Staff • Consultants • Board
STAFF
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CEO / Executive Director
Lalé Welsh was appointed the new CEO/Executive Director for the Ventura Music Festival in 2023 following a multi decade career as an advertising media & marketing executive at corporate giants such as Paramount Studios, YP.com; AT&T and Monster Worldwide, as well as CEO & business development to countless tech startups. She founded one of the world’s first online ad agencies and ushered its successful acquisition by a legacy print publisher as its (still successful) digital arm. Since then, she has devoted her professional expertise to the world of philanthropy; helping nonprofits thrive and grow by blending philanthropic ambition with sound business principles. Lalé founded a 501 (c)(3) Arts foundation for politically marginalized sub-cultures, with the mission of bridging cultural gaps through film, art, and music. Since then, Lalé has served as a consultant to 37 NPO/NGO Boards as Strategist, Trustee, Officer, Executive Director, Fundraiser and advocate with Missions ranging from The Arts; Music, Film, to Education, Orphan Disease, Disability, Land Conservancy, Homelessness and HealthCare. Originally, from the UK, she grew up and attended school on 3 continents, speaks 4 languages, and holds a Masters in Radio, TV & Film from California State University, Fullerton. Proud mother to 3 grown daughters, she now lives with her husband, 2 cats and a dog in Ojai, CA and spends her free time exploring new possibilities, new ideas and new music.
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Artistic Director
Nuvi Mehta has an extraordinary gift for capturing the minds and hearts of his audiences. Likening him to a young Gary Cooper, the L.A. Times says, “His old-fashioned Hollywood charisma extends to an eloquent and theatrical way of speaking that is almost entirely lost today.” Named Artistic Director of the Ventura Music Festival Association in August of 2003, Mehta began to add his “stamp” to the Festival with wonderful on-stage interactions with artists, and by sharing his humor and knowledge with Festival audiences.
Appointed Director of Special Projects for the San Diego Symphony in 2006, Mehta launched the Symphony’s Symphony Exposed Concerts–a multi-media concert series, introducing non-aficionados to classical music. In three years, the series has developed a new audience in Symphony Hall. Mehta’s on stage demonstrations are also featured on all San Diego Symphony Masterworks Series concerts, and his symphony talks draw up to 1000 patrons nightly. Mehta also hosts XLNC 104.9FM’s World of Music, a one-hour classical music radio show. Mehta has been a guest conductor with the San Diego Symphony, assistant conductor of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and apprentice conductor and guest conductor with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Guest conducting appearances have also included the Ann Arbor Chamber Orchestra, the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Nova Vista Symphony, the Marquette Symphony, the Fine Arts Chamber Orchestra of Mexico City, and the Bear Valley Music Festival. As a violinist, positions held include Concertmaster of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, Assistant Principal Second Violin in the San Diego Symphony, and Principal Second Violin in the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. He performs regularly as a soloist and is asked to teach string master classes for various organizations throughout San Diego.
Navroj Mehta was raised in Ann Arbor, MI, received a Bachelors of Music with Distinction from Indiana University and a Masters of Music from The Juilliard School in New York. His violin teachers include Josef Gingold, Nathan Milstein and Szymon Goldberg. Conducting teachers include Otto Werner Mueller, Gustav Meier, Charles Bruck, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kirk Trevor and Leonard Bernstein. He is a member of the distinguished Mehta musical family and lives in San Diego, California with his wife Karen and daughter Kaia.
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Director of Operations
Lacey Utter has been with Ventura Music Festival for over 10 years, having started as a temporary part-time Administrative Assistant, she now wears many hats, including Office Manager, Bookkeeper, Box Office Manager, and Director of Operations. Having grown up in a small town in Northern California, she loves the outdoors and animals. Since moving to Ventura County in 2006, she has obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Channel Islands. In addition to holding all VMF related institutional memory, she holds a Bookkeeping Specialist Certificate and is an active California Notary Public. She currently resides in Ojai with her husband, their two beautiful young children, and cherished rescue pets.
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Media & Outreach Director
Grace joined the music festival in 2022 as the in-house graphic designer, and since then her position has grown to additionally encompass the festival’s outreach efforts. She is the co-owner of the graphic design studio Mooney Creative, which has earned the title of Best Graphic Designer from the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce for many years running. Her educational journey includes a degree in graphic design with honors, and studies at The Evergreen State College in the areas of education, management, and social change. Her commitment to community outreach is evident in her previous role as Program Director for Girl Scouts of Western Washington, where she developed and ran an ACA-accredited equestrian program, focusing on youth outreach & accessibility. Her skills in event coordination can be seen in her work managing talent for the Mrs-Events Agency in Las Vegas, Nevada. She currently works remotely from rainy Olympia, Washington and resides with her husband Henry, an Ojai native, and their cat Neville.
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Production Coordinator
Caitlynn is the newest addition to the Ventura Music Festival team. With over a decade of experience in marketing, account management and event coordination, she brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for creating memorable experiences. Deeply committed to enhancing community engagement through the magic of music, she believes in the power of events to bring people together. Always eager to learn, Caitlynn is set to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication at California State University Channel Islands in 2025. When she's not working or studying, you can find her exploring the outdoors, belly laughing with friends, or discovering new music.
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Senior Project Specialist
Richard Newsham, after 33 years as writer and marketing specialist for the City of Ventura, currently works as Project Specialist for the Ventura Music Festival, for the Road Scholar Channel Islands National Park program and as editorial writer for City Shopper. He also serves as green room manager for the Ojai Music Festival. For decades, as a published poet, he also taught creative writing to school children pre K-12 as part of the Artist in the Classroom and California Poets in the Schools programs. An undergraduate at University of Warwick (UK) and New College (Oxford University), he received a BA in English and Classics at Duke University, followed by graduate studies at the University of Toronto (Canada), Sorbonne (Paris), and Yale University in comparative literature and Renaissance Studies, in preparation for years as guest lecturer in art history for the Getty Museum collections for Elderhostel (aka Road Scholar).
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Production Associate
Steven is a new member of the Ventura Music Festival team. He has accumulated more than ten years of experience in production work from his time spent in both television and film. In addition to production, Steven also joined the Director’s Guild of America and has amassed many hours as an Assistant Director. He has a knack for creativity and presentation and applying that to his projects. His hobbies include writing poetry, meditation, traveling.
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Community Outreach Manager
Firman Brown is a lifelong advocate for the arts, a community connector, and a key contributor to the Ventura Music Festival. He grew up singing harmony with his family where music was an intense, joyful communication of ideas and emotions. Firman has volunteered with the Ventura Music Festival for over a decade, helping with community engagement, and donor outreach. His vision is centered on sharing the value & access to the arts, further enriching our regions cultural landscape. Firman believes that music and the arts are essential tools of connection, healing, and enhancing the personal connections in our communities. Whether through performance, education, or public programming, his work centers on building bridges—between artists, audiences, with global cultures benefiting for generations, both old and new.
CONSULTANTS
BOARD
BOARD EMERITUS
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Board Emeritus Member
Freddie’s professional nursing career brought her from the Midwest to San Francisco in 1964, then to Ventura in 1994 as the music/art culture was emerging. She became the co-chair of the fundraising committee of the Ventura Chamber Orchestra, C-Note Productions, where artists were involved in creating masterful pieces of art for fundraising events.
She continues to volunteer for the Ventura Music Festival and Rubicon Theatre Company, and support all Ventura art organizations.
Her passion for nursing also continues; she volunteers at VCMC (Ventura County Medical Center) and has become a hospice volunteer for Livingston Memorial.
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Board Emeritus Member
Author-lecturer Ivor Davis is a former president of the Ventura Music Festival, he and his late wife Sally were long-time board members. London born Davis has lived in Ventura for over four decades and is the author of "The Beatles and Me On Tour--60th Anniversary Edition, .( February 2024.) His latest book, a riveting true crime book, “The Devil in My Friend—The Inside Story of A Malibu Murder” is due out May 2024 .
As a foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express and the Times of London, Davis was on the spot to cover some of the biggest stories in North America. He was the only foreign correspondent to cover the Beatles historic first tour in North America in l964. He was the only newspaper reporter present when the Beatles went to meet Elvis Presley in l965. He ghosted a regular newspaper column for George Harrison. In l968 he was in the kitchen at the Ambassador Hotel when Robert Kennedy was assassinated.
He also penned a weekly entertainment column for the New York Times Syndicate interviewing some of the biggest names in show business, from Cary Grant to Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton to Tom Cruise and Muhammad Ali to Jane Fonda. He was one of the Boys on the Bus chronicling the life of actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan, first in his campaign for governor of California, then for president.
He covered some of the biggest trials in American history: Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of killing Bobby Kennedy in 1969; black-power militant Angela Davis, acquitted of murder in l972; and a year later, Daniel Ellsberg’s trial for leaking the Pentagon Papers. He has written three books about his personal coverage of the Charles Manson/Sharon Tate murders.
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Board Emeritus Member
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Board Emeritus Member
Barbara Meister has lived in Ventura for 56 years. She is a retired educator who holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education and is the author of “The Pear-Pair Tree,” a children’s book about homonyms. Barbara taught the gifted program in Ventura for many years. She was a travel writer and travel consultant. Barbara is the mother of three, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of four. A “community activist,” Barbara serves on the boards of Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation and the Ventura Jewish Federation Women's Division. She sits on the advisory/honorary boards of Rubicon Theatre Company, Casa Pacifica, Ventura Education Partnership, Ventura Music Festival and the Ventura Botanical Gardens. Barbara has established scholarships at Community Memorial Hospital, Ventura College, CSUCI , Temple Beth Torah and Ventura Education Partnership. Barbara was a producer of “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” on Broadway and a producer of “Pippin” in London.
Barbara and her late husband, Larry, are listed in the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Record for their many years of community service. Because of their charitable contributions, the Park Garden Fountain at Community Memorial Hospital, the Social Hall at Temple Beth Torah, the Boardroom and Executive Offices at Casa Pacifica, the Lobby at Rubicon Theatre, the Children’s Chumash Garden at the Museum of Ventura County and the "Vantage Point" at the Ventura Botanical Gardens have been named in honor of Barbara and Larry Meister.
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Board Emeritus Member
Anthony (“Tony”) Strauss is a semi-retired attorney and has been a resident of Ventura County since 1977. Tony claims that he joined the VMF Board in 2000 to be able to get good seats at a Christopher Parkening concert. He stayed on the Board and served as President from 2003 to 2005. He and his wife Michelle have remained active in Festival activities ever since. Tony has also served on the Ventura City Cultural Affairs Commission, as well as on numerous arts, community and legal boards and organizations and is a Past President of the Ventura County Bar Association. Tony now lives in Ojai and spends his “leisure” time enjoying family, travel, all things Italian and trying to play the guitar.
