb has written, performed and directed dozens of BNW mainstage shows. He also spent six months performing on Disney Cruise Lines with the resident BNW troupe and recently mounted a one man show detailing the events of that experience. Caleb studied theatre and dance at Wright State University, along with his wife Katy (below), and has choreographed many of the theatre’s performances. As a multi-talented wheel to the BNW vehicle, Caleb often participates in a variety of theatre-related endeavors, ranging from knife-throwing to podcasting to public appearances and corporate training.  

KATY MCEWEN 
Artistic Director, Trainer, Actor, Writer, and Speaker

Katy brings an engaging and quick wit to our corporate training and entertainment team and has been integral to the success of many events for clients like US Bancorp, Cargill, General Mills, Yahoo! and Target. She is a long-running audience favorite on the Brave New Workshop mainstage, and has written and performed in over a dozen highly successful shows – including the first two-woman show mounted on the theatre’s historic stage. Also a graduate of Wright State University along with husband Caleb (above), Katy was part of the resident company aboard the Disney Cruise Lines and is one of the nation’s most seasoned improv instructors. In fact, as a result of numerous client requests, Katy recently launched into the world of professional speaking and coaching. Previous to joining the BNW, Katy performed and taught at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis.

ELENA IMARETSKA
Client Services Vice President

Prior to joining the Brave New Workshop (BNW), Elena was enjoying the Arizona sun while getting her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, ranked #1 for international business 10 years in a row. Elena has had her fair share of international experiences, starting from her growing up in Bulgaria, getting her BA degree at Colorado College, CO, studying in Germany in between, and working in Japan. Elena is a passionate proponent of idea fusion and is thus thrilled to work in an environment where the art of improvisation is a vehicle to achieve business success. Elena’s other passion is sustainable business decision making which takes into account people, profit and planet all at once. She is happy to be spearheading the “Green BNW” initiative which will transform us into a zero carbon footprint organization.

DAWN HOPKINS
Major General, Corporate Services and Internet Marketing

Dawn joined the Brave New Workshop (BNW) more than eight years ago after doing time in the art world at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and serving up marketing communications and management for a variety of tech companies, the last one being Oracle. She is by far the least funny of all BNW employees. Consequently, she promotes BNW’s corporate services, develops and assists with the company’s internet marketing and web presence, and manages book-related activities. Recently, Dawn began operating from a nearly invisible location in the heart of North Dakota, making the BNW the only comedy theatre in America with a satellite office in that state. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota Moorhead a long time ago.

Headshots by Dani Werner, Dani Werner Photography, 2009