Meet The Team

Kelly Powers has managed the top rated Escape Room business’ in the Virginia area for the past 3 years. She collectively has 9 years of management experience and has worked exclusively with small businesses over the course of her career in Richmond. She is an active member, and leader, in the outdoor community because of her passion for people and nature. She has rafted all 280 miles of the Colorado river within the Grand Canyon over the course of 25 adventurous days. It was on this trip where she developed a new conviction for team work and was able to enhance her leadership skills. Her work ethic and drive for adventure, learning and being a part of exceptional experiences are just a few characteristics that make Kelly a wonderful partner to this organization. She also is a dedicated dog Mother of 2 pit bulls, Lucy and Bayne.

David Nutter is a builder of many things. He started as a child, helping grandpa and dad do projects, learning from family. During high school he worked on a framing crew during the summers to make money. After college he started his own carpentry company. After 25 years in the home building/remodeling industry, he started making props for escape rooms and movie sets. He has worked on sets for Lincoln, Turn, and Showtime among many others. Now that his love for building the ridiculous was realized and appreciated for what it is, he has found his calling.

Christina graduated with a BFA in Sculpture and Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she worked with neuroscientist Raymond Collelo to prototype a football helmet meant to lower the risk of concussions in the NFL. After graduating she served as the lead scenic painter on numerous theatrical productions in Richmond and as a fabricator on sets for The Steve Wilkos Show, The View, and Sesame Street in her native New Jersey. A shared love of theatre, film and building lead her to start Crux Scenica with Joshua Bennett in 2017. There she administered the creation and national tour of a fully automated escape room built in a 36 ft trailer and designed and fabricated a one of a kind chicken bone helmet that helped the Martin Agency win restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings as a client. In her spare time she enjoys volunteering on the board of RVA Makers, a non-profit dedicated to promoting Richmond, Virginia-based artists and craftspeople.

Joshua Bennett is co-owner of the custom design and fabrication firm, Crux Scenica. There he has led the design, engineering and production of numerous displays, interactive experiences, and one of a kind activations for national and international brands. From a fully automated mobile escape room for tech giant Salesforce.com to the titular "Jewel Stool" for Buffalo Wild Wings (winner of the 2019 Digiday Best Creative Award), under Joshua's management Crux Scenica has grown into an industry leader in the fabrication of custom interactive marketing. He holds a BFA in Sculpture and Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University and in a previous life worked on television shows such as AMC's Turn and movies such as Spielberg's Lincoln. In his "spare time" he enjoys spending time outdoors with his two four legged children, Sugar and Goldie.

Jessica Bufford brings 15+ years of restaurant industry experience to the 9 Muses team. Her favorite words are "braised short ribs” and “gnocchi”. A waitress in graduate school after earning a BA in Theater, Jessica found her true passion - restaurants.  The field combined her love for the theater and her skill and abilities in the restaurant business.  She worked her way up from a waitress, hostess, expo, line cook, and general manager to the owner and operator of 4 crowd-pleasing restaurants in the Richmond area (Toast, New American Gastropub -2 locations, Hutch Bar + Eatery, and MIX: a cocktail bar)  as well as adviser and investor to a growing fast-casual concept in Washington, DC (Shouk).