Biography

JENNIFER BIELSTEIN (Executive Director) joined A.C.T. in 2018. She serves on the board of TCG (Theatre Communications Group), is a member of the International Women’s Forum, the Advance SF Advisory Panel and the leadership team of the SF Arts Alliance, was part of Mayor Breed’s Economic Recovery Task Force, and is the immediate past-president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT)—an organization that represents 80 theaters nationwide—having previously served as LORT’s vice president; chair of its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee; secretary; and on multiple union negotiating teams. She has been recognized as among the 25 Most Influential San Franciscans of 2020 by San Francisco Magazine, along with Pam MacKinnon, and as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2021. Before relocating to the Bay Area, Bielstein was the managing director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, managing director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, and executive director of Writers Theatre in Chicago. She has also worked for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and the Lincoln Park Zoo, as well as served on the boards of the League of Chicago Theatres, the Arts and Cultural Attractions Council, and other civic boards. She has received the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Pyramid Award of Excellence in Leadership, has been recognized as one of Louisville’s Business First’s 40 Under 40, was named by Twin Cities Business as a Person to Know, and a Minnesota Business magazine Real Power 50 member. Bielstein is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, attended Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in the Arts, and received an MBA from Bellarmine University, where she received the MBA Faculty Merit Award, was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for business programs and in 2021 was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna.

Biography

Jesse Lee Eller is the Founder of Studio 5 - Learning and Development, a firm that has become a destination for leaders and organizations seeking guidance for how they can define and redefine what their people development experience looks like. Under Jesse’s leadership and guidance, his team partners with today’s visionary companies to build high-performing teams around the world. Studio 5 grows people that grow companies. In addition to Jesse’s professional life, he enjoys giving back to the communities in which he holds dear to his heart. Jesse is a six-time cyclist of the AIDS LifeCycle, a 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. He is among many who help fund the work of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center to provide free HIV/AIDS medical care, testing, and prevention services. When he is not on a bike, he is actively involved on boards both here in San Francisco and around the state of California. Jesse is the Chair of the San Francisco StartOut Programming Board. StartOut connects and educates LGBT entrepreneurs to empower great leaders and businesses. Jesse is also a Superior Ag Board of Directors member for the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico. They champion the mission to help find opportunities for the next generation of agriculturalists to stay in the food, fiber, and natural resources industries. Jesse’s roots lie deep within the agriculture industry and is proud to say that he is from a fifth-generation ranching family. In 2015, Jesse launched the Cultivating Change Foundation. The San Francisco based Foundation is the largest organization globally that focuses on valuing and elevating LGBT agriculturists through advocacy, education, and community. Annually, the Cultivating Change Foundation brings together over 500 agriculture LGBT employees, human resources and diversity and inclusion professionals, organizational leaders, and allies to grow and learn at the Cultivating Change Summit. Jesse has called San Francisco his home for the past ten years and cherishes the moments when he is enjoying the hum of the city or the tranquility of the surrounding outdoor opportunities the Bay Area offers. When not in the office, Jesse’s passion lies on the polo field. Jesse is in bliss when he gets to be out on the field with teammates or take his horse, Sasha, out for a ride to explore the Petaluma landscape.

Biography

Linda Jo Fitz, a former principal of Aspiriant, co-founded Kochis Fitz, a predecessor firm to Aspiriant, in 1991. As a wealth manager for over 30 years, she has worked with high net-worth families to help them define, plan for and achieve their financial objectives. Linda enjoyed teaching in the Personal Financial Planning Program of UC Berkeley. She served for nearly 20 years on the Board of Directors of San Francisco Heritage, where she was Board president, and she more recently chaired the Board of Directors of SPUR, where she continues to serve, promoting good government and civic involvement in the San Francisco region. In 2017, she received the Greenbelt Alliance Champion Award. In 2010 and 2011, Linda was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business by Wealth Manager Magazine. She was honored as one of The Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times, joining their Forever Influential list in 2011. She graduated from UC Berkeley and was awarded the Professional Designation in Personal Financial Planning from UCLA.As an avid theater-goer, she began subscribing to A.C.T. over 40 years ago when she moved to San Francisco. She joined the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee in 2013, and in 2016 became Treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. 

Biography

For more than 20 years, Ken Fulk has designed experiences large and small. Based in San Francisco and New York, he's become known for a portfolio of layered interiors, clever branding and over-the-top parties. Leading a team of architects, designers, branding and event specialists, Ken Fulk is responsible for some of the most celebrated homes and restaurants in the Bay Area. Whether it’s creating distinguished estates, collaborating with one of fashion’s greatest, or hosting a private Stevie Nicks concert for 400 costumed Halloween dinner guests, Ken imbues every project with timeless wit and effortless elegance.

Biography

John Garfinkle is a life-long resident of San Francisco and the Bay Area, and has been a patron and supporter of A.C.T. since 2001. 

Mr. Garfinkle is a Senior Speech Pathologist at CMPC, where he focuses on brain injury rehabilitiation. There, he works with colleagues to develop holistic rehabiltation approaches indivdualized to each patient, reflecting their unique diagnoses and circumstances. He is also a donor to the organization, often supporting patients who are uninsured and whose treatment is funded by CPMC. 

In addition to A.C.T. and CMPC, Mr Garfinkle is also a supporter of multiple community philanthropies and local arts organizations. These include: Project Open Hand, the Merola Opera Program, Larkin Street Youth Services, the St. Anthony Foundation, and the San Francisco Opera Association.

Biography

Rachel Garlin is a performing singer-songwriter with eight independently-produced albums and an upcoming main-stage appearance at San Francisco's Pride in the Park. Rachel's work was recently featured in the SF Chronicle and Americana Highways. She lives in San Francisco with her wife and three kids.

Rachel grew up in Berkeley surrounded by music, and when she wasn't playing basketball, she was playing guitar and singing. After attending Harvard University, she pursued teaching and worked with third graders in an underserved school in Phoenix, AZ and later in her hometown at King Middle School. But her love of poetry and music eventually led her to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. It started at open mies in cafes, but she soon amassed a catalogue of original songs and started performing and recording music professionally. By 2005 she was touring nationally and re-locating to Manhattan to record her fourth album. She toured to venues like Club Passim and the Freight and Salvage and ended up sharing the stage with some of her own songwriting heroes at the Newport Folk Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Rachel met her wife during this time, and they moved back to the Bay Area to start a family.

Rachel became the music teacher at Live Oak School in SF and continued to record three more albums, collaborating with creators like Julie Wolf, Todd Sickafoose, Vicki Randle and Scott Amendola among others. In 2019 Rachel wrote the title track for the first-ever digital musical in augmented reality Out There that premiered in Paris and features the voice of Vanessa Williams.

Over the past two decades, Rachel has developed a perspective on the arts that comes from engaging with it from many angles. Running her own company, she has 'worn all the hats' while creating and overseeing the production of albums and videos, organizing international tours and collaborating with visual artists, choreographers, and youth emcees. Before COVID, she started a performance art-reach campaign on the SF MUNI where she collaborated with fellow passengers in the moment and co-wrote an extended suite of songs about the city. During the pandemic, she hosted a concert series from the edge of her garage in Noe Valley.

Biography

Mary Hynes is a neuroscientist and Assistant Professor (Research) at Stanford University. She is a leading expert on the development of dopaminergic neurons, critical nerve cells whose degeneration causes the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. She has lived in the Bay Area for over 25 years and is active in community events from San Francisco to Palo Alto. 

Biography

Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. is the Artistic Director & Co-Founder of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre (SFBATCO). He made his Broadway debut in “The Book of Mormon” and was last seen at American Conservatory Theatre in the West Coast premiere of “Toni Stone”. Prior to that he traveled North America in the first national tour of “Motown: The Musical.”

A San Francisco native who built his love and foundation for art and theatre in public city organizations such as SFartsEd, San Francisco Recreation and Park’s Young People’s Teen Musical Theater Company, and the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts’ where he graduated from the theatre department. He holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

Other theatre credits: Berkeley Repertory “Ain’t Too Proud: the life and times of the Temptations”, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company “I, Too, Sing America.”

Biography

Jascha Kaykas-Wolff is the president of Lytics and former Chief Marketing Officer for Mozilla, where he was responsible for leading the global non-for-profit technology organizations marketing strategy. Prior to joining Mozilla, Jascha served as Chief Marketing Officer for BitTorrent, Chief Marketing Officer for Mindjet, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Success at Involver, and he previously headed Global Marketing for Webtrends along with executive experience at Microsoft and Yahoo!. Jascha’s marketing specialties include product positioning, marketing strategy, marketing technology, demand creation, brand building, brand re-positioning, organizational improvements, agile marketing, and sales enablement. Jascha received a B.A. in Psychology from Whittier College. Outside of work, Jascha is a passionate volunteer and mentor with TheLastMile.org, a Board Member at TEDx Marin, and a Trustee at Whittler College. He published Growing Up Fast: How New Agile Practices Can Move Marketing And Innovation Past The Old Business Stalemates with Kevin Fann in August 2014. Jascha calls Marin County home with his wife Rebecca (owner and founder of Petit Couture, a fashion-forward children’s brand, and VP of Product Marketing for IPG) and three children.

Biography

Luba Kipnis was the Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Intel Corporation and retired from the company in 2016. During her 21 years with Intel she has held numerous positions including Santa Clara Fire Protection Engineer, California Environmental Health and Safety Manager, D2 Factory Facilities Manager, California Site Manager, and the Americas Facilities and Services Team General Manager. Luba has represented Intel on many boards, including United Way Silicon Valley for 9 years. She is also one of the original founders of the Women’s Achievement Network and Development Alliance (WANDA) and she served on the Board for A.C.T.’s MFA Program. Luba is originally from Odessa, Ukraine where she started her career as a chemist. Luba is married and has two sons. She enjoys community work, the theater, spending time with friends, and leisure travel. Luba would like to support the Conservatory and Education and Community Programs at A.C.T.

Biography

Pam MacKinnon is in her fifth season as A.C.T.’s fourth artistic director. She is a Tony, Drama Desk, Joe A. Callaway, and two-time Obie Award–winning director, having directed upwards of 80 productions around the country, off Broadway, on Broadway and in London. Her Broadway credits include Amélie: A New Musical (with Phillipa Soo), Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman (with Uma Thurman), David Mamet’s China Doll (with Al Pacino), Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles (with Elisabeth Moss), Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance (with Glenn Close and John Lithgow), Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park. Other recent credits include Christopher Chen’s The Headlands and María Irene Fornés’s Fefu and Her Friends (A.C.T.), the world premiere of Downstate (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, London’s National Theatre, Playwrights Horizons; Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Direction, and The Joe A. Callaway Award for Direction); Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre Company, A.C.T., and Arena Stage), Kate Attwell’s Testmatch (A.C.T.), Edward Albee’s Seascape (A.C.T.), and Christopher Chen’s Communion (A.C.T.). She has been recognized as among the 25 Most Influential San Franciscans of 2020 by San Francisco Magazine, along with Jennifer Bielstein. Pam is the most recent past president of SDC, the national union representing stage directors and choreographers.

Biography

Michele B. Miller is a labor and employment attorney for Cozen O’Connor, a law firm with 26 offices around the world. She joined Cozen O’Connor in August 2019. She has over 30 years of experience in law. She received her Bachelors of Arts from the University of Michigan in 1978 and her Juris Doctorate from the Hastings College of Law at UC Berkeley in 1982. She was a Trustee of A.C.T. until from 2003 until 2010. Michele has been member of the National Association of Women Lawyers since 2013, a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel since 2012. She previously has been a member of the Defense Research Institute and a board member of the Marin Theatre Company, Ring Mountain Day School and Mark Day School.

Biography

With over 20 years of experience in the Bay Area, Caroline believes great design is the product of curiosity, empathy, and innovation.

When Caroline was nine, her family immigrated from Cairo, Egypt, to Houston, Texas, entering an unfamiliar world where she had to develop (and often create) the language necessary to be understood. Starting a new architectural project—obtaining permits, developing budgets, and reading drawings—can feel like a journey into a foreign world for some clients. Caroline is dedicated to demystifying the design process. She excels at finding a shared language and a fresh perspective and emphasizes collaborating closely with clients to fulfill their visions. 

Caroline’s professional experience stems from ten years at San Francisco-based Lundberg Design. She led various award-winning projects, including single-family homes, restaurants, offices, wineries, and a spa. Prior to this, she focused on student and multi-family affordable housing at Pyatok Architects in Oakland. In founding Studio Ovo, Caroline drew on her experiences, marrying the rigor and focus that project budgets demand with the breadth of exploration, materials, and typologies that client-focused projects allow. Caroline’s goal is to foster connections, celebrate originality, and nurture fun and joy in the design journey. 

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, an active sponsor and volunteer of the San Francisco chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, and a LEED Accredited Professional, Caroline weaves a commitment to design excellence, collaborative teamwork, and sustainability into her work. Caroline taught Revit, a BIM 3D modeling software, to Interior Design students at UC Berkeley Extension for a number of years. Caroline also played a pivotal role as a board member at Insight Housing (formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project), where she served as Vice President of the board and Chair of the Building Committee, leading to the construction of the largest permanent affordable, supportive, and transitional affordable housing in downtown Berkeley to date. 

Caroline lives in San Francisco with her husband, daughter and their two cats.

Biography

Laura Posey is a Director in the Cloud Services division of Apple, Inc., overseeing security, privacy and compliance engineering. Drawing upon her 20+ years of experience addressing global challenges related to privacy and security in technology, Laura focuses on championing user data trust and protection as well as supporting efforts to promote inclusive environments for women and minorities in engineering spaces. She has served in numerous leadership roles across the tech industry, including at Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Motorola Mobility.

Prior to her career in technology, Laura worked for the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (Monbusho) in Hokkaido, Japan, serving as a Ministry representative to the local Board of Education and liaison to the local mayor’s office. In addition to teaching and translation, she was known for employing singing and short performances both with her junior high English classes as well as the local jazz club.

Laura's passion for the performing arts began at a young age, and she has continued to nurture a love for theater throughout her life, both on and off stage. Her earliest experiences include appearances in the feature film, Caddyshack, and various national commercials, (member of SAG-AFTRA) followed by community theater through professional theater performances in musical theater, operetta and cabaret ranging from the Buxton Gilbert & Sullivan Festival (UK) to Studio A.C.T.'s adult program. This love of theater runs in the family - Laura's husband, Aaron, is the son of two retired Broadway performers who met in Hello Dolly with Ethel Merman and grew up in NYC's Broadway and film community as a performer himself (SAG/Equity). Inevitably, their young son, Owen, has a love for the arts and at the age of seven last week attended his 11th Broadway show. He is following in his mother's footsteps and is a member of the San Francisco branch of the [Grammy award winning] National Children's Chorus.

In addition to her professional and arts accomplishments, Laura has parlayed her many years of infertility challenges by serving as the State of California Legislative Advocacy Leader for RESOLVE - the National Infertility Association - advocating for federal and state legislation to protect and promote infertility-related issues in support of those struggling to build their families.

Laura holds a Bachelors of Arts in both Asian Studies and Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Biography

Biography

Michelle Shonk is a Bay Area native and has always been drawn to the performing and visual arts. She appreciates the creative process and witnessing what it takes to bring a play from page to stage — especially new works. Michelle feels fortunate to have seen over 20 seasons of A.C.T. productions and supported aspiring actors through her mother’s service on A.C.T.’s MFA Board. A familiar face at donor and behind-the-scenes events, Michelle most recently supported A Strange Loop and has been a very valued and generous member of our Producers Circle for over a decade. She is most excited at the possibility of joining the Board of Trustees and deepening her long commitment to A.C.T. 

Michelle has spent her career in the Human Resources field and currently works for a company in the East Bay that saves lives through innovative therapies.

Biography

Alexandra currently serves as the Dean of Student Life at San Francisco University High School, having previously taught and deaned at the Branson School in Ross, CA. She relocated from Atlanta to the Bay Area in 2013, after earning a BA in Music with a concentration in Clarinet Performance. In over a decade in schools, she has built community, advocated for adolescent mental health and development, and collaborated on school culture change in Bay Area independent schools both in her work at schools and as a school board trustee. Since beginning her career as a musician and music teacher, the arts have been a staple and guiding light in her career and personal life. She also serves as a clarinetist and ambassador in the Awesöme Orchestra, an adventure-seeking orchestra based in the East Bay Area and has been a member of A.C.T.'s Rising Leaders Council since 2023. Alexandra lives in Oakland, surrounded by her lush plants and personal artistic creations.

Biography

Heather Stallings Little is a CPA-turned-writer, who worked in investment banking and as the chief financial officer of a company that manages the affairs of professional athletes. She has incorporated her real life experiences at work and home into her works of fiction and has published two books and numerous articles in a range of print and electronic publications and literary journals. A frequent adventure traveler, she also writes travel stories. One of her children has participated in the Young Conservatory, and she and her husband, John, have supported several A.C.T. season galas as table sponsors and members of gala host committees.

Biography

Daniel Sturman is a technology leader who’s always been excited in pushing the cutting edge of the possible and building incredible teams to take on those challenges. As Chief Technology Officer at Roblox, Daniel is responsible for leading the engineering team and driving the company’s technical strategy in support of the vision to connect billions of people in the metaverse with optimism and civility. Daniel previously held engineering leadership roles at Cloudera, Google, and IBM. He is an advisor to multiple early stage companies, and is a member of the advisory board for the Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Sciences. Daniel holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BS in Computer Science from Cornell University.

Biography

Jomar Tagatac was most recently seen as Gordon Hirabayashi in Hold These Truths and Mark in Art at San Francisco Playhouse, as well as DJ Loki in Today is My Birthday (Theater Mu).  At American Conservatory Theater he played Mr. Botard in Rhinoceros, and Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Other credits at A.C.T include Playwright and others in Vietgone, Fortinbras in Hamlet, Fortunado in Monstress.  Bay Area credits include George in The Language Archive (Theatreworks), Actor 1 in King of the Yees, Actor 3 in Tiny Beautiful Things, Daniel in You Mean to Do Me Harm (San Francisco Playhouse); Quang in Vietgone, Gordon Hirabayashi in Hold These Truths (Capital Stage Company); Banquo in Macbeth, Jacques in As You Like It, Life is a Dream, and other roles in Everybody, and The War of the Roses (CalShakes) The Happy Ones, and Dogeaters (Magic Theatre). Jomar is a recipient of a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Principle Actor in a Play, and TBA Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role.  He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from A.C.T.

Biography

Mark Townsley and his family relocated to San Francisco after almost 20 years in France to join Meraki, a division of Cisco located in San Francisco which focuses on simplifying complex technology. While in Paris, Mark co-founded Cisco’s Paris Innovation Research Laboratory, was nominated by industry peers to serve on the Internet Engineering Task Force Steering Group, and was an assistant professor at Ecole Polytechnique. Passionate about musical theater, Mark co-founded American Musical Theater Live! in Paris and has served as Vice President of its Board of Directors. 

Biography

Films include Bird Box, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World, The Normal Heart, Focus, Mulan (1 & 2), The Salton Sea, Executive Decision, Seven Years In Tibet, Jurassic Park, Father of the Bride (1 & 2) and The Freshman. He received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World, Clarence Derwent, and Tony Awards for his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly—an achievement not yet duplicated by another actor. Recent television includes Wally in Comedy Central’s Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, “Whiterose” in Mr. Robot (Emmy and Critic’s Choice nominations), Prof. Hugo Strange in Gotham, and Baldwin Pennypacker in American Horror Story. Other television includes Law & Order: SVU, All-American Girl, Oz, And the Band Played On, and Awake. Other Broadway includes You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Pacific Overtures. Regional theater includes The Orphan of Zhao (A.C.T., La Jolla Playhouse), Herringbone (Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse). He is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Following Foo: (the electronic adventures of the Chestnut Man) (Harper Entertainment). He has been honored by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian AIDS Project, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, The Anti-Violence Project, Lambda Legal, Museum of Chinese in America, and Marriage Equality New York. He is a board member of The Actors’ Fund, and Rosie’s Theater Kids. BD Wong is a proud San Francisco native, a graduate of Lincoln High School, and holds an honorary M.F.A. from American Conservatory Theatre.

Biography

John “Jay” Yamada is currently a Board Member of California Shakespeare Theater, where he chaired the Finance committee from 2010-2019. He previously has served on the Board of KQED from 1983-1989 and 2010-2018. He is currently an off-board member of KQED’s finance committee, and is the organization’s resident historian. Jay works as a Pro Bono Stage Photographer for many Bay Area Theaters, including A.C.T. He has photographed for Aurora Theater, Brava, California Shakespeare Theater, Campo Santo, Central Works, Custom Made Theatre, Diablo Actors Ensemble, Exit Theatre, Marin Shakespeare, The Magic Theater, Marin Theater, Oakland Technical High School Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare, Skyline High School Theater, Shotgun Players, Town Hall Theatre, The University of Santa Clara Theater Department, UC Berkeley Theater Department, and Woman’s Will. Previously, Jay was an Analyst in Economics, Planning, and Budgets for Standard Oil of Ohio and a Technical Representative and Western Technical Manager for CompuServe. He received his BS in Economics and MS in Structural Geology from Cornell University, and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from NYU.