a strong community.

Our Board

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jennifer Northam, President — Jennifer Northam has been a fan of the Festival since its inception. Originally from the suburbs of Seattle, Jennifer came to Walla Walla as a Whitman student in 1987 and never left. Through her work with the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation and now with the Whitman College Alumni Office, she takes every opportunity to promote the brilliant musicians and intimate performances of the Festival. She is married to Jeff, Whitman’s tennis coach, and they have two children.

Albert Marshall, Vice President — Albert’s first experience of chamber music was as a freshman in college, where he heard the Julliard perform Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4 and found himself entranced by witnessing the live performance and on the edge of his seat during the fourth movement pizzicato. He was hooked! Albert has been an advocate for the WWCMF since its inaugural concert and is pleased to say he has rarely missed Festival performances. Albert recently retired from his position in investor relations and as a corporate secretary for Banner Bank. He is a long-term and current board member and treasurer of the Walla Walla Symphony as well as chair of the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation Design Committee. His musical training included the piano and violin, but he has many more performance credits as a chorister. In Walla Walla since 1978, he resides in a century-old home with husband, Robert Warren.

Vicky McClellan, Secretary — Vicky moved to Walla Walla in 1988 to co-found our valley's fifth winery with her husband. The following 28 years flew by as they raised three daughters, developed the vineyard, grew the winery and built the Walla Walla Valley AVA in camaraderie with fellow growers, winemakers and all lovers of food and wine. Now happily retired with the winery sold, Vicky devotes her time to family, gardening, community and at last music!

BOARD MEMBERS

Ryan Barnes — Ryan is the director of creative services at Whitman College. He is a strategic marketing and communications leader with nearly 20 years of experience building brands, messaging, and the creative process. He served as a board member to Simple Measures, the Washington State Bar Association's Disciplinary Board, and the Seattle Opera's BRAVO! Club and others. He was previously the assistant director for design & brand marketing at Seattle University School of Law. He has earned his BFA in Digital Design and MFA in Arts Leadership.

Elizabeth Carr — Elizabeth is a Librarian by trade, and a lover of the arts in practice. The Festival has created community, appreciation of classical music, musicians and an intangible joy in live performance. She hopes to encourage all ages to come and experience WWCMF and see how the Festival artists take a musical line for a walk.

Jennifer Clapp — Jennifer graduated from Texas Christian University with a BFA degree and spent the next 20 years living and traveling in France, Washington, DC, Chicago, Chile, and Seattle. She has worked as a graphic designer, taught English in Chile, and became a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. A job with Pepper Bridge Winery in Woodinville led her to her present job in Walla Walla. Jennifer convinced her parents that she was staying in Walla Walla for the long haul, so they followed her out from their home in Oklahoma and now attend all of the Chamber Music Festival concerts with her. The best part of being on the board is making her dad proud that even though she was herself a very poor music student, all those years of music education finally paid off!

Karen Hedine — Bio coming soon.

Fiona Mak — Fiona grew up in Hong Kong and studied Hotel Management at Syracuse University. After a few years of managing restaurants such as Morimoto and Quality Meats NYC, she moved to Walla Walla to pursue a winemaking career. She is now starting her winery — SMAK wines — which focuses solely on Rosé.

Pamela Mittelstadt — Pamela moved to Walla Walla in 2014 after meeting her husband, Karl Eckhardt. She was so excited to experience the Chamber Music Festival! She’s happy to support making the arts available for the community and provide the community an opportunity for gathering.

George-Anne Robertson — Bio coming soon.

Judith Shulman — Judith Shulman moved to the Pacific Northwest from Chicago, after graduating from Yale Law School. She worked in Seattle as a business and real estate attorney and became a partner in the Davis Wright law firm. While raising her two children, she founded a nationwide real estate business for government, railroad, and utility projects, which she sold in 2007. With children grown, she and her husband relocated to Walla Walla, drawn by the wine and arts communities, the beauty and the lifestyle. Since then, Judith worked on the Power House Theatre, Shakespeare Walla Walla, and provided early and continuing support to the Chamber Music Festival. She is an owner and business manager of DAMA Wines (woman-owned and managed since 2007). She has continued her law career — starting a winery practice in Walla Walla for a Seattle firm, acting as attorney for Abeja Winery and as family counsel to its founder. Today, she is best known in Walla Walla as Mara’s Mom, after her daughter unexpectedly moved from Seattle and founded her own personal training and corrective exercise business.

Timothy Christie, ex officio — View bio.