American Stage Theatre Company's Board of Trustees

Evan E. Whittle, Chairman
Evan Whittle is the First Vice President, Investments, and Branch Manager of the downtown St. Petersburg branch of Raymond James & Associates. He is a past president of the Florida Securities Dealers Association, has served on the board of trustees of the Arts Center, and is past president of the Zodiac Club, the young supporters of the Dali Museum. Evan, his wife, Diana, and their son Tyler (an actor in the making) love everything that St. Petersburg has to offer . . . especially the fantastic plays and educational programming offered by American Stage.
Alfred T. May, Immediate Past Chairman
Al May was a banking executive with Home Federal for many years, and was with the company when it and the St. Petersburg Times co-founded American Stage Shakespeare in the Park. A longtime, loyal friend of American Stage, Al has served several terms on the board of trustees, exhibiting a love for theater and contributing valuable expertise in matters of financial planning. Al has sponsored productions at American Stage for more than 10 years, including Anna in the Tropics, I Am My Own Wife, Dinner with Friends, and Suddenly Last Summer.
Cathy Swanson, Vice Chair
Cathy Swanson is currently senior vice president/commercial banker at Synovus Bank of Tampa Bay. Her love of theatre goes back to performing in high school and college productions in Tulsa, OK. She has previously served on the boards of the Palladium Theater, LiveArts Peninsula Foundation, and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. She is a past president of the Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg. Cathy has sung in the Sanctuary Choir and Praise Band at First Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg. She came to our city in 1980 and has two college-age daughters.
Gretchen Letterman, Secretary
Gretchen Letterman is a journalist with nearly 25 years of experience at the St. Petersburg Times, and currently leads the Times' Newspaper in Education program. She is honored to be on the board of American Stage Theatre Company, where her two children contracted permanent cases of the acting virus during summer camps and holiday productions. Gretchen and her husband enjoyed American Stage opening night season tickets for years, before children, and once again are glad to be back as regular audience members at this impressive cultural asset to the community.
Robin A. Grabowksi, Treasurer
Robin Grabowski followed a career in the information technology field by pursuing her dream of owning a full-service day spa. She opened Tranquility Day Spa in St. Petersburg in 2003, and the company was voted the 2005 Rookie Business of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Robin sold that business in 2007 and is now the President/CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. Robin is active in a number of community organizations including the Junior League and the Police Athletic League. She is extremely excited to be a part of the American Stage family.
Paul Carder, Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Paul Carder, originally from Chicago, moved to St. Petersburg with his wife, Jacqueline MacNeil, following a career in the advertising agency business in New York and Toronto. In Toronto, Paul was involved with many not-for-profits (Toronto Community Foundation, Heart & Stroke Foundation), including several performing arts organizations: Soulpepper Theatre Company, Canada’s leading classical theatre company; the Thousand Islands Playhouse; the National Ballet of Canada; and Ballet Jorgen. Paul was also a leading force in the creation of the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, a $14 million performing arts and educational facility in the heart of downtown Toronto. Paul was a member of Leadership St. Pete Class of 2008 and now serves on the Planning Committee. Paul recently resigned his seat on the Board of Trustees of the Morean Arts Center to accept a position there as director, Marketing/Communications & Advancement. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Barry Dingman, Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Barry Dingman is retired from (GTE) Verizon where he held various management positions in information technology. His avocation has always been music (organ, piano, and voice), and he has served as church organist, performed with the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and sings in his church choir. He has a continuing interest in the theater and is an active supporter of a sister cultural organization, The Florida Orchestra.
Mary Ann Assiff
Mary Ann Assiff is the founding director of the Youth Arts Corps, an arts-based youth development and job training program encompassing artist residencies in community and juvenile justice settings, training for artists and youth workers, and four after-school arts programs serving youth ages 9 - 17. With over 26 years experience in the social services working with youth and families, Mary Ann brings a broad background in youth development, mental health counseling, program development and community relations to her work with youth and the arts. She has served as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts on juvenile justice arts programming and as a grants panelist on the state and local level. The Youth Arts Corps has been named a model arts program in Florida. Mary Ann also implemented the Safe Place program in Pinellas County and was the co-founder of Pet Planet, Inc. a pet service business which she sold in 2006. She is the mother of a 25 year old son who is a recent graduate of Rhode Island School of Design who is now living in Brooklyn near where Mary Ann grew up. American Stage has been an active partner with the Youth Arts Corps for the past five years and Mary Ann is thrilled to be a part of the American Stage family in this new capacity.
Richard (Dick) Averitt
Dick Averitt is chairman and CEO of Raymond James Financial Services (RJFS). The retired U.S. Marine Corps aviator and certified financial planner was raised in St. Petersburg and was pleased to return to the area concurrent with his increased responsibilities at RJFS in 2002. Dick serves on numerous industry committees and as chairman of the Public Policy Committee and vice chair, Leadership and Advocacy, for the board of governors the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife Sandi are enthusiastic supporters of American Stage.
Frank Biafora
Frank Biafora serves as Professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at USF St. Petersburg. He and his wife Lea Ann moved to the area in the summer of 2007 from New York where Frank was a member of the faculty at St. John's University since 1993. His love of the arts and theatre go back to his early childhood where music and performance was an integral part of the Biafora family. Frank is a graduate of the University of Florida and the University of Miami. As a recent graduate of Leadership St. Pete (Class of 2008) he is honored to be a member of the American Stage family and to support the vibrant Arts community of St. Petersburg.
Lora L. Brown, MD
Lora L. Brown, MD is a board certified Interventional Pain Management Specialist. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and completed her surgical internship and anesthesia residency at University Hospital in San Antonio. She then completed her fellowship training in pain management at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation as Chief Fellow. Currently she is a physician partner at Coastal Orthopedics and Pain Management in Bradenton, where she treats all types of chronic pain conditions.
Jean Carnes
Jean Carnes is Director of The Learning Center at Shorecrest Preparatory School which offers support intervention to students in grades K -12. She has been an administrator at Shorecrest for the past nine years and has been involved in education for more than twenty years. She serves on the International Dyslexia Association board and participates in the Meals on Wheels program in St. Petersburg during the summer. She and her husband, Gary, have two children in college and she is working on her doctoral degree in higher education. She has been a season ticket holder for twelve years, and both she and her husband thoroughly enjoy the plays performed at American Stage. She looks forward to serving and supporting the arts in downtown St. Petersburg.
Larry Hamrick
Larry Hamrick is the vice president/relationship manager at Wachovia Wealth Management. He was with Bank of America for over five years, the last three as a vice president and client manager in the wealth management division of the bank. His love of the arts dates back to his youth when he exhibited his work as a painter and sketch artist. Larry and his wife, Cynthia, have lived in the St. Petersburg area for most of the last ten years. Both Larry and Cynthia are very excited about the opportunity to be involved with "this wonderful organization."
Bob Devin Jones
Bob Devin Jones is artistic director of Studio@620 in downtown St. Petersburg. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Bank of America 2005 Local Hero Award and the Weekly Planet (now Creative Loafing) Best of the Bay awards (Directing: 2001; Playwright: 2002; New Gallery: Studio@620 in 2005).
Al Karnavicius
We welcome Al Karnavicius back to our board after a few years' hiatus. Al is originally from Chicago and came to St. Petersburg in 1958. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 1973 with a BA in language and literature. He is founder and president of Bayprint, a commercial printing and imaging firm in St. Petersburg. Al is a current or former board member of the following organizations: St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors (past vice president communications), the Chamber's Small Business Council (past chairman), the Arts Center (past president), Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg (past president) and of course, American Stage (past president). He has won numerous awards including Pinellas County Arts Council's "Friends of the Arts" in 1992 (with his wife Nancy) and the Tampa Bay Business Committee for the Arts "Patron Award" in 2000 (also with his wife Nancy). In addition, Al has served as the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Lithuania since 1999.
Kelly McBride
Kelly McBride A faculty member and the Ethics Group Leader at the Poynter Institute, Kelly McBride teaches journalists from around to the world, consults in newsrooms, conducts workshops across the country and writes for Poynter Online and other journalism publications. A veteran reporter for 15 years, Kelly McBride has covered crime, courts, faith and ethics, drawing on her academic training in journalism and religious studies. Kelly's three children, Molly, Maggie and Clark, have been involved in American Stage's education programs for several years and Molly is a member of the newly created American Stage Youth Ensemble.
Jennifer McClintic
Jennifer McClintic is a Principal with Sabal Trust Company, one of American Stage's major corporate supporters. She is currently a candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst program, a member of the CFA Institute, and serves on the Board of Directors for the CFA Tampa Bay Society. Jennifer also serves the community through her lifetime membership to St. Anthony's Hospital Auxiliary, and serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Anthony's Health Care Foundation. She has a long-standing love for theater and the arts and looks forward to supporting American Stage, a unique asset in the Tampa Bay community.
Isaac McKinney III
Isaac McKinney is a Manager in Client Solutions for PriceWaterHouseCoopers, LLP, where he manages IT Governance Application Environments. Prior to joining PWC, Isaac held positions at Accenture, LLP and Oracle Corporation. Isaac is a graduate of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems with a minor in Business. Isaac is a graduate of Leadership St. Petersburg. Isaac is an active volunteer and advocate for several community organizations, including Suncoast Boys & Girls Clubs, Florida Prostate Cancer Network, 5000 role models, American Heart Association, Tampa bay Workforce Alliance and others. He currently serves on the board of trustees for the YWCA of Tampa bay. He is a native of St. Petersburg, FL.
Diane Bailey Morton
Diane Bailey Morton is a local attorney and mediator who practices in the area of Labor and Employment. She has been a Board member and volunteer for American Stage for many years, just recently rejoining after a brief hiatus. Her strong support of the theatre is evident in her almost yearly Mainstage co-sponsorships, and her great sense of humor is evident in her playbill ad for American Stage in the Park (quoting Henry VI): "The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers." She currently also serves on the Board of Trustees of Great Explorations, the Children's Museum, as volunteer General Counsel. Her daughters, Bailey and Sarah, have volunteered at the Park concession booths for over ten years. Sarah performed in King Island Christmas for two years. Diane is married to Nicholas Morton and they reside in St. Petersburg.
Lee Rightmyer
Lee Rightmyer is a shareholder at the law firm of Carlton Fields and practices in the Real Property Litigation Practice Group. Lee is past president of the St. Petersburg Bar Association. He is an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers, and is equally passionate about serving on the board of American Stage.
Mirella Smith
Mirella Smith was born and raised in Rome, Italy. She came to Chicago and worked as an Italian diction coach for opera singers, translated libretti, and served on the board of the Lyric Opera. She has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Central Region for over 20 years. Since moving to St. Petersburg, Mirella has been active in the Mahaffey Theater Guild, the Arts Center. As a member of Eckerd College's Academy of Senior Professionals, Mirella endowed a scholarship fund for theatre students.
William G. Ulbricht
Bill Ulbricht is president of St. Anthony's Health Care, a one-hospital system with 395 beds located in St. Petersburg. Bill was appointed president of St. Anthony's in April 2007. Previously, he was the COO for South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City for ten years. He has more than 15 years of operational and management experience and a strong background in health care finance. While in Plant City, Bill also volunteered his time in leadership positions for organizations such as the Plant City Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the Lions Club and the city's Planning Board. He also served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the United Way. Bill received his bachelor's degree in business administration-finance from the University of Kentucky, and his MBA from Regis University in Denver.
Scott K. Wagman
Scott Wagman is a real estate entrepreneur, developing, purchasing and managing retail, office and industrial real estate through his company, MyBuyersWin, Inc. His community leadership experience includes St. Petersburg Citizen Police Academy (Class of 2008), CONA Leadership (Class of 2008), Pinellas Citizen University (Class of 2008), Lawyers for Literacy, Canterbury School of Florida, Suncoast Ronald McDonald House. He has been involved with American Stage for many years, having served a term as Board President in 1999-2000, and now returning to the board as the 2009 Gala Committee Chair. Scott is married to Beth A. Houghton and has three children.
Mary Harden Wall
Mary Harden Wall is the former head of school for Shorecrest Preparatory School, one of Pinellas County's most prestigious private schools. Before retiring in 2005, she enjoyed a successful 33-year career at Shorecrest as a fifth-grade teacher, lower division head, and interim head of school before becoming head of school. She currently resides in downtown St. Petersburg with her husband.
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