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Executive Director
 Carolyn Hiller joins the Choral Arts Ensemble with a diverse background that
includes non-profit leadership, business, and the arts. She earned her BA in
Marketing from Metropolitan State University while working at Medtronic in
Minneapolis. She had many interesting work experiences at Medtronic, including
working with researchers developing an implantable defibrillator. Her work with a
researcher exploring new applications of Medtronic’s technology, led to
identifying obstructive sleep apnea as a viable market.
Carolyn received an MBA in Integrative Management from the University of St.
Thomas. From 1991 to 1996 she led the American Sleep Disorders Association
(now called the American Academy of Sleep Medicine) through a rapidly growing
phase. To increase the stature of the 1,600 physicians and researchers in the
field, she worked with their leadership to establish the National Center for Sleep
Disorders Research in the federal NIH, and the organization’s inclusion in the
American Medical Association’s House of Delegates. From 1996-1997, she was
President and CEO of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, relocating the
headquarters to Rochester, MN.
Taking a break from administrative positions, she explored creative,
entrepreneurial, and civic opportunities. Carolyn painted and designed theater
sets for the Rochester Civic Theater and other theater groups in Rochester.
Exploiting her design skills, Carolyn and her husband, designed and built an
energy-efficient, not-so-big home. She created an Internet business, producing
custom fishing flies for clients across the country pursuing large sport fish. Her
Internet business, and involvement with the SE MN Smallmouth Bass Alliance,
resulted in an invitation by the Rochester Public High Schools’ Sports Biology
teachers to teach fly tying to their students. She taught over 800 11th & 12th
graders how to tie flies. Many of these kids had never been fishing before, and
caught their first fish ever on a fly they made - hopefully leading to a lifetime
appreciation of our natural resources.
Recently, Carolyn has taken up playing Bridge – she savors the complexity of the
game and is always looking for opportunities to play. A recurring theme in all her
experience has been enthusiastically embracing excellence. Carolyn looks
forward to working with the Choral Arts Ensemble in their continued success.
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