Who We Are - San Francisco Community Music Center

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, Director of Development

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.

Jesse Rimler, Richmond 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 has proudly led Community Music Center since 2017, guiding it into its second century of service. Reporting to CMC’s 23-member board of dedicated community leaders. Julie brings extensive expertise in music education, fundraising, and institutional advancement. Her work encompasses brand identity, strategic planning, and sustainable program development, all rooted in best practices.

Under Julie’s leadership, CMC successfully completed a $16 million campus expansion project, the largest in its history, significantly increasing its capacity to serve more students than ever before. Deeply committed to the transformative power of community arts in advancing health, justice, and cultural vibrancy, Julie brings two decades of experience working in nonprofit and community organizations. She has held positions with Turtle Bay Music School, Third Street Music School Settlement, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education. She also contributed to the development of the Community Music Education Master’s Degree program at NYU and is a certified Orff Schulwerk educator. Julie holds a B.M., summa cum laude, and an M.A. from New York University’s Steinhardt School for Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Katie Mazzari, Finance and Payroll Manager

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, Development Manager

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, Director of Institutional Giving

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).

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

Andrew Colombi

Andrew is the Co-founder and CTO of Tonic. An early employee at Palantir, he led the team of engineers that launched the company into the commercial sector and later began Palantir’s Foundry product. Today, he is building Tonic’s platform to engineer data that parallels the complex realities of modern data ecosystems and supply development teams with the resource-saving tools they most need.

Barbara Kosnar

Barbara Kosnar retired from her position as a financial executive at Union Bank in 2011. She began her career as a Certified Public Accountant, working for a “Big Four” firm. She has an MBA from Golden Gate University and an undergraduate degree in Music Education from San Francisco State University. Barbara served on the Board of Directors of the Union Bank Foundation and of Audubon Canyon Ranch, and was a member of the Audit Committee of the ClimateWorks Foundation. An avid amateur pianist, she has studied for many years at CMC and enjoys spending time playing four-hand piano pieces with friends. Having discovered CMC as a student, she is honored to serve and support the school so that others can discover the joy of making music for themselves.

Brooke Joseph

Brooke Joseph was born in Salt Lake City where her family enjoyed a warm Jewish community, skiing, hiking, and extended family. During her time attending at Mount Vernon College for Women in Washington DC, which later became part of George Washington University, Brooke was able to focus on her love of politics and respect for public service. She began her career in Washington after college as a member of Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign team. She worked on the presidential bids of Mike Dukakis and on the campaigns of Senator Bill Bradley, Senator John Kerry, and then-Senator Barack Obama. Brooke was the Northern CA Finance Director for the first Obama campaign and had the privilege of working for President and Mrs. Obama doing advance work nationwide for the 8 years of the Obama Administration. Brooke is the mother of Coby, 26, a transportation planner and Benjamin, 29, a professional jazz and rock musician. Brooke’s Dad, Norm Rosenblatt is also an active musician. He founded Jazz Voices of Poetry and served for many years on the board of Community Music Center. Brooke’s husband Marc runs the environmental law firm Adams Broadwell Joseph and Cardozo. Brooke is currently building Commit the Vote, an organization that encourages 17- and 18-year-olds to commit to being life-long voters. She spends as much time as possible with her family, and revels in reading, walking, painting, and playing her violin.

Cathi Russell

Cathi Russell is a business and product designer specializing in new product development as well as an amateur violinist and CMC student. She currently leads Adobe’s Experience Design Studio team, an internal incubator that employs the scientific method, rapid prototyping, and design thinking to create new tools for Adobe. Earning her BA in Economics from Wellesley College, she took the rest of her credits in the art department and later received an MBA from Stanford. Through her experiences, she has become a firm believer in the transformative potential of arts education, and her past volunteer work includes mentoring with First Exposures and BayKids. She enjoys impromptu dance parties, karaoke, and live music.

Clifford Brown, Jr.

Clifford Brown, Jr. was born in Philadelphia and raised in Los Angeles. His father was the internationally-acclaimed jazz trumpet legend Clifford Brown. His mother, La Rue Brown, helped break the color barrier in the modeling world by being the first African American to work as a talent booker for a major white agency. Brown began his radio career at the age of 18, and before turning 30 was awarded the prestigious “Golden Mic” as the Bay Area’s top radio personality. Brown has since been recognized as the nation’s top jazz Program Director with the AMPEX AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, and was named a “Living Broadcasting Legend” in 2009 by the Black Music Association. As an educator, Clifford Brown Jr. has served on the teaching or lecturing staff of every major broadcasting program in the Bay Area, presently teaching at Santa Clara University. He has also conducted workshops and served on panels for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, SFSU, and the California Jazz Conservatory. Brown currently hosts and produces “The American Jazz Countdown,” one of the most listened to syndicated jazz radio programs in the nation. Brown also serves on the Board of Directors for the California Jazz Conservatory, The Jazz School in Berkeley, and the Clifford Brown Jazz Foundation, and serves as Regional Director of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area for LegalShield. Clifford is happily married to Pat Thomas for nearly 30 years, and has 3 adult children and 3 grandchildren.

Debbie Chinn, President

Debbie has held C-suite positions as Executive Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Opera Parallèle, Carmel Bach Festival, as Managing Director of California Shakespeare Theatre, Baltimore’s Center Stage, and Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey.

From 2020 – 2024, she was the Managing Director for Anna Deavere Smith’s “Pipeline Girls” Project. The Project addresses inequality by working within communities of Indigenous people and people of color, eliciting their stories, and providing them with meticulously constructed opportunities for expression.

Debbie’s past board affiliations include Theatre Bay Area (Board President), Theatre Communications Group, the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (Board President), and Network of Ensemble Theatres.

Her book, “Dancing in Their Light, a Daughter’s Unfinished Memoir”, published in March 2022, chronicles her life growing up in a restaurant and Polynesian nightclub as influenced by the pioneering impact her family of immigrants have made to advance the fields of research, science, medicine, academia, engineering, arts, humanities, cultural diplomacy, and culinary hospitality in the U.S. She is currently in the development phase of adapting “Dancing in Their Light” into a film series.

Her recent book, “Year of the Dragon – a Colorable Graphic Memoir” was published in January 2024. She has a third book under development with a scheduled published date of Spring 2025.

Duncan Haberly

Duncan Haberly is a serial entrepreneur, author, and recovering lawyer. He is CEO at The Meta, developer of the best-selling esports training platform, KovaaK 2.0, and has been fortunate to be a part of the successes of Military.com, if(we), Instructables, and Objective Loyalty. Duncan firmly credits CMC with giving him the core music skills that prepared him to study in SF State University’s Music Department from 2011 to 2015. Duncan has a J.D. and B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a veteran of U.S. Army Military Intelligence.

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)

Jessica Quiroga

Jessica Quiroga (she/her) is the Head of Engineering and Product for Cisco’s Security Business Group’s Product Assurance team, as well as a multi-instrumentalist performing with the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the Super Super Big Band, and bluegrass-pop group The Keyloggers, among others. She has previously served as Director of Production and Vice President for the SFLGFB. Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, Jessica relocated to San Francisco in 2019 where she spends her time playing music, hosting a podcast, and zipping around the City on her Vespa.

José A. Rodríguez

José A. Rodríguez is a transformational, people-centric leader with a passion for mission-driven organizations. He is known for his ability to build relationships and has a track record of successfully leading strategic and operational initiatives across various industries and sectors. With a strong background in Human Resources, José has worked in non-profit, technology, retail, public relations, and healthcare.

José is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at Children’s Council of San Francisco. In his role, he crafts and drives the organization’s strategic human capital plan, ensuring alignment of compensation strategies, professional development, DEI initiatives, recruitment, and retention with organizational goals. He develops and implements HR policies, leads talent management and succession planning, cultivates a compelling employer brand, and fosters a positive culture, crucially shaping a thriving and forward-moving workforce.

His non-profit leadership roles have also included Chief Development and Strategy Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Head of HR. José also has extensive HR Business Partner experience with organizations such as Hewlett-Packard (HP), The Gap and Logitech.

José also serves on the Boards of Mission Neighborhood Health Center, and 3rd Street Youth Center and Clinic. He holds a Master’s Degree in Labor Relations and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing.

Katherine Bukstein, Vice President

Katherine Bukstein holds a Masters of Music in Viola Performance from San Francisco State University. She has taught music privately and in the public schools. From 2004 to the present, she has served on the board of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music and served as its president from 2009–2016. She currently serves on the Artistic Committee of the Peninsula Symphony and the Artistic and Education Committees of Music at Kohl Mansion. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation. Katherine is an avid chamber musician and also performs with the Peninsula Symphony.

Kerry Landry

Kerry Landry is a senior leader in health policy dedicated to improving health coverage in San Francisco. Since relocating from the Midwest to the Bay, her work has been focused on partnering with the SF Department of Public Health to administer two innovative and landmark programs: Healthy San Francisco and the SF City Option. Kerry is currently a Director at the San Francisco Health Plan, which serves low income San Francisco residents enrolled in Medi-Cal. She holds MPH and BS degrees from the University of Minnesota. Kerry’s musical journey started with piano at age 7, then expanded to flute and percussion in high school concert and marching bands. She picked up guitar in college and has also dabbled in ukulele in hopes of becoming a campfire sensation. Kerry is thrilled to be serving on the CMC Board in support of music education, but also as inspiration to dust off her own instruments and find her way back to playing music.

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

Max Yoshimoto is currently an educator at the SJSU Design department. Throughout his career at Google, Motorola and Lunar/Mckinsey Design, he was a creative leader whose vision was to develop new product hardware experiences that offer emotional and enduring value. He’s gained broad knowledge working in categories from medical devices to consumer products ranging from fashion to tech. As a musician, Max has studied latin percussion at the Community Music Center, Stanford’s SALJE ensemble, Jazz School and LaPena. With a focus on timbales, he studied with Bay Area greats Louis Romero and Josh Jones. He’s traveled to Cuba to study privately and at La Ena School of the Arts. Professionally, he’s founded and played in bands in San Francisco and Chicago. He’s taken up the bass guitar and come full circle playing percussion with a Motown band and getting back on the drumset. Max is honored and excited to serve on the CMC board.

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

Nelly Sapinski is the Executive Director of the Jamestown Community Center, a Mission District-based nonprofit serving youth and their families in programs that include tutoring, before and after school academic enrichment, summer programs, social/emotional support, sports, youth workforce, parent leadership development, parent organizing, and Afro-Latino arts education and performance. Prior to joining Jamestown, Nelly served as the After School Program Director at Reading Partners, the national literacy non-profit, and managed curriculum, instruction and evaluation for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. Nelly grew up in Tijuana, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University and a Masters of Education from Harvard University. Nelly lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.

Patricia Taylor Lee, President Emerita

Pianist Patricia Taylor Lee is Professor and Chair Emerita of the Music Department of San Francisco State University and Artistic Director of the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in Palm Desert, CA. She has also served on the faculties of the University of California, Davis and West Chester University in Pennsylvania and for ten years was the official pianist of the Sacramento Symphony. Dr. Lee earned a BA at Mills College and graduate degrees at Yale and Temple Universities. She is a trustee of the Ross McKee Foundation and a past trustee of Mills College, the Women’s Philharmonic, Friends of Chamber Music, the Performing Arts Library and Museum, and the Sacramento Symphony.

Paul-David Shrader

Paul-David Shrader is a native Californian and progeny of a family of musicians. While Paul-David practices as an attorney for high-growth tech companies as his day job, his passion projects include charity regulation compliance, mentoring entrepreneurs, dabbling in musical instruments, and raising a Siberian husky. Paul-David also serves on the Western Regional Council for MedShare and the Northwestern University Leadership Circle Regional Board.

Sharad Mangalick

Sharad Mangalick is focused on building products to help people cultivate and grow their creative passions. He’s currently a Product Manager at Descript, where he’s helping storytellers more easily tell their stories through podcasts and videos. Prior to Descript, he helped build Adobe Lightroom, the digital photo app used to create some of the world’s most amazing photos. He started playing piano recently and loves the meditative and creative aspects of jamming away on his piano. Sharad is excited to share his passion for creating music and is honored to serve on the board of the CMC.

Stefano DeZerega

Stefano is a Realtor at Corcoran Icon Properties working in residential real estate since 2006. His wide-ranging professional experience and community involvement include: teaching social studies at a public high school, directing a national non-profit organization, guiding the formation of a charitable foundation, performing as a professional musician, and researching and writing a book on international volunteerism. Past board experience includes serving for a decade on the board of Pie Ranch. Stefano is passionate about music and providing opportunities for music making and community building to young and old alike. Growing up in Berkeley he was a great beneficiary of music in the public schools and Cazadero music camp. Stefano is thrilled to contribute his energy and expertise in support of CMC and its vision for music as a transformative force.

Wesley Wong

Wesley has an extensive career in strategy and finance with companies such as Adobe, DocuSign, and EY. Musically, however, his piano career almost ended when his mother caught him practicing with his toes instead of his fingers as a kid. Fortunately, like most Bordeaux wines, his musicality gradually matured along with his ever-growing passion for piano music. Based in San Francisco, he regularly performs around the Bay Area while serving on the Board of Directors at the SFCMC. When away from the keyboard or the office, Wesley enjoys experimenting with new recipes and exploring the great outdoors of California.

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 Pearson, Member-at-large, Secretary
Jono Kornfeld, Faculty Council Chair, Guitars Department Chair
Leo Baluk, Strings Department Chair, Grants Coordinator
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.