• Nov 29, 2022

LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD MEMBERS

(Los Angeles, CA) November 29, 2022 – The Los Angeles Master Chorale announced today the appointment of five new members to its board of directors: Miles Benickes, Ann Graham Ehringer, Lorna Fitzgerald, Emory Ron Myrick, and Lisa Richardson.

The board, chaired by Philip A. Swan, provides leadership in carrying out the Master Chorale’s mission to share the spectrum of choral music with the widest possible audience. “We are excited to welcome these distinguished individuals to the Master Chorale’s dedicated board of directors,” said Swan. “Their wealth of experience and commitment to the arts will be invaluable to the entire organization.”

Miles Benickes retired from the financial services industry in April 2019 after a 43-year career managing the trading and underwriting of municipal bonds. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Bond Dealers Association of America. Miles and his wife Joni have been active supporters of Center Theatre Group since 1994. They were the Founders and Co-Chairs of CTG’s Artists and Educators Forum, a support group dedicated to encouraging new works and engaging new audiences. They are major supporters of CTG’s annual Block Party which brings the work of smaller intimate theaters in Los Angeles to a broader audience at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. Miles has been a member of CTG’s Board of Directors since 2013, and currently serves as a Vice President and on the Finance, Audit and Executive Committees. Miles is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of The Fountain Theatre, one of the leading intimate theaters in Los Angeles, and has been on the Board of Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) since 2017. He currently Co-Chairs BMP’s Development Committee, the Equity and Justice Committee, and the organization’s Strategic Planning Task Force.

Ann Graham Ehringer has served as an independent outside director on the boards of over forty companies across a wide range of private and public, and non-profit organizations, with revenues ranging from then under $1 million to over $1 billion. Her current active directorships include two private companies and two non-profit boards, including the Roski School of Art and Design of the University of Southern California. Her business experience includes 24 years as sole owner of the iconic restaurant, Saddle Peak Lodge, which in 2007 was awarded one of L.A.’s first Michelin Stars. She sold the popular restaurant in late 2016. Ann’s teaching experience includes five years as a Visiting Professor at the School of Business Studies, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland; following six years as full-time associate professor of entrepreneurship at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. She also then was Director of USC’s Family Business Program. Her education includes a Ph.D in management (University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business); MA in arts and education (Stanford University); BA in art history (University of Hawaii); and post-graduate diplomas in executive development/coaching (Hudson Institute); in owner/president management (Harvard Business School); and in real estate development. Ann also has been honored with a Doctor of Business degree from the Graziadio Graduate School of Business at Pepperdine University. She is also the author of Make Up Your Mind: Entrepreneurs Talk about Decision Making, 1995, Merritt Publishing, and numerous articles of entrepreneurial decision-making.

Lorna Fitzgerald joined the Capital Group in April 2005 after having held a number of leadership positions in the technology industry after a career in academia. She joined Capital Group as a VP in Capital Group’s North American Distribution team with oversight for building a Market Research & Insights function. Before Capital, she worked for Intel where she held positions in market research and marketing strategy management. Prior to Intel, Lorna held research, market communications and brand management posts at IBM, Toshiba, Xircom, and was on the undergraduate and graduate faculty in Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a doctorate from Princeton University and graduated with distinction as an Honorific Fellow with awards for academic achievement and excellence. Her thesis was on the topic of human information processing and attitude change. Her undergraduate degree is from Wellesley College. Her current passion is in developing a program of custom research and insights to address Capital Group’s enterprise products and other business questions. She also has keen interests in brand strategy in applying principles of attitude change and cognitive biases to business challenges. Lorna resides in southern California on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles, where she is involved in non-profit leadership efforts that benefit LA’s surrounding communities and beyond.

Emory Ron Myrick moved to Los Angeles with his family in the late ‘50s from Atlanta Ga. to be reunited with his father who moved the year before. Unfortunately, his parent’s marriage didn’t last and his mother decided to make a go of it as a single parent with three children, for which Ron could not be more grateful. Growing up in L.A. was quite a contrast from the south in the late ‘50s and ‘60s. Through some hard times, Ron’s mother made sure that her children were loved and well cared for. She was also an inspiration for Ron as he pursued his lifelong dream to become an artist. Ron graduated from Manual Arts High located in south central L.A. in 1969. He then spent a year in Los Angeles City College (LACC) before transferring to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, Ca. It was there that he started to blossom and came to life as an artist, and in 1973 he graduated with a BFA in life drawing. Shortly thereafter, unforeseen circumstances brought Ron back home to support his family during a minor crisis. During this time, he joined a training program at the animation studio Filmation, where he advanced from the lowest position in the studio to that of a junior animator in just three years. Ron retired in 2020 during the pandemic, but projects just kept coming. Ron is an active senior retiree with a lot of fire under the hood and gas in the tank. From the start, art and culture has been his passion. When he discovered the Master Chorale, he found a home with like-minded people crossing all ages, backgrounds, and cultures that he could instantly bond with. Ron is happy to join the board, and aid others to find the happiness and peace of many voices united together to bring joy to the world.

Lisa Richardson is the President and CEO of Rise Communications LLC., a values- driven media and marketing firm that designs campaigns for clients who drive cultural, civic, educational, and philanthropic change. Rise strategizes to accelerate clients’ business growth and develops narratives that influence transformative public policy in California and the nation. Before founding Rise, Lisa was the director of marketing and communications for Hueston Hennigan LLP, a leading boutique law firm headquartered in Los Angeles known for high-stakes, high-impact litigation. Developing media strategy for trials and high-profile matters of public import is a Rise specialty. Before joining Hueston Hennigan, Lisa was a long-time journalist at the Los Angeles Times. While there, she worked as a news reporter and feature writer before joining the Times editorial board, where she helped determine the newspaper’s position on state, local, national, and international issues. A Native of Boston, Lisa holds a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College, and studied Spanish literature, art, and politics at the universities of Granada and Salamanca. Against significant local pressure, she remains a Boston Celtics and New England Patriots fan.

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