By Abby Rolland
At its annual Board of Trustees meeting in June, The Presser Foundation was pleased to welcome five new committee members to its ranks. These individuals, who will each serve on one committee, will share their expertise and experiences to inform the Foundation’s work.
Learn more about each of them, their careers, and the committees that they will serve on.
Lei X. Ouyang
Lei X. Ouyang is Associate Professor and Chair of Music at Swarthmore College. Her scholarly interests are in music, culture, and performance in East Asia (primarily China, Japan, and Taiwan) and Asian America. Her research examines issues of music and memory, identity, politics, race and ethnicity, and social justice.
Dr. Ouyang will serve on the Advancement of Music Committee.
Eric Owens
Bass-baritone Eric Owens has a unique reputation as an interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. Equally at home in orchestral, recital, and operatic repertoire, Owens has brought his powerful poise, expansive voice, and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world.
He appears regularly in leading roles at LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival, where he is artistic advisor. He has also appeared in concert with most of the leading U.S. orchestras and international companies.
Mr. Owens will serve on the Capital Support Committee.
Nicole Robinson
Before launching her company in September 2018, Dr. Nicole R. Robinson served as the Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Leadership Fellow at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT). Before this role, she was the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Presidential Endowed Professor of Music Education (University of Utah). She also served on the music education faculty at the University of Memphis, Syracuse University, and Virginia Commonwealth University throughout her 22+ year academic career.
Dr. Robinson founded Cultural Connections by Design (CCBD) with the primary aim of supporting organizations in establishing equity-centered processes and implementing best practices to shift the organizational culture towards a culture of belonging – a culture that accepts, values, and leverages the strengths among differences.
Her proprietary, technology-infused “games,” Matrix of Intersectionality, and impact are the cornerstones of her work. Although she initially crafted these learning tools for her classroom, demand for these “games” and her sessions was requested at colleges and universities nationwide, soon extending to national and global corporations.
Dr. Robinson is a nationally acclaimed educator, scholar, speaker, and author who has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences, published articles in several industry-leading research journals and co-authored three academic textbooks.
Dr. Robinson will serve on the DEI Committee.
Marietta Simpson
Marietta Simpson is Distinguished Rudy Professor of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she has served on faculty since August 2005. Known for her deeply expressive, richly beautiful voice, Simpson has sung with every major orchestra in the United States, under many of the world’s greatest conductors, and has also sung with many of the major European orchestras. She has an extensive discography and has performed on several Grammy-nominated recordings.
Ms. Simpson will serve on the Special Projects Committee.
Terell Stafford
Terell Stafford has been hailed as “one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player” by piano legend McCoy Tyner. He is the Chair of Instrumental Studies, the Director of Jazz Studies, and the Laura H. Carnell Professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.
Since the mid-1990s, Stafford has performed with groups such as Benny Golson’s Sextet, McCoy Tyner’s Sextet, the Kenny Barron Sextet, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, the Jon Faddis Orchestra.
Currently he is a member of the Grammy award winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has recorded six albums as a leader and can be heard on over 90 albums as a sideman.
Mr. Stafford will serve on the Special Projects Committee.
