Board & Staff
Board
Cordelia Delson, President. Vice chair, Astral Artists, Philadelphia, Pa.
Scott Kessler, Vice president and finance chair. President, H.W. Marston and Company, Swarthmore, Pa. Former General manager, The Pennsylvania Opera Theater.
Mary McTernan, Secretary and development chair. Former chair, Valentine Foundation, Haverford, Pa. Former trustee, Williams College. Former Vice president, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.
John Alston, Founder and director, Chester Children’s Chorus. Associate professor of music, Swarthmore College. President and founder, The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts, a non-profit that partners with the Chester Upland School District (Pa.) to provide supplemental funding for the Chester Upland School of the Arts, a public arts and academic elementary school.
Susan Brake. Founder and president, EPIC Consulting, Swarthmore, Pa. specializing in management and leadership development for businesses. Former Human resources director, American Express and Pizza Hut.
Maurice G. Eldridge, ex officio, Swarthmore College. Vice president for college and community relations, Swarthmore College. Chair, The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts (see Fund description under John Alston)
Wendy Emrich, ex officio,The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts.
Managing director, The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts (see Fund description under John Alston)
Marlene Mackason, parent of chorus member. Administrator, Morgan, Lewis, Bockius, Philadelphia, Pa. Board member, Abundant Life Empowerment Missions, Yeadon, Pa
Elizabeth Rubin. Board president, Suburban Music School, Media, Pa. Vice president, national board, Transplant Recipients International Organization. Board secretary, Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.
Jay Tucker, parent of chorus member. Full-time parent. Former owner/head coach of Delco Mustangs semi-professional football team, Delaware County, Pa.
Frances Vilella-Velez. Consultant and attorney specializing in design, development and evaluation services for social policy, education, and non-profit initiatives.
Ian B. Wilcox. Global director of the pharmaceutical practice, Hay Group consulting, Philadelphia, Pa.
Staff
John Alston, Founder and director. Associate professor of music, Swarthmore College. Doctorate in choral conducting, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Andrea Knox, Managing director. Joined Chester Children’s Chorus in 2001. Former Pulitzer Prize-winning business reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer. B.A., Swarthmore College.
Daniel J. Beal, Assistant music director. Former music teacher and choral director, York Suburban School District (Pa.) and Ephrata Area High School (Pa). Joined chorus June, 2009. Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, West Chester University.
Amie Richan, Piano teacher. Private piano teacher for 20+ years. Singer. Published in music teachers' journals. Voting member of NARAS (Grammys). Joined chorus in 2007.
Emily Hauze, Media and development associate. Videographer,
photographer, and social media specialist. Production intern at
WHYY-FM's "Voices in the Family." Joined the staff in July,
2011. B.A., Swarthmore College.
Elisa DeNofio, Administrative assistant. Former Human Resources assistant, University of Pennsylvania, Van Pely Library. Joined the staff in September, 2005. B.A., Holy Family University.
