MYSO Board of Directors
Strong Leadership.
Strategic Direction.
All aspects of organizational success are supported and driven by an active Board of Directors, which consists of 26 community leaders from institutions including Manpower Group, Komatsu, Johnson Controls, and Hal Leonard Corporation, among others. The Board of Directors meets bi-monthly. The Executive Committee, consisting of all Board Officers and Committee Chairs, meets in the alternating months. All Board Committees and Task Forces meet regularly, often monthly. MYSO also holds both voting and ex-officio non-voting positions on the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC) Board of Directors, as does the MYAC’s co-founding partner, First Stage.
Prudent Governance. Recognized Success.
The prudent governance of MYSO, along with the well-documented impact of its quality programming, has garnered local, national and international acclaim. MYSO was a 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award winner, the highest honor of its kind for after school youth arts education programming in the nation. Representatives from the organization accepted this award from First Lady Michelle Obama in the East Room of the White House on November 17, 2015.
Honorably Mentioned. Simply Honored.
Elected officials regularly turn to MYSO to showcase the organization’s contributions to our state, including performances at Milwaukee’s State of the City address, the National Governors Association annual conference, the Wisconsin Governor’s Inauguration in 2015, and the City of Milwaukee’s Inauguration in 2016. The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts recently honored MYSO’s community contributions with their 2017 Educational Excellence Award.
Furthermore, the Senior Symphony is regularly recognized during its domestic and international tours, including the 2012 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Festival in Vienna, where the orchestra placed second, and in summer 2015, as the orchestra received standing ovations from full houses while performing in Austria and Hungary.
The orchestra recently completed its acclaimed and equally well-received tour to Belgium and the Netherlands in July 2023. In addition, the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Eureka Award for creativity and innovative programming was awarded to MYSO in 2014.
CHAIR:
Myra Edwards
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR:
Amy Croen
SECRETARY:
Jennifer Mattes
TREASURER:
Kris Best
ASSISTANT TREASURER
Greg Kliebhan
DIRECTORS
Tino Arvanetes
Maribeli Ayala
Brian Bear, MD
Krista Brookman
Richard Buchband
Erik Eisenmann
Patricia A. Ellis, EdD
Timothy Frautschi
Lisa Froemming
Mark J. Goldstein
Larry Hisle
John Hunzinger
Nathaniel Lynn
Anitra Riley
Andrew Sajdak
Rachael Selley
Stephanie Seymour
Julie Steinhafel
Lauren Vollrath
Jan Wade
Barbara Wanless
Les Weil
Dashal Young