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Michele Dedeaux Engemann (Chair)
Michele Dedeaux Engemann has served as Chair of The Pasadena Playhouse Board since 2008 and was Vice-Chair prior to this role. She received a B.F.A. at the USC School of Theatre. Michele served as President of the USC Alumni Association, was a USC Trustee for five years, and continues to hold positions on both the USC School of Theatre Board of Counselors (of which she is the founder) and the Friends of the USC Libraries Board. She is part of a legendary Trojan Family. Her late father, Rod Dedeaux, coached the Trojan baseball team for 45 years, won 11 national championships and USC’s Dedeaux Field is named in his honor. Michele and her husband, Roger, established the USC Baseball Hall of Fame at the facility and continue to support all USC Athletics and various USC associations including the new Engemann Student Health Center, which will open in 2013. As an actress, Michele performed for three decades with Los Angeles’ Nine O’clock Players, where disadvantaged and physically/mentally impaired children have the opportunity to experience live theatre for the first time free of charge. As a business woman, she helped her husband build his money-management firm, Roger Engemann and Associates, which sold to Phoenix Investment Partners in 1997 as Engemann Asset Management. She serves on the Board of Directors of Dart Entities, a family-run transportation and warehousing corporation established by her father in 1938, and is CEO of The Engemann Family Foundation. Michele has received the “Women of Distinction” Award by both the Cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles. Her other board memberships include the Assistance League of Southern California and the Nine O’clock Players Theatre. She is an honorary member of the Altadena Guild, which supports the Huntington Medical Research Institutes where she and her husband serve as board members and Roger as its past president. Michele and Roger also serve on the board of overseers for the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. Her husband is also a trustee of Scripps College in Claremont and is a past trustee of the University of Oregon. Michele and her family are invested in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, where their sacristy lamp burns in perpetuity. She and her husband reside in Pasadena, where they also support the Pasadena Symphony, Hillsides, Boys and Girls Club, Chandler School and other organizations.
Sheila Grether-Marion (Vice-Chair)
Sheila Grether-Marion is the Vice-Chair of The Pasadena Playhouse Executive Board. She has served on its Board of Director’s since 1999. A former actor and professional fund-raiser for the Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Los Angeles Library Association and the National Repertory Theatre, Sheila has assisted in raising millions of dollars for non-profit organizations. She has received many awards for her work including The President’s Award for Public Sector Initiatives in 1982, citations from Mayor Tom Bradley and the Board of Los Angeles Library Commissions and from the Los Angeles County Library for her work to raise funds to combat illiteracy. Sheila began her second career as a Financial Advisor in 1987 and has been First Vice-President, Investments with Merrill Lynch in its Pasadena office since 2002. She is currently a Portfolio Manager-Personal Investment Advisory program and the senior partner of her team. Sheila and her husband, Mark, live in Sierra Madre. Sheila was born and raised in Pasadena and was an usher at the Pasadena Playhouse while she attended Blair High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from nearby Occidental College in 1976. She and Mark have two children, Marissa Fox, a lawyer and Orion Marion, a professional musician.
David DiCristofaro (Treasurer)
David DiCristofaro is the Treasurer of The Pasadena Playhouse Executive Board. He is Senior Vice President and President for Wells Fargo’s Greater San Gabriel Community Bank in Los Angeles. DiCristofaro oversees more than 1,000 team members at nearly 60 banking stores in the communities of Alhambra, Arcadia, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bellflower, Compton, Downey, East Los Angeles, El Monte, Huntington Park, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Lakewood, Long Beach, Montebello, Monterey Park, Montrose, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, South Gate and Temple City. Previously, he was regional president for the South Coast Community Bank for four years. He also served as head of Wells Fargo’s retail bank financial management and development programs for Greater Los Angeles. DiCristofaro joined the former Norwest Bank in 1997 as managing director of online banking. In 1999, he was named to head finance and strategy for Wells Fargo’s Northern California Community Banking region, where he also oversaw operations and group services. Before joining Wells Fargo, DiCristofaro worked with Financial Institutions Consulting Group, FinExc Group LLC as senior consultant and chief financial officer at Roosevelt Bank as vice president of corporate planning. DiCristofaro received his bachelor’s degree in finance and management from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Linda Boyd Griffey (Secretary)
Linda Griffey is the Secretary of The Pasadena Playhouse Executive Board. She has served on the Board of Directors since the 1990s. Linda is a retired partner of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, where she practiced law, specializing in executive compensation and employee benefits, for over 30 years. She is currently doing executive compensation projects as an independent contractor for a national executive compensation consulting firm. During her career, she has been a frequent author and lecturer on the subjects of employee benefits and compensation for USC Tax Institute, Practicing Law Institute, Prentice Hall Law & Business, and others. She is a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and has been honored by being named an honorary life member of the Western Pension & Benefits Conference; Chambers USA leading lawyer (2006 - 2011), and a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in surveys conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. (2006 - 2011). Linda also serves on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles and the Executive Leadership Board of the College of Pharmacy of the University of Iowa. Linda received a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Iowa in 1972 and a J.D. from Duke University in 1980. She and her husband, Jay, live in San Marino.
Valerie Amidon
Sheri Ball
Sheri Ball was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of The Pasadena Playhouse. She has previously served on the Board and was the Treasurer of the Stampede Soccer Club. For the past four years, Sheri has been actively involved in serving on committees and fundraising for various clubs at her children’s high schools, including being a founding director for the Ayala High School FBLA. Sheri began her banking career in 1981. She is a Vice President in Corporate Trust at US Bank and holds the designation of Certified Corporate Trust Specialist from the Institute of Certified Banking. Sheri grew up in La Habra, California and attended Pasadena City College. She and her husband Andy have two children currently attending college.
Stephen Bennett
William Carroll
William Carroll is currently the president of Carroll Venture Capitol, dedicated to finding talented artists and business people who need both capital and guidance to turn their concepts and dreams into working profitable business. He has worked in the motion picture advertising business since 1983. He founded two of the major trailer companies in Hollywood, the Ant Farm in 1989 and Buddha Jones in 2004. He is a native of Denver and graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is married to Mary Lea Carroll and has lived in Pasadena since 1987.
Peggy Ebright
Peggy Ebright was born and raised in Cincinnati, and received a B.A. in Spanish and Theatre from the College of Wooster. She moved to California in 1965 with her husband Jim, a corporate attorney for Aerojet General, and her two sons, Don and Doug. Peggy has worked extensively with the San Marino Players, Dionysians, Pasadena Arts Council and the Junior League. She came to the Playhouse in 1965 to run the Children’s Theatre, joined the Board of Trustees and has worked with The Playhouse ever since – on stage, building sets, and with outreach, development, The Friends, and the Board of Directors. At present, Peggy is representing the new Playhouse Ambassadors program [link to About Us/Get Involved>.
Stephen Eich
Stephen Eich is the Executive Director of The Pasadena Playhouse. For a complete bio, click here.
Sheldon Epps
Sheldon Epps is the Artistic Director of The Pasadena Playhouse. For a complete bio, click here.
Bridget Furiga
Bridget Furiga currently serves as President of the FRIENDS of The Pasadena Playhouse. During her more than thirty years as a member of the FRIENDS, she has served as Hospitality Co-Chair, Historian, Vice-President and President for three terms. In addition, she served as Co-Chair of the Conference About Volunteers of Regional Theatres (CAVORT), which was held in Pasadena in 2008 and brings together theatre volunteers from all over the country. Bridget worked for many years at ABC-TV in different capacities and then owned a Hallmark shop for 10 years. Bridget and her husband have been subscribers to The Playhouse since it re-opened in 1978.
Brad King
Brad is a visionary in the areas of technology and business. He has twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur building early stage companies. He has launched five separate companies and invested in four times as many early stage ventures. He was one of the very first Internet pioneers in 1994, developing some of the earliest Internet-based technologies. In 1998 he sold his company, Net Effect, to Ask Jeeves. He then financed several successful ventures including eHarmony and Baidu. His last venture, iChange, was recently sold to Herbalife. Separately, Brad has enjoyed producing independent films under the banner of Epiphany Entertainment. His last film won the Alfred P. Sloan award and was invited to the Sundance, Cannes and Toronto film festivals. Brad has served as a trustee to Thrive Foundation For Youth, an advisor to Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Psychology, and board member to Pasadena Heritage. Brad lives in Pasadena with his wife, Pamela (a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary), and their three children.
Darrell Miller
Darrell Miller, a partner in the Los Angeles office of the national law firm Fox Rothschild LLP and co-chair of its Entertainment Law practice, has been at the forefront of the transformation taking place in the entertainment industry, helping stars capitalize on their brands as a result of the emergence of a myriad of innovative delivery platforms and new media outlets. Darrell came to Hollywood in the late 1980s to actively participate in the development of new content to fuel the digital revolution then known as the “Information Superhighway.” He quickly became a leader in that field, counseling clients on ways to engage their audiences via traditional media (radio, television and film) with a view toward distribution on new media platforms. With a razor-sharp focus on entertainment industry clients, Darrell has cultivated long-standing relationships with numerous studio executives and creative personnel, including artists, writers, directors and producers associated with a variety of television programs and motion pictures. He also serves as special counsel for major corporations and independent production companies relating to the entertainment industry. Consistently named in the Top 50 Showbiz Players by "Black Enterprise Magazine," Darrell has earned a reputation as a “nice guy” and as a dedicated—and when needed, tenacious—advocate for his clients.
Bingo Roncelli
Bingo Roncelli is a native Southern Californian and long-time community volunteer. She joined The Pasadena Playhouse Board because of her love of theater. Bingo and her husband Gino are world travelers and have visited over 200 countries. They have three marvelous children and four fabulous grand children. Bingo and Gino live in Arcadia.
Lilah Stangeland
Lilah Stangeland has been an active board member of The Pasadena Playhouse and has served on many other important community and civic affair organizations. She and her late husband, retired Vons CEO Roger Stangeland, have made important contributions to Arcadia Methodist Hospital Foundation, St. John’s Military Academy and The Pasadena Playhouse. Lilah lives in San Marino and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
Corky Hale Stoller
Corky Hale is a world renowned and critically acclaimed jazz pianist, harpist and singer. She has performed with Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé, Judy Collins, George Michael, Boy George and Björk. She has appeared at The White House, in Central Park, and at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London’s Royal Albert Hall, RFK Stadium and on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson”. She is married to legendary songwriter Mike Stoller. To learn more about Corky Hale, please visit, www.corkyhale.com.
Mike Stoller
Mike Stoller is one half of the legendary songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller. Elvis Presley recorded more than 20 of their songs, including "Hound Dog," and "Jailhouse Rock." Their many other hits include: "Kansas City," "Yakety Yak," "Love Potion #9," "Is That All There Is?" and "Stand By Me." SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ: THE SONGS OF LEIBER & STOLLER still holds the record as the longest running revue in Broadway history. Leiber & Stoller have been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2009, Simon & Schuster published Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography. Stoller is married to jazz great, Corky Hale. To learn more about Mike Stoller, please visit www.leiberstoller.com.
Martha Williamson
Martha Williamson is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment industry, writing and producing television drama, sit-com, and variety for all three major networks and cable. She is best known as the Executive Producer and Head Writer of the ground-breaking hit drama, "Touched By An Angel," which received 9 Emmy nominations over its nine-year run on CBS. Martha was also the first woman to solely executive produce two shows simultaneously when she created and executive-produced "Promised Land" also for CBS. Her work has been honored with numerous awards, among them, the Freedom Works Award from Congress, the Anti-Defamation League's Deborah Award, the Edward R. Murrow Responsibility in Television Award, the Williams College Bicentennial Medal, the prestigious Producer's Guild Nova Award, the Templeton Award and several NAACP Awards for best television drama. Martha was appointed by the President to the White House Counsel for Service and Civic Participation, and most recently served as the host of "A Touch of Encouragement," the #1 inspirational video website on Beliefnet.com. Martha has also appeared onstage on both coasts, performing her musical one-woman show "Martha At Risk." Martha is a native of Denver, Colorado and a graduate of Williams College. She is a popular speaker and the author of several books, including Inviting God to Your Wedding, which was recently released in its 10th anniversary edition by Random House. Martha lives in Southern California with her husband, Jon Andersen, and their two daughters. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Pasadena Playhouse since 2002.
Scott Wilcott
Scott Wilcott was born in Pasadena, California. He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a degree in law from the University of Southern California. He served three years in the United States Marine Corps from 1960 to1963. Scott semi retired in 1999 and became President of CalMat Real Estate for Vulcan Materials Company, previously having served as Executive Vice President of CalMat company and President of CalMat Properties. Before CalMat, he served as Vice General Counsel and Secretary of Conrock Company. Scott is married to Virgina "Jinny" Wilcott. They have two children, Jennifer Sweet and Scott Wilcott Jr. Scott has served on various non-profit Boards and presently serves on the Board of The Pasadena Playhouse.
David M. Davis
Ralph Hirschmann
Frank Kleeman
Albert Lowe
Dennis Lowe
Kerry McCluggage
Greg Stone