Board of Directors
Dana Sadava enjoys a vibrant career as a conductor of opera and symphonic music. She serves full-time on the Faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is the Associate Conductor of Opera. Recent guest conducting engagements include the San Diego Symphony, Opera San Jose, West Edge Opera, Berkeley Symphony, North State Symphony, Sonoma County Philharmonic, and Symphony of the Redwoods. She is also the Artistic Director of the Mill Valley Philharmonic and has had the pleasure of working at Banff Opera as Theatre, UC San Diego, Wexford Festival Opera (Ireland), Indianapolis Opera, Pensacola Opera, Opera Steamboat, and Festival Opera. She holds degrees in orchestral conducting from SFCM and the University of Michigan. She studied piano with Sanford Margolis at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and with Gabriel Chodos at Aspen. Before delving into musical life, Ms. Sadava earned an undergraduate degree in aeronautics and literature from Caltech, where she was awarded a fellowship for research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Rebekah Jackson is a dynamic professional whose career bridges the fields of education, technology, and humanitarian service. With a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Brigham Young University and a Secondary Teaching Certification from Utah Valley University, Rebekah brings a rare combination of technical expertise and a passion for teaching to every role she undertakes. Rebekah began her professional journey in the realm of technology, where her skills in SQL, database design, ASP, JavaScript, HTML, and network administration laid a strong foundation for her future endeavors. Her early career shaped her analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, which later complemented her transition into education and nonprofit work. Her fluency in both technical systems and human-centered teaching has enabled her to make a meaningful impact across diverse settings. As an Information Technology teacher, Rebekah designed and led courses in Information Systems and programming for middle school students in grades 6–8. Her teaching roles, including her tenure at the West Coast International Secondary School in Mauritius, reflect her global perspective and her ability to adapt educational content to diverse learning environments. Whether in a classroom in North Carolina or an international school abroad, Rebekah’s commitment to engaging and empowering young learners remains a hallmark of her work. Rebekah’s dedication extends far beyond traditional educational settings. As a grant writer and volunteer with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in San Francisco, she has helped secure and distribute over $500,000 in humanitarian aid. Her efforts have supported vulnerable populations—homeless individuals, food-insecure families, abuse victims, immigrants, and refugees—through strategic partnerships with Bay Area organizations. Her leadership in this role exemplifies her deep commitment to community uplift and social responsibility. In addition to her grant writing, Rebekah serves as a data manager for CharityVision.org, where she supports program staff in 29 countries by managing users, domains, and key performance metrics through G Suite and other data tools. Her ability to integrate technical systems with organizational strategy ensures that global humanitarian efforts are streamlined and impactful. Rebekah’s talents also extend into athletics and mentorship. As a men’s high school volleyball coach at Weddington High School, she led her teams to the state finals three years in a row, fostering not only athletic skill but also discipline and team spirit. She has also served as a seminary teacher, offering daily, early-morning theology classes to high school students, further showcasing her dedication to holistic education. Outside of her professional life, Rebekah is an avid traveler and adventurer, with interests that include tennis, hiking, construction, scuba diving, and gardening. Her diverse interests reflect her energetic approach to life and learning. Rebekah Jackson’s career is a testament to her versatility, compassion, and drive to make a difference—whether in a classroom, a tech lab, a nonprofit boardroom, or out on the volleyball court. She embodies the spirit of service-driven leadership and continues to build bridges between technology, education, and humanitarian service.
Kaylee Lindahl is a voice teacher, performer, and nonprofit arts professional with a foundation in classical training. She holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance from BYU–Hawaii and earned both a Master’s in Arts Management and a Master’s Certificate in International Arts Management from American University. She’s the author of a governance guidebook for nonprofit boards, has done consulting work for a music-focused nonprofit, and has performed in a wide variety of venues, from U.S. Embassy events overseas to local musical theatre productions. Her favorite roles include Jo in Little Women and Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins. Kaylee lives life at a sprint with her amazing husband and their three little boys, which means she’s constantly on the move and owns nothing that isn’t washable.
Stephanie Barton Cole is a Brigham Young University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, emphasizing Ballet. With a distinguished career as a choreographer, producer, and performer, Stephanie has brought classical and original works to life on stages across the West. She has choreographed and produced beloved ballets including The Nutcracker, Coppélia, and Carnival of the Animals, and played a key creative role in the original stage adaptation of You Are Special by Max Lucado, which was performed for an audience of over 25,000. As a dancer, Stephanie has performed with American Festival Ballet, Eugene Ballet, and Ballet Idaho. She also collaborated with the Idaho Falls Symphony in their production of The Nutcracker, bringing orchestral and ballet artistry together in a celebrated community event. In addition to her work on stage, Stephanie has served as Ballet Director for The Pointe Academy and for Odyssey 2, the junior company of Odyssey Dance Theatre. In these roles, she has mentored hundreds of young dancers, shaping the next generation of performing artists with both technical excellence and creative vision.
Advisory Board Members
Musicologist and soprano Rebecca Plack is Professor of Opera Studies and Music History at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; she has also taught at the Vancouver International Song Institute and, in 2024, was the invited keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Early Recordings Association (University of Surrey). Dr. Plack has given talks and lecture recitals at Oxford University, Stanford University, and at meetings of both the American Musicological Society and the National Association of Teachers of Singing; she also regularly lectures on 18th-century opera for the San Francisco Opera Guild. Dr. Plack has performed solo recitals for the International Great Romantics Festival in Hamilton, Canada, at the ATERForum Festival in Ferrara, Italy, and at the Franz Liszt Museum in Budapest; her opera credits include leading and featured roles with Ithaca Opera and Sacramento Opera, as well as with the Caramoor and Aspen music festivals. Dr. Plack graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, received her MM from the Manhattan School of Music, and earned her doctorate at Cornell University, where her dissertation explored connections between vocal technique and musical style in recordings of German Lieder. Her research was supported by an Edison Fellowship at the British Library. She continues to collaborate in recital with pianists and fortepianists in the US and abroad. She lives in Davis, CA, where she maintains a private voice studio.
Dr. Reed Criddle is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Utah Valley University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir and Deep Green (tenor-bass choir) and teaches Advanced Choral Conducting, and voice and conducting lessons. He is twice recipient of the UVU Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award and winner of the School of the Arts Dean's Award for exemplary faculty scholarly work. He has conducted the acclaimed UVU Chamber Choir at national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (2023) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (2013, 2017), as well as over a dozen divisional and state conferences of ACDA and the National Association for Music Education. Dr. Criddle was president of the Utah chapter of ACDA and serves regularly as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for school and community ensembles. He has served on the music faculty at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI), University of California-Berkeley Young Musicians Program, Eastman Community Music School (Rochester, NY), and Willow Oaks Elementary School (Menlo Park, CA). Criddle has given workshops at 44 universities globally, including Oxford University (UK), Hochschüle für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany), Maastricht Conservatorium (Netherlands), Westminster Choir College (New Jersey), Louisiana State University, Arizona State University, Taipei University of the Arts (Taiwan), Foguangshan Buddhist College (Taiwan), Fudan University (Shanghai, China), and the Technical University of Kenya. He recently made his Weiwuying National Concert Hall (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) conducting debut as the conductor of the Formosa Taiwan Youth Honor Choir. In Fall 2024, Dr. Criddle was a Visiting Professor of Choral Music and Interim Associate Director of Choirs at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Named a U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar to Taiwan, Dr. Criddle is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and a foremost ethnomusicologist of Chinese Buddhist chant. An ardent advocate for multiculturalism, Dr. Criddle served as Chief-of-Staff and Chant Rector for the Woodenfish Humanistic Buddhism Monastic Life Program in Wenzhou, China. He is editor of Chanting the Medicine Buddha Sutra: A Musical Transcription and English Translation of the Liberation Rite of Water and Land at Fo Guang Shan Monastery (AR Editions: Middleton, Wisconsin). His pioneering English translation of a third-century Chinese musical treatise by philosopher Ruan Ji entitled Essay on Music (Asian Music: University of Texas Press) is required reading for Music, Neo-Taoism, and Philosophy courses at universities around the globe. Criddle's compositions and arrangements span a wide range of sacred and secular topics and are available through Earthsongs, Hal Leonard, NorthStar Music, and Santa Barbara Music Publishing. In recognition of his compositional achievements, he was awarded the UVU Presidential Fellowship to commission John Muir in Utah, a piano concerto, for the opening season of the UVU Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. Dr. Criddle completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of Michigan and Masters of Music in Conducting at the Eastman School of Music. At Stanford University, he received a Masters of Arts in East Asian Studies and Bachelors of Arts in Vocal Performance and Chinese.