VOX Femina is pleased to announce our new Board leadership for the 21st Season: Sue Stamberger, incoming Board Chair; Justin Estoque, incoming Vice Chair; and Steven Neiffer, incoming Treasurer. Lawrence V. Fisk will continue as Board Secretary. Miriam Hall joins fellow alto Evi Desser as a 2017/18 Singer Representative on the Board, which also includes returning Directors Lesili Beard and Elizabeth Kerstein. Our heartfelt thanks to outgoing Board Chair, Jen Mulder and Treasurer, Suzanne Brown, for their many years of invaluable service to VOX. We are tremendously grateful for their dedication and guidance, and relieved that they will both continue to be a part of the VOX family – Jen on the Advisory Board and Suzy as a Soprano (since 2000!) in the chorus!
Board Chair Sue Stamberger brings over 40 years of experience in non-profit management and fundraising to her role as Board Chair. She has worked at KUSC-FM, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, UCLA Performing Arts, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Los Angeles Opera. Sue has been working alongside the leadership of VOX as a member and co-chair of the Fund Development Committee for the last eight years, provided direct mail and grant writing services, knowledge of marketing and public relations, as well as counsel that has supported the overall strengthening of VOX's infrastructure. More...
Vice Chair Justin Estoque started working for cultural non-profits in 1992 when the Smithsonian Institution hired him to oversee the architectural planning, design, and construction of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) on the National Mall with a fundraising goal of $199 million. Towards the end of construction through 2004, Estoque was appointed senior project manager for the inaugural museum programs with $20 million opening programs development goal. After the museum’s opening, Estoque directed NMAI’s Executive Planning Office, refocusing the museum from a capital development to an operating emphasis. In 2007 he acted as NMAI’s Associate Director, Community and Constituent Services, delivering all outreach programs that brought the resources of the NMAI directly to indigenous communities of the hemisphere. More...
Treasurer Steven Nieffer is a senior-level finance executive with more than 35 years of experience managing financial and administrative functions for highly respected financial services companies, ranging from start-ups to publicly held firms. Over his career, he has served in positions of increasing complexity and importance, including chief financial officer and chief administrative officer roles. In 2015, he began an “encore” career in the non-profit sphere when he joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale as its first chief financial officer. More...
Secretary Lawrence V. Fitz has worked as a leadership strategist in challenging and diverse roles in private, education, and non-profit environments. His experience includes being a classroom teacher in the areas of career education, music and theatre; coordinating and managing grant activities; recruiting and developing talent; serving as lead site administrator; composing curriculum and designing instructional programs; managing program budgets; and hiring/supervising/evaluating programs and staff at multiple locations. For five years, he shared his expertise with Southern California Edison, one of the largest employers in southern California, for whom he administered a workforce education program that served fourteen million customers across a territory of fifty thousand square miles – by employing nearly one hundred para-professionals annually.
Lesili Beard is a professional musician and extraordinary educator. She is a classically trained flutist and a singer who has performed with LA Opera, Long Beach Opera, internationally acclaimed Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers and currently with the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale. Lesili a soloist with St Edmund’s Episcopal Church in San Marino and Stephen S. Wise Temple, the largest synagogue in the country. She has written music for TV and film has been a professional voice-over artist and narrator in a variety of settings. She holds a Professional Designation as a Teaching Artist through the “Arts for All” initiative, in partnership with the Music Center and the L.A. County Arts Commission and continues to guest clinic and provide master classes throughout the Southland. More...
Elizabeth Kerstein is thrilled to be a part of VOX. During 2016, she worked as VOX’s Social Media Coordinator, having previously worked in Marketing and Education Outreach for the LA Chamber Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony. An avid tutor/editor, Elizabeth also ran the Writing Tutor Department at the Peabody Conservatory, where she attended graduate school. During her time with VOX, she has been happy to have an opportunity to bring her skills in administration as well as her artist’s perspective to serve a group of such talented women. She looks forward to new VOX endeavors in her role as a Board member.Elizabeth Kerstein has two careers and is passionate about both. A classical mezzo-soprano praised for her riveting stage presence, she also maintains an active career in marketing.
Singer Representative Evi Desser has sung Alto I with VOX since its first full season in 1997! This is her second season as Singer Representative. She brings many years of organizational experience from a variety of volunteer roles with the California Nurses Association, the California Association for Nurse Practitioners, and the American College Health Association. She is a primary care nurse practitioner and has worked with college students at UCLA and with Veterans at the VA Long Beach.
Singer Representative Miriam Hall