Music Academy in Santa Barbara welcoming incoming board members, Honors Retiring Members in 2024

Incoming members Susan Lichtenstein, Tom Orlando, and Kelly Teich.

SANTA BARBARA – At the Music Academy of the West’s Annual Board Meeting in December 2023, three exceptional community leaders were elected to its Board of Directors: Montecito residents Susan Lichtenstein(retired, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Hill-Rom Holdings), Kelly Teich (President, The Warner Group Architects), and Santa Barbara resident Tom Orlando(industrial property manager, former manufacturing executive). It also honored the achievements of two retiring board members, Margaret Cafarelli and Tim Taylor.

The Music Academy also recognized two long-term members who retired from the board on December 31, 2023. Emeritus Board Chair Margaret Cafarelli, founder of Urban Developments in San Francisco, served over four terms spanning 13 years from 2009-2023 and as Chair from 2015-2017. Marge was also part of the Music Academy’s Finance and Buildings & Grounds committees and was instrumental in renovating and adding several of the buildings on the Music Academy campus. Tim Taylor, a mortgage banking executive and former Old Spanish Days El Presidente (2008), served three terms from 2015-2023 and participated in several Music Academy committees including Alumni, Buildings & Grounds, and Marketing. Maurice Singer shared, “I am immensely grateful for the remarkable leadership and support of Tim Taylor and Margaret Cafarelli throughout their years of service on the board. Their dedication to the Music Academy has propelled its mission forward by leaps and bounds.”

The full roster of the 2024 Board of Directors is available at the Music Academy’s website.

About the Incoming Board Members

SUSAN LICHTENSTEIN is a retired healthcare executive, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Hill-Rom Holdings, a global medical device manufacturer, where she was responsible for government, regulatory and legal affairs, corporate communications, and corporate support services. She previously had similar responsibilities as Chief Legal Officer for Baxter International Inc., a $12+ billion diversified life sciences company. She also had C-suite positions in the telecom industry, where she was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for both Ameritech Corporation and Tellabs, Inc. Susan was a director of Aviv REIT (NYSE: AVIV), and has twice served in government, working for the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois. She has managed and testified at Congressional hearings, dealt with cabinet-level officials and all levels of government agencies, legislatures, and the press, making strategic contributions in complex, multi-constituent settings. She began her career at Schiff Hardin & Waite, where she became an equity partner. Susan currently serves on the board of Girls, Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, and the board of RUSH University Medical Center. She previously served on the boards of the Civic Consulting Alliance of Chicago and WTTW, Chicago’s public television station. A former music student and an avid supporter of the arts, Susan was a director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, serving on the Executive, Audit, and Nominating and Governance committees, and a trustee of the Ravinia Festival. She and her husband, John Rokacz, are enthusiastic scholarship donors and patrons of the Music Academy and enjoy being Compeers to cello fellows. They have two children, David and Rebecca, and have made Montecito their permanent home since 2020. 

“The Music Academy is an extraordinary institution, one we are so fortunate to have here in Santa Barbara. I am honored to be a part of the exciting new chapter that is beginning with Shauna Quill’s leadership.”

Born in Burbank, THOMAS ORLANDO grew up in the San Fernando Valley and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at California State University, Northridge. Following a successful four-year stint as a sales associate with food and beverage wholesaler, Young’s Market Company, he joined the staff of Los Angeles-based manufacturing concern CTD Machines, Inc. where he became sales manager before becoming owner, President and CEO. He left the company when it was sold in 2007, and currently manages several industrial properties in Southern California. Mr. Orlando currently serves as a director on the board of Daum Commercial Real Estate Services, and previously served on the boards for the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America and the Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers. He was president of the latter trade organization’s board in 2002 and 2003. Mr. Orlando previously served on the Music Academy Board of Directors from 2012 until 2022 where he helped oversee the reconstruction of the Marilyn Horne Main House and the construction of Hind Hall. He was the Chairperson for the Finance Committee for seven years during his previous terms. He has also served on the Investment Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee as well as the Executive Committee. 

“I’ve been involved with the Music Academy for over two decades and am immensely impressed with its mission and dedication to the Performing Arts. I am very pleased to have an opportunity to further contribute to this fine organization.”

KELLY TEICH’S immersion in the Montecito community began in 2005, when he joined the esteemed architectural firm, The Warner Group Architects, Inc., as an aspiring architect. Over the span of the past two decades, he has had the privilege of collaborating with clients in the creation of award-winning, bespoke residences spanning diverse architectural genres across Montecito, Santa Barbara, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Orange County, and even internationally. Now a principal architect who oversees the design process and management of the firm, Kelly assumes the role of President at The Warner Group Architects. Prior to his architectural career, Kelly earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beloved wife who is a pediatric occupational therapist based in Santa Barbara. Outside of architecture, Kelly explores the depths of the Santa Barbara coastline and the around the Channel Islands through his passion for scuba diving, as well as backpacking in the Eastern Sierras, all the while enjoying life alongside his wife and two sons. 

“I’m honored to serve on such a prestigious board alongside many accomplished directors. Appreciation for music and design go hand-in-hand and I look forward to bringing creative perspectives to the Academy with my background as an architect.”

About Music Academy of the West

Located in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West creates a space where exceptional talent can thrive by encouraging artists to stretch, experiment, improvise, and play. The Music Academy provides artists with the tools they need to become not just great musicians but great leaders. The Music Academy’s programs are: the annual eight-week Summer School & Festival which trains up to 140 fellows ages 18-34 and presents more than 120 performances and events, competitions, and a fully staged opera; Sing!, a children’s choir free of charge for all participants that performs with local, national, and international partners; the MAX (Music Academy Exchange) partnership with international orchestras; the Innovation Institute’s Alumni Enterprise Awards; and the Mariposa Series of concerts by Academy-affiliated artists. The 2024 Summer School & Festival takes place June 8 through August 4.