Thresh | Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Executive Board

Bess Pilcher Lovec

Bess is an arts patron, community activist, and outdoor enthusiast. She started her career as a dancer in DanceMontana, a regional modern dance company based at the University of Montana. Bess turned her passion for performing into supporting arts organizations. She served on the Advisory Panel at Dance/Drama, MAC, was a Dance Consultant for Artists-in-the-Schools, and a Grant Evaluator for the Montana Arts Council. Bess has written for various nonprofits, including High Plains Book Fest, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and Yellowstone County Master Gardeners. Bess served on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood for almost a decade and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT. She was awarded Docent of the Year in 2015 and Philanthropist of the Year in 2011 by the Museum. An educator at heart, she has taught English at the high school level in Montana, which has earned her multiple Grants from Billings Education Foundation, and has led various fitness and dance classes for two decades.

Paul Glick

Paul has over 20 years of domestic and international experience in grass-roots development activities including—but not limited to— stakeholder engagement and mobilization, full-cycle project management from startup through close-out, non-profit capacity building, and conflict management. As a practiced manager of complex development programs in many of the world’s most challenging contexts, Paul’s skills are refined in team management, cultural sensitivity, and communication. Paul is currently the Executive Director of Rural India Supporting Trust and has elevated RIST to one of India’s top supporters in grass-roots community development programming. Before joining RIST, Paul worked for a variety of organizations in positions with progressively flowing levels of seniority. He was the Country Director for Search for Common Ground, Tanzania, has experience working for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Paul has experience working in India, Tanzania, Madagascar, Afghanistan, the West Bank, Sudan, and Zambia.

Jeffrey Sexton

Over the course of his 30-year career as a diplomat with the United States Department of State, Jeffrey has been a passionate advocate for using the arts to further America’s diplomacy around the world. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service holding the rank of Minister-Counselor, Jeff brings wide-ranging experience leading teams, negotiating outcomes, and managing resources for some of the Department of State’s largest and most strategic public diplomacy programs in countries such as Russia, Pakistan, and India. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1989, Jeff spent eight years in Germany as a Russian specialist with the U.S. Army, including service in Berlin with the U.S. Military Liaison Mission to the Soviet Military in East Germany. He holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the University of Southern California, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Jeff’s passion for music has strongly influenced his work as a diplomat and his belief in the power of the arts to bridge diverse cultures.

Bruno Kavanagh

Bruno graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Modern Languages, specializing in French and Italian Literature. Since the mid-1990s, Bruno has focused in the field of computer-based learning, setting up a series of companies to develop and build innovative digital learning applications for corporate clients (including Johnson & Johnson, Astra-Zeneca and many others) and further education institutions (including the University of Texas at Austin and Georgetown University). He was part of the launch team for the highly successful McKinsey Academy (a subsidiary of McKinsey & Co.) and since 2017 has served as the CEO of Learn Interactive Inc.

In addition to Thresh, recent volunteer work includes advising on the re-launch of Firki, a digital platform serving government-school teachers in India (managed by Teach for India, an affiliate of Teach for America). He has also served on the advisory board of Global School Leaders, an NGO helping develop school principals in the developing world.

Bruno divides his time between New York and his native London and is a keen amateur musician (piano) and sportsman (tennis & cricket).

Preeti Vasudevan

Preeti is an award-winning choreographer and performer creating provocative contemporary works from her Indian tradition. Founder and Artistic Director of Thresh Performing Arts Collaborative, her mission is to create experimental productions that foster a provocative dialogue with identity, and our relationship with heritage cultures and contemporary life. Preeti has been recognized by a number of prestigious institutions in the US for her outstanding contribution to dance. Some of her works have received the highest awards in India, which include: three META (Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards) awards for The Absent Lover (2009) and seven META nominations for Savitri (2013). Preeti holds a Master's in Dance Studies from Laban Centre London and is a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies, NY.

Laurence Singer*

Laurence is a lawyer with a background in telecommunications, media, entertainment, IT
and art law, and intellectual property. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.S. History, Honors in Cultural History, University of Wisconsin. Laurence serves as counsel to the Agarunov Law Firm in New York City. He is a Visiting Lecturer on Contracts, Intellectual property, and Entrepreneurship at Radford University College, Accra Ghana. Laurence is the Founder of Rhythms of the Globe, an organization developing a wide range of consumer-related entertainment products and services to serve as a bridge between cultures, and Global Beat Music, a record company producing African, Native American, Caribbean, Chinese, and Indian artists.

* Director Emeritus

Advisory Board

Michael Siegel

Mike is a practicing Internist/Cardiologist in New York City. He and his wife, Nomi Ghez, have several long-term local and international involvements with vocal arts, dance, and educational organizations. They are enthusiastic ballroom dancers and incorrigible New Yorkers, but also lovers of life in the country, where they can often be found hiking the woods of Putnam county with dog Lexie, horse Tango, and friends with similar addictions. If they are really lucky, some selection of their 4 children and 6 grandchildren join the fun.

Dona Lee Kelly

Dona Lee is Director of Development at the Rubin Museum and is part of the museum’s executive team. Previously, she led development, capital campaign, and/or external affairs efforts at the National Academy of Design, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Primary Stages, and The MacDowell Colony. Dona Lee began her career as a dancer, actor, choreographer, and teacher—performing with Musawwir Gymnastic Dance, Marleen Pennison Company among others, and choreographing for productions at Theatre for A New Audience, L’Opéra Francaise de New York, and Hoboken Chamber Orchestra. For 15 years, she taught at the Stella Adler Conservatory, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and with Ms. Adler for her character class.

Anjali Itzkowitz

Anjali graduated from Harvard Business School in 2020 and is based in London. She was a student of Preeti’s and completed her training in classical Indian dance (Bharatanatyam), studying under Prakash Yadagudde at London’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. She currently works at Astorg, a Private Equity firm where she invests primarily in software. Outside of her professional life, she is passionate about the performing arts, especially theatre and dance.

MJ Sakellariadis

MJ graduated from Harvard Business School in 2020. Her background is in retail and entertainment & media. Currently, she works at Amazon and does business development for Prime Video and Audible. MJ became involved in Thresh during business school, where she worked with Preeti on developing a strategic plan for the organization. She is a founding member of The Collective, along with Anjali Itzkowitz and Jojo Banga.

First Voices Advisory Board

Monica Grable
Arts Education Director, Montana Arts Council

Alaina Buffalo Spirit
Northern Cheyenne Tribes Advisor

Susan Wolfe

Art Educator, Lame Deer Schools, Montana

Mary Serbe

Art Educator and Fundraising Consultant

Aaron Rosen

Director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts & Religion, Wesley Theological Seminary

Adam Jahiel

Independent Photographer