NATS Boston Board Members and Committee Directors
Governance
Merced Stratton
President |
Emily Siar
Vice President |
Tyler Cesario
Treasurer & Director of Development |
Olga Saenz Valdes
Director of Communications |
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee focuses on our beloved NATS Boston voice teachers, and will gather virtually twice a month to discuss how we can best nurture our members at this time. Committee members will seek to understand member demographics and needs, and design and implement meaningful programming that engages the NATS Boston community. With guidance and approval from the Director of Membership, any committee member may propose and lead a project.
Emily Siar
Director of Membership Emily Siar is a soprano and voice teacher based in Boston, MA. An active performer of opera, early music, art song, chamber music, and cabaret, Emily has recently been featured as an artist with the Grammy award-winning Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Baroque, the Henry Purcell Society of Boston, Calliope’s Call, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Mass Opera. In 2024, Emily took first place in the prestigious NATS Artist Awards. A sought-after pedagogue, she serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she teaches applied voice, undergraduate and graduate-level vocal pedagogy, and Cabaret and Culture. Having experienced a voice injury and vocal fold surgery a decade ago, Emily is particularly passionate about supporting students navigating voice impairment. Emily holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music (DMA), the Eastman School of Music (MM), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BM, Kenan Music Scholar). |
Mariateresa Magisano
Associate Director of Membership Mariateresa Magisano is a voice teacher, mentor, and soprano currently serving as Interim Director of the Voice Division at Brown University. She is committed to nurturing the artistic and technical growth of singers and is actively involved in leadership and mentorship as a board member of the NATS Boston Chapter and Coordinator of the New England Region Connections Mentorship Program. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, her career spans over two decades, during which she has performed across North America in operatic roles, concerts, recitals and world premieres of vocal works. Mariateresa trained at leading institutions including the Juilliard Opera Center, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Tanglewood, Aspen, and Ravinia, and holds degrees from McGill University and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music. |
Innovation Committee
The Innovation Committee supports NATS educators and students, meeting twice monthly to develop workshops and plan events focused on contemporary voice pedagogy, emphasizing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) styles. The committee creates space and curiosity for teachers and singers to explore the techniques, sounds, and ideas that shape underrepresented genres. Our goal is to build a community to support non-traditional vocalists and voice teachers interested in stepping outside the Western Classical and Musical Theatre traditions. We want to amplify the voices of those existing in and may be expanding into CCM categories, offering guidance, community, and resources as they navigate new styles. With support from the Directors of Innovation, members are encouraged to share ideas, lead projects, and help shape the future of voice education within NATS. We look forward to great conversations ahead.
Jonathan Gallegos
Innovation Committee Director Jonathan Gallegos is a Boston-based educator, performer, and musician dedicated to inspiring passion for the vocal arts and exploring performance that transcends traditional boundaries of theater and music. His work blends classical training with a contemporary, interdisciplinary approach to storytelling and voice. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from New Mexico State University and earned his MFA in Musical Theatre Vocal pedagogy from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Jonathan is currently on faculty at Berklee College of Music and is a Harvard University Fellow. As an actor and vocalist, Jonathan has performed across a wide range of regional stages in both the U.S. and Canada. His musical background includes orchestral and operatic work with ensembles throughout the Southwest. He is a proud member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA), and the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA). |
Hayley Thompson-King
Innovation Committee Director Hayley Thompson-King is a versatile artist whose career spans classical and rock performance, songwriting, recording, touring, stage directing, and teaching. Critics have praised her voice and songwriting for their expressivity and range. Her 2020 album Sororicide, produced by Sean Slade, explored various styles from garage rock to Americana, influenced by classical composers. Newsweek described it as a "wild stylistic ride" and "jaw-dropping exposition." Currently, Hayley is performing a cabaret show titled She Contains Multitudes, which combines her original music with arrangements and improvisations of works by composers like Kurt Weill and John Cage to explore the theme of refuge. Forthcoming projects include an album with the Eric Hofbauer Quartet (set for release in 2026) and directing a workshop for Animal Spirits, a new musical by David Thorne Scott, in December 2025. She is an Associate Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and an Artist-Teacher of Voice in Jazz and Contemporary Music at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA. |
Student Auditions Committee
The Student Auditions Committee focuses on NATS Boston members and their students, and will gather virtually twice a month to plan and execute NATS Boston’s annual Student Auditions. Committee members will seek to understand the changing demands of our rapidly evolving field, and will create innovative opportunities for the learning and growth of students and teachers alike. Led by the Student Auditions Co-Directors and in accordance with the NSA Full Regulations, Committee members are invited to strengthen our current and future community.
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Stephanie Morey-Barry
Student Auditions Committee Director |
Rachel Klippel
Student Auditions Committee Director Rachel Klippel, a Boston-based artist, teaches at Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and runs a private voice studio. She holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy from Boston Conservatory at Berklee (2025), with ongoing research on "Gender Quality in Musical Theatre Singing." Previously, she was an adjunct voice professor at Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and a Junior Board Member of the Chicago NATS Chapter. Her performance credits include roles in Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Light in the Piazza, and Sunset Boulevard. |
SNATS Boston Committee
The SNATS Boston Committee supports NATS Boston's student chapter, SNATS Boston, in fostering a collaborative organization of students across institutions, connecting and uniting the next generation of voice educators, singers, and teaching artists. Members of this committee support students across the greater Boston area by inviting them into the SNATS Boston community and helping connect students with academic, institutional, and community resources. This is a primarily asynchronous committee, with meetings, projects, and event offerings determined at the discretion of the SNATS Boston Committee Director and SNATS Boston President.
SNATS Boston Committee Director
Cassie Kollman
Cassie Kollman is a contemporary vocalist, teaching artist, songwriter, and bandleader specializing in embodied vocal improvisation across various genres rooted in Black American musical traditions. Her debut album, Lady in Shoes, was released in 2021, and her sophomore album, Mixed Messages, is slated for release in 2025. She performs as a soloist and leads multiple ensembles in the Boston area, focusing on cross-genre projects that integrate diverse instrumentation and styles.
Kollman holds a Master of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Music from the Longy School of Music of Bard College and is certified in Somatic Voicework™ (The Lovetri Method). She is currently on the voice faculty at Bunker Hill Community College and serves as Director of Music at Hillside Community Church.
Cassie Kollman
Cassie Kollman is a contemporary vocalist, teaching artist, songwriter, and bandleader specializing in embodied vocal improvisation across various genres rooted in Black American musical traditions. Her debut album, Lady in Shoes, was released in 2021, and her sophomore album, Mixed Messages, is slated for release in 2025. She performs as a soloist and leads multiple ensembles in the Boston area, focusing on cross-genre projects that integrate diverse instrumentation and styles.
Kollman holds a Master of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Music from the Longy School of Music of Bard College and is certified in Somatic Voicework™ (The Lovetri Method). She is currently on the voice faculty at Bunker Hill Community College and serves as Director of Music at Hillside Community Church.