People at Namba

Meet Namba’s Staff and Board

Staff

Lorenzo Destefano

Executive Director

Lorenzo DeStefano is a Ventura-based writer/director/producer for Film, Theater, and the Performing Arts.

“I’m very pleased to be joining this dynamic arts organization and look forward to expanding the Music, Theatre, Film, Educational & Community collaborations that will continue to deepen and enrich NAMBA’s profile as a key cultural resource on the Central Coast.”

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Board

Tamara Varney

President

Tamara served as Secretary to Namba BoD for one year before being elected to Chair the Board. She is a local independent stylist, as well as a solar energy specialist/sustainability advocate. Her art is music, both writing and performing.

Shannon Dalton

Secretary

Shannon served on Namba’s BoD for just shy of a year before being elected Secretary. She is presently an undergraduate program coordinator at UCSB. She has been involved in the local performing arts scene, including technical stage crew, dance and acting for close to 20 years.

Juliana Ramirez

Treasurer

Juliana owns her own accounting business and has been a bookkeeper for over 20 years. She is also Chair of Finance at Ventura Echelon, Founding Member, Treasurer and Chair of Events at Latina Professional Alliance of SB, and volunteers at Score SB and Women Economic Ventures.

Janine Ames

Member

An original founding member and served as Namba’s President for most of 2019. She is a local businesswoman in Ojai.

Laura Kay Swanson

Member

Laura Kay Swanson is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, a non-profit music education organization that serves over 120 student musicians in the greater Los Angeles area each year. An experienced producer and arts administrator, she earned her MFA in Music and Theater from the California Institute of the Arts in 2011. She is also a professional opera singer and has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Carnegie Hall and REDCAT, as well as touring with the New York City Opera National Company.

Former Presidents

Pamela Pilkenton, Cathy Jean Butter and Janine Ames

Former Secretaries

Pamela Oster, Suzanne Corridan Willerth and Tamara Varney

Former Treasurer

Dawn Golden