Skip to main content

Who's Who - Board of Directors

About the Board

The Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, as a 501c3 non-profit, public benefit corporation, is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, who are elected to serve three year terms. The Board is comprised primarily of current and past choir parents, along with alumni and other interested parties from the community.  Members are selected for their interest in and enthusiasm for the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir and the many skills and perspectives they bring as community members and as active professionals in various fields.

The Board as a whole meets monthly, with various committees meeting as needed during the choir year (August through July). Anyone interested in finding out more about becoming a Board member, or interested in working on a Board committee as a non-Board member, is invited to contact the Board president.  Contact

Dominic Savant

Dominic Savant (President) is starting his third year on the Board. His daughter Elsa is a Freshman at Bishop O'Dowd High School and is starting her 8th year in the Choir. Elsa experienced her first international tour to Denmark and Sweden this past Summer. Dominic and his wife Deanna (Deedee) are both natives of the Bay Area. They also have a son, Nathan, who is in the 7th grade.

Annette Clear

Annette Clear (Vice President) joined the Board in 2010.  She has worked as a program officer with the United States-Japan Foundation and The Asia Foundation, based in their Japan, Indonesia and Cambodia offices. She has served as a board member for Nihonmachi Little Friends, a bilingual preschool in San Francisco’s Japantown.  She currently serves on the board of the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee, and coaches her daughter's soccer team.  In her spare time, Annette is trying to complete her book manuscript on democracy and donors in Indonesia.  She lives in Piedmont with her husband Michael Begert, and three young children Aya, Keita and Mika, all PEBCC choristers.

Jukka Valkonen

Jukka Valkonen (Vice President) returns to the board for his third year of membership this year. His daughter Annika sings in Girls Advanced. Jukka is a registered nurse with a clinical background in critical care and public health nursing. For over 20 years, he has been in various leadership positions in health care as well as a visionary entrepreneur. He's been an executive for Kaiser Permanente since 2006. Complementing his clinical and business backgrounds, he is an accomplished musician, having played professionally while attending Piedmont High School during which time he received many awards and merits, including a CHIME award. As a tenor saxophonist, he has supported entertainers like Tony Bennett and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Jukka also serves on the Piedmont Park Commission and the Board of Directors for the Alameda County Dental Society Foundation.

Cynthia Hsu

Cynthia Hsu (Treasurer) is returning for her fourth year on the Board. As an accountant crunching numbers for the University of California Office of the President in Oakland, her favorite pastime is crunching more numbers playing Sudoku while listening to CDs from Piedmont Choir concerts.  Her only daughter Apryl has sung in the Choir since Kindergarten and now sings in Ensemble.

Elizabeth Love

Liz Love (Secretary) is returning to the board for her third year of membership.  After singing with the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir for 10 years, Liz earned a B.S. from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Education from Lesley University.  She is currently in her fourth year of teaching middle school English, History, and Art at McKinley Institute of Technology in Redwood City.  In her school district, she serves on the Visual and Performing Arts Committee, which strives to bring a more integrated and engaging arts education to its students.  Liz is excited to return to the choir as a board member and hopes to enhance the link between the choir and its alums.

Francis Combes

Francis Combes and his wife Genni have two children in the Choir: their daughter Chloë sings with Ensemble, and their son Sébastien is in Boys Training. He and his family live in Piedmont.  Francis holds a B.S. from the Haas School of Business at U.C.  Berkeley and has lived in the Bay Area for the past 20 years.  He is an Interior Designer with a focus on Lighting and Efficiency as well as an Architectural Photographer.  Francis enjoys playing the soprano saxophone with his daughter.  He loves to listen to a large variety of music ranging from modern jazz to early music.

Richard Heaps

Richard Heaps is President and Chief Operating Office of FohBoh, Inc., a startup company based in San Jose and the leading social/business network serving the foodservice industry.  Richard has over 25 years of leadership experience in all facets of high tech including strategy, planning, sales, marketing, finance, operations legal and professional services.  He holds both a JD and MBA from Stanford University and a BA Magna Cum Laude in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University.  Mr. Heaps has served as a board member of the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, and the Alameda Education Foundation.  He is also a former President of the Alameda PTA Council and the Franklin School PTA and recently a governing board member of the Alameda Community Learning Center.  He is also a member of the board of Girls’ Inc. of the Island City in Alameda and a member of the State Bar of California.  His daughter, Maddie, is starting her 7th year with PEBCC and is a member of Ensemble and Ancora.

Jean Jarvis

Jean Jarvis has been a Piedmont Choirs parent for the past 8 years, a group parent for 7 years, and is completing her first term as a Piedmont Choirs Board member this year. Jean’s background is in retail purchasing, international product development and freelance editorial photography. Jean has served as a Piedmont Parent Club President and continues to serve on the Piedmont High School Parent board.  She continues to work with many community-based organizations. Jean and her husband, Eric live in Piedmont with their daughter Rebecca and are avid travelers who appreciate the opportunity for international travel and cultural exchange that the choir has provided their daughter.

Alene Kemper

Alene Kemper is the mother of two Choir alums, Stephan and Jillian, and of current Ensemble member Nate. She and her husband Bill recently moved back from Australia to their home in the Lafayette/Orinda area. Alene is a professionally-trained flute player, and has taught music in the Piedmont schools.

Mike Lee

Mike Lee is in his first year as a member of the board.  He is a VP of Global Operations at Levi Strauss and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.  He has worked as a management consultant and held various leadership positions in the retail industry.  Mike is the father of Olivia, who sings with Ensemble. Olivia and her brother Connor attend Black Pine Circle school in Berkeley, where his wife Randi serves as a Director. Mike and Randi have been strong supporters of the PEBCC program since Olivia joined the Training Department in 2004. The Lee's live in Oakland.

Christine Rennels

Christine Rennels joined the Board in 2010.  She and her husband, Michael, have three daughters.  Their youngest, Megan, sings in Concert Choir.  Christine worked in the actuarial field after graduating from Cal Poy San Luis Obispo with a degree in Mathematics.  She is a past member of the East Bay Agency for Children Auxiliary, where she served as President and Membership Chair.  She also co-chaired the Auxiliary's annual fund raising event.

Go to:

Who's Who-Faculty
Who's Who-Staff

Choral Program
Artistic Achievements
Tours & Festivals
Expenses & Scholarships
Photos & Blogs