About Us.

James is currently the CEO of Brand Makers. Brand Makers has been recognized as one of the “Greatest Companies to Work For.” James and his wife Thea have a passion for developing youth which led to their family starting Junior Hero, a non-profit 501(c)3. They recognized a similar passion in the Team at Phoenix Youth Theatre and became raving fans and devoted supporters. When not working, James enjoys spending time with his wife and their three teenage daughters.

Pam has built her career in talent acquisition/management coaching and consulting focused on helping to build small companies from their nascency to next stages of growth. With her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Health Services Administration she has multiple clients in the San Francisco Bay area supporting biotechnology companies. She is mission-driven looking to help companies to improve patient lives. Her interest and involvement in the arts began during her time at Xavier College Preparatory, University of Arizona, and Arizona State University. Locally educated, she believes in supporting the arts community, especially music and theater. Phoenix Youth Theater has proven to be a not-for-profit institution that aligns with her interests of children, community, education, and the arts. She’s grateful to PYT for delivering community, confidence, and joy to local children and families.

Michelle graduated from Arizona State University in 2003 with a BA in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations. She was a Marketing Specialist for CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) before she and her husband started their own mortgage company, Forthright Funding. During her tenure at CBRE, she was awarded Marketing Specialist of the Year in 2005 for their South Florida Division. Since 2015, Michelle has been an active Board Member of Casa Brazil, Inc., a non-profit organization that assists children in underprivileged communities in Brazil. She is their Creative Director and Master of Ceremonies for all their events. Michelle’s passion is to help our youth further their education, foster creativity, and social development to help them achieve a successful future. She has three children, loves to travel, and cook and is bilingual in English and Portuguese.

Kari works as a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. She recently transitioned into this position after spending 15 years in Hospital Internal Medicine. She is double certified in Adult Health and Acute Care and has spent the last 15 years caring for some of the most fragile and complex patients in the state of Arizona and across the country. Following the pandemic and the loss of a close friend in 2021, Kari knew it was time to live out her lifelong passion and join the Center of Palliative Medicine at Mayo Clinic. She considers caring for those near the end of life and those with complex chronic illnesses both a privilege and an honor. While her career helps to define her as a person, her most meaningful life’s work is at home with husband, Ryan, daughter, Emerie, and son, Reid. Together, they love to travel as often as possible, as these are the times they are able to disengage from the day to day and truly enjoy the time with one another. She is wholly passionate about staying active (she can’t live without her Peloton), serving others, and, overall, striving to be a good friend and human.

Bettina grew up in Austria. Twenty years ago she moved to the US where she studied Marketing at San Francisco State University. During her studies she was involved in extracurricular activities and was the President of the SFSU Marketing Organization where she revived the dormant organization and helped it grow with over 100 members. She worked for various marketing companies as a marketing coordinator, social media and marketing manager. After her second daughter was born, she started to volunteer at her daughters’ school, and she was the VP for Desert Sun Academy where she was responsible for creating various fundraising events. She helped the school raise 60 percent more than in prior years. Since 2020 Bettina has been involved on the PYT fundraising team.

Jarrod is a proud member of the Phoenix Youth Theatre’s volunteer Patron Council where his role is to create a positive learning environment for all theater students, and meet strong fundraising goals. Jarrod has a passion for helping others reach their goals no matter their niche. Jarrod began working with families and communities at a young age as an umpire for little league baseball teams. He then followed his dream of assisting with youth teams and worked as a middle school baseball coach for over 10 years. Currently, Jarrod is a proud theater and dance dad of two girls. He was also on the board of Phoenix Ballet Youth Theatre for two years as he worked to raise money for their annual Nutcracker performance and assisted with building and maintaining sets. Jarrod values inspiring others through hard work and generosity. His personal interests are sports, his family, his black lab, and volunteering.

Susan is the owner and president of Urban Hayseed, LLC, a corporate communication consultancy. She partners with companies to create communication strategies and content that aligns with corporate goals. Susan focuses on executive and c-level suite internal and external communication, as well as marketing and branding guidance. Urban Hayseed, LLC recently created and executed a large scale acquisition communication plan for a client with aggressive growth strategy. Susan is passionate about traveling with her family as she believes the exposure to different cultures is a gateway to compassion and acceptance. Susan and her family also enjoy supporting local art and artists in their community and abroad.

Kathie brings 73 years of Life Experience to PYT, having learned construction skills from her father and sewing, baking and organizational skills from her mother. She has served as secretary to a Police Department, operated a wedding cake business for 20 years, and was the owner/designer for a thriving trophy and engraving business. She has designed and built four homes and renovated another six. She organized national & global events for the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2003 and 2009. She both participated in and organized high performance driving events and qualified for mhery racing license when in my mid 60s, Kathie’s grandchildren love all the outrageous costumes she has designed and made for them.

Ryan is the Owner, Lighting Designer at Focal Point Lighting Design. He is skilled at lighting design, lighting control, stage lighting, live events, corporate events, electronics, linux, web design, and graphic design. He is a major asset to our team come show time.

Disney started with PYT in 2019. She worked on PYT’s production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. and was stage manager for Annie Jr. before that. She has worked at Theater Works in Peoria for six years. Disney is a self-proclaimed “Jack of All Trades Technician” and has been involved in theater since high school.