Executive Board
AIMEE STEWART
President
AIMEE STEWART is the Founder and Artistic Director of Chandler Children’s Choir in Arizona. Since founding CCC in 2008, she has grown the organization from 27 singers into a respected choral program with five performing ensembles and a new branch in San Tan Valley. Under her direction, CCC’s top ensembles performed at WACDA conferences in 2020 and 2024.
CARI EARNHART
President-Elect
DR. CARI EARNHART serves as Director of Choral Activities and Chair of the School of Music at California State University, Fresno, where she conducts the university’s premier choral ensembles and teaches graduate conducting. Under her leadership, the Fresno State Choral program has earned recognition, including performances at the California All- State Music Educators Conference and the Library of Congress, and in 2024, Dr. Earnhart made her Carnegie Hall conducting debut with National Concerts.
JULIE REYES DANA
Past President
JULIE REYES DANA is a visiting lecturer at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. She is professor emeritus from Fresno City College, where she taught for 23 years as Director of Voice and Choral Music. Her 42-year career as a choral educator at the high school and collegiate levels has earned her honors from local, state, and regional organizations.
DAVID SONNICHSEN
Treasurer
DAVID SONNICHSEN grew up in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota and graduated from University of Minnesota, Duluth with a Bachelor of Music Education in June of 1999 with dual certification for teaching both choir and band. After graduation he taught choir and band in Minnesota for four years. He completed the Master of Music (Choral Conducting) program at The Ohio State University (OSU) in 2005 and moved to Las Vegas to fill the Director of Choirs position at Valley High School. David teaches choir and music technology, which is a class that introduces students to sound systems, live audio mixing and digital audio recording. He continues to love working with all the choir, music tech and theater students at Valley helping them to explore and find their voices. During summers, David enjoys camping and visiting the National Parks with his wife, Deborah and their 2 dogs Oats & Molly.
JENNIFER LOWRY
Recording Secretary
JENNIFER LOWRY is in her 17th year as the choir director at Del Webb Middle School located in Henderson, NV and her 20th year teaching middle school choir. Mrs. Lowry was co-chair of the Nevada Middle School All-State Choir from 2016-2019 and was the Western Region ACDA Middle School Honor Choir Manager in 2020 & 2022. She is excited to be the Western Region ACDA Secretary.
NICKY MANLOVE
Marketing Coordinator
NICKY MANLOVE (they/them pronouns) is the Director of Community Engagement at the Tucson Girls Chorus, where they conduct the Jubilate Choir (grades 8-12) and Las Estrellas Choir at Prince Elementary (grades 2-5), and accompany the Bumblebee Singers (grades K-1) and Mariposa Singers (grades 6-8). In addition to conducting TGC ensembles, Nicky is a key leader of TGC’s Music Educator Support program, visiting classrooms and choral rehearsals at all levels throughout the year to provide free clinics and workshops.
Nicky holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts with an emphasis in Music from Seattle University, and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona.NICKY
CHRISTOPHER SERRANO
Membership Chair
CHRISTOPHER SERRANO is a music educator and choral conductor based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. He serves as Membership Chair for the Western Region of the American Choral Directors Association and as President and Elementary Festival Chair for Hawaiʻi ACDA. At Ala Wai Elementary School, he teaches general music from pre-K through grade five and directs the Menehune Singers, which he founded in 2024. Christopher holds a B.A. in General Music from Jacksonville State University, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in K–12 Music Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a Kaʻohekani Hawaiian Music Certificate from Windward Community College. He also holds certifications in Kodály and Orff-Schulwerk approaches to music education. Drawing on experience in classrooms, and church and community ensembles, Christopher brings a commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy, creative exploration, elemental music-making, and inclusive, community-centered choral opportunities to his work throughout Hawaiʻi and the Western Region.
RYAN HOLDER
Conference Chair
DR. RYAN W. HOLDER serves as Associate Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University, where he directs Vox Astra and the High Altitude vocal jazz ensemble, teaches conducting and choral methods, and coordinates the annual Jazz Madrigal Festival, drawing 120+ high schools and 165 choirs. He also directs music at The Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona, leading its Chancel and Handbell Choirs, and founded the Sedona Academy of Chamber Singers.
YU-FENG HUANG
DEI Chair
DR. YU-FENG HUANG is a Taiwanese choral conductor, educator, and arts organizer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He holds a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from the University of Utah and an M.M. from National Taiwan Normal University.
With more than fifteen years of conducting and teaching experience, Huang’s work centers on connecting cultures and communities through choral music, with particular emphasis on Asian and Chinese-language repertoire. His doctoral research developed guidelines for Mandarin pronunciation and musical interpretation for non-Chinese-speaking choirs.
Huang is the founder and artistic director of Luna Chorus, a treble ensemble dedicated to Asian repertoire, women composers, and cross-cultural exchange, and the founder of Note Is Publishing, which promotes Chinese-language choral music in the United States. He currently serves as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair for the ACDA Western Region.