Whitney Ater, Chair

One of the coolest program parents we know and an accomplished feminist in every sense of the word, Whitney is also currently Budget and Finance Manager of the College of Engineering at UCSB, serves as a member of the Dean’s Senior Staff, and represents the College of Engineering on the Income and Recharge Advisory Committee. The Professional Women’s Association is one of the longest-standing staff support groups at UCSB; this year is its 30th anniversary, and Whitney is proud to serve as President. Unstoppable daughter Gracie has been participating in several of our programs since 2013, including former After-School, local showcase performances, Amplify Camp, the 2020 Summer of Love Internship, Amplify Creative Youth Collective, and more. In fact, after many summers of mastering Amplify Camp as a camper, this past summer she was an advanced LIT and even a fully fledged staff counselor in camp's last session of the season. Future U.S. President (and current Senior Class President at Dos Pueblos High School) Gracie plans to be a counselor again next summer. "I believe the confidence, voice, and leadership opportunities she received through Girls Rock SB + Amplify, along with the exposure to musical education, have helped her excel personally and academically. Even more importantly, these experiences have made her a compassionate and emotionally intelligent human that wants a just world for everyone to feel the freedom and space and right to exist and express themselves. My commitment to this organization for empowerment and positive community connection is from my heart and hers."

Anna Bradley, Secretary

Anna, a parent and volunteer to Girls Rock + Amplify since daughter Ella (now 17) joined the program in 2013, has been part of the Santa Barbara community since she was a teen. She comes with over 25 years of international experience in both non-profit and commercial enterprise. Working for large internationals including Coca Cola, QANTAS, EF Education First, and Tetrapak, Anna brings with her a diverse skill set of business change knowledge, language, and culture. She is a founding partner in a business advisory consultancy company, and she also spent 2 years as a small business advisor in Lithuania for the Peace Corps, working with local businesses and NGOs. After spending 15 years abroad and returning with a young daughter and husband, she has been involved locally with the Santa Barbara County Partners in Education, the Carpinteria Art Center, Girls Rock, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, and California School of the Arts-SGV. Anna is passionate about improving the lives and opportunities for our youth, always with compassion. Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and French from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Business Administration from BI Norwegian School of Management.

Peter Melnick, Officer

Peter is an author and composer who has contributed scores to over three dozen films, television shows, theatre productions, and documentaries. His scoring credits include the Steve Martin comedy L.A. Story, The Only Thrill with Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard, and Horton Foote's Convicts with Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones, to name a few. Melnick attended Harvard College, Berklee College of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He also studied privately with jazz pianist Jaki Byard.

Alyssa Sibley, Officer

Alyssa is a gifted technology consultant, currently for Gartner, and based out of Sacramento, CA. A native to Aurora, IL, she graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in Economics, where she was part of a collegiate a cappella group and took on executive board roles such as Social Chair, Public Relations Chair, Treasurer, and Outreach Coordinator. She also volunteered through Jumpstart, an organization committed to closing the education gap between children of different socioeconomic statuses, for which she took on the role as Vice President of the USC chapter’s club. For 3 years she worked for a boutique firm in the media & entertainment space, evaluating and optimizing processes, conducting artificial intelligence/machine learning research, and implementing and training employees on technology for large entertainment studios both in the Los Angeles area and across the globe. Alyssa has an extensive background in child care and development and strongly believes that children are the future. She is passionate about fostering an environment that allows them to thrive and become the generation that changes the world through love and compassion.

Gabriela Dodson, Officer

Gabriela is a dynamic social work professional who provides leadership, vision, and creativity to the nonprofit arena. She is accomplished in project planning and execution, from concept through production, with strong troubleshooting and problem-resolution skills as backed by her experience as Holistic Defense Program Manager for Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara and Director of Clinical Services for Hospice of Santa Barbara, to name a few. Gabriela holds a master's degree in Social Work from USC. Related nonprofit involvement includes acting as an American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Volunteer and Member Chair for the Latino Elder Outreach Network.

John Lucchetti, Treasurer

John is the CEO of Green Room Strategy, a Santa Barbara-based Artist Management Consulting and Music Marketing firm. Clients include Alan Parsons, Philip Lassiter (11x Grammy Winning Arranger), Brad Byrd, and ERLAND. As a music-obsessed connector and strategist, John's mission is to help artists build and grow self sustaining enterprises. He was previously VP of Client Partnerships at Oniracom and has had the pleasure of working with clients such as Warner Music Group, The Santa Barbara Bowl, AEG, Jack Johnson, The Lobero Theater, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Bishop Lamont, Marquee Brands, and more. John studied jazz guitar at The University of North Texas and University of Utah, studied Ethnomusicology in Ghana, and has optimized his life around experiencing as much great live music as possible. John has been married to his wife, Nancy, for 18 years and has two vibrant children. He currently serves his community as President of the Rotary Club of Montecito Foundation and is the immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Montecito.

Suzanne Thorpe, Officer

Suzanne is a composer, performer, researcher, and educator. She creates compositions with a variety of media and technology and performs primarily with flute and electronics. Suzanne's career as a professional recording artist was initiated as a founding member of the critically acclaimed band Mercury Rev, with whom she toured and produced a number of recordings for labels such as Sony. In addition, as an electro-acoustic improvisor she continues to perform with an inspiring array of musicians internationally. Her research expands her sound installation performances into an interdisciplinary method that combines creative practice with feminist and ecological theory to focus on performances that emphasize principles of inclusion, relational knowledge, and coalition building. Suzanne holds an MFA in Electronic Music & Media from Mills College and a Ph.D. in Integrative Studies from the UC San Diego. She is currently a Mellon Teaching Fellow/Lecturer in Music at Columbia University and co-founder (along with Bonnie Jones) of TECHNE, a music-education nonprofit dedicated to dismantling gender barriers and supporting bountiful practices in creative technology fields.

Jessi Tichenor, Officer

Jessi is an Artist Manager at Red Light Management, where her current roster includes Rayland Baxter, Zella Day, BONES UK, HOKO and Ryan Hahn. A passionate advocate for her artists, she and her team strive to inform, educate, and guide her clients through their creative journeys, ensuring that their greatest opportunities are met with incredibly effective results. Tichenor came to Red Light in 2016 from Madhouse Management, the boutique artist and production management company she founded in 2012; she also owned MH Media from 2014-2016, reinforcing her commitment to developing artists with a well-rounded eye on communication and branding. She has served as a volunteer for Buena Vista Schools and Renewal House (Nashville, TN) — an addiction treatment and recovery program for women and children — and was instrumental in the launch of One Love Generation Atlanta, non-profit organization that was dedicated to empowering youth to inspire positive social change through art, service and awareness. She attended Ohio University, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Tess Greenham, Officer

Tess is a mastering engineer from San Francisco, now based in Los Angeles. She's worked alongside her father and mentor (John Greenham) at Clearlight Mastering since 2019, assisting him on various projects as well as learning his tips, tricks, and techniques, focusing mainly on the analog side of the mastering process. Tess has assisted him on many projects from artists like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bo Burnham, Finneas, Tinashe, Sigrid, Gracie Abrams, Girl In Red, Rebecca Black, Sasami, K. Flay, Nessa Barrett, Cautious Clay, Donna Missal... She's been busy mastering projects on her own as well, working with up-and-coming artists like Trousdale, McCall, Denny, Harry Hudson, RF Shannon, Virg, Charlie Oriain, Tilly Valentine, Harve, Chloe George, Reath, Geraldo, Mei, Jack Demeo, and more. Tess is currently working on a community-based initiative to support women and non-binary folks in the music industry to share their art with other women and non-binary folks, and connect with engineers who can help them along their journey. Tess (and dad/John) has volunteered with us for several years, which is even more meaningful considering she's one of a very small group of women working professionally as a mastering engineer in the world today, especially at her level.