“Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat!”
Has anyone told you that you’re rocking the boat? We can use someone like you on our Board of Directors. To contact the SBMT Board, email chairperson@southbaymt.com. Questions? Contact info@southbaymt.com. Meet our current board members and staff below.
SBMT staff members
- Walter M. Mayes – Artistic Director
- Dan Singletary – Chief Technical Officer
- Kama Belloni – Patron Manager
- Diane Hughes – House Manager & Box Office
- Doug Hughes – Director of Marketing & Social Media
- Lori Wood – Business Manager
- Richard Cartwright – Set Shop Manager & Master Carpenter
- Barbara Heninger – Properties Manaager & Historian
- Emily Tao – Interim Production Manager
Board of Directors
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Michael Paul Hirsch. currently works as Senior Director of Product Management at Suzy and has served as Board Chair for South Bay Musical Theatre since 2020. He is a frequent performer for SBMT and studied theatre in graduate school at Michigan State University. He is a husband, father, kendo black belt shodan, and avid board gamer.
Marcy Bates – joined the board in 2025. (Biography and photo to come.)
Lashonda Eagels is a Bay Area born social work professional with a deep commitment to empowering others, fostering personal development, and promoting the transformative power of the arts. Raised in the vibrant, diverse community of the Bay Area, she has developed a strong appreciation for creativity, inclusivity, and human connection.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Lashonda is an avid gamer, passionate traveler, and enjoys spending quality time with her family. Gaming allows her to connect with her loved ones in meaningful ways, while her travels continually broaden her perspective and inspire her commitment to making a positive impact on a local and global scale.
In her role as an Oncology Social Worker at Kaiser Permanente, Lashonda provides critical psychosocial support to cancer patients and their families, helping them navigate the challenges of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Her commitment to empowering individuals and families extends beyond healthcare. As a dedicated member of the Board of Directors for South Bay Musical Theatre (SBMT), she helps foster community engagement through the arts, creating opportunities for people of all ages to experience the emotional and transformative power of live theater.
Lashonda is also passionate about early childhood education. She serves as the Parent Representative for Early Head Start on the Policy Council for Educare at Silicon Valley, where she works to ensure that all families have access to the resources and support needed to build strong foundations for their children’s future.
As a lifelong learner, Lashonda is currently pursuing a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) from Tulane University, focusing on the intersection of education, healthcare, and community empowerment. She is committed to making a lasting impact in the Bay Area, where she continues to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of the community she is proud to call home.
Ann Lucena is a Bay Area resident with strong leadership skills and a passion for theater. Having performed in numerous musicals across the Bay Area, she made her SBMT debut at the Welcome to the 60s Anniversary Concert in 2022. She recently received the Legacy Robe as part of the cast of Ragtime at Lyric Theatre.
Professionally Ann is a hospital administrator. She most recently served as the CEO of San Ramon Regional Medical Center, an award-winning Bay Area hospital. Ann is also currently on the Board of Directors of Cerus Corporation, a Bay Area-based biomedical products company whose products enhance the safety of blood transfusions.
Ann is a member of the Executive Committee of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board as well as a member of the Stanford Arts Advisory Council. She previously served on the Board of Leadership San Ramon Valley and was the Co-Chair of their Cultural Arts Day. Ann earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
A second generation Latina, Ann is a believer in the power of the arts to develop empathy in participants and viewers, to give voice to the voiceless, to inspire people of all ages to be their best selves, and to bring communities together.
Tipu Purkayastha is a Bay Area-based HR professional who grew up in Calcutta, India amongst books, movies, music, theater and sports. He tries to recreate this mileu in his Northern California life now, where outside of work and family, he is fully immersed in his various arts-related passions. He is a long-time patron of SBMT and joined the Board of Directors in 2021.
Dan Singletary has been actively involved with SBMT since 2003, when he first found the organization playing Trombone in the orchestra for NO, NO, NANETTE. Since then, he has been a part of nearly every production and taken on many different roles within the organization, including Musical Direction, Sound Design, Technical Direction, Producing, Box Office Administration, and Special Effects Design. Dan has served on the SBMT board previously for 8 years (2009-14, 2016-18), and has continually pursued efforts to improve processes and further the organization. Dan currently works as a Design Verification Engineer at Apple (2015-present), and has previously worked for companies including IBM (1996-1999) and Cisco Systems (1999-2015).
Andy Switky is a lecturer on design, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing at Stanford University. He teaches core undergraduate and graduate engineering courses and is a frequent coach in other classes, including Design Innovation (ME310) and Design For Extreme Affordability through the school.
Andy is also the founder of Code Name Collective, a consultancy focused on the design and building of complex systems, particularly healthcare and the social determinants of health. Clients include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Crossover Health, Stanford Health Care, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, and a variety of safety net health plans and foundations.
Prior to Code Name Collective, Andy was an associate partner at IDEO for 16 years, where he practiced, taught, and coached Design Thinking to clients of all sizes in a wide variety of industries. At IDEO he led IDEO’s manufacturing group for more than ten years, was the founder and Managing Director of IDEO Shanghai, and was the Managing Director for Health.
Andy has long been active in local non-profits and agencies, including NOVAworks, the workforce board for Silicon Valley and San Mateo County, where he serves as co-chair. He has also been an enthusiastic participant of South Bay Musical Theater and WVLO productions as a sound designer, sound board operator, and pit orchestra keyboardist.
Braden Taylor has been on the board since 2010 and has served as the CFO for over 10 years. He has been heavily involved with SBMT since 2008 backstage, on stage, and on staff for 24 of their last 38 shows (as of July 2023). A graduate of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo with a degree in Finance and Economics, Braden enjoys using his skills to continuously improve SBMT as an organization. In his professional life, Braden works at Apple as a Global People Programs Manager. He has been involved with musical theatre since the age of five and enjoys being able to continue his passion while giving back to the community both on stage and by serving on the board and staff.
Nicole Tung – (she/her) is a Bay Area native who began dancing at the age of five with Pacific Ballet Academy. While attending Santa Clara University, she performed in her first musical, My Fair Lady. Since then, she’s had the pleasure of performing as an AEA actor with various theaters such as American Musical Theater of San Jose, Magic Theater, Woodminster Theater, San Jose Rep, TheaterWorks, and most recently, 42nd St. Moon. Her SBMT productions include choreographing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and directing eStudio’s Almost, Maine. Nicole can also be seen in various commercials for California Olive Oil, PagerDuty, and Stanford Children’s Health. She resides in Morgan Hill with her husband, daughter, and their cat. Offstage/behind the scenes, she enjoys being part of the casting process, baking, yoga, kind humans, good food, and travel. She looks forward to helping SBMT grow as an inclusive creative space for everyone in the community and helping to shape the next generation of performers.
Board Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of alternate months, often at the SBMT studio, 761 Mabury Road, San Jose, CA, via Zoom, or at a Board member’s residence, and the minutes (dating back to 2019) are posted to our blog. Visitors are permitted, but will be excused during the Executive Session. For a meeting invitation, contact chairperson@
In June 2024, SBMT dissolved its status as a membership organization, with the concurrence of its board and members.
Read the SBMT Bylaws to understand the official rules of SBMT as a non-profit organization. To contact the SBMT Board, email chairperson@southbaymt.com. For other questions, contact info@southbaymt.com.