2006 LHAT CONFERENCE
PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES

ALMOND, KILLIS BAILEY, ROBERT BAREFOOT, STEPHEN BARLOW, JANIS BELL, JOHN BRIGHTWELL, ASHLEY CANN, REBECCA COHN, JOEL COLLINS, ED COLLINS, RUSSELL DAYAN, STEVE FAUST, JOHN FORTUNE, MOLLY FRIEND, ROBERT MARGARET GENOVESE GEORGESON, SCOTT GREENSPAN, GERIE HALL, PEYTON HANCOCK, BECKY HEMSATH, JOHN HERSHNER, CHAD JONES, TARA KELSEY, EDWARD KLINGELHOFER, JAN LEITH-TETRAULT, JOHN LOEB, JEFF LYLES, V. MITCHELL MORRISON, CRAIG

NORTH, ALICE & HALSEY OCHS, STEVE OLIVAN, JON OLSON, LANCE PALMER, HOWELL PATTON, MAUREEN REBO, BARRY RICHARDS, SARAH RIVENBARK, TONY SACHS, ANN SAISSELIN, NUMA SCHINDLER, KURT SCHLESINGER, MICHAEL SCHON, DAVID SMITH, BARBARA SPERBER, SUSAN STANLEY, ELLIS STRATFORD, HERB STRATFORD, KERRY TAPPER, LEE UPTON, CAREY WEIDEMANN, THOMAS E. WESTLAKE, PAUL WHITMIRE, CECIL WINEMAN, CHRIS WOYTEK, JR., DAVID

KILLIS P. ALMOND, FAIA, RID,, President
Killis Almond & Associates, Inc. - San Antonio, Texas

Killis Almond, FAIA, RID is president of Killis Almond and Associates, Inc., San Antonio, TX.  His education and professional experience in preservation extends for 36 years, and his professional practice as a registered architect concentrating in the preservation of historic resources and cultural resource management spans the last 30 years.  He has undertaken numerous design and construction projects involving stabilization, restoration and adaptive use of historic structures.
 
He has been the theatre project architect on over 12 theatres throughout the U.S. He is highly experienced in the physical investigation of buildings and has produced numerous historic structure reports, cyclical maintenance programs, adaptive use feasibility studies and historic preservation plans.  Project types include the 1884 Gothic Adobe Monastery in Stanton, TX to the 1948 Deco Alameda Theatre in San Antonio. Almond has received numerous awards for the high quality of his restoration work, including the Texas Historical Commission’s Award of Excellence in Historic Architecture for the restoration of the Paramount Theatre in Abilene and the Old Main Building at Blinn College in Brenham.
 
He has also personally received the Texas Award for the Preservation of Historic Architecture.  He received the National 1998 Excellence in Construction Award of Merit from the Associated Builders and Contractors for the rehabilitation of the Ritz Theatre, Tiffin, OH.  In 1999 Almond was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects for his significant contribution to preservation in the architectural profession.
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ROBERT H. BAILEY, Principal
AMS Planning & Research, Petaluma, California

Bailey has been involved in cultural resource planning, management and research since 1972. In his thirty years as an arts consultant, he has brought professional planning, management and coordination to the development of scores of arts projects. He has operated his own arts management consulting firms in the U.S, Canada and California. Some recent planning projects that he has directed include: cultural planning for the Municipality of Shanghai, China; a cultural facilities inventory for the San Diego Redevelopment Agency; feasibility studies and project planning for the Charles M. Schulz Museum, business plans for the Miami Children’s Museum and the Art Museum at the University of Virginia; and an arts funding strategy for the City of Long Beach, California.

Bailey has a particular wealth of experience in the area of historic preservation and adaptive re-use of buildings for the arts. He is the author of the widely acclaimed ENCORE: Recycling Public Buildings for the Arts, which details historic preservation and renovation projects throughout Canada. He was a contributor to Conversion Frontiers: Military Bases and Other Opportunities for Artists (1997), and is a speaker on arts facility planning at conferences and seminars nationally.

Bailey is a graduate of the MBA Program in Arts Administration at York University in Toronto. He was Assistant Director of the York University Arts Administration program from 1974 to 1976.  Upon graduation he worked in project management positions at the National Ballet of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario. He continues his academic involvement at Sonoma State University where he is a regular lecturer in arts planning and management. top

STEPHEN G. BAREFOOT
goingbarefoot inc. - Durham, North Carolina

Stephen Barefoot's professional experience spans historic theatre administration, entertainment marketing and programming, and specialized commemorative event production. He is president of goingbarefoot inc., an entertainment production company based in Durham, NC. Currently contracted to program series attractions for several NC venues, including Thalian Hall in Wilmington, Barefoot also serves as director of the 230-member NC Presenters Consortium, one of the largest presenting networks in the U.S. Since 1998, he has served as editor of ON STAGE IN NORTH CAROLINA, a 48-page guide to professional touring cultural attractions in NC, and is co-chair of the bi-annual regional ArtsMarket performing arts showcase conference co-produced by NC Presenters Consortium and the NC Arts Council. As a presenter, Barefoot was responsible for the inaugural U.S, appearances by Canada's LEAHY for a 15-venue NC tour in 1999, and has assembled tours ranging from 8-to-35 venues for artists including Man 1 Bank 0, Curtis Stigers, Comedy Pet Theatre, Good Ol' Girls, The Celtic Tenors. Emile Pandolfi and others. He has provided programming consulting to a number of historic theatres and presenting networks across the eastern U.S. An NC native, Barefoot was owner of the supperclub “Stephen's, After All” in Chapel Hill where he was a graduate of UNC's School of Journalism. He served for three years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa and was later director of public relations for the national office of the Experiment in International Living, and Executive Director of Brightleaf Music Workshop at Duke University.

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JANIS A. BARLOW, Principal Consultant
Janis A. Barlow & Associates - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Janis Barlow is a consultant in arts and heritage resource management, specializing in the development of community cultural resources and, in particular, the design and management of theatres for the performing arts. Her background combines comprehensive project planning and management experience with degrees in theatre, sociology and architecture. Her practical experience embraces the full range of technical, artistic and administrative roles.

Since 1978, Janis Barlow has consulted on dozens of studies and projects oriented to the design, restoration and management of theatre facilities. Her client groups have included governments and their agencies, arts and heritage groups, private foundations, real estate developers, and theatre producers and proprietors throughout the United States and Canada.

In 1981, she joined Ontario's Ministry of Culture and Recreation as a Theatre Consultant to analyze planning and feasibility studies for Ministry funded theatre projects. By 1985, she was appointed Project Manager for the $30 million Elgin and Winter Garden theatre restoration to oversee planning, design, administration, construction, public relations and fund raising. A federally designated National Historic Site, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre has been recognized nationally and internationally for the quality of its historic preservation and adaptation for contemporary use.

Barlow has served on several Boards of Directors including the World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (an international UNESCO project), the National Festival of Canadian Theatre and the League of Historic American Theatres.

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JOHN BELL, President & CEO
Tampa Theatre - Tampa, Florida

John received his degree in Theatre Arts from Catawba College (NC) in 1976, with independent studies in Theatre Architecture and Arts Administration. He was a program coordinator for the NC Arts Council from 1976-1979, and then - at the age of 25 - assumed duties as managing director of the historic Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, a former movie palace built in 1927. While in Greensboro, he successfully guided the Carolina Theatre project from its inception to become the city's primary community performing arts center, including recovery and restoration from a nearly catastrophic fire in 1981.

In 1985, Bell moved to Tampa to lead the Tampa Theatre, an Eberson atmospheric built in 1926 that has a stage depth of only 8'. Nonetheless, he has expanded programming to 650 events per year, including both first-run and classic films, concerts and special events. He has increased earned and contributed revenues to sustain the $2 million annual operating budget for the theatre, and has guided the long-term restoration project.

Bell has served on the board of directors of LHAT, is a member of the Florida Facility Managers Association, the Florida Professional Presenters Consortium, and the Tampa Cultural Executives Council.

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ASHLEY BRIGHTWELL, Attorney
Alston & Bird LLP - Atlanta, Georgia.

Ashley Brightwell is an attorney with Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta. She concentrates her practice on employment litigation and counseling, occupational safety and health, and accessibility issues under Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Brightwell received her J.D., with honors, from DePaul University in 1999. She was a member of the DePaul Law Review and is a member of the Order of the Coif. She received her B.A. in Sociology, cum laude, in 1996 from Ohio University.

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REBECCA CANN, Cultural Supervisor
City of St. Catharines, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

From 1988 to 1997, Rebecca Cann worked as director, producer and administrator in the Toronto theatre community, with such companies as the Canadian Stage Company, the Factory Theatre, Jewel Productions, Cahoots Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

Her ongoing objective to successfully facilitate the artist, the audience and the business of the arts is reflected in her extensive background in both independent production work and company administration, operations and management. She has focused on financial management in the not-for-profit sector, as Financial Manager at Toronto Artscape, Inc. and as Administrator at the Factory Theatre in 1996 when extensive financial stabilization and systems development were undertaken.

Cann has been an associate consultant with Janis A. Barlow & Associates since 1997, acting as project manager on business plans for the 12 Alexander Street Theatre, Toronto, ON, the Paramount Theatre, Austin, TX and the Provincetown Repertory Theatre, MA. She has also served as an associate on research projects for the Beacon Theatre, Hopewell, VA and the Flynn Theatre, Burlington, VT.

She is currently on leave to serve as the first Cultural Supervisor for the City of St. Catharines.

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JOEL COHN, CPA, Principal
Reznick Group - Baltimore, MD

Cohn is a Principal in the Real Estate Consulting Group of Reznick Group, where he provides real estate and tax consulting services. He advises clients in structuring real estate transactions with a specific concentration in New Markets, historic and low-income housing tax credits; this advice has included: maximization of the amount of tax credits, while working within the framework of existing law; creation of transaction structures designed to strip tax credits and/or cash flow to satisfy the key agendas of various stakeholders; exit strategies for investors/developers to protect sharing of cash flow; conception of strategies which maximize return on investment; and creation of transaction structures that permit economic participation by non-profits.

Cohn's historic tax credit transaction experience has included a variety of properties throughout the country. Adaptive re-uses included multifamily housing, hotels, and office and retail space. The New Markets Transactions he has participated in range from a hotel in Louisville, KY to a mixed use building in Providence, RI to a performing arts center in Washington, DC. While this program is still in a formative stage, he has worked on many deals that have closed, identifying various issues and solving them.

Cohn has been published in Urban Land, Multifamily Trends, NAREIT, Affordable Housing Finance, and CCIM'S publication, Commercial Investment Real Estate. He has spoken before the National Housing & Rehabilitation, the National Park Service, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation on a variety of issues relating to historic rehabilitations and New Markets Tax Credits. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Towson University and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Loyola College in Maryland. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Forum of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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RUSSELL B. COLLINS, Chief Executive Officer
Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Russ has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Theater since 1982. The Michigan Theater is a fully restored 1920s era movie palace that is operated as an elegant, not-for-profit arts facility presenting and hosting a wide-variety of high quality film and live-on-stage programs. He is married to Debra Polich, who is also an arts administrator. Debra is the President/C.E.O. of Artrain USA - American's hometown museum. Russ' professional honors include serving as a Professional Theatre Program Fellow of the University of Michigan and an Arts Administration Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts. In July 2004, he was knighted by Republic of Italy and awarded the title of "Calvaliere nell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" for his promotion of Italian film culture in the United States. For many years he was a board member of the League of Historic American Theatres. Locally, Russ is a board member of the Downtown Development Authority, the State Street Area Business Association, past board member of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau and Rotary. He currently presides at the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce's popular monthly member lecture series. Russ teaches film studies and arts administration at Eastern Michigan University and is the host of "Cinema Chat," a weekly radio program on National Public Radio affiliate WEMU. He is an Ann Arbor, Michigan native who received both a Bachelors and Masters Degree (in arts administration) from the University of Michigan.

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STEVE DAYAN, Representative
Teamsters Union Local 399 - Hollywood, California

Dayan was a location manager on many major motion pictures and TV productions and has utilized many historic landmarks (including theatres) for various filming locations. He now oversees the entire Southern California roster of location managers for the major film transportation branch of the Teamsters. In addition, Dayan recently served as chairperson for the powerful Entertainment Industry Development Corporation--a non-profit entity that authorizes film permits in the City of Los Angeles and the greater Los Angeles County.

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JOHN FAUST, Manager
Stanley Theatre - Utica, New York

John Faust has been the manager of the Stanley Theatre in Utica, New York since 1980. During his time at the Stanley, the 2,945-seat theatre has undergone over $5M in restoration and improvements and is embarking on a $17M expansion project.  During his tenure at the Stanley, usage of this community facility has quadrupled. Currently there are over 85 annual events in the theatre that host over 100,000 patrons. In addition, the theatre lobbies are used for many other events such as wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs, and corporate meetings.

Faust has developed a core of 200 + volunteers to provide all hospitality services to Stanley patrons, including all front of house, bar and concessions vending, tour guides and other projects to serve the theatre and the Arts Council, which owns and operates the venue.  Under Faust's direction, the volunteers also participate in some major fundraising activities, including the annual murder mystery production entirely produced by the volunteers that utilizes the theatre for two fun evenings that raises serious money.

Faust is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres and is currently the New York State Regional Representative. He is also a member of The Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and ConsERT -- The Consortium of Eastern Regional Theatres. Faust came to the Northeast after graduating from The University of Iowa with an MFA in Arts Administration, a BS degree in Speech and Theatre Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Earlier in his career he held management positions in a chain of small town Iowa movie theatres, and was the manager of the Chamber of Commerce in Nevada, Iowa.

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MOLLY FORTUNE, Restoration Dept. Director
Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia

Molly Fortune has served as the Restoration Department Director for the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia since March 2001. Prior to her tenure with the Fox she was a contract employee with the Department of Defense. While with DoD she was the Architectural Historian for Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield both in Savannah, Georgia. Fortune's department includes Archives, Project Management and Decorative Artisans, all in-house. Her projects have included exterior lighting, dome restoration, door and hardware restoration as well as implementing a successful internship program solely dedicated to students in architecture, museum studies and historic preservation. She was also part of the team that worked on defending the Atlanta Fox in its recent ADA lawsuit with attorneys Alston & Bird.

Fortune received her bachelor's degree from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina and her Masters in Historic Preservation, Summa Cum Laude with distinction, from Savannah College of Art and Design.

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ROBERT B. FRIEND, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Choice Ticketing Systems — Boulder, Colorado

Robert B. Friend has extensive experience in strategic and financial business operations with significant expertise in fundraising, marketing, sales and technology.  He has over 25 years of professional leadership in the nonprofit and commercial arts, entertainment and arts technology industries and has worked with and consulted for performing arts organizations throughout North America and Europe, assisting them in strengthening their financial base through enhanced audience development, marketing, fundraising and technology-based services and initiatives.

Friend currently serves as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Choice Ticketing Systems, a leading entertainment ticketing, marketing and fundraising management system for the nonprofit performing and visual arts market.  He currently is an Adjunct Professor for the Brooklyn College Department of Theatre Graduate Training Program for Performing Arts Management where he teaches the course, Marketing the Performing Arts, and is a principal consultant for Strategic Entertainment Group, focusing on fundraising, marketing, sales and technology strategies for the entertainment industry.  He has served as Executive Director for Young Audiences of Connecticut, as Director of Institutional Advancement for the Garde Arts Center in New London, CT, as the Director of Marketing and Operations for the California-based La Jolla Playhouse, and as Associate Director of Marketing for Connecticut’s Tony Award-winning Long Wharf Theatre. Friend is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, MA and resides in Madison, CT with his wife Maribel and their three children, Alyssa (8), Brianna (6) and Edward (5).

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MARGARET GENOVESE, Senior Partner
Genovese, Vanderhoof & Associates - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Margaret Genovese is a Senior Partner in the consulting firm of Genovese, Vanderhoof & Associates. Margaret was the recipient of the 2001 Association of Cultural Executives Award for her "outstanding contribution and dedication to Canadian cultural management." A graduate of Brown University, she holds MBA and MFA degrees from Southern Methodist University and a Certificate in Canadian Studies from Ryerson Polytechnic University. As a graduate student, she was awarded a Fellowship to the Theatre Program of the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Prior to coming to Canada, Margaret worked for the Trinity Square Repertory Company, the Theatre Company of Boston, Houston's Alley Theatre, the Association of American Dance Companies, and was Marketing Director for the Houston Grand Opera. For ten years she was Director of Planning & Community Relations for the Canadian Opera Company, prior to starting her own consulting firm. She has also been Acting Marketing Director on three separate occasions for the San Francisco Opera.

She is the author of HOW TO GET THE BOARD YOU NEED (Association of Canadian Orchestras, 1997) and THE ART OF THE VOLUNTEER (The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada, 1993), as well as a number of articles. She serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Arts Management. Well-known as a teacher and trainer in the cultural sector, Margaret has been an adjunct faculty member at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario and has served on the advisory board for the Centre for Cultural Management at the University of Waterloo, Confederation College, and Sir Sandford Fleming College. She has taught at the University of Toronto/Scarborough, the University of Waterloo, Simon Fraser University, and the Banff Centre School of Management.

With Dory Vanderhoof, Margaret has introduced the concept that multi-year strategic and operational planning is the most important ingredient for institutional success, development and growth. To this end, he has assisted numerous clients to fulfill their mission, stabilize and grow their institutions through the introduction of a planning process that combines dynamic income maximization programs with considered artistic vision and achievement. Margaret is proud of being part of the senior management team that introduced "Surtitles" to opera, a process that is currently embraced by every major opera company throughout the world and is credited for opera's ever expanding audience reach.

She has served on the boards of the League of Historic American Theatres, Toronto Theatre Alliance, the Performing Arts Development Fund of Toronto, OPERA CANADA Publications, and the Association of Cultural Executives, and participated on juries for the Toronto Arts Awards, the Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council, and the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives (Toronto Chapter). Margaret chaired the Marketing Committee for the International Society for the Performing Arts planning group for ISPA's 1995 conference in Toronto. Margaret has served on the board of the Textile Museum of Canada and has recently been elected Honorary Trustee.

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SCOTT F. GEORGESON, AIA, LEED AP, Associate
Holabird & Root LLC - Chicago, Illinois

Scott Georgeson is a theatre designer at Holabird & Root in Chicago. Since 1996, he has led the design of the firm's performing and cultural arts centers. Scott has more than 20 years of professional experience in programming, design and construction of arts facilities. After graduating with a master's degree in architecture with an emphasis on historical buildings and downtown redevelopment, he joined Beckley/Myers Architects to program and design the new Milwaukee Repertory Theater and master plan the Milwaukee Theater District. Scott continues to expand his theatre expertise by designing all types of performance venues for professional performing arts groups, universities, and not-for-profit community groups. In addition to the design of theatres, he has also undertaken research into requirements for theatre technologies, acoustics, theater management, and public fund raising.

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GERALDINE S. GREENSPAN, Executive Director
City Opera House Heritage Association, Traverse City, MI

Gerie Greenspan, Executive Director of City Opera House Heritage Association, conducts the Raising the Curtain campaign to fully restore Michigan's 1892 vaudeville theater as a showcase cultural attraction. Her 28 years of experience includes administration in arts education and development (Interlochen Center for the Arts), historic preservation and law. Active in her regional arts council's Cultural Organization Coalition, she also serves on the board of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network. Ms. Greenspan secured for Traverse City a State grant from the 2005 Cool Cities Neighborhoods in Progress initiative that installed professional arts presentation technologies in a flexible American Eclectic performance space. In 2006, she accepted the Governors Award in Historic Preservation on behalf of partners in the $9 million City Opera House Restoration Project. The award recognized campaign success among all fund sectors that applied over $5.6 million to restore a 700 seat City-owned landmark. New collaborations between municipal, private and non-profit interests, and use of a unique financing model with traditional fund-raising techniques earned the project more than $1.5 million investment through tax credit syndication with National City Community Development Corp. She has been invited to share her story during national and state conference workshops in 2005-06, including the National Park Service "Preserve and Play" conference and Michigan Economic Development Corporation's "Art of Cool." As a part-time pianist/producer, Gerie also collaborates with classic, American popular song and jazz recording artists; her educational credential includes USC, UCLA, and University of Louisville.

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PEYTON HALL, FAIA, Principal and Director of Architecture
Historic Resources Group, LLC - Hollywood, California

B.Arch., University of Virginia; M.E.D., Yale University

Hall is widely recognized in the field of historic architecture. As principal and director of architecture at Historic Resources Group, LLC, he has been the lead preservation consultant for the preservation of The Gamble House since 1997. His work includes the earthquake restoration project at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Angels Flight Railway, the Rose Bowl rehabilitation, and 12 buildings at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument (Olvera Street), and restoration at Grauman's Chinese and Egyptian Theatres. Peyton was the preservation monitor for recent work at Frank Lloyd Wright's Barnsdall House, consulted with USC on the Getty Grant-funded concrete block project at Wright's Freeman House, and is the historic architect for repairs in progress at Wright's Ennis House. Other theatre projects are the Alex Theatre (Glendale, CA), Fillmore Towne Theater (Fillmore, CA), Miles Memorial Playhouse (Santa Monica, CA), Orpheum Theatre (Wichita, KS), and currently, the Fox Theatre in Riverside, CA.

Hall teaches in the USC summer program as well as courses in the graduate degree program in historic preservation. He has presented papers at the national conferences of the American Institute of Architects, Association for Preservation Technology International, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Society of Architectural Historians, as well as educational conference sponsored by the National Park Service. His projects have received awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the California Preservation Foundation, the Los Angeles Conservancy, and the American Institute of Architects. He is President Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the California Preservation Foundation and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of Pasadena Heritage.

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BECKY HANCOCK, General Manager
Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, Tennessee

Becky Hancock is General Manager of the Tennessee Theatre, a 1928 Spanish-Moorish movie palace in downtown Knoxville. Becky studied music history and German in college and spent six years in New York City at a classical music public relations firm, before returning to her hometown and falling in love with historic theatres. At the time of her hiring in 2001, Becky was one of only two full-time staff at the Tennessee, so there was a lot to learn to love! In 2003 the Tennessee Theatre closed for a $25 Million renovation and restoration. During the 19-month project, Becky served on the Building Committee and worked closely with architects, specialty consultants, general contractor, and the theatre foundation's board members as the team strove to design and construct a functional, cost-efficient, and resplendent performing arts venue. The Tennessee re-opened in January 2005 and has hosted a wide variety of performers from all arts disciplines and music genres, as well as corporate and private events, classic film screenings, and free Wurlitzer Organ concerts. The first year of new operation brought 140,000 visitors to 150 events in the 1600-seat venue. The Tennessee Theatre appeared on Pollstar Magazine's "World Top 50 Venues: Theaters" list, based on ticket sales during the first quarter of 2005.

Becky now oversees six personnel in daily operations and event management and collaborates with the foundation staff in development and community outreach. She is a member of Knox Heritage, a local organization that advocates for the preservation of places or structures with historic or cultural significance, and in her free time enjoys renovating her 120-year-old home with her husband.

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JOHN H. HEMSATH, Director of Theater Operations
Playhouse Square Foundation - Cleveland, Ohio

John Hemsath is the Director of Theater Operations for Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland, Ohio.  He has participated in the design and renovation of much of Playhouse Square Center including ADA compliance.  His day-to-day responsibilities include the supervision of the technical department, maintenance, housekeeping, house management, volunteers, parking, and security.  He also works closely with the constituent companies of the Center, and coordinates theatrical rentals.

Playhouse Square Center is comprised of five theaters (four of which are contiguous) and three performing spaces.  The Center has over 10,000 seats and entertains approximately one million guests per year.

He is a member of the International Association of Assembly Managers, and servers on the board of LHAT.

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CHAD HERSHNER, President & CEO
The Paramount Theater – Charlottesville, Virginia

Chad Hershner, President & CEO of the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, VA is a current LHAT board member. The Paramount, a historic Rapp & Rapp
1931 movie palace designed in the neo-Jefferson tradition, operated until
1974 and re-opened in December 2005 after extensive restoration, renovation and expansion. Chad successfully mobilized his board and other key
volunteers to complete a $14,400,000 capital campaign, the largest
non-university campaign in the community's history, $4,500,000 in the form
of Historic Tax Credits. Since December 2005, artists have been playing to
sold out houses at the Paramount. Students of all ages are responding
positively to Arts Reach, the Paramount's education and outreach program.

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EDWARD KELSEY, General Manager
Orpheum Theatre – Loc Angeles, California

Edward Kelsey is the General Manager of the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles as well as the Construction Manager for Anjac Fashion Buildings, the owner and operator of the Orpheum. Edward has been with Anjac since 1999, first as construction manager for the renovation of the Wurlitzer Building and then as project manager for a $3.5 million renovation of the Orpheum Theatre in 2001. Since then, he has acted as general manager of the theatre while assisting Anjac in the ongoing renovation of their other properties in the historic center of Los Angeles. The Orpheum currently operated as a rental venue, with a variety of productions ranging from music to dance to awards shows and film screenings, as well as many TV and film productions. Prior to joining Anjac, Edward was on the technical staff of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts for over six years, as well as operating his own production and consulting business – Historic Theater Services. He is a member of the Los Angeles Conservancy, and is on the board of directors of the Theatre Historical Society of America. He has contributed articles on historic theatres to various national publications.

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JAN KLINGELHOFER, Pacific Film Resources - California

Jan Klingelhofer has worked in movie distribution and exhibition for over twenty five years working at Paramount Pictures Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox before moving to the Landmark Theatre Corporation where she became Vice President of Film Buying, responsible for programming repertory calendars, first run specialized and upscale commercial runs, genre series and midnight shows in theatres across the United States. In 1992, Klingelhofer launched her own consulting service advising independent theatre owners, retaining a focus on independent films and historic theater buildings. Other avocations and activities have included participation in many film industry organizations and festivals including: Women in Film, Northern California Women in Film and Television, ON SCREEN: A Celebration of Women in Film, the Mill Valley Film Festival, Taos Talking Pictures, the St. Louis international Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Festival of American Cinema in Deauville, France in 1998.

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TARA JONES, President
National Preservation Partners – Los Angeles, California

Tara Jones is a licensed real estate professional with over 16 years of lending and real estate experience. She has founded four separate companies, Historic Consultants, Inc., City Center Mortgage, Landmark Brokerage, and National Preservation Partners, that focus exclusively on providing consulting, financing and real estate services for rehabilitating historic buildings. Ms. Jones is responsible for pioneering new techniques of reducing the costs and time for a historic preservation project by focusing on streamlining the pre-development process and arranging the financing, and the financial incentives for the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

National Preservation Partners (NPP), a nationwide nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve, protect, restore, and rehabilitating historic buildings by providing technical services, heading up planning projects, and providing pre-development loans for feasibility studies.

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JOHN LEITH-TETRAULT, President
National Trust Community Investment Fund - Washington, DC

John Leith-Tetrault has 25 years of nonprofit and for profit experience in community development, urban real estate finance, community development banking, historic preservation, training and urban planning. He has specialized in developing community-based and city-wide partnerships with the financial strength to facilitate the rehabilitation of properties that provide an economic benefit to low-income neighborhoods and central business districts. His employment history includes senior positions with the Enterprise Foundation, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, Bank of America and Neighborhood Housing Services. He has held his current position with the National Trust since 1994.
As President of the National Trust Community Investment Fund, Leith-Tetrault manages all of the Trust's community development, CDFI lending, real estate consulting and tax credit equity initiatives. He has also made the National Trust an industry leader in the placement of corporate equity investments in real estate projects qualified for federal and state historic tax credits. Leith-Tetrault holds a BA in history from Georgetown University and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from George Washington University.

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JEFF LOEB, Director of Operations
Nederlander's Pantages Theatre – Los Angeles, California

Jeff Loeb is currently the Director of Operations for the Nederlander's Pantages Theatre and was formerly the Associate General Manager of the Los Angeles Shubert Theatre.

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V. MITCHELL LYLES, P.E., Associate Principal, Director of Engineering
Westlake Reed Leskosky – Cleveland, Ohio

Mitch Lyles, Associate Principal and Director of Engineering at Westlake Reed Leskosky, has extensive experience in design and management of engineered systems for historic theatres, including the award-winning Historic Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Coronado Theatre in Rockford, IL, Strand-Capitol Theatre in York, PA, and currently the Balboa Theatre in San Diego. Mr. Lyles leads the firm's integrated engineering effort and staff, as well as quality control for mechanical engineering.

Under his leadership, Westlake Reed Leskosky received the prestigious ASHRAE Region V Technology Award for state-of-the-art, efficient mechanical systems in the historic Coronado Theatre. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University. Mr. Lyles has presented at technical and professional societies of: ASHRAE, Cleveland Chapter, and the Cleveland Engineering Society.

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CRAIG MORRISON, AIA
New York, New York

Craig Morrison graduated from the University of Michigan and obtained his master’s degree from Columbia University. He has worked exclusively in the field of historic preservation and restoration since 1965.  In addition to architectural practice, he held staff positions with the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Since establishing his firm in 1984 he has worked across the country as architect and consultant specializing in the restoration of theatres, churches and public buildings.  Significant projects have included the Second Bank of the United State (Philadelphia), the Academy of Music (Philadelphia), the New York State Senate (Albany), Conversation Hall (in Philadelphia City Hall), the Detroit Institute of Arts Auditorium (Detroit), the Academy of Music (Meadville, PA), the Hammerstein Ballroom (New York), the Great Auditorium (Ocean Grove, NJ), the Woodward Opera House (Mt. Vernon, OH), the Grand Opera House of the South (Crowley, LA) and projects in the Pennsylvania Capitol at Harrisburg, where he served as special restoration consultant.
 
Morrison served in the Board of Architectural Review in Alexandria, VA and was the first Chairman of the Historic Designation Advisory Board in Detroit. He has taught and lectured at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, Yale University and Oxford Polytechnic.  He chaired AIA Chapter Historic Buildings Committees in Philadelphia and New York and served on the Board of the League of Historic American Theatres. In 2005, he founded Theater Heritage, Ltd., whose mission is to complete a nationwide inventory of historic theatre buildings.
 
Morrison recently authored Theaters, the first major pictorial history of American theatre buildings, published in December 2005 by W.W. Norton.
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HALSEY NORTH, Chairman, & ALICE NORTH, President
The North Group Inc. – New York, New York

Halsey and Alice North jointly head The North Group Inc., a consulting firm that assists nonprofit arts organizations across the country with fundraising, capital fund drives, feasibility studies, and strategic planning. They wrote the chapter on fundraising for Fundamentals of Arts Management. Halsey is the former executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council, Charlotte Arts & Science Council, and New York City's Cultural Council Foundation. He was corporate contributions manager of Philip Morris Companies. Alice was an investment banker. Halsey and Alice are both MBAs and, between them, have received the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Association of Arts Councils, the Chairman's Award from the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (now Americans for The Arts), and the Fan Taylor Award from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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STEVE OCHS, Producer/Director
Sun Valley, California

Ochs recently produced and directed a "labor of love" short film entitled "Le Petomane," a film biography of a legendary French vaudeville performer named Joseph Pujol, which he hopes to receive Academy Award consideration. Though Ochs' background has predominately been involved with product placement in film and TV productions, he recently embarked on a film career and successfully produced the above short film, which has been receiving tremendous acclaim and exposure in the national film festival circuit.

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JON OLIVAN
LHAT's Southern California Colleague – Los Angeles, California

In 1989, Olivan first demonstrated the viability of L.A.'s Broadway district theatres as location filming sites which prior to that time had never been fully marketed or cultivated for that type of profitable rental use. He launched the film and event location division of Metropolitan Theatres which continued for 15 years and utilized that chain's unique cache of historic theatres then including the Orpheum, Los Angeles, State, Palace, Million Dollar, Cameo, Arcade, Olympic and Tower Theatres in downtown L.A. as well as its Fox Wilmington and El Monte theatres in their respective suburbs. Revenues permitted that operating company to clean up and properly relight the interiors of these theatre, which had become faded. It also allowed Metropolitan to keep many endangered theatres in operation for a longer period of time than would have otherwise been possible before their ultimate closures as movie theatres in the late 1990's. Filming also provided a major incentive to make the stages in those theatres usable again—many not used since vaudeville. For several years, location filming funded complete restoration of several of the district's vintage neon marquees. Olivan also negotiated various smaller scale rehab projects including the restoration of water damaged auditorium sidewalls, carpet replacement, decorative repainting, reupholstering, re-rigging, complete hardwood stage floor refinishing, donations to the non-profit Friends Of The Orpheum group and more. Four of the Broadway district theatres have remained a robust location filming resource through present day (now represented by their individual property owners).

Olivan continues to actively represent downtown L.A.'s Tower Theater for a high volume of location filming and is orchestrating plans to see the site revived for live entertainment use.

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LANCE OLSON, Manager
Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College - Boston, Massachusetts

Lance Olson joined the Emerson College staff in November, 1993. During his tenure at Emerson College he has promoted partnerships with Boston's finest not-for-profit resident arts groups which have served to stabilize and strengthen the Majestic, and make it the most active, serving the most diverse communities, among Boston's Historic Theatre District facilities. He has raised funds for and supervised nearly $500k in restoration and improvement projects that have created a 21st century theater inside a landmark 19th century shell.

Olson serves as President of Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities (MAASH) as a member of the Legislative Advocacy Committee of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters as a trustee of Dance Makers, Inc. as a member of the steering committee of the Boston Historic Theatres Charrette as a member of the board of New York's Improvisational Arts Ensembles, Inc. on the Education Advisory Council for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and as a member of the League of Historic American Theatres, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Boston Preservation Alliance. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and of Brooklyn College, holding an M.F.A degree in Performing Arts Administration.

Olson has worked in the professional performing arts since 1969. Most recently he served as the presenter at Rutgers University, where he was one of the founders and the Executive Director of Rutgers SummerFest. While at Rutgers, he expanded outside presentations and residencies from five classical music concerts in 1986 into a 110-event multi-disciplinary community service program. Olson conceived and executed Rutgers' Nikolais/Louis Residency and Retrospective Program, during which the University commissioned the reconstruction of twelve works from the first 25 years of the multi-media geniuses Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. The project received the largest grant ever awarded by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Arts Partners Program administered by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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HOWELL PALMER (see Susan Sperber)

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MAUREEN M. PATTON, Executive Director
The Grand 1894 Opera House – Galveston, Texas

Patton has been the Executive Director of The Grand 1894 Opera House since 1981. Her many duties include and have included overseeing the theatre's $2.8 million budget, supervising its administration, directing two major capital campaigns and scheduling The Grand's vibrant programming. Patton holds a B.A. degree in Music and a Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition.

She has served her community on numerous boards and is active on a number of community building organizations, including the Rotary Club of Galveston, Galveston Railroad Museum and Historic Downtown/Strand Partnership and Galveston's Commission for the Arts. She was chairman of G.I.S.D's Fine Arts Advisory Committee as well as a trustee at First Presbyterian Church. She has served on the national board of LHAT, is a past conference chair and past president. She is also on the board of the Southwest Performing Arts Presenters and has served on the Arts Review Panels for both the Texas Commission on the Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance. In 1990, she was selected to represent the Mid-American Arts Alliance in Canada during discussions about a U.S./Canadian Artists Exchange Program.

Patton has been awarded the President's Award by the Strand Association; the Downtown Promotion Award for Individual Service, the Edwin J. Weiss Spirit Award and the Downtown Renaissance Hall of Fame by the Historic Downtown/Strand Partnership; the President's Award and Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Galveston; the Steel Oleander Award by the Galveston Historical Foundation; the Leonard Kempner Thompson Community Enrichment Award by The Grand 1894 Opera House; and LHAT's Outstanding Individual Contribution Award.

In addition to the LHAT and SWPAP, she holds a professional membership in the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. A frequent panelist and speaker at arts conferences and an advocate for the historic theatre movement, Patton has served as a management and programming consultant on 15 theatre projects in four states.

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BARRY REBO, Emerging Pictures, Inc.
New York, New York

Barry Rebo co-founded the first high definition video (HDTV) production company in the United States and has long been a pioneer in cutting edge video systems. His current primary focus is EmergingCinemas, (www.EmergingCinemas.com), which he founded in early 2000 with digital projection pioneer Giovanni Cozzi. EmergingCinemas is creating a national network of digital theaters in partnership with some of the nations most prestigious performing arts venues, historic theaters, museums, and science & technology centers. Rebo has produced or Executive Produced more than one hundred and fifty high definition commercials, documentary specials, short features, live concerts, music videos and animation programs. He has been awarded many honors, including national and local Emmy Awards for documentary cinematography. He was recently elected to serve a two-year term on the Board of Governors of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Science. Rebo is a widely recognized expert in digital imaging systems by both the electronic and print media.

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SARAH M. RICHARDS, President
Hawaii Theatre Center - Honolulu, Hawaii

Sarah M. Richards is the President of the Hawaii Theatre Center and during her tenure, $32 million has been raised to restore and renovate the 1,400-seat, state-of-the-art historic theatre.  Over $1 million is realized annually from individuals, corporations and foundations to support theatre operations.  Ten years of successful operation culminated in the 2005 award from the League as “Outstanding Historic Theatre “ in America.

Previously the Executive Director of the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Richards served as a board member of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, was a member of the Executive Committee of Western States Arts Federation, and a panelist for the Opera/Musical Theatre Program of the National Endowment for the Arts.  She was President of the Hawaii Opera Theatre, a board member of the Honolulu Symphony and Pan-Pacific Director for the Metropolitan Opera National Council, President of the Hawaii Planned Giving Council, Director of Bishop Trust Co. Ltd., and Regional Director of National Society of Arts and Letters.  Formerly in higher education, Richards served as a University Dean for 12 years at Albion College in Albion, Michigan and Chaminade University of Honolulu.  Born in Indiana, she received an AB in English and Music from DePauw University and Masters Degrees from Indiana University.

Richards is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Sigma Alpha Iota and Pi Lambda Theta honoraries and is listed in the “Who’s Who of American Women.”

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TONY RIVENBARK, Executive Director
Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts - Wilmington, North Carolina

A native of Duplin County, North Carolina, Rivenbark attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he received his Bachelor of Arts on history with a minor in drama in 1970.  His graduate work at Chapel Hill specialized in 19th century American Theatre.  Rivenbark made his theatrical debut in Thalian Hall in 1966 in the Wilmington College/Thalian Association production of Good News.  Since then he has worked in university, community, and professional theatre and had appeared in over 150 productions.   In 1970, Rivenbark moved to New York City where he appeared in several off-Broadway productions including Holy Ghost and The Passionate Men, and served as stage manager and assistant to painter and sculptor Dorothy Gillespie.  He returned to Wilmington in 1977 and helped develop the Historic Wilmington Tour and served as first tour manager for Thalian Hall.
 
In 1979, he became the first Executive Director for the Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.  Under his direction, the little-used facility grew to serve Wilmington and the region as a successful arts center.  In 1983 he produced the 125th anniversary celebration of Thalian Hall and served as executive producer of Remembered Nights, an original musical comedy about historic theatres featuring Broadway and film actor Lou Criscuolo. From that association, Rivenbark helped form the Opera House Theatre Company, which has become Thalian Hall’s major rental client. Rivenbark was instrumental in the $5 million expansion and renovation of Thalian Hall/City Hall completed in 1990.  The facility is now used over 340 days a year with over 300 performances annually and rentals by over 30 educational, community arts and civic organizations.  He frequently lectures throughout the country on Thalian Hall and historic theatre renovation, and is author of Time, Talent, and Tradition on the history of theatre and cultural arts in Wilmington.  In 1966, he was awarded the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Cup in recognition for outstanding contributions to the history of Wilmington, and in 2005 the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts from Celebrate Wilmington, a partnership of the community and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His participation with the League of Historic American Theatres began in 1982, and he served on the Board of Directors for a number of years, attending and participating in numerous conferences.  Rivenbark was the recipient of the LHAT 2005 Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution. top

ANN SACHS, President
Sachs Morgan Studio - Theatre Design Specialists – New York, New York

Ann Sachs is the President of Sachs Morgan Studio - Theatre Design Specialists. A Carnegie-Mellon graduate, she played leading roles On and Off Broadway and in resident theatres from 1970 to 1990. She was a guest artist at Sarah Lawrence College from 1990–1992, co-author of Mama Drama, a play about motherhood published by Samuel French. Ann is a member of the Women Presidents Organization (WPO), a national peer advisory organization for successful women business owners. Ann and her husband Roger Morgan are longtime personal and professional partners, and the proud parents of two grown children, Abigail and Sam.

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NUMA SAISSELIN, CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc. - Red Bank, New Jersey

Numa Saisselin is the CEO of the Count Basie Theatre, Inc. in Red Bank, New Jersey. A native of Huntington, Long Island, Numa holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the Fredonia School of Music, where he studied French Horn and some conducting, a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Adelphi University School of Business and Banking, and a post Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Management Institute at the Springfield College School of Human Services, which he attended on a full and unsolicited scholarship from the Texaco Foundation.

Since taking the big chair at the Basie just three years ago, Numa and the nonprofit theatre's Board of Trustees and staff have increased the number of in-house promotions from just a dozen to about 50 a year, increased rental business from 50 to 60 performances a year to about 100, and increased the venue's annual attendance from about 50,000 to over 130,000 people a year. The theatre's annual operating budget has doubled to $3.5 million a year, and a cumulative deficit has been eliminated. Enrollment in the Count's Cool School, the theatre's arts education program, has increased from 60 to over 600 students a year, and a new partnership with American Jazz Venues is incubating the Count Basie Theatre Youth Jazz Orchestra and Program. In addition to those successes, $1 million of capital improvement funds were raised in 2004, and in the summer of last year closed for a month to replace its 40 year old seats (acquired used from Carnegie Hall in 1986) with brand new historically accurate seats designed by theatre architect Francesca Russo and manufactured by Irwin Seating. The theatre also demolished and restored its balcony to its original 1920's configuration, raising the house capacity for 1,400 to 1,550. The theatre reopened on August 20, 2004 in time to celebrate the 100th birthday of its namesake, William “Count” Basie, with a gala performance by Nnenna Freelon and the Count Basie Orchestra. In 2005 the Basie steps into the producing world with the creation of the Jersey Shore Rock and Soul Revue, a project to pay tribute to the great artists of the rock & roll era and the body of work they produced, featuring an all star ensemble of the Jersey Shore's finest musicians under the musical direction of Bobby Bandiera. The February 25 debut performance is already almost sold out, and plans are underway to tour the show. Also on tap in 2005 is the premiere performance of the Minneapolis based Shapiro and Smith Dance Company's “Anytown,” and evening length modern dance work with music by Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell.

From 1998 to 2002 Numa was the Managing and Artistic Director of The CSI Center for the Arts, a five theatre complex located on the campus of the City University of New York's College of Staten Island. He inaugurated the two year old Facility's performing arts series, increased the annual budget from about $350,000 to over $1 million, and increased annual attendance by 500%. One accomplishment was the creation of the CSI Center's Dress Rehearsal Contract for Artists and Ensembles, which provided commercial and nonprofit producers with dress rehearsal space and technical support in exchange for performances, enabling the center to present the opening performances of 13 national tours by The Acting Company, DanceAisa, and several other well-known producers.

From 1992 to 1997 he was the Executive Director of the Paramount Center for the Arts, a 1,000 seat circa 1930 historic theatre located in Westchester County, New York. During his tenure the venue's annual attendance, average attendance and annual budget all doubled, a cumulative deficit equal to half the annual operating budget was eliminated, and the organization began to restore its building with a capital campaign to restore the theatre's historic marquee, raising almost 30% more than was needed.

Numa put himself through music school working as a stagehand, and graduated music school thinking that he would become a high school band director. He taught music in a special education school for a year, but via continued work ad a stagehand discovered the field of arts administration. On the way up he was the Associate Director of the Paramount Center for the Arts, a fundraising consultant for Circle of Dance Repertory and Cartoon Opera, the Business Manager and Grants Writer for Friends of the Arts, Technical Director fot eh Harry Chapin Rainbow Stage in Huntington, New York's Heckscher Park, the host and producer of C. W. Post College Public Radio's “American Music Masters” series, and a would-be lighting designer. In 1986 Newsday said that his lighting design for Studio Arena Theatre's production of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” “…handsomely enhanced the set design…”

Numa has been a grants panelist for the New York State Council for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, the Westchester Arts Council and the Westchester County Office of Cultural Development. He has been a board retreat facilitator for the Northern Westchester and Putnam Women's Center, and a speaker on arts marketing, community development, and historic theatres for the Northeast Performing Arts Conference, the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, the West Brighton Local Development Corporation, the Putnam County Division of Planning, the Southeast Museum, and the State Theatre in Ithaca, New York. He has authored articles for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the Association of College, University, and Community Arts Administrators, and Newhouse Newspapers. He is a past president of the Consortium of Eastern Regional Theatres, a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and the New Jersey Co* League for the League of Historic American Theatres. He is the recipient of the Council of the Arts and Humanities for the Staten Island's Esther Dean Award for Community Service for spearheading the response of the cultural community of the New York City Borough of Staten Island to the events of September 11, 2001, and he has also received the Rotary District 7270 Governor's Award for Best Newsletter, The Management Institute's Outstanding Leadership Award, Fredonia College's Alma Mater Society Award (that institution's highest non-academic honor), and the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award (received in high school for reasons that remain a mystery to this day).

Numa is a resident of Asbury Park, NJ.

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KURT SCHINDLER, AIA, Principal
ELS Architecture and Urban Design - Berkeley, California

Kurt Schindler, AIA, is a Principal at ELS and directs the majority of the firm’s historic and theater renovation projects.  Over his professional career he has been involved in master planning, programming, design, and feasibility studies for dozens of historic and cultural facilities. He possesses a special expertise in assessing the adaptive reuse or upgrade potential of existing buildings and has extensive experience integrating state-of-the-art theatre technology, decorative lighting, seating, and restoration of interior and exterior elements while maintaining a building’s historic character.

Schindler’s completed historic theatre projects include the award winning renovation of the 1927 California Theatre in San Jose, a 1,160 seat regional performing arts facility and film venue recently published in Traditional Building and Urban Land Institute magazines; the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, a 2,750-seat concert hall, converted from a 1928 Rapp & Rapp Paramount movie house currently being used by the local symphony and touring musical shows; and the Morgan Hill Playhouse, an historic church converted into a community playhouse for a resident theater group. He also worked on the new 600-seat Berkeley Repertory Theatre designed to be compatible with both the existing theatre and a neighboring historic landmark building at the center of the downtown Arts District.
 
He is currently working on the 1920’s Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy; the 1928 Oakland Fox Theatre and the 1929 Pleasanton Firehouse Arts Center, which includes a 250-seat flexible theatre. Other historic projects include the adaptive reuse of a Beaux Arts train station in Oakland; the 1894 St. Mark's Church in San Francisco; the 1904 Temple Sherith Israel in San Francisco; the 1915 Historic Old Administration Building at Fresno City College; and the landmark Mission Inn in San Diego, built in several stages between 1903 and 1931.
 
Schindler received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1970 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1975 from the University of California at Berkeley and is licensed to practice architecture in California. He lectures regularly on issues related to the renovation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
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DAVID F. SCHON, Partner
Nixon Peabody - Washington, DC

David Schon is a partner in Nixon Peabody's syndication group. His practice centers on real estate development and finance, with emphasis on historic preservation and community development. He has structured, negotiated and closed transactions nationwide on behalf of investors and developers, many involving the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, New Markets Tax Credits or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit syndication. Mr. Schon serves on the boards of directors of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and Preservation Action and on the loan advisory committee of Partners for the Common Good. Previously, Mr. Schon was associate director of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.

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BARBARA SMITH, Executive Director
American Cinematheque - Hollywood, California

Barbara Zicka Smith co-founded the American Cinematheque, a nonprofit, viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization established in 1981, which is dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all its forms. She has served as the organization's director since 1992. Smith spearheaded the redevelopment of the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as the permanent home of the Cinematheque. In 2005, the Cinematheque reopened the renovated Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. In 1999 Smith was the Executive Producer on FOREVER HOLLYWOOD, a 55-minute film celebrating a century of movie-making, and serves as executive producer of the annual Cinematheque Tribute broadcast on AMC.

Prior to her involvement with the Cinematheque, Smith was the Associate Director of the legendary Los Angeles International Film Exposition (FILMEX) from 1977 to 1983. Smith is a graduate of Northwestern University and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

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SUSAN SPERBER & HOWELL PALMER, Co-founders
The Palmer Westport Group, Barrington, Massachusetts

Susan Sperber and Howell Palmer co-founded the Palmer Westport Group, an arts management consulting firm. Susan is the former Executive Director and Howell the former Board President of The Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield, MA. At the Colonial, Susan and Howell led the board/staff team to produce and present programs, raise funds, do long-range planning, and lay the groundwork for a $21,456,002 restoration of the 100-year-old, architecturally-significant historic Colonial Theatre, dark for over half a century, and the 30,000 square foot adjacent annex building. The capital campaign included $6,265,322 in New Market and Historic Tax Credits. Susan began her tenure with the Colonial in 1998 as a founding board member. She was a co-founder of Barrington Stage Company, a producing theatre company that recently won two Tony awards for The Putnam County Spelling Bee; managing director of The Berkshire Theatre Festival; Information Systems Manager at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; Director of Major Gifts at WGBY Public Television; and General Manager of CompuWorks, a systems integration firm in the Berkshires. Howell is the former President & CEO of Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, a wholly owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, and the founding President of Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation. Howell has also served on the Boards of Directors of the American Red Cross and the Coolidge Hill Foundation. Together, Howell and Susan have raised over $23,000,000 ¡V $19,000,000 together for the Colonial Theater, $3,000,000 by Howell for the American Red Cross, and $1,000,000 by Susan in annual operating support for the Barrington Stage Company.

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HERB STRATFORD, Founder and Executive Director
Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation – Tucson, Arizona

Herb Stratford is the founder and executive director of the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation, an Arizona 501 (c) (3) non-profit established in 1999 to restore and operate the 1929 Southwestern Art Deco Fox Tucson Theatre. Following 6-1/2 years of work, and the assembly of over $13 million in funding from diverse sources, the theatre reopened on December 31, 2005. The Fox Tucson Theatre project was the 2nd theatre in the United States to capture the combined Federal Historic Tax Credits and New Markets Tax Credits thanks to a partnership with the National Trust's Community Investment Fund. Herb also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the League of Historic American Theatres.

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KERRY STRATFORD, Principal
Boelts/Stratford Associates - Tucson, Arizona

Kerry is a partner in Boelts/Stratford Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized design firm with over 20 years of creating compelling identities and marketing solutions for their clients. Their work is as varied as their client base and includes regional and national companies in the fields of development, commerce, manufacturing, technology, education, healthcare, the arts, public works, aviation, retail, entertainment and publishing, among others. The firm is involved in every aspect of integrated marketing campaigns including all forms of collateral and marketing materials, advertising and promotions, environmental, multimedia and web design.

Kerry has been awarded over 500 international, national and regional awards for her work, has been shown in major exhibitions in cities such as Mexico City, Moscow, Warsaw and Munich, and is regularly featured in books and periodicals on design. Her work has appeared in every major design publication around the world and is regularly invited to speak to industry groups about the firm and their work. Since 1996, she has also taught classes at the University of Arizona in the Visual Communications department from which she holds a B.F.A. Kerry lives in Tucson with her husband Herb and their nine-year-old son Matthew, and has spent the past six years helping her husband with the restoration, branding, marketing and operation of the Fox Tucson Theatre.

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LEE TAPPER, P.E., C.I.A.Q.P., LEED AP, Director of Engineering
Holabird & Root - Rochester, Minnesota

As director of engineering with Holabird & Root, Tapper defines the proper environmental conditions, stressing safety and functionality, for theatre facilities. His experience includes mechanical layout and design, including material and equipment selection, heating, air conditioning, district cooling, plumbing and fire protection systems. As a certified indoor air quality professional, Tapper has extensive experience in designing systems that provide superior and sustainable air. He also has experience in preparing load calculations, mathematical modeling, and feasibility studies, cost estimates, energy analysis and construction documents for historic theatres.

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THOMAS E. WEIDEMANN, Executive Director
Clemens Center, Elmira, New York

Since 1983, Tom Weidemann has managed the Clemens Center in downtown Elmira, NY.  Housing a 1,600-seat proscenium theater from 1928 and a black box theater from 1987, the Center hosts 100,000 people a year to an array of professional touring artists and local performing groups.  He has helped manage the operation out of debt, into a string of operating surpluses.  Weidemann has led the organization through one major capital fundraising drive to renovate the public spaces of the Center and is preparing for a second major capital fundraising drive to expand stage facilities and renovate the audience chamber interior.  In 2003, Weidemann was awarded the first National Award for Excellence in Presenting by the National Association of Performing Artists Managers and Agents.

Weidemann is Vice President of the Elmira Rotary Club and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.  He has served on several grant-review panels of the New York State Council on the Arts.  He is an Associate of the Arts Extension Service of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, teaching fundraising for their online courses and national conferences.  Weidemann has been a consultant in theater operations and a speaker at national and state symposiums speaking on programming, organizational development, board development and fundraising.

Prior to his work in Elmira, Weidemann was the General Manager of the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, IN for five years.  And in a yet earlier incarnation, he taught Secondary School English in the Wayland Central School District of Upstate New York.  He holds a B.A. in Secondary Education and in Theater Arts from SUNY Genesco, as well as graduate studies in Educational Administration through SUNY Brockport.   He also holds a certificate as a Spiritual Director through Oasis Ministries of Camp Hill, PA. top

PAUL WESTLAKE, JR., FAIA, Managing Principal
Westlake Reed Leskosky - Cleveland, Ohio

Paul Westlake is Managing Principal in the firm of Westlake Reed Leskosky Architects, founded in Cleveland in 1905, with offices in Cleveland and Phoenix. He is one of the youngest architects to be elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which, with the exception of the Gold Medal, is the highest honor an architect can receive from the AIA. Westlake is also a recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize for Architecture of the Women's City Club, and over 50 significant design awards for a range of widely exhibited and published projects - from major performing arts facilities and health care complexes, to courthouses, educational and financial institutions, and residences. His significant work and clients include: the Phoenix Orpheum Theatre, the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre at the Denver Arts Complex, the National Parks Service for work at the Grand Canyon, the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Westlake received a Masters of Architecture with Faculty Commendation from Harvard University, where he founded the Harvard Architecture Review, recognized internationally as a leading journal of architectural theory, and was a Graham Foundation and AIA Foundation Scholar. He also received a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude with Distinction in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts and Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Magna cum laude from the Wharton School, with a major in finance. While maintaining an active professional practice, he lectures widely and has served on the Graduate Faculty and the Advisory Council of the School of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University, the Council for Design Excellence at Arizona State University and is the Regional Chair of Alumni/ae Council of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

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CECIL WHITMIRE, Executive Director
Alabama Theatre, Birmingham, AL

Cecil Whitmire, Graduate of the University of Tennessee, with continued education at Ohio State, worked 42 years as a General Manager and Vic -President of a hardware distribution center in Knoxville, Tennessee.  During that time he was also organist at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxvile.  His love of the movie palaces was developed during that time.  In 1976 the hardware position moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and Whitmire moved to the organist position at the big Alabama Theatre.  The owners of the Alabama Theatre declared bankruptcy in 1987; Whitmire organized a small group of people to save the organ in the Alabama and, in turn, saved the theatre by accident!

Cecil has been President and Executive Director of the Alabama Theatre since 1987.
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CHRIS WINEMAN, Principal
Semple Brown Design, P.C. – Denver, Colorado

Chris assists cultural and community clients in the planning of new and renovated facilities, with particular emphasis on the integration of management and programming concerns in planning. He has worked with municipal, higher education and private clients. He is an experienced non-profit management consultant with experience in facilitation, programming, fundraising and strategic planning. As a principal of the firm, Chris participates in the management of projects, strategic business development and the planning of cultural projects. Prior to joining Semple Brown Design, Chris served on the senior management teams of the nation's leading resident theatre companies, including stints as the executive director of the Denver Center Theatre Company/National Theatre Conservatory and director of development at Actors Theatre of Louisville. He has produced, acted in and directed numerous world-premiere plays. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting and his Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Chris is a member of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, the board of directors of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts and Arts for Colorado. He has served as a grant review panelist for the Idaho, Nebraska and Colorado state arts councils.

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DAVID D. WOYTEK, JR., Associate, Electrical Engineering
Westlake Reed Leskosky - Cleveland, Ohio

David D. Woytek, Jr. is an electrical project engineer leading the electrical design effort for numerous, significant historic theatre and performing arts projects. He has designed power distribution, interior and exterior lighting including refurbished and replicated fixtures, emergency lighting, and fire alarm among other technical systems. He also has a background in analyzing existing electrical systems and providing recommendations for implementing energy conservation measures.

Mr. Woytek is a Certified Thermographer with experience using infrared technology to inspect facility electrical and mechanical systems. His project involvement includes a number of the firm's award-winning and widely published projects, such as the Coronado Theatre restoration, the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, the Strand-Capitol in York, PA, and currently the Balboa Theatre in San Diego.