MARIN THEATRE - Key Persons
Barbara Roberts was the majority owner and served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Wright Engineered Plastics, a local manufacturing company. Prior to purchasing Wright she was an investment banker, a Chief Financial Officer of a venture funded startup, and held various audit and tax positions at Deloitte. She has been an active mentor for engineering and business students at both Cal and Stanford.
Ms. Roberts served on the Boards of Directors for Motion Analysis Corporation and the Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary. She has been Treasurer and Project Manager for Engineers without Borders, President of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council, President of the Society of Plastic Engineers, Chair of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and a trustee of Golden Gate University.
Ms. Roberts received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UC Berkeley, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and a Masters in Taxation from Golden Gate University.
Doug Frazier is a business executive with over 30 years of experience. He has significant professional and practical experience in managing operational, financial and corporate strategic issues, including overseeing marketing and product development, risk management, human resources and compliance.
Recently Doug was the Chairman and cofounder of Safehub Inc from 2016 to 2021. Safehub is a technology focused company providing data and services to corporations generating a digital history of buildings to measure the risk and damage to buildings before and after catastrophic events.
Prior to starting Safehub, Doug was cofounder, Chairman and CEO of EQE International, a global company with 750 employees and 30 offices. EQE worked with insurance companies and brokers, Fortune 1000 companies and governments around the world to manage catastrophic risk. Over a period of 20 years, Doug transformed EQE from an engineering consulting business to the leading internationally recognized catastrophic risk management and the third largest independent risk management company in the US.
In addition, he was cofounder, Chairman and CEO of EQECAT. EQECAT is a software company providing catastrophic risk management services and software to major corporations, governments and the insurance and financial industries worldwide. It is now owned by CoreLogic. Doug also was Chairman and CEO of EQE Holdings, Inc., a specialty earthquake insurance broker and reinsurance company, headquartered in California and Bermuda respectively.
He holds a B.A. degree in finance from the University of Miami.
Job Titles:
- Executive Producer
- Founder and President of Glasshouse Productions
- Member of MTC
Jennifer is an Executive Producer specializing in corporate events for Fortune 100 companies throughout the United States and internationally.
Jennifer is the Founder and President of Glasshouse Productions, a production and creative services Agency serving the Tech industry for live events and product launches. Additionally, she is the Managing Director & Executive Producer of Byron Supper Club, a theatrical cabaret production company she co-founded in Byron Bay, Australia.
Before moving to Marin a decade ago, Jennifer was a resident of New York City since the late 1990's where she debuted her US theatre career on Broadway supporting the opening of "Annie Get your Gun" starring Bernadette Peters. Prior to moving to New York City, Jennifer, an Australian was a member of the original company of Cameron Mackintosh's production of "Phantom of the Opera" in Sydney Australia from 1994 - 1996.
Throughout her 25+ years career, Jennifer has worked intimately in all matters of production for live events, concert production and theatre, touring the world as a Producer. She holds a B. A. in Theatre Production from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Jennifer is a proud member of MTC and honored to serve her community by supporting the development and continued growth of exceptional regional theatre.
Job Titles:
- Director of Production
- MTC 's New Director of Production
Jessica Marchesi, MTC's new Director of Production, is overjoyed to be returning to MTC after a nearly 20 year hiatus. Jessica is a native San Franciscan who has been working in professional theater for over 30 years, mostly in production management. Originally trained as an actor and director, her additional training and experience as a technician and designer led her to shift her focus to production. After starting her PM career at the San Francisco Fringe Festival and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Jessica served as MTC's PM from 2001-2005, under then Artistic Director Lee Sankowich. Since leaving the Bay Area, her career has taken her all over the country. During that time she managed production and operations for a wide variety of companies, including Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, Arkansas Repertory Theatre and the Walton Arts Center in Arkansas, and Horizon Theatre in Atlanta, GA, but the bulk of her career was spent at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Southern California. SCR specializes in new play development, and while she was there she had the great pleasure of helping launch over 50 world premieres, many of which have gone on to great success, including A Doll's House, Part 2 (Lucas Hnath), Vietgone (Qui Nguyen), Cambodian Rock Band (Lauren Yee), Silent Sky and Emelie (Lauren Gunderson), The Language Archive (Julia Cho), and many more. Jessica's journey has been personal as well as geographical, and she is proud to have recently come out as Trans and is excited to begin her new life among old friends.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Investment Banker
Josh Rafner is an investment banker and venture investor with more than 30 years of experience advising and financing high-growth technology companies in the U.S. and Europe. He is the founder and CEO of Ridgecrest Capital Partners, a boutique advisory firm providing merger and acquisition and fundraising advisory services for technology and other growth companies globally. Prior to founding Ridgecrest, Mr. Rafner was a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns with primary responsibility for that firm's global mobile internet and wireless software banking effort. Josh also spent nine years at Hambrecht & Quist, where he was head of International Investment Banking. While at H & Q, Mr. Rafner opened that firm's London office, founded a Paris-based investment bank known as Hambrecht & Quist Euromarkets and served as its CEO, and co-founded the firm's Tel Aviv strategic alliance, Tamir Fishman. Mr. Rafner has advised on innumerable public and private M&A transactions and has managed dozens of IPOs and follow-on financings for technology companies, including offerings on the European markets. Mr. Rafner has been an investor in technology companies and venture funds, and has been a director or advisory board member of many companies. Mr. Rafner is also an attorney, and practiced for 7 years with the international firm of O'Melveny & Myers, where his work included mergers and acquisitions, securities law and restructurings. Mr. Rafner served as a law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge Frank A. Kaufman in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Rafner graduated from Princeton University, where he was awarded the Pyne Prize, Princeton's highest undergraduate distinction, and earned his degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is also a graduate of Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. In addition, Mr. Rafner pursued graduate studies at Stockholm University, Sweden as a Fulbright Scholar, and at Oxford University, England.
Among Mr. Rafner's community and non-profit activities, he currently serves as a Trustee of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a Trustee of the Marin Symphony, and a board member of the Marin Cultural Association. He is also the Founder and President of the Ralston White Retreat Foundation in Mill Valley, California, and is a co-founder and past board member of the Kentfield-Greenbrae Historical Society. He is a past President of the Kent Woodlands Property Owners Association. Mr. Rafner is also the current president of the Marin Rowing Association.
Job Titles:
- Patron Experience Manager
Laura Odeh Steele (she/her/hers) is excited to expand her love for theatre career in an administrative capacity at MTC. As a professional actor, Laura was first seen at MTC in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. In addition, she has work on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally at theatres including Lincoln Center Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre, The Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre, and Berkeley Rep. She has worked with directors including James Lapine, Moisés Kaufman, Mark Lamos, Meredith McDonough, Bill Rauch, Don Roos and Charlie Kaufman. In addition to her acting career, Laura has taught in the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance at Sonoma State University since 2019. She received her MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Matthew is a Creative and Product Executive with 20+ years of experience building internet startup businesses as a founder, developer, designer, product manager and business leader. He currently works at Adobe as Sr. Product Director for the Creative Cloud. He holds an MFA in studio art from JFK University's Art & Consciousness department, exhibited his paintings professionally and taught UX design at Bay Area Colleges. He has been involved in the performing arts throughout his life as a writer, director, actor, designer, producer and now board member. He was the co-founder of the immersive theatre group Odyssey Works and has a BA in theatre from Northwestern University. He lives in Mill Valley with his wife Liz and their 2 children, for whom he performs a puppet show almost every morning.
Meredith Suttles (she/her/hers) is an arts leader with an extensive background in creative and performing arts in the areas of development, management, strategic planning, fundraising, and performance. She has held senior leadership roles at TheaterWorksUSA, Soho Repertory Theatre, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and the New York City Opera. Meredith is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and former EmcArts: Arts Leaders as Cultural Innovators (ALACI) Fellow. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a Steering Committee Member of the Black Theatre Commons and currently serves on the Board of Directors of viBe Theater Experience.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, longtime resident of Mill Valley, graduate of Tamalpais High School.
A Marin realtor for 20 years, Penny currently lives in Mill Valley and has served in leadership positions across numerous non-profit boards throughout Marin County. Some of her most memorable volunteer opportunities include: Serving on the board of the National Charity League for 3 years, a community service-based organization for mothers and their daughters in grades 7-12 and was invited to join the board as a director for the Northern California chapter; She was the Reed School PTA President and served on the Foundation for 2 terms focusing on getting the parcel tax passed; She was a board member for the Tiburon Peninsula Soccer League, Girl Scout leader, President of the Paradise Cay Homeowners Association where she successfully worked with Charles McGlashan and Gary Giacomini on the Environmental Impact Report for Paradise Cay; Penny also worked at Suicide Prevention, The Marin Food Bank, Mrs. Terwilliger's Nature Center as a nature guide and later, a fundraiser for her foundation. Penny found joy working on her kids' school plays and assisting in their classrooms and on their field trips. Penny holds a business degree from the University of Connecticut, raised 4 children and is the proud grandmother of a 4 1/2-year-old and a 3-year-old. Penny's experience and passion is in development.
Wendy Feng is an attorney at Covington & Burling LLP in San Francisco, representing corporate policyholders in insurance coverage claims. She has lived in Mill Valley for more than two decades, and has been attending plays at the Marin Theatre Company for nearly as long. Wendy is the past Co-President of the Board of Directors of FACES SF, a non-profit organization in San Francisco that provides early childhood development, workforce training, and family support services to low-income families in the City of San Francisco. She is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School.