we'd like to introduce you to

our team

about us

The Spread Sunshine Gang believes the world needs more love, happiness, forgiveness and kindness.  We are a motley crew of hard-working people who make time to spread a little sunshine. Through random acts of kindness and dedication to paying it forward we create events for others to do the same. 

sunshine leaders

nickie

Nickie Kromminga Hill

Founder/Executive Director

Nickie started The Spread Sunshine Gang in February 2013 as a way to beat the Minnesota Winter Blues. Initially started as something fun to do with friends, TSSG has grown into a 501c3 and Nickie’s full-time job.

In addition to heading up TSSG, Nickie likes to do and be many other things. Nickie holds a K-12 Theatre/Dance license and loves sharing the joy of performing arts with her "kids." She is also a freelance musical theatre performer and loves being on-stage, singing and dancing her heart out. Nickie has been seen on many Twin Cities stages, most notably at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre where she has been in 18 productions. In addition she loves learning new things and is currently writing a book on healing.

The best things in her life are her hubby Paul and their doggo, Trooper. They are a small and happy family. The Hills' favorite activities are hanging out at home in sweats while eating delicious food and traveling as much as possible.

Sarah

Sarah Matthews

Volunteer Coordinator

Sarah is a native Iowan (Go Hawks!) living near the shores of Lake Nokomis with her husband and pug. She is passionate about a great many things, amongst them are the Iowa State Fair, gardening, traveling, enjoying a cold slice of watermelon and figuring out how to avoid traffic . She spends her days (when not stuck in traffic), working for a non-profit hospice as their volunteer coordinator and dreaming of her next adventure, owning some land and a hobby farm! Their family motto is: Find adventure in everyday life!

Sarah joined the gang leaders after she and her super-awesome hubby Chris, came to TSSG's "Bundle Up, MN" event in January of 2017. TSSG thought Sarah was cool, and Sarah though TSSG was cool and now they all live happily ever after.

PattyMathews

Patty Mathews

Donor Engagement

Patty can’t remember when she was introduced to The Spread Sunshine Gang, but it was because of her friend Nickie’s infectious enthusiasm and positivity. It came at a time when she was looking for a way to give back and help in the community. This was it! It was fun AND helpful at the same time, the perfect combination. From Bundle Up MN to gathering supplies for people in need, and everything in between, she has loved being a part of such a great organization. So when Nickie suggested that she become a part of the leadership team, the answer was a resounding YES!

Patty has been an actress, both stage and commercial, in the Twin Cities for a long time. Some might even remember her as the cookie lady from the time that she and her friend owned Two Smart Cookies and supplied a lot of cookies to local theatres and other places. She has been fortunate to have had experiences from managing a restaurant to dressing up as a dancing peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and other varied employment opportunities that helped pay the bills between acting gigs. Patty loves to travel and hopes to check off more of her “bucket list” locations in the coming years. Perhaps the most exciting and challenging adventure that she has had was climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2017. Lots of life lessons learned along the way with that journey!

Patty looks forward to helping this organization grow and getting to spread sunshine all over the Twin Cities and beyond! After all, it really DOES feel good to do good!

Tim

Tim Sparks

Assistant Director 

Tim and Nickie first met back in the summer of 1995 at Valleyfair! They performed together for about 6 years in the Live Shows department. From there, Tim went on to work for Royal Caribbean Productions as a Review Cast Singer on cruise ships, which consequently instilled his love of travel! In 2004, he transitioned over to a land job with Park West Gallery as an art dealer. After finally getting his land-legs back, he went back to work on cruise ships as a VIP Event Associate for the gallery. After another six years at sea, he transitioned BACK to a land job with Park West, leaving cruise ships behind for good (he thinks....). In the spring of 2017, he started a new position at The Creative Partners Group in Minneapolis, and for the time being, there are no cruise ships in his immediate future! 

Tim has been completely inspired by his friend Nickie to see the good in everyday situations, and to try to spread happiness through daily random acts of kindness and other charitable initiatives. In his spare time, he still loves to travel, watches too many cooking shows (and tries very hard to recreate things that are WAY past his abilities), and ends up eating out a lot because of this. He occasionally still performs with the Hill-Murray School Alumni Choir, and is also an active board member for the Hill-Murray Pioneer Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Tim and his partner, James, currently reside in Minneapolis with their two min-pin fur babies, Scout and Glitch.

Paul

Paul Hill

Sunshine Support

Paul helps out The Spread Sunshine Gang in any way that's needed: driver, hauler, cheer-leader, brain-stormer, researcher; whatever TSSG might needs, Paul is on it!

When not spreading sunshine, Paul does a bunch of other fun and interesting things as well. He is a freelance percussionist which means he gets to bang on the drums all day. He is also a percussion teacher and has a private studio. If you've listened to live music in the Twin Cities area, chances are you've seen Paul. He frequently plays with the Minnesota Orchestra, the MN Opera and the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. He's even played for The Who! He is the proud father of Trooper the super-dog and loves living in Richfield with Nickie.

MaureenShermanMendez

Maureen Sherman-Mendez

DEI Consultant

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