Board of Directors
Elizabeth is eager to jump back in to working working on the Board and continuing to build a stronger community base. More to come...
Lou recently moved back to Albuquerque after working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles for the past 25 years. He spent his formative years performing here in Albuquerque with A.C.L.O.A. and is absolutely thrilled to be back as the vice president of the board to what is now MTS. For most of his time in LA, Lou was a professional dancer on stage, TV and in film; but he also worked in television production and is currently a casting producer- managing the casting departments for such shows as Project Runway, The Circle, and Sexy Beasts. In 2019, his work as assistant choreographer and principal dancer on Crazy Ex Girlfriend earned an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography.
Some favorite credits over the years include:
TV- Jack and Jill, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Veep, Raising Hope, Wet Hot American Summer; First Day of Camp, Jane the Virgin.
FILM: Wyatt Earp, The Muppets, La La Land
Lilia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and maintains a license as a Certified Public Accountant in both New Mexico and Nevada. She's spent over 25 years conducting and leading financial investigations in both the federal and state government sectors and is now retired. Lilia now invests her time in various volunteer activities and is thrilled to lend her skillset to MTS where she assists with the financial and other aspects of the organization. Lilia feels especially blessed that she was able to develop her love of musicals as a youth when she saw many classics at the Ahmanson and the (now extinct) Schubert Theatres in Los Angeles, complements of the high school she attended. She continued throughout her life to support the theatre as an audience member and learned about MTS due to her new love of tap dancing where she attended a performance by the Alley Kats Tap Company. Lilia spends some of her spare time taking tap classes, yoga and hiking with her husband, Guy.
Hope has been involved with community theatre for 8 years volunteering with front of house duties. Hope joined the MTS board of directors 1.5 years ago and has enjoyed continuing to make this theatre organization great. Hope is not a performer but brings with her patron and volunteer perspectives. Hope works full time as a process engineer for Intel and is thankful that her employer supports MTS through Hope's volunteer hours. Hope is excited to engage more as the board secretary and looks forward to a great year with her theatre family.
Jordon Embree studied at The Southwest University of Visual Arts, majoring in interior architecture and design with a minor in advertising and marketing. He gained years of experience in residential design as the head In-House Designer at a local custom home builder. He also gained further knowledge of graphic design and production as the production manager at a large format print shop. He has loved theatre since childhood and has found many creative outlets through volunteering with MTS over the years. Now, his focus is on improving and streamlining the processes we use in our theatre.
Jenni is a New Mexico native and has always had a passion for music and the arts. She has done multiple shows with MTS as well as served on multiple committees. She had the pleasure of being the Assistant Music Director this past year with MTS’s production of Bonnie and Clyde. She works with APS as a 3rd grade teacher. She also directs the Jammin’ Jaguars Children’s Chorus for the upper elementary grades at her school. She studied Music Education while at the University of New Mexico and worked with the UNM Children’s Chorus where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She also has Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Grand Canyon University. She is so excited to be a part of this incredible organization in which she calls her home.
Danny loves service and has a strong passion for community building and volunteering. With a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Colorado State University, he has since focused his efforts towards the service of others, working as a firefighter in Los Alamos. While there, he developed a community involvement team that used off-duty firemen to assist senior citizens who lived alone. At his former church he coordinated a program that gave homeless families temporary housing, while assisting them in finding a permanent home and employment. He also has spent thousands of hours volunteering in other programs for the homeless, the developmentally disabled community, animal rescues, and youth sports programs.
Though relatively new to the theater community, Danny has been on stage in several of our shows here at MTS, and looks forward to helping our theater grow from behind the scenes as a director on the board. He is thankful for the support of his lovely wife of 22 years, Angi, and their three amazing children.
Raul was born in El Paso, Tx but has lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 2010. He graduated from Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX and attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM where he majored with a bachelor’s in Business Administration in 2013. He is nearing completion of his Master’s in Business Administration from Western Governors University and wants to help Musical Theater Southwest expand and further their success. Currently, Raul is a program manager for the government bringing experience and professionalism. His admiration and dedication to music comes from having sung in high school in the All-Men’s Choir as a bass and his wife, Ashli Saenz, who is a professional opera singer. He is excited to be a part of MTS as the Amigos Committee Chair.
John Shelton is a local actor, singer and community servant. John is a native Buqueno, and began his relationship with MTS, in ACLOA’s 1977 production of Oliver, as
liver. John has been performing on and off for more than four decades. Some of John’s artistic highlights include a guest appearance on Grizzly Adams and singing with Barry Manilow and the rock band Foreigner. John is also a member of the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus and serves as Music Director at Metropolitan Community church. John is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and has spent the last 10 years of a 30-year career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Canter, in Los Angeles California as manager for government programs and collections, before retiring and returning to New Mexico in 2010.
liver. John has been performing on and off for more than four decades. Some of John’s artistic highlights include a guest appearance on Grizzly Adams and singing with Barry Manilow and the rock band Foreigner. John is also a member of the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus and serves as Music Director at Metropolitan Community church. John is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and has spent the last 10 years of a 30-year career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Canter, in Los Angeles California as manager for government programs and collections, before retiring and returning to New Mexico in 2010.
Marius left his native Germany and moved to the Land of Enchantment in 2002 to work for a local manufacturing company. After close to 20 years he found himself looking for a new challenge and he joined an Accounting firm where he does Business Development for New Mexico and West Texas. He fell in love with Musical Theater Southwest during the performance of All Is Calm, and he has been a frequent visitor since. Not a performer himself, he was nevertheless looking for a way to get involved and to volunteer for the organization, and he joined the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee of MTS in early 2022.
