Board of Directors

Shakespeare’s Associates Board of Directors and Staff

Elizabeth E. Trutner (Beth)
Chairman of the Board and Personnel Committee

• Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law
• Certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization since 1995
• Principal in the firm Trutner Law Offices
• Member, Eastern Alameda County Bar Association
• Member, Alameda County Bar Association
• Member, State Bar of California (Member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section)
• Past President, Tri Valley Estate Planning Council

   Education:

• San Francisco Law School, graduated with honors
• Bachelor of Arts, University of California at Davis

Lisa A. Tromovitch
President/Producing Artistic Director

• Theater Director, over 20 years professional experience, seven states
• Nineteen (19) years management experience professional non-profit
• Tenured Faculty, Chair, University of the Pacific, Dept. of Theatre Arts
• Member Theatre Services Committee of Theatre Bay Area
• Member Shakespeare Theatre Association (1998 – present), Chair Artistic Focus Group (current)

   Education:

• MFA in Directing, Meadows School of the Arts, SMU
• BA, Magna cum laude, Dartmouth College, Phi Beta Kappa

Volunteer experience includes:

• Executive Committee of Board of Directors, Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Founding Chair, Bangor Region Arts Council
• Selection Committee, Playwrights Foundation, Bay Area Playwrights Festival
• Board of Directors, Dartmouth Club of Greater San Francisco
• University service includes Pacific Humanities Scholars Task Force and Writing in the Disciplines Board

Russell Marcel
Ex-Officio Member, Director of Education

• Educator/Director, Theatre Arts
• Teacher: Shakespeare, British Literature, and Acting at Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose
• Director and Tech Director for Bellarmine Theatre Arts
• Department Chair: Visual & Performing Arts Department, Bellarmine College Prep
• Theater Director/Actor, 14 years professional experience: Bay Area, New York City, London
• Artistic Associate, Shakespeare’s Associates, since 2009
• Director of Development, Renegade Theatre Experience, 2003-2004

   Education:

• BA in Theatre Arts, Santa Clara University
• Graduate, London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts (LAMDA)
• First Year Classical Acting Program

Patricia Munro
Secretary/Treasurer

• Served on Leadership Committee of Union of Reform Judaism Lay Board in Northern California
• Served as President, Membership and Education Chair at Congregation Beth Emek
• Hebrew and Judaic Studies Teacher
• Volunteer with Shakespeare’s Associates since 2002

   Education:

• MA in Jewish Studies from San Francisco State University
• BS in Communication Studies from Northwestern University
• Currently a Doctoral Candidate at University of California, Berkeley in Sociology
• Winner of Berman Dissertation Fellowship for 2011-2012

Garry Rodrigue

• Owner/Winemaker – Rodrigue Molyneaux Estate Vineyard and Winery
• Emeritus Professor of Applied Science – University of California, Davis
• Member of the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Association
• Member of the Livermore Chamber of Commerce

   Education:

• Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, University of Southern California

Dave Wright

• Founding Commissioner for the City of Pleasanton Civic Arts Commission (1997-2002)
• Past President of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society of the U.S. and Canada
• Past President of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council for 3 years; member for 14 years
• Designer of the Youth Excellence in Arts (Y.E.A.!) Awards
• Creator and Editor of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council Newsletter “Arts in Season”
• Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council Grant Writer
• Member of the “Firehouse Arts Center” Task Force
• Co-Producer of the Pleasanton Poetry, Prose and Arts Festival

   Education:

• M.A. Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury College, Vermont
• B.A. English, University of California at Berkeley
• Graduate Studies and 3 Sabbaticals in England, Japan and Greece
• English Emeritus from Chabot College and Las Positas College/Community Library Anthology for 20 years
• Past Coordinator of Humanities and Arts (5 years) and Academic Senate President at Las Positas College
• Co-Designer of the English Centers at Chabot and Las Positas Colleges

John Zukoski

• Senior Manager, Robert Half International Inc.
• Founder and Co-Publisher, Around Dublin Blog
• President (2010-2011), Rotary Club of Dublin
• Treasurer, Tassajara Prep High School Site Board
• Former Secretary, Dublin Ranch Terraces HOA Board of Directors
• Advisor, Pleasanton Camp Galileo Advisory Board

   Education:

• MBA, San Jose State University
• BBA, Boise State University
• Certified Management Accountant

Administrative Staff:

Katie Marcel
Administrative Director

• Assistant Director, Livermore Downtown, Inc. (6 years)
• City of Livermore Commission for the Arts
• Actor, Musical Theater Performer, various venues in NYC, 1997-2002
• Associate Talent Manager, Vanguard Management NYC, 2000-2002

   Education:

• BA in Theatre Arts, Santa Clara University
• Musical Theater Workshop, CAP 21, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, 1996

Shakespeare’s Associates Advisory Board

Barbara Mertes

• Board of Trustes, Chabot/Las Positas Community College District
• Board of Directors, ValleyCare Health System
• Secretary, Board of Directors, Livermore Chamber of Commerce

   Education:

• PhD University of California, Berkeley
• MA San Francisco State University
• BA University of California, Berkeley

Jim Ott

• President and CEO, UNCLE Credit Union
• Adjunct English professor, Las Positas College
• Past President, Livermore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
• Founding member, Las Positas College Foundation
• Board of Trustees, Pleasanton Unified School District

Ken Ross

• Faculty, Theater Arts Department, Las Positas College

Ken Schretzmann

• Film Editor, member of American Cinema Editors
• Illumination Entertainment (Universal Studios): The Lorax
• Pixar Animation Studios: Toy Story 3, Cars, Monsters Inc.
  
• Assistant Editing: Men in Black, Get Shorty, Fried Green Tomatoes
• 27 years editing experience – features, TV and trailers
• A.C.E. Eddie Award – Best Edited Animated Feature, Toy Story 3

   Education:

• BA Syracuse University, New York

Lynn Seppala

• President of Livermore Board, Pacific Chamber Symphony
• Board Member, Las Positas College Foundation
• Board Member, Friends of the Vineyards