Peter Ashwin

Levitt Network Safety & Security Consultant
Event Risk Management Solutions

Peter Ashwin brings over 20 years of international experience in planning and delivering major event security, both internationally and within the U.S., where he is widely recognized as a thought leader and innovative practitioner within the event security domain.  In addition to his event security and risk management consulting practice, Peter is an author, lecturer, speaker, expert witness, and actively contributes to the events industry through his commitment as a volunteer lecturer at the International Association of Venue Management’s Academy of Safety and Security (AVSS). Hailing from Australia, Peter is based in Montreal, Canada and Boise, Idaho, where in between projects, he continues to pursue his passion project, the rehab of a 1904 historic house. 

Victoria Bridenstine

Vice President of Programs
Levitt Family Foundation

As Vice President of Programs, Victoria plays a key role in shaping the grantmaking strategy at the Levitt Family Foundation. She oversees the management of the Foundation’s Friends of Levitt partners and grantee portfolios, develops strategies and priorities to support the sustainability of Levitt’s grantee partners, and identifies resources that provide meaningful support to the growing national Levitt network of venues and music series locations.

Victoria has over 16 years of experience in grantmaking and community engagement. Prior to working at the Levitt Family Foundation, she worked at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children where she developed operational standards, increased brand awareness through community relationships, and secured major donations. While at the Lymphoma Research Foundation she implemented an overall communications strategy and local grassroots marketing efforts to increase awareness of available resources, services, and fundraising events. In addition to her community engagement experience, Victoria has worked in grantmaking with verve. At the W. M. Keck Foundation, she supported grantmaking activities for high-impact research, undergraduate education, and programs that enrich lives of local children and families. She received her B.A. in Sociology from Occidental College and M.S. in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.

Chris Dzialo

Associate Vice President of Communications
Levitt Family Foundation

As Associate Vice President of Communications, Chris develops and implements comprehensive communications strategies to share the impact of Levitt Family Foundation programs and the national Levitt network of partners and grantees—primarily via media and public relations, social media, print, web, and film. Through these vehicles, Chris and the communications department advance the mission, vision, and core values of the Foundation, as well as support internal and external programs, partners, and the national Levitt network of venues and music series locations.

Chris brings over a decade of experience in communications, marketing, and public relations spanning the cultural, nonprofit, and entertainment sectors. Most recently, he was the Director of Marketing and Communications for The Climate Registry, and previously for The Autry Museum of the American West. Originally from Massachusetts, Chris also holds a Ph.D. in Film and Media Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Kathy Eberly Ovitt 

Board Co-Chair, Levitt Family Foundation
President & CEO, Levitt Properties

Kathy Eberly Ovitt is the Board Co-Chair of the Levitt Family Foundation and has served as the President/CEO of Levitt Properties for over 30 years. Married to Terry Ovitt, she is the proud mother of three sons and grandmother to four grandchildren. Kathy is deeply passionate about children and committed to effecting positive change, striving to make a difference in her community and beyond. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to advancing the Levitt vision of building community and positive social impact through the transformative power of music. Outside of her professional endeavors, Kathy enjoys spending time with her two Goldendoodles, crocheting, and traveling. A love for family and creativity is at the heart of everything she does.

Caniya Johnson

Levitt Grantee Ambassador
Brand Activation and Partnership Portfolio Manager
Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation
Levitt VIBE Oakland, CA

Caniya Johnson is the Brand Activation and Partnership Portfolio Manager at the Black Cultural Zone, where she supports community-centered projects through active listening, creative problem-solving, and clear, grounded communication. Guided by the belief that “history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own” (Michelle Obama), she brings deep commitment to building a cultural and economic foundation for the same East Oakland community that helped raise her. In her role with the Black Cultural Zone, Caniya has contributed to organizational growth and operational strength across multiple areas: she helped successfully complete a State Audit; facilitated all-staff meetings and organizational renewal retreats; led Marketing and Communications for six months; supported the delivery of state grants; and planned and managed more than 150 events in under two years. Caniya holds an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Development and is currently completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development. She approaches every opportunity at the Black Cultural Zone as a chance to expand her skills, deepen her impact, and help shape the future of Liberation Education—ensuring that culture, creativity, and community remain at the core of Oakland’s story.

Shane Morrow

Levitt Grantee Ambassador
Co-Founder / Executive Director
RISE Chattanooga
Levitt BLOC Chattanooga, TN

Shane Morrow is entering his 3rd year as the lead for the Levitt BLOC Chattanooga Music Series. Shane is a cultural strategist, creative placemaker, and Executive Director of RISE (Responsive Initiatives for Social Empowerment) Chattanooga, one of the state of Tennessee’s leading Black-led and Black-founded arts and community development organizations. A Connecticut native who has championed cultural equity in Chattanooga, Tennessee for more than two decades, Shane co-founded RISE, a nationally recognized community arts & culture organization dedicated to the development of creative programming and events that aim to transcend cultural barriers while promoting more awareness, vibrancy, inclusiveness and resiliency for the greater Chattanooga communities. 

Meg Rego

Levitt Grantee Ambassador
Director of Resource Development & Community Engagement
NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley
Levitt AMP Woonsocket, RI

Meg Rego serves as the Director of Resource Development & Community Engagement for NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, a community development corporation in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In this role, she spearheads fundraising and community-building efforts that advance affordable housing, equitable homeownership, small-business entrepreneurship, and vibrant creative placemaking, including producing the Levitt AMP Woonsocket Music Series. Meg has been part of the Levitt network since 2018 and loves that her work allows her to bring people together through the power of music and the arts. A proud Rhode Islander, Meg is happiest in or near the ocean and especially loves to swim while also being an avid traveler, on a mission to visit all 63 US national parks. Before joining NWBRV, she worked in Washington, DC, coordinating service-learning programs and campus–community partnerships. Meg holds a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University, where she continues to serve as an adjunct professor.

Vanessa Silberman

Executive Vice President
Levitt Family Foundation

As Executive Vice President of the Levitt Family Foundation, a national social impact funder at the intersection of music, public space and community building, Vanessa plays a key role in the Foundation’s strategic direction and long-term vision as it pertains to funding allocation, program development, communications, and research. She also spearheads new and existing partnerships and field-building initiatives to expand access and nurture vibrant music ecosystems.

Vanessa joined the Foundation in 2012 as the Senior Director of Communications & Strategic Initiatives, where she led the creative vision and communications strategy to share the inspiring impact of the Foundation, its nonprofit partners and grantees, and the field of creative placemaking at large. Vanessa built her career in the arts & culture sector as an award-winning writer, editor, and content strategist. Previous positions include: Editorial Director at Art Center College of Design; Arts Specialist for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and various positions with The Museum of Modern Art, Columbia University’s Research Center for Arts & Culture, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Vanessa has been an invited speaker at a variety of national conferences including Folk Alliance International, National Forum on Family Philanthropy, Main Street Now, City Nation Place Americas, ComNet, Grantmakers in the Arts, International Placemaking Week, and the National Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit. Vanessa earned her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and received a master’s degree in arts administration from Columbia University.

Anne Sturm

Levitt Artist Booking & Routing Consultant
Concert & Event Resource, LLC

Anne Sturm, owner of consulting and talent buying agency Concert & Event Resource, has been booking and managing small to large sized venues for over 10 years. Prior to launching Concert & Event Resource, Anne was the Senior Talent Buyer for ArtsQuest and Executive Director of Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she oversaw nearly 800 performances annually. Anne has worked with emerging artists like Valerie June, Yasmine Williams, Danielle Ponder, and Devon Gilfillan, to established artists like Monica, Buddy Guy, La India, Chris Cornell, John Legend, Sister Nancy, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, and hundreds more. Aside from commercial talent buying and operational management, Anne has spearheaded meaningful programming strategy and business development for charitable nonprofit organizations. While Anne’s homebase is in Raleigh, North Carolina, she continues to work with communities near and far as she books and consults with various–sized performing arts organizations across the United States.  

Amber Withers-Bohrod, Ph.D.

Program Officer
Levitt Family Foundation

As Program Officer, Amber provides meaningful support and resources to advance the work of Levitt Music Series grantees as part of the Levitt Family Foundation’s grantmaking activities.

Amber has over ten years of program management and community engagement experience. Prior to the Levitt Family Foundation, she worked at a Los Angeles-based education and enrichment nonprofit where she developed their outreach and overall programmatic leadership. In addition to her programmatic experience, she also balanced her work while studying for her doctorate in African and African-American religion and culture. Amber is honored and excited to utilize her experiences to support the Levitt Music Series grants program at the Foundation. Amber earned her Ph.D. in History from UCLA and is also a proud Howard University alumna.

Sharon Yazowski

President & CEO
Levitt Family Foundation

As President & CEO, Sharon provides visionary leadership in fulfilling the Levitt Family Foundation’s mission to strengthen the social fabric of America and reinvigorate public spaces through the power of free, live music. Through her role at the Foundation—a national social impact funder working at the intersection of music, public space, and community building—she has become a recognized thought leader on arts investments in public spaces to build healthy, equitable, and thriving communities. Under Sharon’s leadership, the Levitt Family Foundation made a pledge in 2021 to spend down the Foundation’s assets of $150 million over two decades.

Following 15 years in community arts programming and the performing arts, Sharon joined the Foundation in 2009, as its first employee, to professionalize the organization and scale Levitt programs nationally. Sharon’s passionate commitment to the arts as a vehicle for positive change in communities has guided the growth of Levitt programs across the country to include over 70 towns and cities today, including the development of long-term public/private partnerships in major U.S. cities, expanding grant programs into rural areas, sustainability strategies for Levitt grantees, and fostering the Levitt network’s ethos of shared learning and advancing collective impact, in addition to the Foundation’s creative placemaking research and investments in music ecosystems.

With her background working with grassroots nonprofits, Sharon transitioned the Foundation to a trust-based philanthropy model early on in her tenure. She has earned a reputation as a thoughtful and respected collaborator within the fields of philanthropy, creative placemaking, and community development. Responsive to the realities of nonprofits, she has guided Foundation staff to develop robust resources, toolkits, trainings, and peer connections for grantees, providing meaningful support beyond funding for their work in communities. Sharon centers the Foundation’s values in all aspects of Levitt’s work, from internal operations to funding philosophy and grantmaking to ensuring grantees are positioned to impactfully bring a music series to life.

Sharon collaborates closely with the Levitt Family Foundation team in the organization’s contributions to the field, including multi-year research and field-building initiatives. As the chief spokesperson for the Foundation, Sharon travels across the country to speak about the impact of Levitt programs, Levitt-commissioned research, and creative placemaking at large. Reflecting the reach of Levitt and how integrating the arts across sectors elevates the overall well-being and economic vitality of communities, Sharon shares the Levitt model with a wide range of audiences—including those in the arts, government, music industry, philanthropy, community development, urban planning, and parks—to illustrate why inclusive arts investment strategies should be prioritized. She is often an invited speaker and moderator at regional, national, and international conferences. Sharon also guest lectures at undergraduate and graduate music business and nonprofit management programs, providing inspiration to the next generation of leaders.

Beyond Levitt, Sharon currently serves on the board of Center for Music Ecosystems, an international organization dedicated to globally relevant research to address societal issues and effect change through music. Sharon has been a grant panelist for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Nebraska Arts Council, where she is from. As a board member of California Presenters, Sharon played an active role leading one of the country’s largest presenting associations—she served as Vice President, mentored emerging leaders, and chaired three annual conferences. Recognizing Sharon’s contributions to the field, she was selected by Musical America Worldwide as a Top 30 professional of 2023.

Prior to her position with the Levitt Family Foundation, Sharon was the founding Executive Director of Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles at MacArthur Park. Her work there and the venue’s impact in the community earned her the recognition of “Los Angeles Park Hero” by the City of Los Angeles. Sharon’s career began in metropolitan Chicago, where she produced free outdoor concert series and worked with a range of artists and arts nonprofits, followed by time in the finance sector. Sharon earned a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University with a concentration in arts and business management.

Becki Zaglifa

Levitt Grantee Ambassador
Community Development Manager
Jefferson County Parks and Recreation
Levitt AMP Shenandoah Junction, WV

Becki Zaglifa is entering her 6th year as the coordinator of the Levitt AMP Shenandoah Junction Music Series. As the Community Development Manager at Jefferson County Parks and Recreation in West Virginia, Becki works closely with musicians, artists, sponsors, staff, volunteers, and safety and tech partners to create a welcoming and vibrant concert experiences throughout the summer season. Her work has helped strengthen community connections, elevate local talent, and build a beloved gathering place made possible through infrastructure and programming grants from generous sources like the Levitt Family Foundation. She believes that accessible art and music can transform public spaces into places of connection, pride, and shared joy.