RICHARD MENDOZA:
2009-2010 Steering Committee Chair:

Richard’s first opera experience was as a second grader attending a field trip with DISD to see Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. He continued his love of classical and jazz music by playing and performing with his school orchestras as a trumpet player. Richard has been an active member of Amici since 2006 and also serves on the Dallas Center for Performing Arts’ Marquee Circle steering committee. Richard is a Dallas native and Uptown resident and is excited about volunteering his time to bring awareness to the extraordinary transforming of the Arts District to the Dallas skyline. Richard serves as the Managing Director and Founder of Herencia, an Argentina based classic hunting apparel design firm. Richard received his Bachelor of Science degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Dallas.

DAVID BAUMAN:

David has been singing for over 30 years and still remembers seeing his first opera production of Porgy and Bess at the Houston Grand Opera. Since then, he has seen over 150 productions of operas around the world and has missed only one production in Dallas in the past 6 years – sadly, it was Jenufa in 2004. In addition to serving on the Amici di Opera Steering Committee, he also serves as a committee member for Marquee Circle, the support organization for the AT&T Performing Arts Center. He is an active member of the Dallas Symphony Chorus and the Highland Park United Methodist Church Chancel Choir. David is a graduate of Southwestern University, where he is a Class Agent and serves on the Alumni Giving Board, and holds MBA and Master of Arts Administration degrees from Southern Methodist University. He works for American Airlines as a Senior Capacity Strategy Analyst in Cargo Revenue Management. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, running, swimming, playing racquetball, traveling and meeting interesting people – and, of course, spending time with a cute little blonde.

CARA DILLING:

Cara joined Amici di Opera in 2007 to learn about the Opera and enjoyed the Amici lectures and the connections Amici gave her with other opera lovers. While she is relatively new to learning about the world of opera, she has always been a passionate fan of the performing arts. Cara is so excited about the development in the Dallas Arts District she can hardly stand it ! Cara is an Austin, Texas native, though she left for her undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University. Later, Cara came back to Texas to pursue an MBA at SMU, then found her “real job” at American Airlines working in Organizational Change Management. While travel may be her favorite hobby, she also enjoys all performing arts, good food, and spending time with friends.

EVE CLARK:

Eve joined Amici di Opera during the 2006/2007 season. She was invited as a guest and knew immediately that she had to have my own membership. She is President of MEB Construction and they focus on commercial interior build outs as well as repairs on a national basis. When she is not on a job site she enjoys traveling all over the world. It was her first trip to Europe that made her fall in love with the Opera. She has a 20 year old son and we live in Grapevine. She also serves as a Committee Member of Texas Youth Commission Advisory Council in Roanoke and she is a mentor for the Arlington Multiple Sclerosis Support Group. Eve is also an active member of the Women’s Business Council Southwest and the DFW Minority Business Council. She is excited to add Amici di Opera as one of my true passions this season.

CAROLYN COLLIER BRADLEY:

Carolyn Collier Bradley is a long time opera fan looking forward to her 15th year as a season ticket holder. Carolyn has been an active volunteer with the Dallas Opera Woman’s Board as the chair for the Founder’s Lecture Series and in the Opera Guild with the Adopt-An-Artist program. Carolyn has been a member of Amici di Opera since 2006. Carolyn is a native Dallasite and attended her first opera, Madama Butterfly, while in the 4th grade through the Dallas Opera school performances. Mrs. Collier Bradley has served on the Board for the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, where she met her husband, as well as other educational and arts organizations in Dallas. Her volunteer “career” started as a candy striper at Medical City Hospital at the age of 14. In her spare time, Carolyn enjoys spending time with her husband, reading and traveling to see opera.

GABRIELA DERAS:

Gabriela Deras is an enthusiastic opera lover. Her appreciation for opera started as a teenager when she stumbled across a television broadcast of The Barber of Seville. A native of El Paso, Texas, she joined Amici di Opera in 2005 and served on the 2007-2008 Amici di Opera Steering Committee. Gabriela is also an active member of JADE, Junior Associates Discover the East, Art After 5, a non-profit group that raises funds to help support the arts in Dallas public schools and recently became a supporter of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. She is a graduate of UT Austin, Go Longhorns!, with an accounting degree. She enjoys the fine arts, good wine, traveling and spending time with friends. Look for her at Amici events to say “Hello” and introduce yourself.

QUENITA FAGAN:

Quenita has been a part of Amici di Opera for the past three years and considers it a privilege to expose people to fabulous sets, singing and the creative vibe of The Dallas Opera. Quenita is a native Dallasite who has traveled the world and lived in several states before settling back down in Dallas in 2004. She is a member of the Tower Club of Dallas Jr. Executive (Club 48) Board, the Junior League of Dallas and the newly created Marquee Circle. Quenita also serves on the National INROADS Alumni Association’s Board representing the Southwest Region whose alumni makeup more than a thousand members. Quenita is a member of The Potter’s House of Dallas and is a part of its School of Ministry. Quenita enjoys traveling, hanging out with her inner circle and most of all, living an inspired life. She looks forward to serving on the Amici Steering Committee and supporting the expansion of Dallas’ arts community and continued cultural development.

CYNTHIA FANNING

Cynthia is a lifelong fan of music and art. She is excited to be a member of the Amici di Opera family because she wants to learn more about opera, experience more of Dallas and be a part of a successful and enthusiastic volunteer organization. She has a goal of visiting all the U.S. national parks and the major cultural centers in Europe in her lifetime. The Globe Theater in London will get a check on Cindy’s list this fall! She works for the federal government in Dallas and is a newlywed.

TODD FISHER:

Todd Fisher recently relocated to Dallas from Cincinnati, where he was a Board Member of the Tri-State Parkinson's Wellness Center. He became a fan of of opera through his volunteer work with the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music's Opera program serving on the Take 5 Advisory Board and following the developing opera career of a life long friend. Todd continued to support the Cincinnati Opera scene by helping to start Cincinnati Opera Center Stage, an organization to promote the opera to regional young professionals, and actively working on the Cincinnati Opera Center Stage Advisory Board. Todd moved to Dallas in April 2007 and quickly sought out opportunities to get involved with Amici di Opera and has enjoyed several performance of the Dallas Opera this season. While in Cincinnati, Todd also founded a non-profit organization, The Bacchanalian Society, that facilitates wine tastings/fund raisers to benefit other non-profits and is looking to establish a base in Dallas to continue this work. He currently works with Fidelity Investments and in his spare time plays acoustic guitar and sings in a two person acoustic band called Five Hundy by Midnight.

GILLIAN GRANT:

Gillian was brought up in north Dallas, raised on WRR and played the french horn for well over a decade. Since 2006 Gillian has been on the faculty at UNT in Denton teaching academic English to foreign adult students seeking to study in America. Previously Gillian worked three to four years each in the Central African Republic (Peace Corps Volunteer), NYC (High School teacher in the Bronx), Turkey (university instructor), and Burma (US Embassy instructor). Gillian has a masters degree from Columbia University (where she played the french horn with a student orchestra) and an undergraduate degree from Texas A & M (where she played the french horn with the Aggie Band). She enjoys traveling internationally and recently attended three ballets and one opera while in Russia in June 2009. She is an avid fan of classical music and attends concerts weekly if able to. She enjoys Sivananda yoga (certified instructor), Vipassana meditation, mountain biking, and runs with the local group of the hash house harriers. She is on the steering committee of the local Peace Corps alumni group and is active in her church. And she is happy for all of Dallas with the new opera house and the new Wylie theatre.

NANCY J. GRAY:

Nancy is a founding member of Amici di Opera and revels in its successes, rapid growth, and the awareness of Opera that it creates among young professionals. She is honored to serve as Advisory Chair of the committee after serving as the Chair for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. During that time Nancy served as a member of the Dallas Opera Board of Directors and as a Board Member at Large for The Women’s Board of the Dallas Opera. She has also served as an Amici steering committee member, was a member of Distinguished Audiences and has been a season ticket holder since 2004. Nancy is a graduate of the 2008 Leadership Arts Class and is serving her second term as the 2009-2010 Co-Chair and founding member for Marquee Circle, the support organization for the AT&T Performing Arts Center. She is a member of the Dallas A&M Club and Highland Park United Methodist Church. Nancy is a graduate of Texas A&M University (Whoop!) and an enthusiastic fan of the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. After meeting the love of her life at an Amici season launch party, she is looking forward to their upcoming November nuptials. Nancy cherishes the friendships she has made through Amici, welcomes new friends and looks forward to seeing you all, in RED, at The Dallas Opera!

JAMES JENNINGS:

James fell in love with the Opera after seeing Tosca at the HGO many years ago and this past year of being an Amici member has made the experience even better. He was a season ticket holder in Houston and now he's very excited to be 'Seeing Red' at the Dallas Opera's new home. James was an exchange student in Germany, has backpacked across Mexico (and driven from LA to Cabo and back), and has hiked in almost every US National Park. James attended Trinity University in San Antonio and Michigan State for graduate studies in Geology. After coming to Dallas from Houston, James was deputy CTO/Director of IT at Belo Interactive before starting Nithyananda Solutions, a software development company, here in Dallas. James is very active in the Dallas chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and spends his scant spare time cooking weird food, golfing, hiking and trying to convince his blue healer, Michelle Irvin, that she has absolutely nothing to fear from a Frisbee.

LAURIE KUDLA:

Laurie has been involved with Amici di Opera for two seasons now and having enjoyed many of the Amici events welcomed an opportunity to join the Steering Committee for the inaugural season in the new Winspear Opera House. She travels frequently for work as a Software Consultant, but, when not on the road, is an avid cyclist and supporter of the local art scene. In addition to Amici, she can be found cycling around White Rock, enjoying events as a member of the DMA and the Kimbell Art Museums, the local gallery circuit, and the symphony from time to time. Any outdoor concert, she’ll be there picnic in hand to share! Meeting new people and learning about other cultures from international travel and events in her own back yard are her true passions. Laurie can’t imagine a better way to do that here in Dallas than through her involvement in the arts! She looks forward to working with Amici this season and sharing her passions with new members and her god-daughter who lives here in Dallas.

APRIL LAZA:

April has been a TDO season ticket holder since the 1996-1997 season. She joined Amici in the fall of 2007 thinking it sounded like a fun group with common opera interests. Her first experience with opera was during two summers of my college days at UT Austin. She was studying at Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia & attended several operas there. April works in a family business - Laza & Co., Inc. in Richardson selling architectural hardware. She is a native of Dallas & currently reside in Plano with my 3 cats. Her volunteer time has been occupied with: Treasurer of Art After 5 board (www.artafter5.org), Innovators (DSOL), The 500 Inc, PM League (DMA), American Heart Assoc., Voce Forte, City of Plano - Master Composter program, plus various other fund raising & civic organizations. When not volunteering or working she enjoy deep sea fishing, gardening & both the visual & performing arts.

MEREDITH SMALL:

Meredith joins the Amici di Opera Steering Committee with a long history of appreciation for the fine, decorative, and performing arts, and is thrilled for the 2009/2010 Season at The Dallas Opera. Singing contralto at the collegiate level, Meredith graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature from Princeton University in 2001. Her independent coursework included analyses of the Mozart/Da Ponte Operas and a 200 page bilingual published Thesis analyzing French Revolutionary Epistolary literature. Meredith studied abroad in France, Spain, and Germany, completing coursework through Nacel International in Paris, at the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid and at The Goethe Institut in Berlin. Before obtaining her Associates Degree in Interior Design in 2006 at The Parsons School of Design, Meredith worked as a financial consultant in New York City, researching market trends and developing intellectual property while serving as a primary liaison to various international clients. In addition to her current job at Good Fulton & Farrell Architects, Meredith enjoys volunteering with The Real Estate Council (TREC), The Urban Land Institute (ULI), The Trinity Trust River Rats, and a longstanding membership at the Dallas Museum of Art.

EDWARD WILLEY III:

Edward is a lifelong music lover who grew up singing and playing violin, piano, and organ. In addition to his involvement with The Dallas Opera, Edward is a member of Leadership FWOpera, a Vivaldi Patron at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a past member of the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Edward is actively involved in the music ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration (Dallas), where he also serves as Communications Officer for neXtgen, the young adult ministry. A graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, Edward negotiates enterprise telephony contracts when he's not doing something related to music. But who wants to talk about law when there's opera to be heard?

VEENA PUPPALA:

Veena has been a member of Amici di Opera since 2006. Her passion for opera is reflected in her love of all things artistic, especially pottery and photography. When not devoting her time to the opera and other artistic endeavors, Veena is a member of the Ebby Halliday Family of Realtors, helping people find the home of their dreams. She has also traveled extensively, having lived and studied in Italy and trekked in the mountains of Tibet, Nepal, and India. It is this enthusiasm for life that Veena brings to her role on the board of Amici di Opera.

PETE YUNYONGYING:

Pete is a relatively new, but enthusiastic, member of the Amici di Opera family but a lifelong fan of the visual and performing arts. Also serving as a docent and steering committee member at the Crow Collection of Asian Arts, his “real” job is as a physician and professor at UT-Southwestern and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Growing up in Baltimore before going to college in Providence, he is a Thai Buddhist who moved to Dallas to be closer to his sister and niece (oh, and brother-in-law) . In what is left of his spare time, he enjoys jazz, cycling, ultimate (Frisbee©), photography, travel, and any combination of the above. But, most of all, he just likes meeting new and interesting people.