EM PIRO

BOARD TERM 2024-2025

Em Piro is a community organizer, theater maker, and social artist. Her work integrates urbanism, sustainability, and culture into advocacy for regenerative and just places, policies, and communities. Over the past decade, Em has been recognized with over a dozen awards for her work in community and cultural practice.

Raised along the Puget Sound, Em spent her early adulthood in St. Louis, where she worked as a full-time theater professional and social worker. Inspired by a mentor from Seattle, she co-founded the internationally-acclaimed St Lou Fringe. As a performer and researcher, Em has lived and worked around the world, including the UK, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Lisbon, and Mexico. Her work has been featured in diverse venues and institutions worldwide, from the bed of a uhaul truck to NYU.

In 2021, Em and her family set down roots in Tacoma, where she is enthralled by the vibrant arts and culture. She is honored to support Tacoma’s thriving community via TLT. She enjoys bike rides, dancing, playing the oboe, and the day-to-day hilarity of living with a toddler.

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KAY MEIER

BOARD TERM 2024-2027

BIO PENDING

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SAM IZENMAN

BOARD TERM 2024-2027

BIO PENDING

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TREVOR OWENS, TREASURER

BOARD TERM 2024-2025

Trevor (He/Him) is currently serving his first year on the Board of Directors at Tacoma Little Theatre, driven by a profound passion for theatre and business. 

Originally moving to Tacoma to attend the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) to focus on academics, Dr. Maria-Tania reignited his enthusiasm for acting and the arts at the end of his freshman year. Since then, he has actively participated in numerous productions, both as an actor and on the production team, at UWT, TLT, and Dukesbay Productions. He is eager to explore more theater opportunities in the South Sound area.

While studying at UWT, Trevor is also the Director of Operations of the Husky Success Series as well as a Student Advising Mentor within the University Academic Advising office on campus. Trevor is passionate about expanding the partnership between UWT Theatre and TLT. He believes that by strengthening this collaboration, we can significantly contribute to the growth of theater in Tacoma, by providing students with enhanced opportunities for practical experience and professional growth.

Trevor is also deeply committed to promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEl) in all his endeavors. He recognizes the importance of creating inclusive spaces where diverse voices can be heard and valued. Through his work at TLT and UWT, Trevor aims to foster environments that champion equity and embrace diversity, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in the theatre community.

Looking ahead, Trevor wishes to pursue an MFA in theatre management, leveraging his hands-on experience at TLT to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application in the dynamic field of theatre management.

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RUSSELL CAMPBELL

BOARD TERM 2023-2026

Russell Campbell is a descendant of enslaved Africans and is part of the queer community. Russell joined the Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT) board of Directors in June 2023. He is the Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANC) at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Russell is inspired by his children and is committed to addressing disparities and injustices that disproportionately impact individuals and communities that have been harmed and are often marginalized. Russell believes that real change comes about only when others step up, speak out and act against dismantling the status quo. As a member of the local musical theatre community, Russell is excited to brings his passion and lived experience to TLT in the hopes to inspire change in the local theatre community.

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JALEN PENN

BOARD TERM 2023-2026

BIO PENDING

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CHANDLER THOMAS

BOARD TERM 2023-2026

Chandler T. Thomas wears many hats in the local Theatre community; Primarily, he is a stage/ on-camera actor and member of the Actors Equity Association. When not on stage or on camera, he works as a teaching artist, a director, choreographer and costume designer, in addition to his duties as a father to three daughters and partner to his Fiancé, Rebecca.

Chandler is a U.S. Army Veteran and Chef with a degree in Culinary Arts Management from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. He loves utilizing his many talents to inspire and contribute to community however possible. 

As a member of the board, Chandler strives to be a voice and advocate for his fellow actors and colleagues. He sends love and many thanks to his wonderful partner, Rebecca and his community for their outpouring of support!

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ASHLEY YOUNG

BOARD TERM 2023-2026

Ashley Young long-time and proud resident of the PNW. While she's lived in different states on opposite sides of the country, including Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and California, Ashley and her long-term partner Michael grew up in Tacoma and settled back here in 2017 to raise their two young children.

Ashley grew up singing and performing in church and high school. She was a soprano and alto for the Henry Foss High School competition jazz and chamber choirs. From there she went on to travel two years with a performing arts non-profit organization doing assembly shows for elementary students on the weekday and performing at churches throughout the country. It was with this organization that she performed in Pigeon Forge, TN (home of the famous Dollywood) doing musical theater. In her personal music endeavors she has performed with bands such as Phunkatron and the Double Duce Horns.

In her career, Ashley has spent over a decade in hospitality, as a corporate and social event planner, director, and venue manager for several venues in San Diego, Seattle, and Tacoma. In her time as a government employee, Ashley has acted as the liaison for committees such as the Des Moines Arts Commission.

In her new role with City of Tacoma, Ashley is the Community Events Coordinator working with the Tacoma Venues and Events Department. She oversees Special Event Permits and is the liaison to the City [of Tacoma] Events and Recognition’s Committee, who host the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration and the City of Destiny Awards. In addition, she has overseen grant programs for arts and culture, applied for program funding, and worked hand in had with tourism marketing organizations.

Though Ashley’s involvement with performing arts has evolved over the years, she is passionate about providing access to those who may otherwise not have it, supporting career paths for events and arts, and finding new ways to engage the community in arts and culture.

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MARIA VALENZUELA, VICE PRESIDENT

BOARD TERM 2024-2027

A native of Tacoma, Maria has been involved in the performing arts throughout the US and abroad as a performer, director, educator, and administrator... but it all began as a performer and volunteer nearly 40 years ago at TLT. She is a veteran of the US Navy and has extensive background in both non-profit and public/government administration. Maria is a frequent coach, clinician, and adjudicator of student choral and theatrical groups, and is currently the Director of Music and Drama at Saint Patrick School. Maria is so pleased to be returning to TLT this time to serve this community and its legacy as a member of the Board of Directors.

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MARIA-TANIA BANDES B. WEINGARDEN, SECRETARY

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden (she/her) is an artist/scholar who has recently joined UWT as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the department of Arts Media and Culture. 

As a director, Maria-Tania uses theatre to challenge homogeneous ideology.  She addresses issues of race and gender on stage by not only the content of her work, but often by casting non-traditionally, works that fit within the more traditional canon.

While her area of scholarly specialization is in Theatre History, more specifically Latinx theatre, her research focuses on revolutionary theatre.  Her book, Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, aims to expand the knowledge of the canon of works of Central American playwrights as well as explores both the successes and limitations of theatre that has undergone political turmoil.  Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, is the first of a three-part series on the revolutionary theatre of Central America. 

Other areas of research include Queer Theatre, more specifically the representation of bisexuality on stage.

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Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman, PRESIDENT

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BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman is a director, teaching artist, dramaturg, intimacy choreographer, stage manager and theatre theorist/historian. She did her actor training at the University of New Mexico where she earned her BFA with honors and returned to complete an MA in Directing and Educational Theatre under the mentorship of Susan Pearson.

 She moved to the Pacific Northwest to study at the University of Washington School of Drama where she achieved her PhD candidacy in Theatre History and Criticism in 2006. While working toward her candidacy, she was a Drama School Intern at the Seattle Children’s Theatre (Class of 2004), where she remained working for several years in the box office and as a dramaturg/consultant for Jason and the Golden Fleece and Night of the Living Dead. She also worked with the marketing team to help promote Tomás and the Library Lady.

 Jeanette highly values public scholarship and earned a fellowship at UW’s Simpson Center for the Public Humanities in 2005. She was in the inaugural cohort of the Project for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at UW Bothell where she taught theatre and performance studies for nearly a decade. Her classes focused on social change (Latino Theatre for Social Change and Theatre for Young Audiences) and outreach (Education and the Performing Arts) where she partnered with local schools to bring theatre education into their classrooms via UWB students leading creative drama exercises. Her script analysis class, Project Hamlet, became an exploration of languages as she began working with larger numbers of international students and explored how to perform the play multilingually.

She is a co-founder of eSe Teatro in Seattle and has worked as a dramaturg with Teatro Vision in San Jose (Perla) and with Teatro Nuevo Mèxico (Electricidad). Her doomed dissertation was an exploration of women dressing as men in contemporary Latinx productions, most of which were reimagining classical works.

 She works with Lakewood Playhouse as a stage manager and teaching artist. She won a “Woody” in 2017 for her work on The Rocky Horror Show.

 She is a founder of Screaming Butterflies Productions with Kathryn Philbrook in Tacoma. Their indie company seeks to use performance to re-vision myth, community and justice through imaginative, tenacious, unapologetic creativity. She is working with Break the Table RPG, a local streaming group using fantasy and table top game mechanics to shape stories told by and for BIPOC to address some of the current issues we are dealing with. She also helped to found Rise Up: a South Sound BIPOC Theatre Artist Coalition.

 She is currently serving as a commissioner on the Tacoma Arts Commission for District 1.

She is a deep believer in the power of collaboration in theatre, consent and inclusion.

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MARTIN GOLDSMITH

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BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Martin moved to Tacoma with his wife and two sons in 1992. For the next 25 years he continued his career as a pediatrician, specializing in endocrinology, with Pediatrics Northwest and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. During that time he also served as Medical Director for a local summer day camp for children with diabetes. In 2013 he resurrected his high school love for the stage and has acted in several Puget Sound community theatre productions. He retired from his medical practice in 2017 but has continued his desire to heal – now with music: he regularly brings his guitar and voice to the kids and their parents in the playroom at Mary Bridge. In 2020 he joined the TLT Board.

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