Meet Ovation!'s Board of Directors (click a photo to read an expanded bio):
MEET OVATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Margaret Johnston, President
Margaret is a long-time theatre enthusiast and has appeared in five shows with Ovation!, most recently as a nun and understudy for Mother Abbess in "The Sound of Music" in December 2022. She also sings with Crescendo, Ovation!'s adult choir. After creating and leading Amazon.com's Customer Service Training team in the late 90s, Margaret left to become a stay-at-home parent and frequent volunteer. Recently, she's spent a lot of time doing political organizing, including a stint working for Indivisible's national texting team in 2020. Margaret has served on three local non-profit boards prior to joining the board of Ovation! and brings a wealth of governance and strategic planning knowledge to the table, as well as a passion for local theatre and for Ovation!'s mission. (Keith Brofsky, photo)
Dan Opalski, Vice President
Jenn Osburn, Secretary
Jenn brings an educator’s perspective and a great love of musicals to Ovation!’s board. As a parent of a child who grew up with the support of our Ovation! community, she feels passionate about continuing Ovation!’s effort to make theatre accessible to everyone; no matter what their age, ability, or strengths, they can find a place with us. Jenn has been a classroom teacher throughout the Kitsap County region and is now Dean of Social Emotional Learning in an elementary school in Bremerton School District. She supports our board with working to develop Ovation!’s Academy, bringing opportunities to our youth and adults to expand their skills on stage.
Peter Vosshall, Treasurer
Peter has been a board member and treasurer of Ovation! Performing Arts Northwest since 2016 and has had roles in five Ovation! mainstage productions, including portraying Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Mr. Bumble in Oliver!, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. He has also played string bass and/or electric bass in the orchestra for four other Ovation! mainstage productions. Peter sings with the Amabile Choir, Bainbridge Chorale, Crescendo, and Men's Compline Choir of Bainbridge Island and plays bass with Buckshot, a local four-piece string band. Peter also serves on the boards of the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation and the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, is a member of the Bainbridge Island Rowing competitive masters team, and is a marathon runner. Peter received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Dartmouth College in 1992 and has had a long career as a software engineer with a focus on large-scale highly available distributed systems, including at Apple, Infoseek, Amazon.com, and Amazon Web Services. (Keith Brofsky, photo)
Giselle Vincent, Community Liaison and President Emerita
Giselle embarked on her adult acting journey with a remarkable debut role as Bloody Mary in Ovation's 2017 winter rendition of South Pacific. Her enthusiasm for the stage led her to the part of Sergeant of Police in the 2018 summer production of Pirates of Penzance, followed by a captivating portrayal of Rosie in the 2020 production of Bye Bye Birdie and as one of the evil stepsisters in the 2023 winter production of Cinderella.
Beyond her passion for the performing arts, Giselle is a dedicated stay-at-home wife and a proud mother of two beautiful daughters. In addition to her roles at home, Giselle leverages her expertise in project management and marketing to her role as an Ovation board member. She is committed to upholding Ovation's mission as an educational company, promoting the arts, and nurturing future talents.(Keith Brofsky, photo)
Wendy LaVoy, Board Member
After retiring from a nearly 30 year career in finance at Apple, Wendy with her husband Gary moved to Bainbridge in 2018. Wendy is thrilled to finally have the time to pursue her love of theatre. Although she has been singing all her life, she performed in her very first full length stage production show in 2022 as a nun in Ovation’s “The Sound of Music”. She also has been active in Crescendo since moving to the island. She loves that there is an organization on the island that provides a place to grow as a performer regardless of age or experience level, and so was honored when asked to join the board this year. She hopes that her background in budgeting and financial planning will be of good use. Outside of theatre, Wendy enjoys spending time with her three grown children (and very soon to be first grandchild), and experiencing new places around the world with her husband.
Ezra Osburn, Board Member
Ezra has been acting in Ovation! shows since he was 8 years old, appearing in 13 Ovation! shows total. He is currently studying Theatre and English at Northwestern University, focusing on acting, costuming, and lighting. Ezra is passionate about spreading theatre for young audiences and directed Beauty and the Beast Jr. for 8-14 year olds in the summer of 2022. He has been focusing more specifically on theatre for disabled and autistic people, creating theatre as a sensory experience as well as an art form. He is also interested in how theatre affects the environment and making more environmentally friendly theatre and what that looks like on the stage.
Marijane C. Milton, Honorary Board Member
Marijane is an Ovation! co-founder and served as our volunteer Managing Director since our inception in 2003 through early 2019. She has worked on and/or appeared in every Ovation! production from the chorus, to leads, to tech crew, to costumes - whatever is needed. She, and Ron, are transitioning their leadership roles with Ovation! to bring in fresh, new leadership to guide Ovation! into the next 15 years and beyond. Professionally, Mj is the VP of Sales for the Puget Sound Business Journal. (Keith Brofsky, photo)