ADVISORY BOARD BIOS

Ex officio members:

The Rev. John David van Dooren
Rector
Church of the Transfiguration

Fr. John David was elected as the eighth rector of the Church of the Transfiguration in 2017. A native of North Carolina, he graduated from the University of North Carolina and Virginia Theological Seminary. His first field assignment was to an Anglo-Catholic parish where he was introduced to a spirituality that would define his eventual priesthood and lead him to a lifelong commitment to urban ministry. He served as curate of All Souls Episcopal Church in Washington, DC and then as an assistant priest at St. Martin’s in the Field in Severna Park, MD, before being called back to All Souls as their sixth Rector. After 14 years there, he accepted the call to the Church of the Atonement in Chicago, where he served as Rector for eleven and half years before being called to “The Little Church Around the Corner” in New York City.

Katherine R. Hutt

Principal of Nautilus Communications
Houghton Hall co-founder and advisory board chair

Katherine is an award-winning communicator who helps non-profit organizations and social impact businesses tell their stories. She has been in the public relations and marketing field for more than three decades, including ten years as national spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau. She is Accredited in PR by the Public Relations Society of America and is a past “Washington PR Woman of the Year.” Since 2018, she has been clerk of the vestry at the Church of the Transfiguration, where she also runs the annual Open House New York weekend. As co-founder of Houghton Hall Arts Community, she joyfully brings together her professional skills, faith, and love of the performing arts. She fell in love with theatre at an early age doing school and community productions, and she is a proud “drama mama” of two talented young adults.

Christina Germaine Eddlemon
Actor and singer, True Outcomes
Houghton Hall co-founder and advisory board vice chair

Christina began attending the Church of the Transfiguration in 2015,  was married there in 2018, and was elected to the vestry in 2019. She is a performing artist and, as such, couldn't help but see the opportunity to serve the arts community when the church's rental space became empty.  She is thrilled by the positive response of the vestry, and to see the church community wholeheartedly support this project.  Christina is a member of Letter of Marque Theater Company, a Houghton Hall member organization, as well as the Episcopal Actors’ Guild, where she has led The Artist’s Way groups. She is co-owner with her husband of True Outcomes Productions, LLC – an umbrella for many activities including (but not limited to!) songwriting, music and film projects, personal training, and hosting events at Houghton Hall.

Karen Lehman Foster
Executive Director
Episcopal Actors’ Guild

Karen has dedicated her life to serving the non-profit sector. Before her tenure at the EAG, she worked for SUNY, Pennsylvania State University, and the non-profit Libertae, a women’s rehabilitation facility in Pennsylvania. In her 17 years with EAG, she has helped thousands of performers and has grown the organization and increased its capacity, providing services to twice as many clients. She has created new and innovative programs including the Headshot Project, the Actors Pantry food program, the Open Stage Grant, Artist Afternoons Seminar Series, and an active and growing volunteer program. She has also developed the Intentional Artist support group, which meets weekly. In addition to her social service background, Karen is a trained actress, having attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.  Karen is a graduate of the University of Delaware and a recipient of a certificate from the Nonprofit Leadership Development Institute at Baruch College. Karen has been an advisor to Houghton Hall Arts Community since its inception.

Board members:

Chris Bell

Managing Director
Developing Artists

Chris is a board member and the managing director of Developing Artists, a Houghton Hall member organization that teaches undervalued teens to relentlessly fight for positive social change through practical application of the performing arts. This is Chris’s second stint at DA, having served as business manager for two years. Chris is a trained software engineer who has spent much of his career supporting the performing arts in New York City, including One Show and Center Stage, as a producer, operations manager, community manager, and more. He brings technical and business skills to the creative organizations he serves, helping them improve brand awareness and increase visibility through a wide range of technology applications (websites, social media, content management, etc.).

Randi Berry
Executive Director
IndieSpace

Randi is an indie theater maker with an arts advocacy and commercial real estate background. She co-founded several organizations like Wreckio Ensemble Theater Company, the Indie Theater Fund, and now IndieSpace. Randi has worked on over $11B in commercial real estate transactions and has created programs resulting in thousands of artists receiving funding, free real estate consulting services, rehearsal space, and opportunities for professional growth. Select awards include: NYIT Indie Theater Champion, The Ellen Stewart Award, Indie Theater Person of the Year, member of the Indie Theater Hall of Fame, and a Citation for Service by the New York City Council. Most recently she received the Visionary Leadership Award from the Tow Foundation, which included a $150,000 unrestricted grant to Indie Space to continue its work supporting artists and arts organizations in New York City. Randi has been an advisor to Houghton Hall Arts Community since its inception.

Reed Birney
Actor

Reed won the 2016 Tony Award for his performance in The Humans. Other Broadway appearances include: 1984, Gemini, Picnic and Casa Valentina (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award). His many off-Broadway appearances include Circle Mirror Transformation (Obie and Drama Desk Awards), Bug (Obie award), I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard (Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk Award nominations), The Dream of the Burning Boy (Drama League, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Homebody/Kabul, and Drama Desk Award nominations for Blasted, You Got Older, and Uncle Vanya. In 2011, he received a Special Drama Desk Award honoring his career as an actor. Film and TV credits include: The Menu, Mass, Four Friends, "House of Cards," "Girls," "Blue Bloods,” “Madam Secretary," "The Blacklist," and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." He won a 2006 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance and in 2011 Actors' Equity awarded him the Richard Seff Award.

Michael Boothroyd
Actor
Education Sales Leader

Michael has been both a New York actor and a member of the Episcopal Church for over two decades.  As an actor and creator, Michael has been involved in multiple theatrical performances throughout NYC from Shakespeare, to original works and even improv.  Michael is married to The Rev. Dr. Patick Cheng, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New York and an Associate Priest of the Church of the Transfiguration and is thrilled to part of the mission of Houghton Hall.  

Karen DiLossi

Director of Strategic Partnerships
Partners for Sacred Places

A native Philadelphian and trained theatre artist, Karen started at Partners for Sacred Places in 2011 as Director of the Arts in Sacred Places, bringing together arts organizations who were looking for space with congregations who have space to share. Now as Director of Strategic Partnerships, her portfolio has grown to include all nonprofits, including childcare, feeding programs, counseling, and entrepreneurs. She works with potential partners to find the mission and vision alignment between them that will solidify their partnership and provide a solid foundation for their future together. Karen has a BA in History and Drama from Washington College and an MA in Theatre from Villanova University, and is working toward credentialing from the International Coaching Federation.

Ariel Estrada
Actor, singer, producer, founder of Leviathan Lab
Associate Director, Fordham University Theatre Program

Ariel is a Webby Award-winning producer, actor, writer, and advocate for Asian American Pacific Islander performing artists and all performing artists of marginalized identity. As an actor, he has performed on television, film, commercials, digital media, and Off-, and Off-Off-Broadway. As a producer, Ariel is the Founder and Executive Artistic Director for Leviathan Lab, a nonprofit creative studio for Asian American performing artists. As an arts administrator, he is the Associate Director of the Theatre Program at Fordham University; the Marketing & Membership Director for the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists; and sits on the boards of New York Theatre Barn and Latine Musical Theatre Lab. His leadership has been recognized by artEquity, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Theatre Communications Group. 

Welland H. Scripps
Actor, director, teacher
Co-founder, Letter of Marque

Welland is an actor, director, teacher, and a musician. He was a member of the Irondale Ensemble in Brooklyn for six years and is a founding member of the Letter of Marque Theater Company, a Houghton Hall member organization that writes and produces new work for non-traditional spaces. Welland is also one of the founders and executive producers of Fat Maggie Productions. Select theater credits include Tried by Pirates and Gifts (Letter of Marque), Angels in America and When the Rain Stops Falling (Stella Adler Studio of Acting), Macbeth Project, Peer Gynt, Cymbeline, Tape (Manhattanville College), Julius Caesar, Prepared Fresh, London Cries, and Peter Pan (Irondale Theater Ensemble). Welland was involved in the campaign to create a permanent home for the Theater for a New Audience in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Manhattanville College and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

Joan Seymour
United Nations (retired)
Vestry, Church of the Transfiguration

Joan is a long-time parishioner at the Church of the Transfiguration and is currently serving on the vestry. She also heads up the tour guides who share the history of the Little Church with visitors, serves as a reader during Sunday mass, and has held numerous other volunteer positions over the years. She studied history at the University College of the West Indies in Jamaica and the teaching of French as a foreign language at the Sorbonne in France. Her career in diplomacy began when she was appointed among the first diplomats to an independent Guyana. She also served in London, Ottawa, and Caracas. She joined the United National Secretariat in 1974 and retired 25 years later as Deputy Director in the Americas and Europe Division of the Department of Political Affairs. An avid lover of the arts, especially opera, she enjoys travel, reading, and music… in particular singing choral works.

Scarlet Maressa Rivera
Managing Director
Houghton Hall Arts Community

Scarlet is a performer, director, musician, and producer who was appointed managing director of Houghton Hall Arts Community in February 2023. She is co-founder of Letter of Marque Theater Co., a Houghton Hall beta user. Previously she was a member of the Irondale Ensemble Project from 2004-2013. She is a founding member of Band of Bicycles, a collective of musicians, artists, activists, and bicycle enthusiasts. She has also served on the board of Artistic Evolution, which devises and enacts social issue campaigns using art, music, performance and technology, since 2008. Scarlet considers herself an ambassador of ensemble theater practice and has been inspired by her experiences with The Network of Ensemble Theaters since 2005. Scarlet received her M.F.A. in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) at Brooklyn College, a B.A. in Dance/Theater from Manhattanville College.