Staff & Board
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.
Marie Bonds | Costume Manager, mbonds@balletmemphis.org |
Ben Delony | Rehearsal Director, bdelony@balletmemphis.org |
Kristen Fisher | Director of Production, kfisher@balletmemphis.org |
Eileen Frazer | Community Programs Manager and Teaching Artist, efrazer@balletmemphis.org |
Sheric Hull | Facilities Manager and Lighting Designer, shull@balletmemphis.org |
Megan McCusker | School Instructor and Rehearsal Assistant, mmccusker@balletmemphis.org |
Carol Miraglia | Chief Administrative Officer, cmiraglia@balletmemphis.org |
Gabriela Moros Diaz | Costume Director and Resident Designer, gmoros@balletmemphis.org |
Julie Marie Niekrasz | Rehearsal Director, jniekrasz@balletmemphis.org |
Brandon Ramey | Co-Director of School and Youth Ballet Memphis, bramey@balletmemphis.org |
Virginia Pilgrim Ramey | Co-Director of School and Youth Ballet Memphis, vramey@balletmemphis.org |
Courtney Sage | School and Company Manager, csage@balletmemphis.org |
Rebecca Thomason | Director of Communications, rthomason@balletmemphis.org |
Jessie Tretter | Pilates + Wellness Manager, jtretter@balletmemphis.org |
Pam VanGilder | Director of Pilates + Wellness, pvangilder@balletmemphis.org |
Beckah Waugh | Advancement Associate, bwaugh@balletmemphis.org |
Madison Webb | Development Officer, mwebb@balletmemphis.org |
Board of Directors
Shelley Shanaman | Chair, Community Volunteer |
Nehali Patel | Secretary, Physician, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital |
Maggie Lovell | Treasurer, Community Volunteer |
Andrea Bienstock | Immediate Past Chair, General Counsel, Belz Enterprises |
Joan Schadt Biddle | Medical Content Writer, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital |
LeeAnne Cox | Attorney, Burch Porter Johnson |
Neil Gibson | Sr. Vice President Customer Experience, FedEx |
Judge Ruthie Hagan | U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee |
Monica C. Jones | Sr. Vice President, Credit Risk Director, First Horizon National Corp. |
Sue Layman Lightman | Owner & Artist, Sue Layman Designs |
Ron Lazarov | President, Kelman-Lazarov Inc. |
Eric Mathews | CEO & Founder, Start Co. |
Gretchen Wollert McLennon | President & CEO, Ballet Memphis |
Jessica Webb | Writer |