Board of Directors

Melissa Gould, Artistic Director
Sandra Solano, Board President
Kimberly Minor, Board Secretary
Jyothi Cherry, Board Treasurer
Katie Rooney, Marketing and Public Relations
Phil La Susa, Director of Fundraising
Angela Harris, Board Member at Large
Charlotte Rutherford, Dancer Liaison
Carrie Dutton, President Emeritus
Erika Gilmore, Board Member at Large, Director of New Albany Dance Festival
Christina Coppel, Company Manager

Sandra Solano, M.D.,M.S.

Dr. Sandra Solano was born in Bogota, Colombia where she became a physician. Dissatisfied with the ‘sick’ model of conventional Western medicine, Sandra came to Ohio to pursue post-graduate studies in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. She began her work at The Ohio State University Hospitals as a researcher and then as Director of Clinical Quality at Ohio State University Medical Center. Sandra then worked with the Ohio Department of Health as the Director of Health Statistics, State Registrar, and with the Ohio Department of Job and Human Services as Director of Research, Assistant Director of Medicaid, and Health Policy Advisor. Finally, she served as Principal for McGuire & Associates providing project technical assistance and evaluation services for preventive programs.

While she enjoyed a successful and fulfilling career in public health, she continued studying alternative health modalities and how they could improve wellness. Despite her professional success, she felt disconnected and unfulfilled. After extensive research, Sandra chose several tools to study and practice. One of the most powerful tools that Sandra experienced was the HeartMath’s Resilience Advantage™ program. Because of her personal transformation with HeartMath’s techniques, Sandra became a Master Certified Trainer for the program and founded Integro.

After personally experiencing and practicing these tools, Sandra feels connected with her authentic self and feels a sense of hope and peace that she wants to share with others. Learning about and experiencing these techniques brought her a new understanding of wellness as a state of balance and wholeness. Sandra’s passion is to help others to find that connection, authenticity, peace and hope that she is now able to experience.

Kimberly Lee Minor

Kimberlylminor@icloud.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyleeminor/
Kimberly Lee Minor is a business owner and creative executive with over 25 years of senior level leadership experience spanning merchandising, marketing, product development, and brand development and management.

Ms. Lee Minor serves as Director of Diversity & Inclusion on the Together Digital BOD, the Nominating Chair, Marketing, Youth programming, and Fundraising Chair for several community, business and educational organizations. She has also served as a Director on the Board of the Center for Arts Education in NY, NY and was an active member of C-Suite, Partnership in Boston, MA.

Ms. Lee Minor brings her customer-centric cross-functional brand building experience to any organization that she engages with. Her core competencies include:

Customer experience
New Brand Development
Brand/ Category Expansion
Nimble P&L management
Process creation & improvement
Strategy & Operations

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and has completed coursework towards her MBA at Drexel University and holds an executive certificate in Leadership and Management from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. She is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She and her husband have 2 sons and live in New Albany.

Jyothi Vourganti Cherry, M.B.A.

jvourganti@yahoo.com
Jyothi is the Finance Leader for Cordis, a Global leader in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of interventional cardiovascular medical devices. In this role, she partners with the Global Cordis President and Leadership team to set financial plans and measure progress. Prior to the 2015 acquisition of Cordis, Jyothi led the Enterprise FP&A team to provide consolidated management reporting, budget and long-range plans for Cardinal Health, an integrated healthcare services product company which ranks among the top 25 on Fortune 500.

Jyothi has twenty-five years of experience with influencing financial and strategic decisions. In prior Finance roles at Elmer’s Products, Limited Brands and Unilever, she helped translate finance, industry and competitive insights into effective business strategies to deliver efficiency, consistency and value. She started her career as a hands-on leader and Management consultant for Deloitte.

Passionate about the performing arts, Jyothi has always been an avid supporter of local dance, theatre and music organizations. She has also supported the community as a volunteer on the United Way of Central Ohio Finance Committee, Healthcare Businesswoman’s Association (HBA) Midwest Region Treasurer and a member of the HBA Finance and Audit Committee.

Jyothi received an undergraduate Business degree from Miami University and has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

As an avid global traveler, she has visited over 45 countries and island territories. She currently lives in New Albany, OH with her husband and two daughters.

Katie Rooney

Katie Rooney is the Chief Marketing Officer for USCF, an asset management firm on the leading edge of exchange-traded product (ETP) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) innovation. The firm broke new ground with the launch of the first oil ETP, the United States Oil Fund, LP (USO), in 2006. Over the next decade, USCF has designed and issued nine more ETPs and ETFs, across commodity and equity asset classes. The Walnut Creek, CA based firm has approximately $6.5 billion under management.

Katie brings over 20 years of experience in the fund industry to USCF. Ms. Rooney is responsible for marketing, brand management and overall product distribution. She has been with the company since inception and previously served as National Sales Director. Prior to joining USCF, Ms. Rooney was Director of Business Development for the Ameristock Mutual Fund. She also served as National Sales Director for ALPS Mutual Fund Services and as a Trust Officer for Fifth Third Bank.

Katie is also a member of the Board of Directors for USCF’s parent company, Concierge Technologies, Inc (Ticker: CNCG). A global holding company, Concierge invests in, and builds, great companies. Their mission is to identify and acquire established, profitable, undervalued companies in diverse sectors, and manage the portfolio to facilitate growth and add value for all stakeholders.
Katie and her family are active in the arts community and enjoy supporting local organizations like the New Albany Community Foundation and New Vision Dance Company for which Ms. Rooney currently serves on the Board of Directors.

Ms. Rooney received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology with a minor in Art History from Wellesely College. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses as well as NFA Series 3 and 30 registrations. Katie is a registered representative of ALPS Distributors, Inc.

Phillip J. La Susa

Vice President – Oil & Gas Market Sector, TRC Companies, Inc.
Phil is Vice President of the Oil and Gas Market Sector for TRC Companies, Inc. TRC is a global consulting, engineering and construction management firm that provides technology-enabled solutions to the power, oil and gas, environmental and infrastructure markets.

Before joining TRC, Phil was employed with Willbros Engineers, Inc. as Director of Commercial Relations and Director of Integrity Services. He was a Principal Consultant at Environmental Investments LLC, Laboratory Director at Kiefner & Associates Inc., and an environmental chemist and project manager at Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

Previous work has taken Phil globally to work and consult on energy and environmental related projects. His technical background consists of experience within asset integrity, corrosion, environmental sustainability, water quality, and technology integration.

He also is a member and involved with the American Gas Association, Southern Gas Association, Northeast Gas Association, National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Midwest Energy Association, Florida Energy Pipeline Association, Society of Gas Lighting, and serves on the advisory boards for Flairsoft, Ltd., E.I.S, Prince Pipeline Integrity, and Southeastern Equipment Company.

Outside of work, Phil enjoys cooking, the outdoors, and the arts. He grew up on a family farm and his father’s family immigrated to the United States from Sicily in the 1950’s where they opened a restaurant in Mansfield, OH called Papa’s Gondola. His love of classical music and opera was influenced by his grandfather, Pasquale La Susa.

Phil enjoys supporting The New Albany Community Foundation, The Arthritis Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, Catholic Charities, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, New Vision Dance Company, and other local efforts. He currently serves as a board member for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, New Vision Dance Co., and is a member of a small networking group, Society 614.

Phil received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Chemistry from Otterbein University in Westerville, and currently resides in New Albany, OH.

Angela Harris

angela@esdanceexperience.com angela@integro-restore.com

Miss Angela at the age of four saw gymnastics on tv and knew right away she wanted to be Mary Lou Retton. She drove her family crazy while running through the house kicking up into a self-taught handstand into the linen closet and then running back through to the other side hitting that handstand against the refrigerator and leaving dents in the side. Mom said, “That’ is it, we’re signing her up for Acrobats.” This is how her life of dance started. She was that overactive kid that needed to move! She quickly added dance class, after class, after class, and needed to know everything about this beautiful art. Angela knew she wanted to be a dance teacher, studio owner, and mom by first grade.

As a preteen Angela’s teacher wanted her to experience other teachers and styles. Immediately Angela became a dance convention junkie and begged to attend every convention that came to Pittsburgh PA. She was fortunate to study with some of the great masters like: Jo Rowen, Joe Tremaine, the late David Howard, Doug Caldwel, and Frank Hatchet. Anglea started teaching dance at the young age of 12 under close supervision of her dance teacher Cathie Provan. Miss Cathie knew Angela had a gift for teaching and helped her fine tune her craft and always taught her, “No matter who you dance in front of, absorb everything they say like a sponge and let’s review it back at the studio.”

During high school Angela took private lessons from Dr. Joselli Audain Deans, Artist Educator, Black Historian and former member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Angela attended and was placed in the Pre-Professional Dance Program taught by the staff of Ohio Ballet and the dance professors of the University of Akron the summer before her senior year of high school.

Angela attended Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pa. on dance scholarship as a dance major.

Miss Angela was lucky enough to teach for mega studio owner Chris Collins in Alexandria & Dale City, Virginia for one year while living in Northern Virginia. Mr. Chris is a pioneer in the competition world by teaching his students to respect each other and love one another. He is heavily involved with Dance Masters and currently the administrator for the Facebook group, Dance Teacher Network.

Family life brought her to Columbus, Ohio where she taught dance at another mega studio, Dublin Dance Center & Gymnastics. Miss Angela learned so much from the owner Miss Teresa Crye that she became a business advisor for Angela when she opened her dream dance studio, The Dance Difference several years later in The Ohio Valley.

While in The Ohio Valley, Miss Angela was the choreographer for the Bully Prevention Concert at Union Local Schools as well as Country Music Artist Kylie Morgan.

During her stint as Studio Owner, Angela met Mr. Jayson Michaels. Owner of Jayson Michael’s Energy Source Dance Association, a high quality in studio technique intensive with guest artists from all over the US. Miss Angela quickly became a protégée of Mr. Jayson and she became the Assistant Director for “JMESDA” as well as the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Director. She Assisted Mr. Jayson Michaels in the “JMESDA” National Dance Company production of “The Passion of the Christ” and choreographed several pieces for this concert. She was also one of the featured choreographers for the National Dance Company’s JMESDA productions; “An American Music Review” in 2014.

Angela is a Certified Floor Barre Trainer & Test Administrator in “Michaels’ Technique,” a graded Floor Barre taught only through the “JMESDA” program. And a Certified Early Childhood Dance Instructor, (CECDI) certified to teach dance to 3 to 6 year olds thru Little People Creative Workshop National Teacher’s Conference. Also attended Dance Masters of America Teacher’s Training School under DMA’s President Kathy Helbert. Miss Angela is also Level 1 Certified through Acrobatic Arts, the only acrobatic program backed by Cirque du Soleil.

Once Miss Angela sold her studio, and relocated back to Columbus, Ohio she decided to take some time off from studio life, focus on her children and continue working for Mr. Jayson. However, when you dance your entire life and stop, “What do you do?” Angela was lost and within 5 months was back teaching at a local studio, Footsteps Family Dance Center where she met Sandra Solano by teaching her daughter and found her way back to Dublin Dance Center & Gymnastics.

Angela became interested in HeartMath from her dear friend Dr. Sandra Solano. She attended one of Sandra’s training seminars in the spring of 2018 and quickly realized how easy it is to implement HeartMath into her life. One day during a coffee meeting Angela and Sandra realized how much HeartMath could help the dance industry and studio owners. And this is how the partnership with Integro and Angela began. This partnership is unique for they have been on every side of the dance industry. Student, Parent, Teacher, Studio Owner, Dance Adjudicator, Master Teacher, and Convention Facilitator. They understand how emotional the industry is and have plenty of tools and scenarios to help you work through.

Miss. Angela’s strong belief in age appropriateness, good sportsmanship attitude, positive energy and upbeat personality pulls a quality of movement out of her students that is un-describable and makes her classes a joy to experience. Miss Angela believes in her students. She will not let them quite on her in class. She expects excellence out of them and does not except the words “I Can’t”!

Angela is excited and honored to partner with Integro. She is an Executive Director of the company and the Director of Sports and Fine Arts. She is a Certified HeartMath Mentor and Coach. Integro is located in New Albany, Ohio. Where she teaches a resiliency course that was created for the Navy Seals and now adapted into all walks of life. Angela specializes in working with children ages 3+, teams for sports and dance studios and military/first responders.

Angela is starting her 2nd year as a member of the Board of Directors for New Vision Dance Company. The mission of the New Vision Dance Co. is to create, celebrate and inspire dance by engaging the community through educational programs, quality performances and the creation of new choreography.

Charlotte Rutherford

Charlotte Rutherford, who grew up in the United Kingdom began dancing at the young age of 4. Charlotte trained with the Royal Ballet School, the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain and also competed all across England and Wales. She grew up with a love and passion for dancing and immersed herself in training, teaching and choreographing.

After graduating from Lancaster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies she moved from England to Columbus, OH and is thrilled to be dancing in her fourth season with New Vision Dance Company. In addition to dancing in at least 3 shows per year she has been given the opportunity through NVDC to dance in 2 music videos and a number of other dance projects. As an active member of NVDC, Charlotte leads the street team efforts on the Creative Team as well as supports the company’s social media presence. She is excited to join the NVDC Board as the Dancer Liaison as it means she can continue to advocate for the company and the voice of the dancers.

When Charlotte isn’t dancing she works in Communications Business Development for a Global Biopharmaceutical company and hangs out with her two Beagles, Daisy and Benji.

Christina Coppel, M.P.A

nvdcmanager@gmail.com coppelcl@gmail.com

Christina Coppel is from Gahanna, Ohio and has been with New Vision Dance Company since its Columbus inception in 2014. After performing with the company for the last 9 years, she is thrilled to continue acting as the Director of Wellness as well as being named Company Manager at the beginning of the 2021 season.

Christina grew up in Gahanna, Ohio, attended Worthington Christian Schools and danced at New Albany Ballet Company from age 2 and a half, giving her the opportunity to attend summer dance intensives at world renowned ballet academies such as Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Boston Ballet. Christina continued her dance passion and education on a full-tuition dance scholarship by earning her Bachelor's degree in Dance and Psychology, with a minor in Sports Medicine, from Case Western Reserve University.

Upon moving to New York, New York in 2018, Christina earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Long Island University, where she discovered her passion and talent for non-profit work while continuing to dance with Dance Works New York City.

Now that Christina has returned to Ohio, she is currently searching for a career in non-profit healthcare or population health while working full-time as well as teaching and choreographing at Diversion Dance Collective. She has also had the opportunity to teach and choreograph for Case Western Reserve University’s Dance Department and New Vision Dance Company.

When Christina has a free moment, she enjoys spending time with her ever-growing family, with 2 nieces and a nephew under age 4. She looks forward to continuing to help New Vision Dance Company grow and thrive as it has helped her do for the last decade.