Our Board
Nina Meehan
Founder
Nina Meehan (she/her) is an award-winning director, playwright and producer, and a dedicated arts educator, with expertise in youth development and nonprofit management. Her work focuses on nurturing innovation in children and connecting people in our increasingly digital world.
Nina’s award-winning theatrical work for young people as CEO of Bay Area Children’s Theatre has reached more than 1 million kids and adults and has toured nationally and internationally. Some of her most recent credits include: the adaptation of Chelsea Clinton’s book, She Persisted, Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and the New York Times bestselling Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site series.
She has received the Alumna of the Year Award from Head-Royce School in (2020), the Diablo Valley Innovation Award (2020), the Theatre Bay Area Award Best Director and Best New Musical (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, 2018), was an invited speaker at Visioni in Bologna, Italy, and an invited speak at a conference hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts, serves as Board President for TYA/USA and was named as one of Red Tricycle’s Moms Who Rock.
Nina holds a BS in theatre from Northwestern University and a Master’s of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is also a certified yoga instructor.
Her work has been spotlighted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, American Theatre Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Barron’s, Red Tricycle, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News.
Christina Clark Bloodgood
President
Christina Clark Bloodgood (she/her) has nearly 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Christina exclusively represents occupiers on their global real estate portfolios. A few of her clients include Twitter, New Relic, Palo Alto Networks and Headspace. Currently, she is Managing Principal and Founder of the Global Portfolio Technology Practice at Cresa Global Inc. Recently, Cresa nominated Christina to the Board of Cresa Cares the firm’s non-profit charitable foundation and she is Co-Chair of the firm’s Strategic Leadership Council.
Christina lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children. She was deeply affected by BACT’s work, as she observed her son sitting during his first show, absolutely mesmerized by the performance and production quality.
Andrea Walker
Vice President
Andrea Walker (she/her), for the past eleven years, has worked in community development banking at Beneficial State Bank and Foundation. Serving as AVP, Creative Media Evangelista, helping manage all marketing and communications for Beneficial State Bank. Last year she shifted to the mortgage industry taking on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for her family’s mortgage brokerage.
In 2018 Andrea launched, “Black Woman’s Guide to Crypto and Blockchain”, to empower Black women who are interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Andrea is a board member at B Local Bay Area. B Local Bay Area is a voluntary collaboration of employees of certified B Corps. They work to advance their shared vision of a purpose-driven economy that benefits all stakeholders, in close partnership with B Lab (the nonprofit behind the B Corporation certification). B Local Bay Area exists to foster and deepen connections among organizations in our region that share our purpose and passion for using business as a force for good.
Born and raised in Oakland, CA, Andrea is an advocate for social change and environmental justice. A graduate of Oakland Unified School District, Andrea received her Associate of Science in Business Administration and Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Science from Butte Glenn Community College and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from Sacramento State University. She currently resides in the East Bay with 7-year-old daughter, Alexandria.
Barak Ben-Gal
Treasurer
Barak Ben-Gal (he/him) Barak Ben-Gal has spent over two decades working in Finance and Strategy, most recently as the Chief Financial Officer of Symphony Talent (a privately-held company serving the human capital resource management needs of Fortune 100 employers), where he led all of the company’s G&A functions including finance, accounting, HR, IT, Legal, Facilities, and Investor Relations. His previous roles included serving as the CFO for Sunrun (the nation’s largest provider of residential solar), VP of Finance for Support.com (a publicly-traded company providing remote support for computer problems for Comcast, Office Depot, and other large white-label customers), and Senior Director of for Yahoo’s Finance Transformation Office (running change management in 27 countries across 4 continents).
Barak has been extensively involved with social sector organizations, including serving as Board Treasurer for both for the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and for the National Equity Project, and a Board Advisor for the Ashby Village. He previously served as a Board Fellow with the Full Circle Fund Bay Area social venture network and spent a summer as a Project Entrepreneur at Ashoka global social venture organization. He was selected for the prestigious Broad Residency in Urban Education and has been selected as a Siebel Scholar at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Barak has lectured about his experiences in educational funding and leadership at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and San Jose State University, and in 2007 became the subject of both a Haas School of Business case competition and a Wall Street Journal editorial. Separately, Barak has served on the CFO Advisory Board for Silicon Valley Bank, has been the subject of CFO-related podcasts, and has served as a guest lecturer at USF for business and technology classes. Barak holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Harvard University, a Master of Business Administration at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and a Master of Education at Stanford University’s School of Education.
Born and raised in Israel, Barak moved to the United States when he was ten years old and has lived in the United States ever since. He is currently residing in Albany, California, with his husband and their three amazing children.
Bobby Brenman
Secretary
Bobby Brenman (he/him) is a Northwestern University graduate, his studies focused on economics and philosophy. He went on to receive his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and since moving to the Bay Area, Bobby has worked for some of the world’s leading tech companies such as Salesforce, Google, LinkedIn, and Clari where he currently leads their marketing team and helps people realize the value of great storytelling through visual communication.
Bobby lives in Oakland and has two children who have been BACT enthusiasts from the moment they enter the theatre. Bobby spent his childhood in south Florida where he fell in love with the performing arts and the transformative impact it can have.
Shoshana Chazan
Board Member
Shoshana Chazan (she/her) is Senior Employment Counsel for Unity Technologies and a member of the Labor and Employment Law group. Ms. Chazan specializes in employment law, with a focus on California law and Wage & Hour compliance and litigation management for technology companies. Prior to joining Unity Technologies, she spent nearly a decade as Assistant General Counsel for employment law at Sodexo, supporting Sodexo’s nearly 150,000 United States employees, who provide food and facilities services at more than 7,000 sites across the country.
Early in her career, Ms. Chazan practiced employment litigation with a litigation boutique in San Francisco, and as Senior counsel for employment law and commercial contracts at APL Limited. Ms. Chazan was also President of the California Employment Law Council in 2019 and served as a director for 15 of the last 18 years. She is also a member of the California Bar and the Association of Corporate Counsel.
She is the Legislative Lead for her local Moms Demand Action group. Ms. Chazan is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and the University of California, San Diego. She also studied political science at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Grenoble, France.
When she is not practicing law, she can be found walking the hills of the San Francisco Bay Area with her dogs or cheering the San Francisco Giants or Golden State Warriors with her husband and son.
Michael Dailey
Board Member
Michael Dailey (he/him) currently serves as an Early Literacy Tutor at Lockwood Steam Academy within the Oakland Unified School District. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, he received his MS. Ed. in Counseling from Old Dominion University and his B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in music from Virginia Wesleyan University. Following his education, he worked as the School Based Services Director for Seton Youth Shelters.
His passion for working with students has always been equally matched with his passion for the arts. In 2006, he left VA to pursue a professional operatic career. As an operatic tenor, Michael has sung over 32 leading roles in prestigious opera houses in America, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
He found his way to San Jose, California as a Principal Resident Artist with Opera San Jose from 2009-2012. It was during this time that he met and married his wife, Amy Saxton with whom he has two brilliant, kind, and sassy daughters: Olive age 8 and Juniper age 5.
Shari Hollis-Ross
Board Member
Shari Hollis-Ross (she/her), Chief Counsel at Litigation & Commercial Transactions, is a proactive and strategic thinker with an eye toward risk management. Provides risk assessments and practical, business-minded solutions to a variety of business partners. She has a broad range of experience working with private and public sector employers as both in-house counsel and outside counsel. She advises employers on managing employment practices-related risks and strategies to achieve business goals throughout the employment life cycle. Worked effectively with individuals and groups from a variety of identities to strengthen diversity and inclusion within our organization. Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the General Counsel’s Department of her current employer.
Alison Jackson
Board Member
Alison Jackson (she/her) is a results-driven public relations professional with 20+ years of experience in consumer goods and high-tech industries, garnering press, broadcast, and blog coverage with key business, tech trade and consumer lifestyle media. Currently, she is a freelance public relations consultant for Alison Williams Public Relations, a consultancy she started in 2013. Prior to freelancing, Alison led PR and analyst relations efforts for Acer America. She’s worked for and with various Silicon Valley startups and Fortune 500 companies in a public relations and marketing communications capacity, as well as non-profits such as Cinequest, the San Jose Film Festival where she managed PR and sponsorship development, and Girl Scouts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
A lifelong volunteer, Alison is currently president of the Silicon Valley Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., an organization focused on community service and scholarship. She is a graduate from San Jose State University with dual degrees in Public Relations and African American History. A Bay Area native, Alison lives in Oakland with her husband and two children.
Chuck Kapelke
Board Member
Chuck Kapelke (he/him) manages communications for two research centers at UC Berkeley and has also worked as a freelance writer and video producer. His work has been published and used through a variety of companies including the Great Place to Work Institute, Monitor 360, and Isaacson-Miller. Chuck is also an accomplished percussionist. Growing up in the Bay Area, performing arts and theatre education were central to his upbringing with his mother being a theatre arts educator, his father a playwright and his brother now holds a Ph.D. in theatre history. Theatre education and the doors this skill set can open are at the core of why Chuck became a board member.
Chuck Kapelke lives in Alameda with his wife, Cindy, and two children, Dahlia and Benji, who together have participated in BACT’s Academy theatre training program performing in such productions as Dear Edwina, Aristocats, Cinderella, and more.
Krysta Lapcevic
Board Member
Krysta Lapcevice (she/her) has over a decade of experience in event management including working for SFMOMA to execute all corporate event rentals and producing high-end donor and exhibit opening events, as well as leading event sales and operations for Kimpton Hotels and JDV Hospitality properties. She is very focused on community organizations providing support and services to local families, and those supporting visual and performing arts. She is a trusted and sought-after event consultant and philanthropic organizer. She is Board President of the Wagner Ranch Elementary School Parents Club and is a member of Orinda Juniors.
Krysta lives in Orinda with her husband, Bill, and their children, Holden and Finley. In her free time, she loves running and hiking, traveling with her family, creating art, cooking healthy meals, and gardening.
Meredith Lapointe
Board Member
Meredith Lapointe (she/her) is a Partner at McKinsey & Company where she focuses mainly on healthcare systems and services. She leads McKinsey’s provider workforce team which brings expertise and operational leaders to improve the “people side” of healthcare. Meredith is passionate about creating a sustainable healthcare system that enables consistent, good-quality outcomes and experiences for patients.
Meredith lives in the East Bay and enjoys hiking, snowboarding, taking trips to Napa, and attending BACT shows with her husband and two young sons.
Aya Takeuchi
Board Member
Aya Takeuchi (she/her) was most recently the CEO and Founder of Emi, a relationship wellness company on a mission to help people build meaningful, intimate relationships through the power of psychology and technology. Before founding Emi, Aya held leadership roles at Amazon and Walmart.com, where she launched and grew businesses from scratch, and held executive roles at social media startups Mixi (in Tokyo) and Musely (in Santa Clara, CA). She graduated from Smith College with a major in Psychology. After pursuing a career in Investment Banking and Private Equity, she earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.
In her personal life, Aya stays fit by chasing after her 3 children – a 9-year-old boy and 5-year-old twin girls.
Erica Weber
Board Member
Erica Weber (she/her) has over 15 years of experience as a transactional real estate attorney and is currently General Counsel of a Bay Area real estate company. She is an active member of a number of non-profit organizations, including the Urban Land Institute and the Children’s Health Guild.
Erica was born and raised in the Bay Area and lives with her husband and two daughters in the East Bay. She and her family are enthusiastic Bay Area Children’s Theatre audience members and supporters.