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 Board Member Biographies Eleanor Pelta (President) is a partner at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. She is a 1982 graduate of Princeton University and obtained her J.D. in 1986 from Harvard Law School. She is second vice-president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is the parent of two children, Adam Pelta-Pauls, a freshman at Gettysburg College, and Maggie Pelta-Pauls, a freshman at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland. Both of her children are active in the performing arts, and because of their activity, Eleanor has been exposed to the opportunities presented for young people to engage in the dramatic and performing arts in the Maryland public high school system. She has actively sought ways to increase parental and financial support for high school students interested in theatre, so that every student may enjoy the same opportunities to learn, perform and grow, no matter what his or her financial background may be. Eleanor Pelta is also a volunteer religious school teacher who teaches Holocaust to 7th grade students at Temple Sinai in the District of Columbia. Christopher Rigaux (Vice President) is currently obtaining his M.A.T. from The Johns Hopkins University in teaching secondary school English. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 1982, he served as a publications manager for George Washington University, Georgetown University, and various government contracting corporations in and around Washington, DC. Since retiring from publications management in 1999, he has served in various community capacities, including youth soccer coach through MSI for 13 season, Seven Locks Elementary School PTA President in 2002-2004, and serving as children's liturgy leader at his parish, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church of Potomac, Md. Chris has three children: Valerie, a freshman at Montgomery College; Steven, a junior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md.; and Erik, an 8th grader at Cabin John Middle School. All three of his children are currently involved in theatre and the performing arts. Steven is a member of the Signature Arts Program at Winston Churchill High School, with a focus on acting. Chris is a long-time supporting of Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Md. As his daughter has special needs, Chris has worked to promote athletic and theatrical opportunities for children with disabilities throughout Montgomery County, such as serving as a coach for Montgomery County Special Olympics and TOPSoccer through MSI, and more recently, enrolling his daughter in the Arts Access program at Imagination Stage. Richard Simon (Treasurer) is an optometrist practicing in Washington, DC. He obtained a bachelor of science degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctor of optometry degree from The State University of New York College of Optometry. He became an assistant clinical professor there until moving to the Washington area in 1985 where he started a practice with his wife, Nancy Ross. They have two children. Rachel is a sophomore at the University of Maryland in the scholars program majoring in Psychology and American Cultural Studies. Josh is a junior at Winston Churchill High School who is very active in the drama and choral departments as was his sister. Both parents provide support and volunteer often at all of the performances at the high school. Richard is a past member of the board on the religious school committee at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington. Leslie Katz (Secretary) is director, Brand Marketing at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Rockville, MD. She is a 1981 graduate of Tufts University and obtained her M.B.A. from Washington University in 1986. She is married and the mother of two children, Aaron Katz, a sophomore, and Nina Katz, a freshman, who both attend Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland. Her daughter has been active in musical theater from a young age and has taken voice and tap dancing lessons since the age of seven. Her daughter’s love for the theater has inspired Leslie to become an active volunteer at school, with a focus on supporting high school drama students to pursue their dreams. Joan Clowes (Board Member) has taught enrichment classes for children throughout Montgomery County and Title I schools for the past 14 years. Programs include the Hands-on-Science curriculum, the Great Books guided discussion course for 3rd graders, and the Metropolitan Opera's outreach Creating Original Opera for 5th graders at Beverly Farms ES. She continues to teach introductory art classes for preschoolers through the Montgomery County Recreation Department, as well as art history and related classes at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown and at VisArts in Rockville. She is a contributor to the online KinderArt Newsletter, exhibits original art and photography at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, and serves on an advisory panel at BlackRock. Joan has two teens active in the performing arts. Michael, 19, is a sophomore at Boston University; Laura, 16, is a sophomore at Winston Churchill High School. Prior to parenthood, the 1976 graduate of the University of Maryland worked in the private sector as a media coordinator for the nation's largest small-business organization writing congressional testimony, press releases, and other publications and in the public sector as a writer/editor for federal agencies. Steven L. Katz (Board Member) and his wife Leslie live in Potomac, Md., and have two children currently attending Winston Churchill High School. Steven Katz is an attorney and the author of the book LION TAMING: WORKING SUCCESSFULLY WITH LEADERS, BOSSES, AND OTHER TOUGH CUSTOMERS. He is experienced in nonprofit organizations and serving on boards. Michele Levenson (Board Member) attended Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland studying landscape architecture and horticulture. She worked at a Rockville law firm Stein, Sperling et al. in an administrative capacity for five years, following which she was a part-time substitute nursery school teacher at the Geneva Day School and the Bindeman Center in Potomac. For five years she was actively involved in fundraising for the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area and the Michael J. Fox Foundation which awarded millions of dollars to Parkinson’s research and patient support programs. She also participated for many years in the Mental Health Association’s Pets on Wheels program visiting hospitals and nursing homes with her pet to provide stimulating interaction with Alzheimer’s patients. Concurrently, she was a daily volunteer in the community as a Girl Scout leader, regular classroom aide, and fundraising chairperson at her children’s schools. She currently volunteers at Winston Churchill HS as a student fundraising coordinator for the drama department and ticket sales co-chairperson for the choral department. She is married with two children: Charles Levenson, a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis; and Alexandra Levenson, a sophomore at Winston Churchill High School actively involved in the theater program and a member of the Signature program for the performing arts with a choral music focus. Judith Murphy (Board Member) is a 1983 graduate of The State University of New York at Albany with a B.S. in social work. Since graduation, Judith has worked in a variety of settings including a not-for-profit agency, a registered broker-dealer, a publishing house, and a trade association. While raising two daughters, she has worked in several part-time positions including as a sales representative for several children's accessories lines. Her older daugher Beth is a student at the University of Pittsburgh and her younger daughter Rebecca is a junior at Winston Churchill High School. She has been an active volunteer in the Potomac community, and has served as vice president of the Beverly Farms Elementary School PTA and as chair of several committees involved with performing arts at Winston Churchill High School. Nancy Ross (Board Member) is an optometrist in Washington, DC, and Maryland. She graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., received her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received her doctorate at The State University of New York College of Optometry in 1985. She is the clinical director of the Special Olympics Opening Eyes Program and the state director of the Infantsee Program, both in Washington, DC. Her daughter, Rachel, is in the arts scholar program at the University of Maryland--College Park, and her son, Joshua, is a junior at Winston Churchill High School in the Signature Arts Program. Both her children have enjoyed the wonderful musical and theater programs at their high school. |
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The Supporting Cast Foundation Board of Directors Officers Eleanor Pelta, President Christopher Rigaux, Vice President Richard Simon, Treasurer Leslie Katz, Secretary Board Members Joan Clowes Steven L. Katz Michele Levenson Judy Murphy Nancy C. Ross |
