leadership I Young Audiences of Houston

board

President

W. Wells McGee, Community Leader

Chairman

Katherine Veletos, Community Leader

Vice President

Sanvita Sample, Slalom Consulting

Treasurer

Rodolfo Cooper, III, Goldman Sachs

Secretary

Josie Morgan, Boyar Miller

Leslie D. Blanton, Community Leader

Kelly Gerstenhaber, Community Leader

Donna Haynes, Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease LLP

Elizabeth Karkowsky, Pasadena Insurance Agency, Inc.

Judy Liu, CenterPoint Energy

Brea May, Westlake Corporation

Dr. Susan Snider Osterberg, University of Houston

Megan Schmid, Holland & Knight LLP

Michael Sharp, RBC Capital Markets

Alexa Valencia, Legacy Community Health

Junior League Board Representative

JeNeika Smith Boone

FOUNDER

Fredell Lack (1922-2017)

committees

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Juan Antonio (Tony) Castilleja, Jr., Boeing

William E. Cohn, MD, Baylor College of Medicine

Mark Cueva, City of Houston

Emily Faron, United Way of Greater Houston

John Ella Fowler, Community Leader

Jay Gerstenhaber, Insgroup, Inc.

Martha Gonzalez, Community Leader

Emily Hilton, BHP

Peter McStravick, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Eddy Rogers, Jr., Andrews Kurth

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Mojdeh Bobrow, Community Leader

JeNeika Smith Boone, Junior League Houston

Donna Kay Farr, Community Leader

Crystal Frommert, Awty International School

Barbara Gordon, Retired Educator

Brea May, Westlake Chemical

Lakeisha McGowen, Assistant Director of Fine Arts, Katy ISD

Mindi Mitchell, Freelance Instructional Designer

Dr. Susan Osterberg, University of Houston

Diane Palm, Community Leader

Janet Rarick, Rice University

Sharla Rogers, Aldine ISD

Robin Sabo, Clear Creek ISD

Megan Schmid, Thompson & Knight LLP

Kimberly Topps, NASA

Marja Sealey, Shriners Children's Texas

Mary Neeley Stevens, Community Leader

Astra Zeno, Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

Interested in Board Leadership? Download our overview here.

staff

Christelyn Nash, Community Engagement Manager

Christelyn Nash currently serves as the Community Engagement Manager for Young Audiences of Houston, supporting communications, nonprofit administration, and volunteer/community engagement. Christelyn Nash graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Fine Art & Digital Media. Prior to joining Young Audiences, Christelyn worked in retail and personally is an accomplished photographer. Christelyn is enthusiastic about providing opportunities to connect youth to the arts, which often is a catalyst for creative learning and inspiration for children.

Dr. Christine Phares, Program Director

Dr. Christine Phares currently serves as the Program Director for Young Audiences of Houston, supporting programs across more than 200 site partnerships, overseeing 184 teaching artists, and leading the YAH Education Committee. Prior to joining Young Audiences, Christine has worked as an Educator in public and independent schools, an Education Consultant, and with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Christine also holds experience as an opera singer and has performed with The Miami Music Festival, Rockwall Symphony, UNT Opera, Lamar Opera, and the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Christine holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music and education and a doctorate in education. Published research includes a study on classroom management and gender with additional research on the impact of Music Education on Texas Standardized Test Scores. Christine is the recipient of the Harris County Department of Education Spirit of Excellence Award – Community Connection Champion, has recently served as a panelist on pathways for diversifying teaching artist networks at the Arts & Action Conference, serves as a Grant Panelist for Texas Commission on the Arts and Houston Arts Alliance, and volunteers on the Scholarship Review Committee with Greater Houston Community Foundation.

Lilian Flores, Intern

Lilian Flores was born in Guatemala but raised here in the United States since she was five. She is an artist at heart and loves to learn new techniques and styles. Lilian is the oldest of three children. Her whole life has been dedicated to children with special needs and caring for her brother with Muscular Dystrophy. Lilian has been a camp counselor in two separate camps for children with special needs. At Texas Elks camp she was voted Best Camp Counselor Girl three years in a row by her peers. Lilian is the first to graduate from college in her family.

Martha Diaz, Scheduling Coordinator

Martha Diaz joined the Young Audiences of Houston family in March 2018. As Scheduling Coordinator for the organization, she works closely with schools, community partners, and artists to facilitate the delivery of performances, workshops, and residencies. Before joining Young Audiences, Martha was the Administrative Assistance for the Executive Director of Mission Centers of Houston, a faith-based nonprofit serving Houston’s inner city through a variety of community assistance programs. At Mission Centers, she oversaw their three locations and supported program delivery for the food pantry, clothing closet, and club programming. She particularly enjoyed leading clubs for children and youth. Martha also has a passion for visual arts and regularly leads projects for her church’s pre-school department.

Mary Curry Mettenbrink, Executive Director

Mary Curry Mettenbrink has served Young Audiences of Houston as a staff member for the past 15 years in various roles including Education Director, Associate Director and moved into the role of Executive Director in February, 2012. Mary is a native Houstonian, grew up in Alief, and attended San Jacinto Community College and the University of Houston and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and recently completed a certification in Applied Business Analytics with MIT Sloan School of Management. At Young Audiences she has led several collective partnership efforts, expanding the reach, identification of needs across the region for youth, and increased the organizations capacity in providing direct services to at-risk youth. Prior to Young Audiences, Mary served the Art League of Houston as the Education Coordinator overseeing their adult outreach programs serving people with HIV and Cancer, expanding enrollment of the fine arts school and launching the organizations first youth arts camp. As a mother of two boys, who are 24 and 11, Mary understands the vital role of education as the foundation for our nation and the importance that creative learning and using arts-based strategies in schools provides for disengaged learners. Mary has served on committees for Neighborhood Centers, Inc., Harris County Department of Education, National YA, Houston A+, Region 4 ESC, the Houston Independent School District, and most recently she served as the National Young Audiences Executive Director’s Council President.

Young Audiences of Houston partners with Houston's premier artists and arts organization partners to deliver services to more than 297,832 youth across Texas. Learn more here.

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