CET Board

An 11- to 16-member board of directors oversees the CET program, focusing primarily on policy decisions, budget, communications and long-range planning. It’s a working board, and its members serve as volunteers in all aspects of the year-round and summer program. Board meetings take place the 2nd Tuesday of each month. 

Are you ready to be a part of our working board?
Anyone with initiative and enthusiasm is encouraged to apply! We are especially looking for people with:
– knowledge in law or grant writing,
– passion for kids and theatre, or
– time to give during the day or during the summer,
but are open to anyone with the time and energy to put in some hard work. 
Apply here! 

2023-2024 Board Members

Elizabeth Schaefer, Chair

Elizabeth Schaefer has served on the CET Board since 2021. She has lived in Salem for the past 17 years with her husband, three daughters, four cats, and one dog. CET has become a summer tradition in the Schaefer household, with her youngest daughter ecstatic to finally be old enough to participate this upcoming season. Her oldest two have loved attending CET – making new friends and growing in confidence through the years. Elizabeth has been a teacher for 25 years, and currently teaches 6th grade. She loves road trips and playing board games with her family. When she has spare time, she enjoys reading, puzzles, and watching movies.

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Kristi May, Secretary

Kristi May (she/her) joined the CET board in 2021. She is a native Salemite, and while she never participated in CET, she was fortunate to have CET’s founder, Phyllis Quanbeck, as a teacher at South Salem High School. Kristi has served on PTA, music department and choir boards in Salem-Keizer since 2007. She has worked in admissions at OSU and most recently in Human Resources for a local fruit processing company. Kristi enjoys cooking, practicing yoga, reading, traveling, and watching Beaver baseball. She lives in Salem with her husband and their CET & theater obsessed daughter, and their beloved dog. Her son is a current student at OSU. Kristi is so happy to support music & fine arts education and has found CET to be a place of acceptance, education & creativity for all participants.

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Cheri Lentz 

Cheri Lentz moved to Salem in 2011 and began volunteering for the Pentacle Theatre in 2013 working as a production assistant, a costume assistant, stage manager, and a hospitality volunteer. She has two children who both attended CET. She joined the CET Board after spending seven years as a parent volunteer, two of which she served at the Costume Committee Chair. She lived in Mexico City for 13 years where she taught elementary school and currently she teaches Spanish at Sprague High school. Every summer Cheri looks forward to another creative and exciting season of CET and is excited about her new role.
 

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Jana Avison

Jana Avison is a Salem native and was a CET kid herself in the 80s. She spent eleven years working for the Salem Keizer School District as a middle school English teacher and a district project coordinator. Now a stay at home mom, Jana  lives with her husband and two kids in South Salem. Her favorite ways to fill her days are with reading, walking her Goldendoodle and cheering on her kids at Blanchet games. She loves CET and watching the way a variety of kids thrive with the opportunities to be themselves and explore different interests. 

 

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Jed Kercher

Jed Kercher has been in Salem for 26 years. A graduate of Western Oregon University and currently is acproject manager for K&E Excavating. He has two children that have both been involved with CET for over 10 years now. He is married to Jennifer Kercher who has been teaching music in the Salem area for 20 years. Jed has been involved with multiple productions at Pentacle Theatre over the last 10 years. In his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle and camping. This is Jed’s third year as a member of the CET board.

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Steve Nass

Steve was born and raised in South Salem and graduated from Willamette University where he played football for the Bearcats. He has served on numerous non-profit boards and various other volunteer committees. Steve began his professional career with a small, local community bank as a commercial loan officer and after 12 years, made the switch to non-profit administration. He has spent the last 10 years with Catholic Community Services, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer. Steve lives in South Salem with his wife and two daughters, enjoys golfing, skiing, camping, traveling and kitchen/bbq exploration. After five years of watching his oldest daughter fall in love with CET, he made the leap to do more for the theater community and joined the CET board in 2023.

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Dani Potter 

Dani (she/her) has been with CET since 2003. First as a student, then TA, teacher and now serves as the Technical Director and Board member. Outside of CET, Dani serves as the Director of Student Leadership for Oregon Thespians, a member of the Board for Pentacle Theatre and has been the Theatre teacher at McMinnville High School since 2017. Dani enjoys reading/listening to autobiographies, hanging out with her tiny dog Cooper and playing Pinochle.

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Leon Widdall

Leon moved with his family to Salem from Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2010. He is originally from London, England and immigrated to the US in 2006 for career purposes. His career has been in product development and business consulting in the automotive and healthcare industries. He has served on another local nonprofit board in various capacities and is currently a stay at home dad of three boys all of whom are students at CET. He enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. As a new board member, Leon is looking forward to contributing to the community that has been so welcoming to his family each summer!

Jill Sorensen, Treasurer

Bio coming soon!

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McKenzie Upkes, Past Chair

McKenzie Upkes joined the CET Board in 2019. She is a full-time parent and a bookkeeper on the side. McKenzie has worked with other non-profit organizations in Salem, including three years working with Salem Youth Symphony and seven years as the Treasurer of Salem Classical Fencing. She has two children who will both be participating in CET in 2020. She is excited for the opportunity to contribute to an amazing organization that provides a unique environment for children to learn and grow through the Performing Arts.

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Ashley Duenas, Chair Elect 

Ashley Dueñas joined the board in the fall of 2022. While growing up, she experienced the performing arts as a ballet and tap dancer, and later minored in dance in college. She has volunteered with non-profit summer camps serving children impacted by HIV/AIDS and has years of experience in early childhood education, leading to her Master of Arts in Teaching. She has dedicated the past decade of her life to raising her own children and volunteering in their schools. During her time spent at CET through her son’s participation, Ashley has loved observing students’ enthusiasm, inclusivity, creativity, and overall positive energy as they walk the halls and engage in their classes. In her free time, Ashley enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and three children, traveling, camping, paddle boarding and skiing.

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Kent Wilson

Kent is in his 8th year of teaching, currently teaching middle school choir In the Beaverton School District. He’s taught at CET for 6 seasons, and joined the board in 2020. CET has been an exciting addition to his life, and he couldn’t be happier working to help this program continue to shine! When not teaching (during the day or at CET), he can be seen working on productions with community theaters, singing with the Willamette Master Chorus, or finding new recipes to try from Tik Tok and Instagram.
 

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Ashley Casebeer

Ashley was thrilled to join the CET board in the fall of 2023 following her son’s successful first year in the program.  Her daughter will join the fun in 2024!  Ashley’s mother-in-law was among the pioneering staff members who laid the foundation for CET in Salem 50 years ago.  Originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, Ashley has called Salem home for the past 15 years.  She was the proud owner of a small business in downtown Salem for almost a decade and has a passion for fostering a vibrant community, particularly within the arts scene. Beyond her involvement in CET, Ashley dedicates her time to raising her three children, volunteering at their schools and serving on multiple other boards and non-profits including Young Life and Saint Francis Family Shelter. 
 

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Dana Lyons

Dana Lyons moved to Salem in 2020. She’s originally from New Jersey. She’s super excited to serve on the CET board to help serve and support the community as well as to give back and say thank you to CET for being such a positive experience for her daughter the last few years.
Dana spends most of her days either on the football field, basketball court, or in a theater cheering for her kids. She’s the Founder of Broken But Not Alone, a ministry that helps women grow in faith and self-confidence.

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Kate Snow

Kate Snow joined the board in the fall of 2023. Kate’s been connected to the program since the 1980’s, when she was a CET student of Tom Hewitt and Tom Ulmer, under the direction of Phyllis Quanbeck “Q”. CET played a positive, formative role in her life, and she is grateful it continues to thrive, as her kids are current CET students who love the program as much as she does. Kate received a BA from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, and an MBA from the University of Oregon, she owns a landscaping business with her husband that operates out of Eugene, and practices as a CPA in Salem. Kate is happy to support theater, art, music and dance in our community, and appreciates CET’s dedication to enriching and inspiring life-long creativity and appreciation for the arts.

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Claire Snyder

Claire is a lifelong resident of Salem, Oregon, and has been active in local theater, both onstage and off for over 15 years. Additionally, she brings with her experience as a costumer, teacher and mom of two at CET. Outside of theater work, Claire is an instructional assistant at a local charter school, and works to provide freelance IDEA  training (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) in the Salem-Keizer area. She is looking forward to this opportunity to serve in a new way locally, and give back a small portion of the meaningful experience that CET provides for her children and local artists.