2020 FALL NEWSLETTER - Leadership Change
INSIDE THE SEARCH FOR OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
With much excitement and anticipation, we are welcoming Keri Lindell Butkevich as our new Executive Director. Having served youth choral organizations in diverse communities as an Executive Director and music educator, she brings a wealth of experience in arts administration and music education to PEBCC and we are excited for her to start. Keri has served as the Executive Director for music education organizations in the Bay Area since 2008, most recently at the Oakland Youth Chorus. In addition, she has enjoyed a fifteen-year teaching career as a choral educator and teaching artist in Chicago and the Bay Area.
The PEBCC Board of Directors completed a four-month search for our next Executive Director, guided by Sallin Search Consultants. Initial connections were made with over 100 prospective candidates, resulting in 29 completed applications and eight - first and second-round interviews. To determine the best match for PEBCC, four candidates were given the opportunity to participate in interviews with the E.D. Search Committee. From this number, three met with Eric Tuan, Artistic Director, and Poppy Dorsam, BOD President. Once the two finalists had been selected, we had the pleasure of speaking with sixteen of their former colleagues and learned about their successes in their careers. The penultimate step for the candidates was to have informal Zoom meetings with the Office Staff and selected Board Members. This long and thorough process ended with the finalists addressing the following question: “Please present to the board your approach for getting oriented to the organization in the next 6 months and, based on what you are learning from your interviews and research, what the future might look like after that initial period ” to the Board of Directors.
It was a pleasure to meet so many wonderful people through the search. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sallin Search Consultants, the Search Committee and the PEBCC Board of Directors for their sincere and tireless dedication and devotion to the process which resulted in such a successful outcome. We are so pleased that Keri will become our new E.D.
PEBCC Board President, Poppea Dorsam, shares the exciting news:
“Welcoming Keri Lindell Butkevich to our community as Executive Director will complete the full organizational transition which began in 2019, with handing the baton from founding conductor Bob Geary, to our new Artistic Director, Eric Tuan. We look forward to this collaboration between our artistic and executive directors to inspire our mission, our community and our talented faculty and staff as we move into the future.”
PEBCC’s Artistic Director Eric Tuan, who works closely with the Executive Director, is equally enthusiastic about Butkevich’s appointment:
"Keri’s passion for youth choral programs shines through in her extensive experience as both an arts executive and a music educator. Moreover, her experience expanding access to choral music in diverse communities will be invaluable as we seek to build a more inclusive program. I am thrilled to have the chance to work with her as we bring the PEBCC community into a new era."
Butkevich enjoys a deep familiarity with the children’s and youth choral world. Most recently, she served for nearly nine years as Executive Director of the Oakland Youth Chorus. Before entering arts administration, she conducted with the Chicago Children’s Choir, performed as a lyric soprano soloist for notable opera companies, and prepared children’s choirs for outreach and mainstage productions. She holds degrees in music education and voice from the University of Wisconsin and San Jose State University, is certified as an Acting Specialist, and has earned a K-12 teaching credential.
For Butkevich, arts administration and arts education are closely interlinked, “it all comes together, because art cannot live in isolation.” She shares:
"I am beyond honored to be joining this incredible community! For many years, I’ve seen the incredible artistry, cultural connections, and commitment to fostering new, unheard voices through commissioning championed by PEBCC. I am so inspired by Eric’s vision to further social justice and create inclusive spaces within the choirs, and by the collaborative culture within the staff and board teams. I look forward to partnering with them to build upon and further this meaningful work now and into the future."
Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir looks forward to presenting their first virtual performance of the year at their Benefit Concert and Auction on Saturday, November 14 at 6:00 pm. There will be many opportunities for the full choir community to meet the new Executive Director in the coming weeks virtually.
THANK YOU AND FAREWELL TO OUR INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BETH SCHECTER.
Beth Schecter will depart Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir in mid-October as we transition to our new Executive Director, Keri Lindell Butkevich. We are thankful for all of her hard work and thoughtful leadership during her time at the PEBCC.
Beth began her term as Interim Executive Director in January and has led the organization through a process of discovery, assessment and growth. As a seasoned professional Interim Executive Director, Beth provided expertise from her previous work with numerous Bay-Area Non-Profit organizations. Her wisdom and professionalism have been invaluable to our organization. As an intentional listener, she connected with our whole community to understand who we are and to help clarify and define our values and goals. Through her leadership, we accomplished a restructuring of our systems resulting in a new level of professionalism throughout our office processes and for the Board of Directors. Her commitment to our success as we have transitioned this past year from founding conductor, Bob Geary to Artistic Director Eric Tuan and now to our new E.D. Keri Lindell Butkevch is evident throughout our program.
PEBCC Board president Poppea Dorsam says:
“On behalf of the PEBCC Board and our community, I extend deep appreciation to our interim executive director Beth for her leadership, wisdom, care and guidance in helping us shape the organization and hire a permanent executive director, especially through a pandemic! We are a stronger organization thanks to Beth’s passion for partnership and her steadfast training in governance and operations.”
Beth reflects on her time at the PEBCC:
“As my time at PEBCC draws to a close, I reflect on how enjoyable it has been to be part of this exceptional organization these past nine months. While we had lots of work to do administratively, we got through this with the help of the Board and our talented staff and faculty. This year’s “Pivot” was probably the most unusual of my career as an Executive Director and an Interim Executive. I am grateful to all the people who have stepped forward to work closely with the organization during a time of great vulnerability, not just due to undergoing a leadership change, but a pandemic requiring total revamping of our program methods. The music definitely continued under the guidance of Eric, all the conductors, and the talented staff. Going forward under the leadership of the new Executive Director, Keri Butkevich, Artistic Director, Eric Tuan, and the committed board and involved community members, I know there's a bright future ahead for the children and families we serve.”
Thank you for the opportunity to be in service to this creative organization. I look forward to being a part of the listening audience at upcoming concerts as well as the exciting virtual Benefit and Auction on November 14.”