Staff + Board
Board President: Victoria Marsh
Victoria Marsh has worked closely with Boston area playwrights on new play development throughout her career as a director.
Productions include the THE EMANCIPATION OF MANDY AND MIZ ELLIE by Lois Roach (Company One), THE GIBSON GIRL by Kirsten Greenidge
(Company One), AT THE READY by Kirsten Greenidge (Company One for the Boston Theatre Marathon), BREAK-IT-DOWN by John ADEkoje (Company
One for the Boston Theatre Marathon), SAILING DOWN THE AMAZON by Rosanna Yamigiwa Alfaro (Boston Playwrights Theatre), HAIKU by Kate
Snodgrass (Boston Playwrights Theatre), 103 WITHIN THE VEIL by Kirsten Greenidge (Company One), LOST CITY by Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth
Fuller (Company One), TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith (Company One), RASH ACTS by Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller
(Company One), BOBBY PINS UP OUR NOSE by Judy Tso and Christina Chan, and UNBINDING OUR LIVES (Asian American Theatre Project). Marsh led
new development workshops of THE GLIDER by Kate Snodgrass for the Women on Top Theater Festival, WHITE ASHES by Barbara Blatner for the
Playwrights Platform Festival of New Plays, and Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro's COWBOY SAMURAI for New Theater, Inc. As the managing director of
New Theatre, Inc. Marsh produced three NeWorks festivals, featuring Boston writers. Victoria is a Programming Coordinator for WGBH Television.
She is an Honorary Board Member of TC Squared Theartre Company, producers of staged readings of new work by Boston Arts Academy alumni.
John Oluwole ADEkoje is a graduate of Humboldt State University with a MFA in dramatic writing and an MA in film production. He is national award winner of the Kennedy Center: ACTF-Lorraine Hansberry playwriting award for the play Streethawker as well as the 2006 Roxbury Film Festival's Award for Emerging local Filmmaker for the documentary Street Soldiers, which shown at Le Festival du Film Panafricain (Cannes) and Festival des Films du Monde (Montréal). He is currently the playwright-in-residence at Company One and an Affiliate Artist at the Providence Black Repertory Theatre. He teaches Theatre at Boston Arts Academy.
Mary Chin has been the Director of Social work at the Boston Medical Center for over 20 years. She is currently the President of the Board of Directors of the Asian American Civic Association (AACA), an organization that focuses on workforce development to help immigrants achieve self-sufficiency. Mary has volunteered for AACA for nearly 30 years. Mary is also a member of the Board of Directors of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD). She is also a member of ABCD’s Health Services Committee and the Employment and Training Committee. Mary has been Vice-Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration for Social Work for over 4 years. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the South End Neighborhood Action Program. In the past, Mary served as member of the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society, for the Literacy Volunteers of America, and for the National Association of Social Work. Mary has helped many organizations in accomplishing their missions through her leadership and dedication.
Elisa Choi is a physician at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, practicing in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and HIV, with a particular interest in reducing disparities
in care, and in providing clinically competent care that is sensitive to patients' gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and race. Dr. Choi is also on faculty at Harvard Medical
School, and has held numerous leadership positions in its teaching programs. She has played a significant role in the teaching and training of medical students and residents at
Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals for more than 10 years. Dr. Choi has lectured on medical topics at the local, regional, and national level, and writes a blog providing
medical information to the general public. She was recently appointed as Director of Teaching for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, where she provides leadership of
the various teaching programs. Dr. Choi has been an active member of the Asian Pacific Islander community for a number of years, through her position on the Board of Directors
of MAP for Health (Massachusetss Asian Pacific Islanders for Health), a Massachusetts, non-profit, Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community-based organization
that works for fairness, equality, and inclusion for these communities in health care planning, disease prevention, primary care access, and service delivery. She has been a
previous Secretary/Clerk for MAP for Health's Board of Directors, and currently is the Chair of the Board of Directors of this organization. Dr. Choi provided important
leadership and oversight for MAP for Health's recent annual fundraising event, "MAP Can Cook", that featured an "Iron Chef" cooking competition, taiko drumming
performances by an all-female taiko group, and an award ceremony honoring community leaders. This successful fundraising event was held on May 20, 2011 at the Calderwood
Pavilion, and celebrated Asian Pacific Heritage month (May) as well as MAP for Health's 15th anniversary. More recently, Dr. Choi provided oversight to the appointment of a new
Executive Director for MAP for Health, to lead that organization into its 16th year of service to the community. Dr. Choi is a passionate supporter of the arts, and has
also been a long-standing patron of the Boston theater scene. She has recently become a devotee of Company One productions, notably GRIMM, NEIGHBORS, and THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS.
She ardently supports the Company One mission to "change the face of Boston theatre".
Devin Hill is a Managing Director at JP Morgan Securities and formerly Bear Stearns where he has worked for almost 20 years. He has been a Back Bay resident for over 20 years where he currently resides with his 12 year old daughter. Devin has always had a passion for the arts and entertainment and has been involved in numerous Boston arts organizations. Most recently Devin served on the BalletRox Board of Directors, with a three year term as president. BalletRox is a non-profit dance company that produces the Urban Nutcracker and is involved with scholarship dance students and extensive school programs. He is an advisor to the Boston Tap Company and help them launch their organization. Devin has been a member of the Boston Ballet Young Partners Board. He is currently on the Alumni Board for his High School alma mater, the Middlesex School. He hold a BA in Economics from Arizona State University. His primary hobby is attending all the many wonderful events such as sports, art, music and theater in Boston.
Ms. Penny is a former Vice President for Heller Financial (San Francisco) and Silicon Valley Bank (Sunnyvale, CA). At Heller, she specialized in highly leveraged mergers and acquisitions transactions of market-leading companies. At SVB, she specialized in leveraged funding of early stage technology companies. Previously, she worked at Swiss Bank Corporation (New York) and The World Bank (Washington, DC.) Through these experiences, she has a broad-based perspective of the strategic, marketing, financial and managerial challenges and opportunities of a growing organization. Through her daughters, Danielle and Sydney, Ms. Penny is involved with Boston-based arts organizations including: Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO), New England Conservatory (NEC), the Boston Ballet School and last, but certainly not least, Company One. Additionally, on behalf of her son Jack, Ms. Penny is involved with numerous local and national Autism organizations. Ms. Penny holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Finance from the University of Rochester.
Mr. PiSierra became interested in theater while attending college, where he had a non-singing role in Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. Born and raised in Manhattan, he was able to take advantage of the theater scene and enjoyed regularly attending shows while living there. Carlos became affiliated with Company One in 2007, after completing "Business on Board," a program developed to pair business executives with local non-profit art organizations. After a brief observorship period, he was elected to join the Company One Board of Directors in September 2008. Mr. PiSierra is currently Vice President of Finance with Fidelity Investments, where he has worked for 15 years in various senior finance positions, including CFO of Fidelity Family Office Services. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Fordham University. Carlos lives in Charlestown, Massachusetts and is the father of two budding artists, Nate and Zoe.
Board Member: Rosalind Thomas-Clark
Rosalind Thomas-Clark received her undergraduate degree in London, and her masters
from Brown University, where she taught and directed theatre. Working with BAA
alumni, Ms. Thomas-Clark is artistic Director of TC Squared, committed to theatre for
social change. She has always worked professionally as an actor and director for stage,
radio, and film, but her passion has been the development of arts and educational theatre,
in the UK, New Zealand and the USA. A founding faculty member of the Boston Arts
Academy, and Chair of Theatre, she was the recipient of a SURDNA Arts Teacher's
Fellowship to study with Augusto Boal in Brazil. She traveled with ten BAA students to
perform at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, and was named Boston's Teacher
of the Year. She is on the faculty for the summer program London Cultural Connections.
She is invested in the proposal to open BAA's own Middle School where younger
students will have quality access to the arts in their everyday lives. She is a Board
member for Company One and the Boston Arts Academy, and works with corporate
employee groups and individuals as a Personal Communication Consultant.
Board Member: William Tilton
Will joined the board of Company One in September 2010. He is a graduate of the Arts and Business Council’s “Business on Board” program. Originally from Michigan, Will has settled into Boston after living in various locations throughout the United States. His interest for the arts grew through his musical training and as well as his wife Jamie Picardy’s participation in the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. His professional career is in the Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology sector where he works for Shire Human Genetic Therapies in Lexington. Will is responsible for strategic life cycle management within the Technical Operations division. He holds a MBA in Finance from Wharton and a BS in Chemical Engineering form Michigan State University.
Michael Tow is a Certified Financial Planner with over 15 years experience in the Financial Services Industry. After working many years as an Account Vice President at UBS, Michael opened his own boutique firm New Boston Financial in 2005. Michael demonstrates his belief in giving back to the community through his involvement in a variety of organizations. He is the President of the Board of the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), a member of the board of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, a member of the board of the Governor's commission on Asian American affairs, on the advisory committee of the Asian American Civic Association, on the advisory committee of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission and the past President of the Friends of the Needham Elderly.
Board Member: Sasha Abby VanDerzee
Sasha has been involved with Company One since its beginning, but officially joined the staff and Board of Directors in 2000. She is the former Director of Development, House Manager and Box Office/Ticketing Manager. She is currently a member of the Board, where she is the a co-chair of the Annual Gala committee. She also works full-time at City on a Hill Charter School in Roxbury, MA where she is the Director of Tutorial.
Advisory Board Member: Barry Andelman
Barry is an active member of the theatre scene in Boston, seeing between 150-200 theatre performances a year. He is a Founding Member of Boston Theatre Works. He has worked for many years developing relationships with theatre companies in the area for complimentary ticket giveaways for non-profits like AIDS Action Committee and has also worked to bring school-aged children to see live theatrical performances. When he lived in Japan for 5 years, he became very involved with NOH Drama, and he has amassed a library of over 100 translations of NOH Drama, one of the largest individual collections in the world.
Advisory Board Member: Lydia R. Diamond
Lydia R. Diamond's plays include: Stick Fly (produced by Alicia Keys under the direction of Kenny Leon, will open on Broadway at the Cort theatre on November 18, 2011; '10 Irne Award - Best Play, '10 LA Critics Circle Awards, '10 LA Garland Award - Playwriting, '08 Susan S. Blackburn Finalist, '06 Black Theatre Alliance Award - Best Play), Voyeurs de Venus ('06 Joseph Jefferson Award - Best New Work, '06 BTAA - Best Writing), The Bluest Eye ('06 Black Arts Alliance Image Award - Best New Play, '08 American Alliance for Theatre and Education Distinguished Play Award), The Gift Horse ('05 Theadore Ward Prize, Kesselring Prize 2nd Place), Harriet Jacobs, Stage Black, and Lizzie Stranton (2008 Boston University Playwriting Initiative Commision). Theatres include: Arena Stage, Chicago Dramatists, Company One, Congo Square, Everyman Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Co., Jubilee Theatre, Kansas City Rep, L.A. Theatre Works, Long Wharf, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, McCarter Theatre Co., Mo'Olelo Theatre Co., MPAACT, New Vic, Playmakers Rep, Plowshares Theatre Co., Providence Black Rep, Steppenwolf, TrueColors, The Matrix, Underground Railway Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and The Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Lydia's plays have been produced at Universities around the country including: Duke University, Howard University, Emerson College, Boston University, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin, Columbia College Chicago, Spelman College, University of California - San Marcos, and University of Maryland. Lydia has been commissioned by: Steppenwolf, McCarter, Huntington, Actor's Theatre of Louisville/Victory Gardens, Humana, Boston University, and The Roundabout. Stick Fly and Harriet Jacobs are published by NU Press, Bluest Eye, Gift Horse, Stage Black - Dramatic Publishing. Lydia was a 2007 TCG/NEA Playwright in Residence at Steppenwolf, an 06/07 Huntington Playwright Fellow, 2009 NEA/Arena Stage New Play Development Grant Finalist, is a TCG Executive Board Member, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, an Honorary Doctorate of Arts Recipient from Pine Manor College, and a recent recipient of the Huntington Theatre's 2011 Wimbley Award.
Advisory Board Member: Lois Roach
Lois Roach most recently directed the Providence, RI premiere of "Treemonisha," by Scott Joplin for Opera Providence. In recent years, she directed the world premiere of "A House With No Walls," at the New Repertory Theater in Watertown, the world premiere of "Six Rounds, Six Lessons" with Company One at the Boston Center for the Arts, as well as the Boston premieres of "Crowns," and "Living Out" at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston.
An award-winning producer and director, she was commissioned to write and direct a performance piece for the 25th anniversary of Casa Myrna Vazquez, a shelter for battered women, which featured actress Phylicia Rashad.
In Derry, Northern Ireland, she worked with a group of artists on the theater project, "Borderlands," which brought together women from the Catholic, Protestant and Southern communities.
Lois also teaches at Wellesley College, works with First Night and coordinates the Stony Brook Initiative at Northeastern University.
Advisory Board Member: Lisa Simmons
Ms. Simmons is the founder and president of, The Color of Film Collaborative, Inc. (TCOF), an organization of actors, producers, directors and others with an interest in creating and supporting positive images of people of color in film, theater, and other media. The Color of Film Collaborative co-produces the Roxbury Film Festival, a festival that celebrates the vision and the voice of independent filmmakers of color. Ms. Simmons has been producing independent film and theater in the Boston area for over 10 years and serves on the Board the Massachusetts Production Coalition, and The League of Women for Community Service, is an Advisory Member of Press Pass TV and Company One and is a founding member of The Alliance for Independent Motion Media. Ms. Simmons has received an Image Award from Women in Film New England, the Diversity award from Our Place Theater Project and a leadership award from the Urban League Guild of Eastern Massachusetts. Currently Ms. Simmons spends her time behind the camera producing, mentoring and creating more and better opportunities for filmmakers of color. In addition to supporting and producing filmmakers' work, Ms. Simmons is also an independent producer and is currently producing and writing a documentary on the history of Boston's Black theatre during the WPA. In addition to her filmmaking and theater activities, Ms. Simmons serves as the Communications Director for the State Office of Travel and Tourism.
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