The Board
The NAPAMA Board has 11 volunteer Directors who are responsible for the overall operation of the organization. The Board Executive Committee, chosen and approved by the full Board, proposes direction and focus for the year and the full Board approves these proposals and budget for the year. The Board also appoints the NAPAMA committees and each Director serves on one or more of these committees as well.
NAPAMA Board Executive Committee
Robert Baird, President
Robert Baird is President of BAM! Baird Artists Management in Toronto. He serves on the Governance Committee of the APAP Board of Directors, and is NAPAMA liaison to the APAP Conference. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) where he serves as Chair of the Membership Committee, member of the Conference Committee and Treasurer. Mr. Baird also serves as Coordinator of the IPAY Dutch Consortium Project. He was Co-Chair of the Midwest Arts Conference 2011 in Minneapolis.
Robert Baird is known internationally for his creative marketing ideas and skill at promotion. BAM! Baird Artists Management was created to assist emerging and established artists in furthering their performing careers, especially in the United States and Canada. Robert has had a long and distinguished career in the arts, publishing, education and artist management. He began performing as a musician at a young age and throughout his life has been involved in many aspects of performance including dance bands, piano accompanying, solo performance, choral music, symphonic music, and international musical theatre. Whether on stage, in the pit, or on the podium, he has experienced the life firsthand and offers invaluable advice to the performing artist.
Robert’s twenty-year career in publishing saw him as CEO of one of Canada’s leading educational music publishers, executive director of a national publisher’s association, and head of his own music publishing firm. His knowledge of all aspects of publishing (including techniques of printing) and marketing is put to good use in the design and execution of promotional campaigns for artists in his roster. Education has long been a central part of Robert’s life. He earned three university degrees and has taught in elementary and secondary schools and at the university level. His experience with young people and his rapport with them inform his work with artists in children’s theatre and those who work with young audiences.
BAM! Baird Artists represents international artists in North America, regularly arranging tours for them, represents American artists in Canada, and represents its own distinguished roster of artists in many genres at all levels of presenting in the United States, Canada and around the world.
PO Box 5016 Station A
Toronto, ON M5W IN4 Canada
(2nd Term Expires 2014)
David Wannen, Vice-President/Membership
David Wannen, singer, actor, and Managing Director of New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, is thrilled to join the NAPAMA Board of Directors. David graduated from The Eastman School of Music in Vocal Performance. His early professional career included four seasons with Ohio Light Opera and national tours of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Camelot" with the late Robert Goulet. David was honored with a nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his work as Lancelot in "Camelot" with Media Theater. Since 2004, audiences on both coasts and everywhere in between have seen David perform with NYGASP as The Pirate King ("The Pirates of Penzance") and in the title role in "The Mikado". In 2005 David received a post-baccalaureate in Business from Columbia University, accepted an offer to join NYGASP's management, and became full-time in 2007. David led the initiative to bring national booking representation in-house, and since 2007-2008 David has been the sole official representative of the company in the touring market. In that time, NYGASP has enjoyed the two highest-grossing touring seasons in the company's history. His other responsibilities include fundraising, marketing, board development and strategic planning. David was elected to the NYGASP Board of Directors in 2010. He lives in Riverdale, NY with his wife Jame and their three children, Olivia, Sam and Cole.
David Wannen, Managing Director
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
302 West 91st Street
New York, NY 10024
212-769-1000
(1st Term Expires 2015)
Jerry Ross, Vice-President, Communications
As co-founder and vice-president of Harmony Artists, Jerry Ross has been involved with the presentation of live entertainment for over 35 years. From his early beginnings representing dance bands for the local club scene to the current roster of Harmony shows – ranging from theatre to music to variety and more – Jerry has maintained his love for the immediacy and intimacy of the live performance. Harmony Artists' current areas of operation include not only artist and show representation but talent/entertainment/show procurement for performing arts centers, festivals, fairs, casinos/nightclubs and corporate clients. He has served on the Showcase Committee and Professional Development Committee for the Western Fair Association, and has led workshops and roundtable programs for The Florida Federation of Fairs, Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs and The Western Fair Association. He was also recently named Service Member of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs.
6399 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 914
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(1st Term Expires 2014)
Robin Pomerance, Treasurer
Robin Pomerance has been the Program Administrator at Cal Performances since 2003. She was a participant in the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ 2006 Emerging Leadership Institute and is currently a lead partner in the APAP/ELI Hands on the Future pilot project by Performing Arts Center Eastside. She previously worked with the San Francisco Opera, the Washington Opera and Columbia Artists Management, and currently sits on the board of AXIS Dance Company. She received her BA in Russian Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is currently pursuing an Arts Administration certificate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Cal Performance, UC Berkeley
101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800
Berkeley, CA 94720-4800
(1st Term Expires 2012)
Laurelle Favreau, Secretary
A former violinist and pianist, Laurelle began her career in film and video production, going on to defend the rights and promote the culture of French Canadians. Laurelle joined General Arts Management, Inc. (GAMI) in 1983 as Booking Representative for Canada and Europe, became Vice-President in 1986 and, in 1987, purchased GAMI. From 1988-1990, Favreau was President of the Canadian Association of Artists’ Managers (CAAM), a lobby group for the artist management industry and spent ten years as board member of CINARS. In July, 1991, GAMI merged with American company Simonds Management of Connecticut, becoming GAMI/Simonds, LLC.
Director, GAMI/Simonds, LLC
42 County Rd.
Morris, CT 06763
(1st Term Expires 2013)
Board Members
Laurel Canan
Laurel Canan has a wonderful range of experience and perspective both as a successful presenter (Janesville Performing Arts Center in Janesville, Wisconsin) and most recently as a booking agent (CMI Entertainment - Midwest representative).
When Laurel served as the Executive Director of JPAC, she brought artists such as Tony Bennett, Donny Osmond, Christopher Cross, Thodos Dance Chicago, Cantible-The London Quartet, Robin Spielberg, and two performances by Franc D'Ambrosio to the Center. Laurel also programmed a wide variety of other programs and children's theatre companies for the JPAC season rosters. She has extensive experience in all facets of arts management, organization strategic planning, fundraising and development, and arts organization start-up.
Laurel has participated in the Prairie Arts Management Institute at Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the Professional Arts Management Institute at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. She also attended the national conferences sponsored by Americans for the Arts. She served as a State Captain for Arts Wisconsin working on arts advocacy issues around the state.
Laurel holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, focus of study was Administrative Organizations and Management. Laurel also holds undergraduate degrees (a Bachelor of Science and Associates Degree) in Legal Administration and Paralegal Studies.
In 2010 Laurel became a member of the Ohio Arts Presenters Network (OAPN) board. She was also asked to be Co-Chair of the 2011 OAPN Conference. She is currently manager of Center Productions, Inc. in New York.
511 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 530
New York, NY 10011
Chrissie Bonanni DiAngelus
Chrissie DiAngelus formed Piccadilly Arts in 2006 as a freelance marketing consultant. She has over 10 years' experience in building brands, aligning mission, strategy and tactics and creating strategic marketing and new business development plans. Prior to launching Piccadilly Arts, Chrissie was an Artist Representative with Baylin Artists Management, managing projects and tours of the family roster and managing all conference and showcase planning.
Since then, she was the Program Associate with Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour (a program of Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation) and consulted with a roster of 150 performing artists and various presenting organizations in the mid-Atlantic region on projects, tours, residencies, and marketing strategies. Chrissie managed PennPAT's branding and marketing strategies, attended numerous industry conferences and managed the program's independently-produced showcases. Highlights include her interview on Comcast Newsmakers in April 2008, realigning the program's mission to its brand with new messaging, securing new media partnerships, and launching social media tactics.
She has been a guest lecturer at Temple University's School of Dance and for the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation on topics ranging from branding, marketing, touring and arts administration. She was a recipient of a scholarship from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to attend the 2008 National Arts Marketing Project Conference. In 2009, she was invited back to lead a roundtable discussion on social media. She has served on the conference committees of the 2008, 2009 and 2010 PA Presenters Networking Conference, as a panelist for their 2010 adjudicated showcases and currently serves as chair of the consortia's development committee. In 2012 she was invited to lead a professional development session on Marketing at the Arts Midwest Conference.
Industry affiliations include Pennsylvania Presenters, Ohio Arts Presenters Network, North Carolina Presenter Consortium, APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters, IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth), NAPAMA (North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents) and WAA (Western Arts Alliance).
491 Baltimore Pike #672
Springfield, PA 19064
Mike Green
Mike is the co-owner of Mike Green & Associates, an agency that represents traditional and roots music. His musical career began with a couple of years of touring as a solo musician in the late 1970s. By the end of the second year, he realized that he was better at getting gigs than at getting asked back. The next several years included some business school classes, short-order cooking, marketing for a small publishing company, and serving as Executive Director of the Coffeehouse Extempore in Minneapolis. In 1987 he joined Fleming & Associates (now Fleming Artists), where he booked the western U.S. and was the responsible agent for artists as diverse as Tom Paxton and Ani DiFranco. If you don't count a short detour into starting a catering company with his wife and current business partner, Lorel Vidlund, Mike stayed with Fleming through 2003 and started the new agency in 2004. He somehow fits the full-time agency business around his obsession with cooking and vegetable gardening.
339 East Liberty St., Suite 220
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(1st Term Expires 2015)
Chad Herzog
Chad Herzog has served as the director of the performing arts at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, since October 2006. In this capacity he manages and oversees the College's guest artist series, distinguished lectureship series, conferences and events office, and the operations of the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts. Since taking over the program, participation in the arts at Juniata has increased by over 600 per cent. Chad is the immediate past president of Pennsylvania Presenters and is on the board of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania and on the executive board of Penn State Public Broadcasting. When not seeking out the latest technology trends, he is studying the effects of developing audience through curation in the arts in his M.F.A work. Most recently Chad has created and developed Articulture, a community supported arts program. Chad lives with his partner, Marcy, and their weimaraner, Lidi, in James Creek, Pennsylvania.
Director, Performing Arts, Juniata College
1700 Moore St.
Huntingdon, PA 16652
(1st Term Expires 2015)
Jeff Laramie
Jeff Laramie has been part of the national artist touring, recording and concert industry for 35 years. President of SRO Artists Inc. since 1980, Laramie holds a BA degree in Music from Luther College, has toured extensively and made six recordings as a performer, and has been a leader in industry education. He was the first board president of the Wisconsin Chamber Choir in Madison, WI, served on the NACA Associate Member Advisory Board, WAA Communications Committee, Inside Arts Advisory Committee, APAP/Arts Partners Review Panel and the NAPAMA Education Committee. Laramie has led numerous workshops on contract negotiation, web site design, computerizing your business, ethics, marketing, and artist development.
6629 University Ave.
Middleton, WI 53562
(1st Term Expires 2014)
Mark Smith
Mark was born in Carrollton, Georgia, raised there and in Atlanta. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in History. A founding member of Carolina Repertory Company, Mark toured North Carolina for two seasons, acting in new works and classics. Upon moving to New York City, he earned an M.F.A. in Acting from NYU. He created original characters and worked extensively throughout the New York area as a member of the comedy group "Fromage A Trois". Mark performed in theater, film and television, appearing in over 100 television commercials. He was given the Screen Actor’s Guild’s Joseph C. Riley Award for Service, and as Director of Advance for Richard Ravitch’s 1989 NYC Mayoral campaign he was awarded "Outstanding Advanceman" by ABC News. Mark joined CAMI in 1994 as West Coast Sales representative, rising to Vice President within two years. In 1997, he joined ICMA as Vice-President, Director of Special Projects. He founded 1st Mark Artists Management LLC in 2001, representing artists as diverse as Arlo Guthrie, Olympia Dukakis and Red Clay Ramblers to help create, shape and tour a wide range of projects. An upper West Sider for over thirty years, Mark lives there with his wife, Miriam Cukier.
315 Riverside Drive, #10B
New York, NY 10025
(1st Term Expires 2012)
It's been my personal experience that managers and agents extend such wonderful courtesies to us, with patience and forbearance, in the otherwise tricky marketplace of bookings and contracts.
Ellis Finger, Director, Williams Center for the Arts, Lafayette College
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