Erin Bonski-Evans, top row from left; Dr. David McKee, Kristine Pacheco-Bernt, Barbara Burger, Dr. Marjorie Gies, Noel Lucky-Ris, Neil DiMaggio and Peter G. Bertling, Esq., Deborah Bertling, seated from left: Ronald D. Fendon and Rosalind Amorteguy Fendon. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — The Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing financial aid to deserving vocal and instrumental students in Santa Barbara County, recently announced the selection of its board for the 2024 season.
This year’s board members are Deborah Bertling, Erin Bonski-Evans, Rosalind Amorteguy Fendon, Ronald D. Fendon, David T. McKee, Kristine Pacheco-Bernt, Barbara H. Burger, Dr. Marjorie Gies, Peter G. Bertling, Neil DiMaggio and Noel Lucky-Ris.
All board members have a long history of service to the Santa Barbara community and the performing arts. Deborah Bertling is a classically trained singer, actor and teacher with more than three decades of experience and has served as president of the PASF board for the last 20 years. She is married to Peter Bertling, an attorney at Bertling Law Group and legal advisor for the board.
Bonski-Evans is minister of music at First Presbyterian Church, a position she has held since 2015. Amorteguy Fendon is an independent design professional who has served on the PASF board since 1988. Her husband, Ronald Fendon, is a philanthropist and longtime supporter of PASF, as well as president of the Montecito Creek Water Co.
McKee is a former associate dean of the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. Pacheco-Bernt is a professional violinist, arts administrator, and music educator at the Santa Barbara Symphony. Burger is the former marketing director for the Santa Barbara Symphony and now a publicist for the State Street Ballet.
Dr. Gies is medical director at Casa Serena and, by serving on the board, continues her family’s legacy of support to the foundation and the performing arts. DiMaggio is a professional pianist, former PASF scholarship recipient, and a music faculty member at Westmont College. Lucky-Ris, whose parents helped launch PASF, is a sales director with Golf Digest, West Coast Travel.
Established in 1982, the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation encourages young musicians to strive for excellence and supports them in their growth as performer. The foundation hosts an annual music competition and supports music educational outreach in Santa Barbara. Scholarship applicants range in age from 10 to 30 and the competition pays out up to $35,000 annually in prizes and Encouragement Awards. Recipients say the competition provides a support system that has served as a bridge to their professional careers.
— For more information about PASF, visit pasfsb.org