LEADERSHIP AND STAFF

Department of Diversity, Equity, and Community

MEET OUR TEAM

CHIP MCNEAL

Chip McNeal

Director of Diversity, Equity and Community
Charles Chip Mc Neal is an award-winning arts educator and dance specialist with a background in musical theater, television and film. He is a certified Integration Learning Specialist with expertise in social-emotional learning, cultural competency, and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy. Mc Neal’s expertise is at the intersection of arts, education and social justice, and he is currently and Ph.D. candidate in transformative studies in education with an emphasis on emancipatory pedagogies. McNeal lectures worldwide on organizational change, human consciousness and healing-informed teaching practices.
 

Ryan Marchand

Community Engagement Manager
Ryan Marchand is an actor, stage director and theatre-maker. He is experienced in new work development, devised theatre and traditional Japanese Noh and Kyogen theatre. Marchand works with inner city youth facilitating a range of culturally responsive capacities. He has also worked extensively with leading Bay Area tech, finance, and governmental institutions in workforce development. Marchand is a fervent believer in, and witness to the transformative power of the arts, and he is able to leverage all of his skills and talents in his work at San Francisco Opera.

Clara Choi

Community Engagement Coordinator
Clara Choi is a Korean-American immigrant from Koreatown, Los Angeles. She has undergraduate degrees in Theater and Performance Studies and Economics from UC Berkeley. Clara believes that arts should be a right, not a privilege. She strives to realize the power of arts to transform people's lives, as it has unquestionably changed hers. Now she wants to use her passion, knowledge and experience to bring arts to the most diverse audiences as possible. Clara has a special passion for serving youth, especially those from underserved communities, like her own.
cole thomason-redus

Cole Thomason-Redus

JRAP Manager
Fifth-generation San Franciscan, educator, conductor and composer, Cole Thomason-Redus serves as a Program Manager for the company’s Department of Diversity, Equity & Community. As a member of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, he performed in sixteen productions with the company between 1987-1994 and went on to train boy choirs for numerous SFO productions. His diverse credentials include Director of Education for the renowned vocal ensemble, Chanticleer, Curator of Classical Music for Apple, Inc., Classical Music Analyst for the Music Genome Project at Pandora Media, Inc., and over two decades of teaching for schools and organizations throughout the Bay Area.

 

Contact Us

We are always here for you. Please do not hesitate to contact us:

DEC@sfopera.com

415-551-6296

Diversity, Equity and Community Suggestion Form

Diversity, Equity and Community Project Request Form