Staff & Board
Ballet Memphis serves Memphis and the greater Mid-South area with performances, education and community engagement, while maintaining a national and international touring schedule. Support from a stellar staff and dedicated, community-focused board ensures that all our programs continue with unwavering high standards.
Gretchen Wollert McLennon
President & CEO

Steven McMahon
Artistic Director


President & CEO
Gretchen Wollert McLennon

Artistic Director
Steven McMahon
Steven joined Ballet Memphis in 2004 as a dancer and has created more than 30 works for Ballet Memphis, including his first full-length ballet, Wizard of Oz as well as Soul Selects Her Own Society, Confluence, I Am and Peter Pan. Other new ballets for Ballet Memphis include Carnival of the Animals, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. Steven also has choreographed many original works including The Lovely Story of Us, which was performed in Helsinki, Finland, at the International Ballet Competition, and two of his works, Being Here With Other People and Confluence, have been performed at the Spring to Dance Festival in St. Louis.
His works also have been performed at Organizacion Para La Artes in Guatemala and at other venues around the nation including the Joyce Theater in New York and the Alabama Dance Festival. His first ballet, What Your Soul Sings, premiered at Ballet Memphis’ Interiorworks. He was a 2016 National Arts Strategies Senior Management Institute fellow as well as a fellow in the 2016 Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators in Salzburg, Austria. Steven, who is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, joined the Company after completing his training at The Ailey School in New York City. He retired from the stage in 2016.
Kristen Fisher | Stage Manager / Production Coordinator, kfisher@balletmemphis.org |
Sheric Hull | Master Electrician, shull@balletmemphis.org |
Jenna Lester | School Administrator, jlester@balletmemphis.org |
Carol Miraglia | Chief Administrative Officer, cmiraglia@balletmemphis.org |
Samson Mobashar | Chief of Staff, smobashar@balletmemphis.org |
Julie Marie Niekrasz | Rehearsal Director, jniekrasz@balletmemphis.org |
Janet Parke | Director of School & Youth Ballet Memphis, jparke@balletmemphis.org |
Gabriela Moros Diaz | Costume Director, gmoros@balletmemphis.org |
Elizabeth Petty | Costume Technician, epetty@balletmemphis.org |
Virginia Pilgrim Ramey | Asst. Director of School, vramey@balletmemphis.org |
Brandon Ramey | Asst. Director of School, bramey@balletmemphis.org |
Rebecca Thomason | Communications Strategist, rthomason@balletmemphis.org |
Pam VanGilder | Pilates Center Manager, pvangilder@balletmemphis.org |
Board of Directors
Andrea Bienstock | Chairman, General Counsel, Belz Enterprises |
Bert Barnett | Retired, Former President, Prime Automotive Warehouse Inc. |
Joan Schadt Biddle | Digital Media Solutions, Lead Content Developer |
Eric Clauson | President, Lexington Asset Management |
LeeAnne Cox | Attorney, Burch Porter Johnson |
Neil Gibson | Sr. VP Customer Experience, FedEx |
Brett Grinder | Vice President, Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc. |
Monica C. Jones | Sr. VP, Credit Risk Director, First Horizon National Corp. |
Faith Kaye | Realtor, Hobson Realtors |
Sue Layman Lightman | Owner & Artist, Sue Layman Designs |
Maggie Lovell | Instructor, Rhodes College, Department of Business |
Eric Mathews | CEO & Founder, Start Co. |
Gretchen Wollert McLennon | President & CEO, Ballet Memphis |
Nehali Patel | Physician, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital |
Shelley Shanaman | Community Volunteer |
Catherine Turner | Mental Health Professional |
Jessica Webb | Writer & Researcher |