Meet our team of staff, board, community members, and faculty.
Staff
Alba Reyna Farje, Marketing & Communications Director
Alba joined CMC in 2023 after more than a decade working in international advertising agencies like J. Walter Thompson, NGOs advocating for human rights including the International Indigenous Women’s Forum, and academic institutions such as the University of Barcelona. She has ample experience coordinating communications initiatives and leading cross-channel marketing projects. Alba holds university degrees in marketing and advertising from Costa Rica and a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Barcelona. She won the silver medal at the Ibero-American Copywriters Festival and is passionate about data-driven human-centered storytelling. She is dedicated to democratizing access to education, culture, and the arts as basic human rights. Like CMC, Alba believes in the power of music to connect people, celebrate cultures, and transform lives.
Beca Robledo, Mission District Branch Registrar
Beca is a Berklee College of Music graduate (piano and voice principal), receiving her B.A. in Music Therapy with a minor in Psychology in 2016. Beca’s professional background is in Hospice + Palliative Care, where she was a practicing Board Certified Music Therapist for 5+ years. Beca specialized in End of Life Counseling, Bereavement Support, and Latinx Community Education and Outreach. In 2021, Beca had the opportunity to rebuild a Hospice Volunteer Program following a halt caused by Covid-19 and was energized by the role in program development.
Beca is thrilled that her career relocated her from San Diego to San Francisco and led her to CMC, where she can lean into her passion towards equity in music in a community-based space. When not at work, you can find Beca spending time with her partner and their dog, thrifting, and going to live shows.
Carolyn Squeri, Campaign Director
Carolyn comes to CMC with experience in managing successful fundraising and capital campaigns, and with strong interests in community development and strategic planning. She has capital campaign experience from her previous positions at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Notre Dame de Namur University, and San Francisco Heritage at the Haas-Lilienthal House, where she most recently served as Director of Development. A fourth generation San Franciscan, Carolyn’s fundraising experience developed at her sons’ schools, Cathedral School for Boys, St. Ignatius College Prep, Lick-Wilmerding High School, and Stanford University. She has served on the boards of Good Samaritan Community Center, St. Francis Wood Women’s League, Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco, St. Francis Homes Association, Stanford Parents’ Advisory Board, and the West of Twin Peaks Central Council. Carolyn is a graduate of Stanford University, where she earned a B.A. in History with a focus on international relations.
Chantel Hernandez, Program Coordinator & MDYMP Coordinator
I am a recent graduate from the Urban Studies department at San Francisco State University and have spent the last couple years dedicating most of my time to the Mission District. I started my involvement in the Mission as a Legislative Intern for Supervisor Hillary Ronen in the District 9 office. Through this position I was given the opportunity to help organize La Pulguita Marketplace, a market that offered a safe and accessible area for street vendors to sell their merchandise. I then worked on the Carnaval Entertainment committee and even performed a couple times for Carnaval and throughout the Mission with the SFSU Afro Cuban Ensemble. I am also currently doing some volunteer work for Acción Latina and helping organize El Tecolote’s 50th Anniversary Virtual Art Exhibit. I am honored to be in connection with such essential organizations within the community, especially now here at the CMC. I am most inspired by the resilient women in my life and creatives who are able to use their artistic passion to inform and transform our society. I intend to bring that same level of intention with me to my position here as Program and MDYMP Coordinator.
Elenka Refsell, Development Manager
Elenka started learning to read music at age four and hasn’t looked back since. Before coming to CMC, she worked as the Registrar and Donor Services Manager at the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir and the Development Associate at the Shanti Project. A singer and voice teacher, Elenka has sung with a number of prestigious Bay Area ensembles and opera choruses, including Volti, the International Orange Chorale, West Edge Opera, and Festival Opera. In 2011 she was pleased to premiere the soprano role in Andrew Pascoe’s God: The Opera. A transplant from the Boston Area, Elenka is happy to call the Bay Area home.
Gabi Díaz-Hernández, Mission District Branch Registrar
Gabi Díaz-Hernández first came to CMC as a student in 2017, and loved it so much they decided to work here when the opportunity arose in 2018. Gabi has worked in several customer-facing roles, and at CMC is invested in helping students have the best experience signing up for classes. Gabi has an A.B. in Cognitive Science from the University of Georgia, as a result of being fascinated by the effects of music on mental health, development, and aging. Gabi currently plays woodwinds with Coraza: a feminist indie-folk pop group based in Oakland. As an avocational musician and lifelong student, they are constantly looking for learning opportunities in different classes and workshops around the Bay Area’s multiple arts spaces and cultural centers.
Giuliana Barraza, Mission District Branch Registrar
Giuliana joined CMC in 2021 with a background in music education and non-profit community building. Originally from San Diego, she enjoyed 7 years of public school teaching in K-12 classrooms and developing curriculum for music educators. Giuliana’s passion for education extends beyond music and into the role education plays in our communities – most importantly, the empowerment of our youth through arts education. Giuliana holds a Bachelor’s of Music Education from DePauw University, California Teaching Credential in K-12 Music, and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Organization and Leadership from USF’s School of Education.
Jamie Ngo, Staff Accountant
Jamie recently joined CMC and brings with her years of accounting experience from working with multiple bay area non-profits that include art collectives, writing workshops establishments, acting and theater organizations and dance companies. She holds a degree in Accounting from California State University, Los Angeles and have also worked in educational school environments. Her love for the everything arts is what drew her to CMC. Away from work, she enjoys supporting the arts by going to concerts, movies and museums.
Jesse Rimler, Mission District Branch Registrar
Jesse joined CMC as Associate Registrar in 2021, following 13 years at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, CA, where he—among other roles—served as Registrar of the CJC’s degree program. A Bay Area-native, Jesse has a BA in English from the University of California, San Diego. Jesse is a cartoonist and illustrator, and also enjoys playing piano and writing songs.
Julie Rulyak Steinberg, Executive Director
Julie Rulyak Steinberg became the Executive Director of CMC in 2017, where she proudly leads the organization into its second century of providing access to music education for residents in the Bay Area and beyond. Julie brings an extensive background in fundraising and institutional advancement, and a wealth of experience in brand identity, strategic planning, and best practices for program development and sustainability. Julie has served as a grant panelist for numerous organizations including the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York Times Company Foundation. Prior to joining Community Music Center, Julie served as the Executive Director of Turtle Bay Music School in New York City. Deeply committed to the expansion of community music-making, Julie trained with Third Street Music School Settlement and the National Guild for Community Arts Education while developing curriculum for a Community Music Education Master’s Degree program at New York University. She is also a teacher of the Orff Schulwerk. Julie holds a B.M., summa cum laude, and M.A. from New York University’s Steinhardt School for Culture, Education and Human Development.
Katie Mazzari, Assistant to the Executive Director
Katie joined the CMC staff in 2022, bringing an extensive background in nonprofit management and community arts programming. After earning her degree in Arts and Cultural Management from American University, Katie began her career in Washington, DC, coordinating educational programs with the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. After returning to her native New York, Katie worked for nearly a decade with Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan, where she oversaw all free/subsidized and tuition-bearing programs and led the expansion of the school’s community programs to more than double the reach of public school and creative aging partnerships. Katie moved to the west coast in 2018 and has worked locally on the finance and program teams at SF Playhouse and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Her favorite pastimes include kitchen dance parties with her husband, son, and cat (they strike a healthy balance between bebop and yacht rock classics), and as a proud Italian-American, unintentionally cooking too much food. Leftovers always available upon request.
Michelle Lee, Marketing Manager
Michelle Lee joins CMC with a wide range of musical and professional experience. In addition to her life as a performer, she has a background in arts administration, marketing and development, event production, stage management, and music education. She has worked with independent artists and local music organizations, including Sacred & Profane Chamber Chorus, the Center for New Music, and Crowden Music Center, and possesses marketing and graphic design experience in both retail and the arts. Michelle has attended the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific and holds a degree in Flute Performance from Mills College. As a flautist, she specializes in contemporary music: focusing on chamber music and collaborative performances that incorporate both traditional and experimental notation, extended techniques, electronics, improvisation, and performance art.
Nicholas Colella, Richmond District Branch Registrar
Nick joined SFCMC as Registrar in 2021, after six years of experience working in arts administration and educational program management in after school environments in San Francisco’s Richmond District. He integrated a multicultural children’s art program into several new schools, and managed the Alamo Elementary After School Program. Originally hailing from the east coast, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelors in English and a minor in Theatre, and eventually moved to San Francisco, drawn by the City’s vibrant arts and music scene. He brings to SFCMC a dedication for supporting students and staff and a love for studying and playing music. In particular, Nick enjoys playing guitar.
Polly Springhorn, Grants Manager
Before coming to CMC, Polly served as Grants Manager for SFJAZZ, Manager of Institutional Giving at San Francisco Art Institute, and Institutional Giving Director for the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Polly is equally at home in the worlds of free improvisation, contemporary composition, and rock. She plays bass flute with the improvising ensemble Ghost in the House, flutes and voice with the electroacoustic duo Usufruct, and sings, plays flute, and plays guitar with the progressive rock band ReconnaissanceFly. Polly is a published composer with several works available from ALRY Publications.
Savannah Walter, Receptionist and Concert Hall Manager
Savannah joined the CMC staff in January of 2024 as a Receptionist and Concert Hall Manager. In their undergrad education, they joined the Prevention and Intervention Network (PIN), to spread awareness about being a proactive bystander to situations of sexual violence on college campuses. After graduating with a B.A. in Sociology at Goshen College in 2022, Sav worked at a hands-on, nature based preschool in 2023. In 2018-2022, Savannah enjoyed singing with ‘The Voices of The Earth’ world music choir at Goshen College. In Sav’s free time, they like to hike and explore different parks, and write songs with their friends.
Shannon Koehler, Operations Manager
Shannon Koehler became the Operations Manager in May of 2021. While organizing large projects and daily coordination, he is dedicated to making your time at CMC the best experience possible. Shannon is also the lead singer, drummer, and harmonica player for the international touring rock & roll band The Stone Foxes. He has toured for over a decade playing festivals like Outside Lands, KAABOO and Hardly Strictly Blue Grass. Songs he has written have appeared on several commercial campaigns such as Jack Daniels, BMW and Budweiser; also appearing on TV shows like Sons Of Anarchy, Shameless, and Elementary. He has also worked for over a decade in radio production for The Golden State Warriors and KNBR (Cumulus San Francisco). Though he grew up east of Fresno in the foothills, he feels at home by the Bay, and has lived in the Bay Area for the past 15 years.
Sylvanna Nelwan, Community Music Center Ambassador
Sylvanna joined CMC staff as Concert Hall Manager in 2021 and is now also part of the Reception team. Sylvanna has a background in vocational nursing and worked over 20 years at Home Health Advocacy-Hospice in San Francisco. Sylvanna is multilingual, speaking Dutch, Bahasa, German, and English. Sylvanna is an active domestic violence prevention advocate in the Indonesian community, affiliated with Asian Women Shelter of San Francisco. Sylvanna founded the Indonesian LBGTQ+ network in 2019 in San Francisco. Sylvanna enjoys writing songs, playing piano, guitar, drums, and harmonica. She practices the Chinese martial art-Shaolin Kung Fu.
Sylvia Sherman, Program Director
Sylvia brings more than twenty-five years of experience with non-profit and philanthropic organizations to Community Music Center. These include work with the San Francisco Art Commission, Oakland School for the Arts, La Peña Cultural Center and various community-based and philanthropic groups doing programming, arts education, resource development and strategic planning work. Sylvia is an alumna of community-based arts education programs, plays professionally with several music groups and serves on the Board of the Coalition of Agencies that serve the Elderly (CASE) and the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. She has served on the Creative Aging Task Force of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and on the Board for the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area (AEABA).
Tammy Basso, Development Assistant
Tammy joined CMC in 2023, bringing with her years of experience in event planning and non-profit operations. She holds a degree from DePaul University in Environmental Studies and is working toward a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. She is passionate about sustainability, urban issues, and finding ways to better her community. When not at CMC, Tammy enjoys going to shows and adding to her vast vintage t-shirt collection.
Tim Costigan, Older Adult Choir Coordinator
Tim comes to Community Music Center from St. Anthony’s Dining Room, where he had started a CMC Older Adult Choir as part of the Afternoon Programs in the Dining Room there. As he is fond of telling people, the Tuesday afternoon St. Anthony’s CMC Choir session was his favorite part of the week, and now he gets to do that every day, all over the city! Prior to St. Anthony’s Tim worked in AIDS Services, with PAWS in the mid/late 90s, and then 13 years at Project Open Hand. Tim took a break from Nonprofit work to start up a neighborhood pet supply shop in the Mission called “Mission Critter,” which he dearly loved, but after five years of rising rents and aggressive online competition, he decided to go back to the Nonprofit world. Tim did not have the benefit of the kind of quality, foundational musical training that CMC offers, but insisted nonetheless on playing in many punk/industrial noise bands in Ohio in the 80s, before he moved to California. He now much prefers choral music.
Board of Directors
Barbara Kosnar, Vice President
Brooke Joseph
Catharine L. Kalin, Vice President
Cathi Russell
Clifford Brown, Jr.
Debbie Chinn, President
Debbie Chinn is the Executive Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, one of the Bay Area’s flagship non-profit theaters and leading regional theatres in the nation. She is the Managing Director and Management Consultant for Anna Deavere Smith’s Pipeline Project, based on comprehensive community-based research focusing on what has been branded “the poverty to prison pipeline.” Over the past 20+ years, Debbie has held executive leadership positions as Executive Director of Opera Parallèle, Executive Director of the Carmel Bach Festival, Managing Director of Baltimore Center Stage, California Shakespeare Theater, and Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. She serves on the boards of Playwrights Foundation and the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco. Her past board affiliations include Theatre Bay Area (Board chair), Theatre Communications Group, and the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (Board President). She is also an author; her book, “Dancing in Their Light, a Daughter’s Unfinished Memoir” was published in 2022.
Duncan Haberly
Emily Berger, Secretary
Emily is a lawyer who is currently working at Facebook to increase the availability, affordability, and awareness of the Internet through international partnerships in emerging markets. She began her legal career in private practice in Boston but took a leave of absence after several years to work with the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation promoting innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, and activism. She fell in love with the Bay Area and never made it back east, staying instead to work as an in-house lawyer at Dolby Labs supporting audio technology licensing and at Netflix on its product development and international partnerships.
She has a JD from the University of Maryland and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University. Emily was a woodwind doubler for 20 years, playing the clarinet in her high school marching and symphonic bands along with the sax and flute in the jazz band. She was one of only two clarinetists in the Tufts University Orchestra which partnered with students at the New England Conservatory to give, amongst other performances, a rousing rendition of Orff’s Carmina Burana. These days, she hasn’t been playing herself, but enjoys indoor and outdoor concerts of all sorts and participates in a monthly ‘listening club’ for the purpose of discovering new music.
Emily is honored to support and serve the CMC, based in her neighborhood in the city of SF, so that others can discover the joy of making music (and dancing)
José A. Rodríguez
José A. Rodríguez is the Chief Development & Strategy Officer of MNC Inspiring Success in San Francisco. In collaboration with MNC’s CEO, he is responsible for developing, articulating, and implementing MNC’s strategic vision focusing on effective growth and sustainability. Before coming back to MNC, José did a short stint as Chief People Officer of Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, where he oversaw HR, Workforce Strategies, Marketing, Communications, Strategic Partnerships, External Affairs, and Facilities. Prior to this, José was the Chief Operations Officer of MNC.
José has over 25 years of professional experience in a variety of industries, including staffing services, technology, retail, public relations, and non-profits. He has held jobs in recruiting, sales, finance, and administration as well as spending many years as an HR Business Partner at Hewlett-Packard (HP), The Gap, Logitech and Burson-Marsteller.
José also serves on the Board of Directors of 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic in the Bayview and is their Nominating and Governance Committee Chair. He is also a Board Member of Mission Neighborhood Health Center.
José has a Master’s Degree in Labor Relations from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a major in Marketing, from the University of Puerto Rico. In 2020 he completed a Professional Coaching for Life and Work certificate program at UC Davis and incorporated his coaching practice into his professional portfolio.
Katherine Bukstein
Kerry Landry
Lauren Erickson
Lauren Erickson is the Nonprofit Practice Leader at G2 Insurance, a commercial insurance brokerage firm based in San Francisco. She works with medium to large sized nonprofits across the country assisting them with their risk management and insurance programs. She is also a classically trained opera singer, earning her Master’s in Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Lauren is currently on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Opera Guild, where she serves on the Executive Committee as their VP of Development. Prior to the Guild, she was the President of the Bravo! Club for San Francisco Opera, in charge of audience development for 21-40 year olds. During her time with B!C, the membership grew to over 1,000 people, and she chaired the Opening Night Gala and threw several events.
Given her professional career working with nonprofits, Lauren attends several fundraiser events a year and has a keen eye on what works and what doesn’t. Lauren has been involved with CMC for a few years, joining the gala committee and spreading awareness of CMC to the community. In 2023, she will be co-chairing the after party for the gala. Lauren lives in Marin with her husband and one-eyed senior rescue pup, Odin.
Max Yoshimoto, Vice President
Michael Marzelli, Treasurer
Michael is a senior manager in the San Francisco Financial Services audit practice with 14 years experience serving multi-national clients in New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong. His experience includes working with professional employer organizations, asset managers, banking organizations, blockchain and cryptocurrency companies in an audit and advisory capacity. Michael is experienced in facilitating collaboration among varied teams and individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Michael also played electric and upright bass growing up, playing in the Franklin and Marshall Orchestra and participating in all-county and other regional orchestras and jazz performance groups. He strongly values the importance of music education because of these experiences.
Nelly Sapinski
Patricia Taylor Lee, President Emerita
Paul-David Shrader
Ron Gallman
Sharad Mangalick
Zach Smith
Zach Smith is currently a lead advisor at Brighton Jones, an independent wealth management company that focuses on helping clients, colleagues, and the global community live richer lives. Zach holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation and enjoys guiding clients through important financial and life decisions. He studied Economics at the University of California in Santa Cruz.
Zach lived in San Francisco until he was seven years old and then moved to the Big Island of Hawaii for the remainder of his childhood. While in Hawaii, Zach became passionate about music and learned to play guitar, baritone horn, and double bass. Although his musical skills have become slightly rusty, he always makes time to support musical performances in his free time.
Faculty Council
- Becca Burrington, Brass/Winds Department Chair
- Ellen Glikbarg Shea, Voice Department Chair
- Erik Andersen, Strings Department Chair
- Jono Kornfeld; Faculty Council Chair, Guitars Department Chair
- Leo Baluk, Member-at-large, Secretary
- Rosi Garcia Plaza, Piano Department Chair
- Sharon Wayne, Member-at-large, Newsletter Editor
- Tregar Otton, Cultural Traditions Department Chair
To meet our faculty, visit the FACULTY page.