Current Board

Suri Bieler (UNCSA School of Design & Production'71) founded Eclectic/Encore Properties in 1986, which carries an extensive collection of furnishings and party decor items. Prior to establishing her business, Bieler was a freelance prop master for Broadway, off-Broadway and television with credits including "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "Da," "On Golden Pond," and  "Horowitz and Mrs. Washington ,and others."   She served on the Board of Directors of Statewide Zone Capitol Corporation, a private, for-profit corporation established in1999 to assist small and minority owned businesses locating or expanding in New York's Empire Zones, from 2001-2005.  Suri established the Set Decorator's Endowed Scholarship in Design & Production in 1990 and hosted the New York kick-off event in 2002 to announce the fundraising campaign for the John A. Sneden Endowed Scholarship.  Originally from Roanoke, Virginia, Suri now lives in New York City with her husband, Eliot Brodsky and son, Jack.

Kevin Brooks is the Principle Staff Researcher/Technology Storyteller for Motorola, Inc. at the Motorola Labs/Human Interface Research, where his work focuses on applying narrative creation and understanding to user interface design for automobile, handheld and television set-top box platforms. In addition, he has used scenario development to build user experience roadmaps for research, designed and built interface demos using video, graphics and scripting, and used story coaching and scenario planning to aid researchers in innovation development. Previously, Kevin has held positions with the MIT Media Laboratory, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories and Apple Computer.  His research interests include applications of narrative in human interface design, applications of storytelling in design and technology. Kevin holds the Ph.D. Media Arts and Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1999) and a master's degree from Stanford University with his undergraduate work at Drexel University.

Edward Burger is Professor of Mathematics and Gaudino Scholar at Williams College.  His research interests are in number theory, and he is the author of over 30 research articles and 12books including "The Heart of Mathematics:  An invitation to effective thinking" (winner of a 2001 Robert W. Hamilton Book Award).  Burger was awarded the 2000 Northeastern Section of the MAA Award for Distinguished Teaching and 2001 MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo National Award for Distinguished Teaching of Mathematics.  The MAA named him the 2001-2003 Polya Lecturer.  In 2002-2003 he was the Ulam Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was awarded the 2003 Residence Life Teaching Award.  In 2004 he was awarded Mathematical Association of America's Chauvenet Prize and in 2006 he was a recipient of the Lester R. Ford Prize.  In 2007 and 2008 he received two awards for his video work.  In 2007, Williams College awarded him the Nelson Bushnell Prize for Scholarship and Teaching.  In 2009 Burger was named one of three Finalists for the 2010 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching by Baylor University (the single largest award given to an individuals for exceptional teaching).  Burger is an Associate Editor of the American Mathematical Monthly and Math Horizons and served on the Board of Trustees of the Educational Advancement Foundation.  In 2006, Reader's Digest listed Burger in their annual "100 Best of America" as America's Best Math Teacher.

Shayne Doty is Director of Development at the Washington National Opera. Prior to this appointment he was Senior Major Gifts Officer at The Metropolitan Opera. He previously worked with Harriet Mayor Fulbright and the Fulbright International Center as Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at The University of Maryland. As an organist, he has recorded for edgewoodrecords.com and has played recitals throughout the United States, France and Canada. He holds degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts, Duke University, Southern Methodist University and The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon.

Eric Gutierrez serves as Special Advisor for Institute Initiatives at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA.  As a journalist and commentator on religion, politics and culture, he has contributed to The Times of London, The Jerusalem Post, Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, nuestravoice.com, beliefnet.com and huffingtonpost.com.  An occasional guest on public affairs radio programs for NPR, PRI and Air America, Eric hosts a weekly segment on American politics and popular culture on Australian Talk Radio station FIVEaa.  He holds the Master of Divinity Degree (2005) from Harvard Divinity School as a Burton Fellow, and his undergraduate degrees are from Harvard College and the Université de Paris IV, La Sorbonne.  He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. His most recent book, Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a Hip Hop Church (Seabury, 2008) explores the impact of religion and popular culture on one another, and has been reviewed as "powerful and moving," "utterly challenging and refreshingly original," and "a promising and cautionary tale of church and culture in America...a fascinating read."

Borden Hanes, Jr. graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 and later served in the United States Army in Vietnam. He is currently with the firm of Bowen and Hanes, Inc., of Winston-Salem. Mr. Hanes is a trustee of the John and Anna Hodgin Hanes Foundation, a former member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former trustee and member of the executive committee of Woodberry Forest School. He has been chairman of the executive committee of Old Salem, Inc., the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, and served on other community and statewide foundations and boards.

Emil Kang arrived in January 2005 as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's first Executive Director for the Arts, a senior administrative post created to help unify and elevate the performing arts at the University.  In his first season, Emil introduced the University's first major performing arts series, inaugurated in conjunction with the grand re-opening of the University's main venue, Memorial Hall. He is also a member of the music faculty and serves as Professor of the Practice. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill, Emil served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and has also held positions of Vice President of Operations for the DSO, Orchestra Manager for the Seattle Symphony, and Orchestra Management Fellow with the American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL).  Emil has also been a member of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and completed the Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management program at Harvard Business School.  Born in New York City, and trained in violin studies from a young age, he holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rochester in New York.

Mandy Patinkin made his Broadway debut in 1980 and won a Tony Award for his role as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita.  He was nominated in 1984 for his starring role in the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George. In 1991 he returned to Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical The Secret Garden, and in 1997 played a sold–out engagement of his one-man concert, Mandy Patinkin in Concert. Mandy won a 1995 Emmy Award for his critically acclaimed performance in the CBS series, "Chicago Hope," recently starred in the CBS series "Criminal Minds" as FBI profiler Jason Gideon and the Showtime Original Series "Dead Like Me." In 1989, he began his concert career at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. This coincided with the release of his first solo album entitled Mandy Patinkin. In 1990 he released his second solo album entitled Mandy Patinkin In Concert: Dress Casual on CBS Records. His 1994 recording, Experiment, on the Nonesuch label, features songs from nine decades of popular music from Irving Berlin to Alan Menken. In 1998 he debuted his most personal project, Mamaloshen, a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs sung entirely in Yiddish. The stage production of Mamaloshen was performed on and off–Broadway and has toured throughout the country. The recording of Mamaloshen won the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis (Germany's equivalent of the Grammy Award). Mandy was born in Chicago, IL and was educated at the University of Kansas and the Juilliard School of Drama.

Cydney Spohn, Assistant Professor of Dance at The University of Akron, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and a former dancer with the North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Pennsylvania Ballet. Ms. Spohn’s repertoire included principle roles in Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Serenade, Agon, and La Sonnambula, along with works by Joe Goode, Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett.  Ms. Spohn is the recipient of an Emerging Choreographer Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and two Princess Grace Foundation-USA awards. Her work has been presented by Columbus Dance Theatre and the Pennsylvania Ballet, and other venues including the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Shut Up & Dance, and the Next Move Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ms. Spohn acquired both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts in Education from The University of Akron.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of CORPS de Ballet International, and her recent publications include Teacher Perspectives on No Child Left Behind and Arts Education: A Case Study and Ballet Technique: Departmental Syllabi and Grading Guidelines.

Charles C. Lucas, III (Ex Officio) is a native of Charlotte, N.C.  He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from Duke University School of Law.  He is a member of the American Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar.  Mr. Lucas has worked with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte as an attorney, and is currently an Executive Search Consultant for The McAulay Firm in Charlotte.  He is a Trustee of The Duke Endowment, and serves on the Board of Visitors, as well as the Board of Advisors of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Mr. Lucas has also served on the Board of Trustees for the Mint Museum of Art and Woodberry Forest School, as well as a number of other not-for-profit organizations.  He joined the NCSA Board of Trustees in 1997 as an appointee of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, and was reappointed to the Board in 2006.

John Mauceri, (Ex Officio), Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a graduate of Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theory and Composition and a Master of Philosophy in Music Theory.  The distinguished and extraordinarily varied career of John Mauceri has brought him not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, as well as the most prestigious halls of academia. He has just stepped down from the post of Music Director of the Pittsburgh Opera, a position held from 2000-2006, and is the Founding Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in Los Angeles. Mr. Mauceri is one of the world's most accomplished recording artists and is the recipient of Grammy, Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Edison, Emmy, Diapason d'Or, Cannes Classique, Billboard, and four Deutsche Schallplatten awards.

Margaret Mertz, Ph.D. (Ex Officio) Executive Director, Kenan Institute for the Arts. Dr. Mertz was dean of the division of General Studies at the North Carolina School of the Arts from 1999 until 2003. From 1995-2001, she was chief examiner in music for the International Baccalaureate Organization. Currently she represents all arts subjects for the examining board of the IBO. She holds her bachelor's degree in the liberal arts from St. John's College, Santa Fe; and her master's and doctoral degrees in music from Harvard University. She has held teaching posts at St. John's College, Santa Fe; Harvard University; the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West; and New Mexico Highlands University. Her professional interests include contemporary issues in teaching and learning; the integration of the fine and performing arts into the standard course of study at the secondary and tertiary levels; the development of academic technology and e-learning environments; and international curriculum and assessment in music, in addition to various studies of western and world music traditions.