Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization

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The Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization is governed by a Board of Directors, who serve on a voluntary basis for three year terms

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Scott Bilbruck, Owner │ E-Adjudicate

Mark Gunderson, Music Educator │ Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

Ken Hammond, Creative Services Manager │ Free Wheelchair Mission

Howard Hsu, Officer │ Los Angeles Police Department

Janet Konecne, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, Physical Therapist/Owner │ Allegro Physical Therapy

Laurie Tanakaya, Vice President, Retail │ Opry Entertainment (Retired)

EMERITI

George Perry (1996 – 2013)

Carter Schuld (Founding Corps Director)

Dr. Martin Rochford (Founding Board President)

 

Adrian Rivas
President

ADRIAN RIVAS is currently the Director of Enterprise Technology Demand Management and Resource Allocation at The Walt Disney Company in Burbank, CA. In this role, Adrian leads portfolio management and analytics teams responsible for optimizing people and financial resources to deliver against the highest strategic information technology priorities for the company.

He has nearly 25 years of success overseeing technology programs, developing teams, and leading capabilities in entertainment, retail, program management, customer data management, and mergers and acquisitions domains. Notable leadership initiatives have included the North American intra-company and supermarket gift card mall launch of the Disney Gift Card, implementation and technology operations management of Disney’s first cross-segment customer/guest data analytics environment, business case development and approval for company-wide on-prem to cloud infrastructure migration programs, executive leadership of strategic programs PMO, and leading Disney’s Transition Service Agreement (TSA) Office in support of the acquisition and integration of 21st Century Fox in 2019.

Adrian is a charter member of Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, joining in the inaugural year in 1993 and performing with the corps for 5 years, while also performing with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (Denver, CO) for two years during that time. He served as a visual instructor and leadership coach at Pacific Crest for nearly 20 years. He joined the Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization Board of Directors in 2014, was elected Board Vice President in 2020, and was elected Board President in 2022.

Adrian has been proud to have donated his time and professional input across a variety of causes outside of Pacific Crest, including Starlight Children’s Foundation, UCLA Interview with a Bruin, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (through Disney’s VoluntEARs program), and Disney’s Enterprise Mentor Program.

Adrian received a B.A. in Political Science (International Relations) from UCLA, participating in the UCLA Marching Band and serving as Drum Major for 3 of those years. He lives with his wife, Stacy (National Leadership Team for Kappa Delta Sorority), and son, Brandon, in Valley Village, California. He has a decade of half marathon and triathlon experience, including a Half Ironman finish, under his belt.

Jesus Holguin
Vice President

JESÚS M. HOLGUÍN, a supporter of public education in many ways, has served on the Moreno Valley Unified School District governing Board since November 2002.

From 2014-2015 he served as President of the California School Boards Association (CSBA) and was the first Latino president of the Association in 20 years. As President, he also served as the chair of the Superintendents Advisory Council, chair of the then newly established Adequacy Committee, chair of the President’s Council and chair of the Policy Platform Committee. He represented CSBA at the California Education Coalition and was a member of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s Blueprint 2.0 Action Planning Team. Mr. Holguín also served as a member of the National School Boards Association Nominating Committee. One of his top priorities as CSBA President was to promote and enforce the inclusion of Visual and Performing Arts education as part of the core curriculum in all California public schools.

Mr. Holguín held the post of treasurer of the California Latino School Boards Association for twelve years; president of the Riverside County School Boards Association; president of the Moreno Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for three years; and board member of ACCESS to the Future. For the last twenty-four years he has been involved in school and school district level parent groups including PTA, Site Council, Year-Round Education, GATE, High School Curriculum, Safety Task Force committees and Booster Clubs. He provided translation services for Spanish-speaking audiences at School Board meetings for four years. He was also a member of the MVUSD Budget Advisory Committee.

Jesus served as a member of National PTA Board of Directors for two years, and currently serves as a member of the California PTA Board of Managers since 2016; Member of Create CA Board of Directors since 2016; and Member of Pacific Crest Board of Directors since 2016.

Employed by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools since 1985, Mr. Holguín has extensive experience in school finance. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from California State University, San Bernardino. He took the CSBA Master’s in Governance program during his first two years as School Board member.

Ron Clark
Treasurer

RON CLARK, retired Chief Financial Officer for a local city in the San Gabriel Valley, first became involved with drum corps when his son Stephen (Contra) began his five-year marching career with Pacific Crest back in 1999. His daughter Mandy (Guard) also marched for two years with PC in 2004 and 2005.  Ron is always amazed at the talent and dedication the young adults display while entertaining thousands of people during the summer.  The skills, teamwork and perseverance they develop in drum corps are characteristics that will live with them for the rest of their life.

Antoinette Kveton
Secretary

ANTOINETTE KVETON grew up in the San Fernando Valley and discovered her love for the marching arts during high school as a color guard member. Her alma mater, Chaminade High School, gave her the opportunity to begin teaching in 2008 after her first marching season with Pacific Crest. She continued to teach during the off season, while also completing her B.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University. After aging out in 2010 and graduating in 2011, Antoinette had the pleasure of working with several color guard programs in Southern California, including El Dorado, Whitney, St. Paul, and Gladstone High Schools, as well as the Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps.

In 2013, Antoinette’s roles shifted from instruction to serving as a member of the administrative staff, touring with the corps as a Tour Manager/Administrative Assistant during the summer. Her administrative involvement has expanded to the annual Drum Major and Leadership camps, where she serves as a leadership clinician.

Antoinette serves on the Board of Directors for PCYAO and is currently the chair of the Alumni Committee of Pacific Crest. She works full-time as the Operations Manager for Northeast Community Clinic in Alhambra, CA. She completed her M.S. in Project Management from the University of Southern California in 2022.

Antoinette lives with her husband Mark (fellow Pacific Crest alum) in Arcadia, CA.

Elizabeth Acosta

ELIZABETH ACOSTA has been in the banking industry for over 20 years. Currently in her role as Vice President, Senior Investigator at City National Bank, Elizabeth has knowledge and experience in banking operations, compliance, and financial crimes. Specifically, as an Investigator, Elizabeth is responsible for primarily conducting Fraud but also BSA investigations, in addition to internal claims within the bank. Elizabeth earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at California State University, Fullerton, which comes to use when working with law enforcement, as needed.

Elizabeth is also the current co-chair of City National Bank’s Latino Community Network colleague resource group. The network is comprised of over 23 leadership steering committee members and over 1,200 colleagues who are dedicated to engage with their peers, the community and their clients, through Philanthropy, Personal and Business Development events.

As a long-time supporter, Elizabeth found her passion for Pacific Crest when first attending the Rose Bowl event many years ago. She is a strong believer of getting youth involved in the arts and seeing them succeed.

Mariam Kaddoura

With over 10 years of experience in the music field, Los Angeles native MARIAM KADDOURA currently serves as the Manager of Learning for the LA Phil in their educational initiatives.

In her role at the LA Phil, Mariam produces programs for Symphonies for Youth and Symphonies for Schools, writing lesson plans, curricula, and family-based activities related to the concert programs; and oversees the Composer Fellowship Program and the YOLA National Symposium.

Mariam has worked for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Los Angeles Unified School District, and independent charter schools throughout Southern California teaching marching band, concert band, orchestra, percussion ensemble, chamber music, and general music for grades 2 through college. Mariam also has taught in YOLA and Harmony Project, El Sistema-inspired music education programs.

With her experience in teaching and working in other arts organizations, Mariam brings insight and guidance from project-based learning and cross-curricular education perspectives.

Mariam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Performance and a Masters of Music in Percussion Performance from UCLA, and a Masters of Arts in Teaching and a California K-12 Single Subject Teaching Credential from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She holds memberships in SCSBOA, NAfME, the Percussive Arts Society, and El Sistema USA. She marched at Pacific Crest for two years in the Front Ensemble.

Phil Mortensen

PHIL MORTENSEN currently serves as the Visual & Performing Arts Coordinator for the Placentia-Yorba Linda USD and is a veteran music educator and former drum corps brass instructor (VK 1991-93).  He is hopeful that his contribution to the students through his work on the board of directors will help provide a meaningful musical venue for student musicians to thrive, develop and excel.

Jacqueline Orozco

JACQUELINE OROZCO is the Regional Public Affairs Associate for the Southern California Gas Company.

Diana Marie Petersen

DIANA MARIE PETERSEN was born and raised in Southern California and has had a passion for music from a young age. She performed in several ensembles while attending El Modena High School (1996-2000), Fullerton College (2000-2002), and California State University Long Beach (2002-2004). She was a member of the Front Ensemble at Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps (1999-2001, 2003). After aging out, she came back to Pacific Crest to serve as a volunteer, and first joined the Board of Directors in 2013, serving as Board President in 2020-2021.

Diana has worked in the commercial roofing industry since 2004 and currently is the Director of Administration at Red Pointe Roofing. She has expertise in all areas of construction related administration and has implemented the company’s accounting and IT systems, 401K plan and health benefits in addition to overseeing purchasing and worker’s compensation reporting. Ms. Petersen also serves on the company Leadership Committee with other senior managers to develop strategic initiatives relating to safety, operations, long term vision, employee benefits and recognition, and charitable contributions. She serves as a Director on the Board of Directors of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), is a committee member of its Safety and Health Committee and co-chairs its Future Executive Institute (FEI) committee.

She is a graduate of the NRCA/Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Future Executive Institute program and earned her BA in Music from California State University Long Beach. She is a SHRM-Certified Professional, HRCI Professional in Human Resources-California®, and HRCI HR Ethics Certificate holder. Ms. Petersen is also a member of National Women in Roofing (NWIR), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Professionals In Human Resources Association (PIHRA).

 

David Andrew Rivera

DAVID ANDREW RIVERA is an Overwatch Analytics Manager at Blizzard Entertainment.

Ted Randall

TED RANDALL is a senior portfolio manager at Avantis Investors®. Prior to Avantis Investors’ establishment in 2019, Ted served as vice president and portfolio manager for domestic and international equity strategies at Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). In this role, Ted served as portfolio manager and portfolio advocate for 11 U.S. and non-U.S. developed, emerging market and blended asset allocation mutual funds and separately managed accounts.

Ted earned a master’s in business administration from the University of California Los Angeles Anderson School of Management and a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Sean Smit

SEAN SMIT is currently a Continuous Improvement Manager at Lineage Logistics in Mira Loma, CA as well as an active designer and educator in the marching arts.

Sean has spent a decade working to identify waste and create process improvements in equity firm-owned private companies. He currently leads a Lean Journey in the world’s largest cold-storage storage company, Lineage Logistics. His contributions to the organization include generating automated dashboards, project management, process improvement, and delivering Lean Thinking educational experiences to business leaders.

In the marching arts, Sean’s design work has helped his clients find success in a variety of regional and national circuits, including BOA and WGI Finalists. He currently serves as Visual Caption Head for Rancho Cucamonga High School and recently served the same position for GOLD Drum & Bugle Corps.

Sean is proud to donate his time to charities and non-profit groups who benefit families across Southern California such as Feeding America and now Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization.

Sean lives with his wife and two children in Redlands, CA.

George Steele

GEORGE STEELE is an attorney with offices in Pasadena, CA. He represents a broad range of clients in unique and complex matters requiring creative approaches. His breadth of experience enhances his ability to embrace a wide range of issues and to think “outside of the box” when fashioning a solution.

Prior to starting his own law firm, Mr. Steele gained expertise and became a highly effective litigation and patent attorney at a various law firms in California and Maryland, both large and small. Before entering private practice, Mr. Steele honed his patent skills at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and his trials skills at the Office of the Los Angeles Public Defender. He now brings his passion, determination and know-how to representing clients in the areas of Intellectual Property, Indian Law, Criminal Law and Complex Litigation Matters.

Before joining the world of law, Mr. Steele was a Naval Aviator in the United States Marine Corps, flying CH-46 assault helicopters. He was also an engineer on the Titan IV expendable launch vehicle program, specializing in payload-to-launch vehicle integration.

Mr. Steele received his Juris Doctor from the University of California –Los Angeles School of Law and his Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is admitted to practice law in the state of California, the United States District Court for the Central and Eastern Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Steele is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is also a member of various legal organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

Mr. Steele’s goal is to develop long-term relationships with clients by becoming intimate with their needs and assisting them beyond the requirements of a single case.

Russell Tanakaya

RUSSELL TANAKAYA is a longtime supporter of drum corps and Pacific Crest. He spent his career in the hospitality industry, and is recently retired as the General Manager of the Embassy Suites by Hilton Los Angeles in Glendale.

In addition, he is an adjunct instructor at Glendale Community College where he teaches Introduction to Hospitality, Intro to Tourism, Restaurant Management, Bar/Beverage Management and Hotel Operations.

Russ is an avid photographer, who specializes in portrait, special event and marching music activity imagery. A veteran writer and photographer for the internet magazine Drum Corps World, Russell has taken pictures around the country for the niche youth activity of American drum corps for over a decade. His magazine contributions and social media postings feature thousands of action photos annually. He serves as the primary photographer for the World Class, Drum Corps International group Pacific Crest – and the WGI World Class organization Pulse Percussion.

In the off season, Russell’s photography runs the gamut from National Park landscapes, to night photography and his passion – studio and location portraiture and special events.

He also supports the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep organization as an affiliated photographer. He is a member of the Professional Photographers Association, and an avid Sony mirrorless artist.

Russ served on the Governing Board of the Japanese American National Museum from 2003 – 2018.

Tony White

ANTHONY “TONY” WHITE is a native of Los Angeles who grew up in South L.A. He is the eldest of ten children and the first one in his immediate family to attend college.

He is the Coordinator of Music and Entertainment Education in the Beyond the Bell Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of California, Riverside and his Masters Degree in Educational Administration from Pepperdine University. He is currently researching several schools to pursue a Doctorate of Musical Arts.

Mr. White attended South Park Elementary School and Charles Drew Middle School. It was here at Drew Middle School that he started to play the clarinet under the direction of Mrs. Fran Herman. He has been a musician ever since and has not let go of his passion. He attended John C. Fremont High School for his freshman year of high school but left after the first year because the school did not have a music program. He finished his high school career at Nathaniel Narbonne HS in Harbor City, California.

Subsequently, Mr. White was assigned to teach music at Fremont High School. It was a decision that would shape his career in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He taught for ten years at John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, where he was the instrumental music teacher and department chairperson. He developed one of the most successful music programs in the history of Fremont High School. All of the bands in his program were recognized and honored by the community and the city of Los Angeles for their outstanding performance and positive contribution to Los Angeles. The program included a marching band, jazz band and combos, concert band and percussion ensembles. He was able to inspire many of his students to reach their goals of going to college and giving back to their community.

In his current position, Mr. White is the head director of the LAUSD Beyond the Bell All District High School Marching Band, which can be seen on January 1 (or 2) marching at the Tournament of Roses Parade. He has been working and developing the band since 1984. Mr. White is also the coordinator of such programs as the LAUSD All District Jazz Academy and oversees partnership programs with organizations such as the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, Grammy in the Schools Live and the Harmony Program.

In his career, Mr. White has been recognized by the Los Angeles Jazz Society, a Music Center Bravo Award Finalist, has received the Fulfillment Award and the UC Riverside Chancellor Award. He has also received the Humanitarian Award from the Omni Youth Music Awards, L.A. Music Week Honoree, recognition by the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for his work in music education and the International Association for Jazz Education for being an Outstanding Saxophonist.

Mr. White is a strong advocate for quality music and arts education programs. He is constantly meeting with administrators, teachers, students, parents and students to discuss their desires to create quality programs in all cities. When he is not meeting or planning programs, he is performing at various ventures around town on his trusty saxophones spreading the word about the importance of music and music education!