The Ayanna Monteverdi Memorial Fund for Local Arts

I’m Theral Timpson, and I’m raising a fund in memory of my good friend Ayanna Monteverdi, who passed away in January. Ayanna was a teacher and behavioral trainer who helped people of different professions and backgrounds, from musicians to CEOs of large corporations. She was brilliant, passionate, a little crazy in the best way, and fiercely loyal. And she loved the arts—especially local artists. I’m raising this fund to support the Kayenta Arts Center outside St. George, Utah, where she championed her love of superb chamber music, Native American festivals and arts, fine painting, and exquisite theater.

Ayanna taught me so much. When we started a podcast together, she challenged me to be a great journalist teaching me how to interview, how to ask the right questions, how to listen. She thought better questions were better than answers. She was a voracious reader—she’d read anything in front of her, from the fine print on a shampoo bottle to every word of a National Park guide. She was always ahead of the news, always engaged, always curious. She was a fierce advocate for equal rights and fairness in every aspect of life.

Nothing gave Ayanna more pleasure after we moved to Utah in early 2020 than immersing herself in the local arts. That was a tough year for her—so much was canceled due to the pandemic. But as soon as anything came on the calendar, she was out in her mask, going to every performance and exhibit available. She could find as much, or more, joy in a piano recital at a small church than in a grand concert hall. She was very attached to the music of Franz Schubert, her fellow Austrian. So much that she used to set a place for him at the dinner table. She always wanted to meet the artists and musicians personally. "You need an audience, and I need your art!" she’d tell them.

Ayanna showed up in our lives—she made an impact. And we want to keep that spirit alive.

Please consider donating in her memory to help support the local arts she loved so much.

Thank you for helping us honor Ayanna in the way she would have wanted.