Thank you to the bands, volunteers, RefugePDX, and our fans for a great festival!
PDX Pop Now! 2011 Board of Directors
PDX Pop Now! is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Each board member is responsible for overseeing a particular facet of the organization, including but not limited to Logistics, Fundraising/Sponsorship, Grants, Outreach, Booking, Compilation, Tech/Web, Volunteer Coordination, Communications and Design. In this regard our Board operates in the capacity of a rotating volunteer staff. Below are brief biographies for lead PDX Pop Now! 2011 board members/staff.
Andrew Cecka, Treasurer, moved to Portland in 2008. He’s always loved music and spreadsheets. For a while he made both separately, working as a business development officer for Unitus Community Credit Union by day and playing synthesizer in a local rock/dance band by night. He was introduced to PDX Pop Now! in 2009 after performing with a board member’s band. In 2010, the Treasurer position at PDX Pop Now! became available, and Andrew jumped at the chance to finally combine his two loves – music and spreadsheets.
Ben Kubany, Grants Coordinator, first volunteered as a member of the Booking Committee following an introduction to PDX Pop Now! by former Booking and Volunteer Coordinator, Elizabeth Dannen, after the two met while programming concerts at Whitman College. Graduating in 2005, Ben moved to Portland a year later and currently manages operations at Fashionbuddha, a design studio specializing in animated and interactive media. Before joining the board in the fall of 2009, Ben got his start in grant writing while working alongside former Grants Coordinator, Scott Goodwin, as a member of the Grants Committee earlier in the year.
Benna Gottfried, Communications Coordinator works in development and marketing for a local social services non-profit. She earned a BA in American Studies from Occidental College in 2007. Benna is a native Oregonian, her family has been involved in the Portland arts community for four generations. Benna began volunteering on the Fundraising Committee for PDX Pop Now! in the Spring of 2009 and joined the board soon thereafter.
Frank Rinaldi, Logistics Coordinator, originally from the NYC area, Frank relocated to Portland after graduating from Gettysburg College in 1996. He served as the President of local company Cascade Media for eight years before moving on to the marketing department at the Rose Quarter in early 2009. When not working his day job, Frank will moonlight in various capacities at local and regional festivals which ultimately led him PDX Pop Now! when he joined the Booking Committee in 2009. Frank also serves as the founder and administrator for local music blog Basement of Our Brain and keeps an active schedule of seeing live music of all genres around the country with a special affinity for The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival which he’s attended for 9 years.
Jesse Studenberg, Compilation Coordinator has been playing music in Portland since moving here in 1999, most notably as a founding member of the Portland indie-rock band Point Juncture, WA. He has been involved with PDX Pop since 2005 and took on distribution responsibilities for the 2009 compilation before being asked to join the board as the Compilation Coordinator for 2010. During the day he is a student preparing for a career as an elementary school teacher. He currently writes music and plays shows under the name bazillionaire.
Lisa Pfaffinger, Volunteer Coordinator, lived in Minneapolis and Charlottesville, VA before moving to Portland in 2003, and discovered the first PDX Pop Now! compilation as her introduction to the local music scene. She has been volunteering with PDX Pop Now! for several years on the compilation listening committee, as a festival volunteer, and with the booking committee, and joined the board for 2011. She completed a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in psychology in 2007, and works as a Child and Family Therapist for a local children’s mental health nonprofit.
Lydia Mazer, Outreach Coordinator, moved to Portland in 2008 from Brooklyn, New York. Her long-time interest in music and sparking creative interest in kids has coalesced into one harmonious position at PPN! whereas in the past, she’s had to do two separate things to plug both of those little heart-holes. In addition to volunteering for PPN!, she founded and runs the local nonprofit ABCPDX, an organization that teaches students to live out their fantasies of being pirates/dinosaurs/astronauts/brussel sprouts through writing in the Portland Public Schools.
Marc Charbonneau, Web & Tech Coordinator, recently moved to Portland after being offered a job at a technology company headquartered in downtown Portland. Marc is a Computer Science graduate who lived in upstate NY for eight years prior to moving. As a supporter and volunteer for the local music community in his former hometown, Marc was excited to find a similar role here in Portland. In his spare time, Marc is an amateur guitar player and avid cyclist.
Nick Johnson, Board & Booking Coordinator is the Office Manager at the Willamatte Week. He is a native Oregonian and after graduating from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in 2007 returned to Portland and began volunteering for PDX Pop Now! This is his sixth year as a volunteer, first year as the Booking Coordinator, and second year as the Board Coordinator. He previously served as the Fundraising and Sponsorship Coordinator from 2008 – 2011.
Renata Tirta, Fundraising & Sponsorship Coordinator, moved to Portland after recently graduating from Linfield College in McMinnville, OR. She currently holds an administrative position in the overseas office at a local college. Renata started volunteering with PDX Pop Now! in 2010 as a way of staying involved in the Portland music scene. She had previously programmed weekly shows and major musical events at Linfield College. This position is a great continuation of Renata’s passion for creating partnerships between music and community. Aside from music and work, she enjoys cooking and maintains a blog under the pseudonym Half Pint Girl.
All Board Members can be reached by email at firstname.lastname@pdxpopnow.org
Advisory Board
Ed Thanhouser, Board of Directors 2010-2011, is a Portland-born writer and musician, who graduated with a BA in English from Reed College, class of 2006. A regular contributor to Oregon Music News, Ed plays shows around Portland as Ed & The Red Reds, and works at Portland Music Company by day. He first volunteered for PDX Pop Now! in 2009, but has attended the yearly festival since its inception in 2004.
Hannah Rosenau, Board of Directors 2010-2011, is a Portland Native and works at a non-profit serving women’s reproductive health needs. In 2010, she was the Volunteer Coordinator for PPN!
Peter Shaver, Legal Counsel Music and Arts Attorney, owner of Sound Advice, LLC.
PDX Pop Now! PO Box 14828 Portland, OR 97293-0828 :: All Rights Reserved