Carol F. Henry
Founding Trustee, Los Angeles Opera

Carol F. Henry is one of the founders of Los Angeles Opera. She began volunteering for the company’s support organization, Los Angeles Opera League, in 1981 and has served on the board of the opera company since its founding in 1985. She is currently chair of the board’s executive committee and has previously served as its president. Henry is involved with several civic and charitable organizations. She began her volunteerism with the Junior League of Los Angeles and went on to serve on the boards of trustees of the KCET Women’s Council, the National Council on Alcoholism, the Cate School, Teach for America, the Pasadena Art Alliance, and the Art Center College of Design. She currently serves on the boards of trustees of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and the Colburn School. Henry is a 2018 recipient of OPERA America’s National Opera Trustee Recognition Award, and she previously served as chair of the award’s selection committee. After receiving a master’s degree from Stanford, Henry taught in public schools in Manhattan Beach, California, from 1962 to 1966.

Héctor Armienta
Composer and Artistic Director, Opera Cultura

Vice-Chair, Council Co-Chair

Héctor Armienta, a nationally recognized composer, focuses on creating work that explores the Mexican and Mexican American cultural experience. His awards and commissions include those from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Southwest, and others. His work for orchestra, theater, and opera has received support from six NEA grants in artistic excellence. As an opera and music theater composer, he draws on stories and music that represent his bi-cultural roots. His work has been performed in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. He is also the artistic director of the only professional Latinx opera company in the country — Ópera Cultura. His works include the music-theater trilogy Aguas Ancestrales/Ancient Waters and the opera Bless Me, Utlima, based on the novel by Rudolfo Anaya, which had its world premiere in New Mexico and West Coast premiere in California. Armienta holds a B.M. in composition from California Institute of the Arts and an M.M. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

James M. Barton
Trustee, The Glimmerglass Festival

Council Chair

James M. Barton is a graduate of The Taft School, Yale University, and the University of Virginia Law School. In 1967, he joined Cummings & Lockwood, a Connecticut-based law firm where he was a partner from 1975 to 1996. He was an international business consultant from 1996 and 1999, and in 1998, he founded Hematech LLC, a biotechnology company developing and commercializing new pharmaceutical products from cloned, genetically modified cattle. Barton, currently retired, is the past president of The Glimmerglass Festival and currently the chairman of its Facilities Committee. He is also a member of the Metropolitan Museum’s Visitors Committee for its musical instruments department. He was on the Board of Trustees of Greenwich Academy for seven years and served as chairman from 1993 to 1995. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, the Stamford Symphony, the Stanwich School, and the Yale Club of Greenwich. Jim is married to Nancy Bishop Barton, and they have three grown children.

C. Graham Berwind, III
Managing Director, The Metropolitan Opera

Co-Chair

C. Graham Berwind, III, is an owner, trustee, and director of the Berwind Corporation, a global investment management company with a diversified portfolio of manufacturing and service companies. He and his siblings are responsible for the stewardship and governance of this fifth-generation family enterprise. His career at the company began at Berwind Property Group, where he held the position of executive vice president of the Melrose Hotel Company. Berwind and his siblings are the founders and directors of Spring Point Partners LLC (SPP), a Berwind initiative. SPP is a social impact venture committed to accelerating progress in areas of longstanding interest and support, including positive youth development, animal welfare, sustainable water, learning innovations, and its Affinity Programs through which Berwind focuses on support for the performing arts — primarily opera and theater. He also serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Opera and Dramatists Guild Foundation.

Wayne S. Brown
President and CEO, Michigan Opera Theatre

Co-Chair

Wayne S. Brown began his role as president and CEO of the Michigan Opera Theatre in January 201. He previously served for nearly 17 years as director of music and opera for the National Endowment for the Arts, where he managed grants for music and opera projects, served as the policy advisor for music and opera, and managed the NEA Jazz Masters Initiative and the NEA Opera Honors. Prior to his affiliation with the Arts Endowment, Brown served as producer of music programs for the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta, where he managed music events for the 1996 Olympic Games. Brown has a 23-year history of involvement with symphony orchestras. He served as executive director of the Louisville Orchestra (Kentucky) and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (Massachusetts), and as assistant manager of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Brown was a founding member of the Magic in Music Advisory Committee for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and has served on advisory boards for the American Arts Alliance and the League of American Orchestras.

Annie Burridge
General Director and CEO, Austin Opera

Co-Chair

Annie Burridge was named general director and CEO of Austin Opera in 2016 following a nine-year tenure at Opera Philadelphia, where she most recently served as managing director. Since joining Austin Opera, she has led the development of a new strategic plan, launched a new artistic initiative bringing groundbreaking artists to unexpected and unique venues throughout Austin (Opera ATX), established numerous community and university partnerships, and increased the company’s endowment funds by 33 percent. As managing director at Opera Philadelphia, Burridge was responsible for the implementation of the company’s business plan and leadership of the development, marketing, and communications departments. Annie holds a graduate certificate in nonprofit administration from the University of Pennsylvania, two Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory, and a B.M. from Penn State University, where she graduated the valedictorian of the College of Arts and Architecture. Burridge is an alum of Wharton’s Women’s Executive Leadership program and OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program, and she was a 2017 Emerging Nonprofit Leadership Fellow at the Aspen Institute.

Peggy Kriha Dye
General Director, Virginia Opera

Council Co-Chair

Peggy Kriha Dye currently serves as general director and CEO of Virginia Opera. In her previous position as general and artistic director of Opera Columbus, Dye led OC’s complete artistic transformation, supporting emerging operatic talent, innovative collaborations, and original productions that engage diverse audiences and push the boundaries of traditional opera. The 2019–2020 season saw the world premiere of The Flood, OC’s first new work in nearly 20 years. In 2018, Musical America named Dye as one of their Professionals of the Year as a part of their “Movers and Shakers” special edition. She is also a member of the Columbus Cultural Leadership Consortium and an alum of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program. Dye is an accomplished artist, described by Opera News as “a forceful presence with an intriguingly complex lyric soprano,” who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras throughout the world, including Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Shanghai Opera House, and the Royal Opera House in Versailles.

Michael Egel
General and Artistic Director, Des Moines Metro Opera

Secretary, Council Co-Chair

Michael Egel was appointed general and artistic director of Des Moines Metro Opera in 2013, having previously served as artistic director since 2010 and as the artistic administrator and director of education from 1999 to 2010. During his tenure, the company has launched the 2nd Stages Series, a new performance initiative designed to engage new audiences, as well as Staging Connections, a community-engagement series of events and lectures. Each season under his tenure has included three new productions and two new 2nd Stages productions. In 2012, he launched an initiative to present opera titles new to the company, which has included Elektra, Dead Man Walking, Jenůfa, Three Decembers, and Galileo Galilei, among others. He received a Bachelor of Music in performance and education from Simpson College and a Master of Music from the University of Memphis. Egel was recently selected as a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee, which is composed of Central Iowa’s highest-ranking business leaders. Under his leadership, the company received the 2015 Bravo Greater Des Moines Encore Award for Organizational Excellence.

Laura Kaminsky
Composer

Vice-Chair, Council Co-Chair

Composer Laura Kaminsky has “an ear for the new and interesting” (The New York Times), and the score for her opera As One was noted as being “in perfect harmony with the libretto” (New York Classical Review). Her recent projects include Some Light Emerges, an opera with a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed (Houston Grand Opera, 2017); Piano Quintet for Ursula Oppens and the Cassatt Quartet (2017); and Today It Rains, an opera with a libretto by Campbell and Reed (Opera Parallèle, 2018–2019). Kaminsky received the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s 2010 Chopin Award, six ASCAP/Chamber Music America Adventurous Programming Awards, and a 2015 Polish Gold Cross of Merit. Kaminsky is professor and head of composition at Purchase College (SUNY) and composer in residence at The American Opera Project. Her previous positions include artistic director of Symphony Space and Town Hall, music chair of Cornish College of the Arts, director of music theater programs at The New School, and associate director of humanities at the 92^nd Street Y.

Susan G. Marineau
Board Chair, The Santa Fe Opera

Vice-Chair

Susan G. Marineau is the chairman of the Santa Fe Opera, and she also currently serves on the board of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In a long career of service, she has been a board member of the University of San Francisco and the Women’s Foundation of California. Marineau was also the president of the board of the Chicago Foundation for Women and founding president of Friends of Battered Women and Their Children. She has worked as an advertising copywriter, buyer for a large retailer, and marketing consultant. She now has a studio in Stinson Beach, California, where she paints when her opera duties allow. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana and her M.B.A. from Loyola University in Chicago.

Ian Rye
Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Opera Victoria

Treasurer

With Pacific Opera Victoria, Ian Rye has stewarded the creation of over 50 original opera productions, commissioned new operas, cultivated an enhancement of artistic scope, and orchestrated a co-production model that has positioned Victoria-made productions on opera stages across Canada and the U.S. He has spearheaded youth and education programs and community collaborations and was key to the creation of the Baumann Centre as a community hub for increased participation in opera. Rye earned an M.B.A. in executive management from Royal Roads University and is an alumnus of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive. He previously studied theater production and design at Ryerson and the Banff Centre for the Arts. An active volunteer, Rye is a recent contributor to the World Opera Forum and the Arts and Culture Master Plan Advisory Group for the City of Victoria. He is vice-chair of the Association for Opera

Michelle Smith
CEO and Founder, no silos communications

Co-Chair

L. Michelle Smith is the CEO/founder of no silos communications llc, the parent company for six media, content, talent development, and strategic communications consulting brands, all fueled by tech. She has more than 25 years of experience as an elite, award-winning communicator and integrated marketer at global agencies, her own boutique agencies, and a Fortune 10 technology, telecom, and media company. She is a certified executive and business coach and principal of NSC Coaching, a professional private practice. She has worked with executives at American Express, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, AT&T, Lenovo, Zapier, Mary Kay, Warner Media, CNN, and more. She is also the lead trainer at NSC eLearning, a knowledge platform that houses online courses and other digital content for e-learning centered on leadership. Smith is the author of I’ll Just Include Myself: A Guide to Rockstar Leadership for Women of Color in the Workplace and the creator and executive producer of The Culture Soup Podcast. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a writing emphasis and a Master of Science in media studies from TCU.

Carole Yaley
Trustee, Central City Opera

Council Co-Chair

Carole Yaley was a member of the Statewide Board of Directors for Virginia Opera from 2014 to 2017 and also served on the company’s Northern Virginia Board of Governors and Statewide Education and Finance Committees. After moving to Colorado, she joined Central City Opera’s Board of Directors. She also previously served on OPERA America’s National Opera Center Board of Overseers. Her career was spent working as an attorney for Mobil Oil Corporation and Exxon Mobil Corporation, serving in a number of capacities, including corporate secretary during the merger between Mobil and Exxon and chief attorney for both the Fuels Marketing and Global Services companies of ExxonMobil. The University of Colorado Law School presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013, and she is a member of the CU Law Alumni Board.

Afton Battle
General Director, Fort Worth Opera

Council Co-Chair

Afton Battle, a native of Amarillo, Texas, became general director of Fort Worth Opera in 2020 following development and strategic consulting work with Red Clay Dance Company, the National Black Theatre, the African American Policy Forum, and Brooklyn arts and culture firm Red Olive Consulting. She previously held development positions at the New York Theatre Workshop, the Joffrey Ballet, and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. Battle’s long-term vision for Fort Worth Opera includes a commitment to forging new alliances with local arts organizations, bolstering current partnerships, expanding civic engagement through the company’s educational initiatives, and building a world-class Resident and Studio Artist Program. Battle is dedicated to leveling the field of equity, inclusivity, and equality both on and off the stage. She holds a degree in voice performance from the University of Houston and a Master of Music from Westminster Choir College. After carving out a successful career as a young opera singer, she became a highly regarded arts administrator, development director, and consultant in the art, ballet, and theater worlds of Chicago and New York City.

Astrid Baumgardner
Teacher and Coach

Council Co-Chair

Astrid Baumgardner, JD, PCC, loves helping creative people to be successful. A lawyer, career coach, speaker, and author of the book, Creative Success Now, she teaches creativity and career entrepreneurship at Yale University’s School of Music. As president of her coaching company, Astrid Baumgardner Coaching+Training, she coaches musicians, arts leaders, and creative professionals and guest lectures on creative success at conservatories and summer festivals including The Juilliard School, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sō Percussion Summer Institute. and Idyllwild Arts. She also conducts leadership training workshops at OPERA America and Ensemble Connect, the teaching artist academy at Carnegie Hall. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Rutgers Newark School of Law, Baumgardner practiced law in New York City for 25 years before becoming executive director of the French Institute Alliance Française of New York and subsequently starting her coaching business and assuming her position at Yale. Baumgardner is a board member and past board chair of Sō Percussion, and a board member, past chair, and co-chair of the board of the American Composers Orchestra.

Alejandra Valarino Boyer
Director of Programs and Partnerships, Seattle Opera

Council Co-Chair

Alejandra Valarino Boyer has served since 2019 as Seattle Opera’s director of programs and partnerships — the department that plays a crucial role in bringing opera to more than 400,000 people through engagement and learning programs. Valarino Boyer is focused on expanding civic impact, building future audiences, and enriching the audience experience. In 2020, she founded BIPOCArts, which provides a community for BIPOC opera professionals and serves as a resource for companies, collaborators, and recruiters to engage with BIPOC talent in the field. Previously, as the director of community programs at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Valarino Boyer oversaw Lyric Unlimited’s community engagement initiatives, including creative youth development programs and artistic productions. She developed Lyric’s Caminos a la ópera initiative, which engaged Chicago’s Latinx communities through collaborative and culturally relevant events and programs, and also created Chicago Voices Community Created Performances. Before that, she was a member of Lyric’s development team. Valarino Boyer is an alumna of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive and Opera Europa’s Opera Management Course (2015). She holds degrees in music from Florida State University and Northwestern University.

Khori Dastoor
General Director and CEO, Houston Grand Opera

Council Co-Chair

Khori Dastoor was recently appointed general director of Houston Grand Opera and will assume the new role in January 2022. Dastoor has served as general director of Opera San José since 2019, overseeing all aspects of artistic planning and business operations. Among her missions are renewing Opera San José’s commitment to developing and curating emerging talent and elevating the company as a vibrant artistic incubator in the heart of Silicon Valley. After enjoying a career as a lyric soprano, Dastoor joined the artistic staff of Opera San José in 2013 as artistic advisor and went on to become director of artistic planning. During her tenure, she has prioritized role debuts, allowing San José audiences to hear exciting new artists, and has produced successful new productions like Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Moby-Dick and the American premiere of Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella. Dastoor previously served as associate director of the Packard Humanities Institute and director of the San Francisco District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She received her Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory and completed doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Anh Le
Director of Marketing and PR, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Council Co-Chair

Anh Le is the director of marketing and PR at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, overseeing all sales campaigns, audience development initiatives, and media relations while providing strategic support for community engagement efforts. Le is also deeply involved with OPERA America, where she serves as a member of the Board of Directors, co-chair of the Marketing Network, and member of the Racial Justice Opera Network’s Steering Committee. Le has previously served as a member of the American delegation to the inaugural World Opera Forum, spoken about issues of diversity and inclusion at several conferences, and participated in the inaugural administrative class of The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors and Administrators. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 2012 with a B.A. in history and literature. In 2015, Le completed an M.F.A. in theater management at the Yale School of Drama, where she also served as the associate director of marketing for Yale Repertory Theatre.

Kamala Sankaram
Composer, Singer, and Teacher

Council Co-Chair

Praised as “strikingly original” (New York Times), Kamala Sankaram writes highly theatrical music that defies categorization. She has received recent commissions from The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Opera on Tap, among others. Known for her work with emerging technologies, her genre-defying hit Looking at You (with collaborators Rob Handel and Kristin Marting) featured live data-mining of the audience and a chorus of 25 singing tablet computers. Sankaram, Handel, and Marting also created all decisions will be made by consensus, a short absurdist opera performed live over Zoom. With librettist Jerre Dye and Opera on Tap, she created The Parksville Murders, the world’s first virtual reality opera. Also a performer, Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music, creative music, and contemporary opera. She is the leader of Bombay Rickey, an operatic Bollywood surf ensemble whose opera-cabaret on the life of Yma Sumac premiered at the 2016 PROTOTYPE. Sankaram holds a Ph.D. from the New School and is currently a member of the composition faculty at SUNY Purchase.

Nadege Souvenir
Board Chair, Minnesota Opera

Council Co-Chair

Nadege Souvenir serves as senior vice president of operations and learning for the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. In her role, she oversees grants administration, human resources, and IT. Souvenir also leads the foundation’s learning and evaluation efforts, including East Metro Pulse, a community vitality survey and report of life in Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington counties that she launched in 2016, the year she joined the foundation. Souvenir has a background in dance, arts administration, and law, working most recently as an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney LLP. She earned bachelor’s degrees in communication studies and in liberal studies with an emphasis in dance from Iowa State University; a master’s degree in arts administration from St. Mary’s University; and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law. Souvenir is chair of the Minnesota Opera board and a member of the Blandin Foundation Board, and she serves on Minnesota Compass’ Governance Committee. She was founding chair of the Trademark Theater Board and served on gala committees for Walker Art Center and Guthrie Theater.