Board of Directors

Dr. Thomas J. Manuel

President & Founder

Jazz historian, music educator and cornet player Dr. Thomas Manuel holds the endowed Artist in Residence chair within the Jazz department at Stony Brook University. In addition to this he serves as a trustee to the Frank Melville Memorial Foundation, is the Artistic Director of the Loft School of Jazz, is a member of the Huntington Arts Council Decentralization Advisory Committee, and is the founder and President of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, N.Y., an innovative and creative space which joins jazz performance, jazz preservation and jazz education in celebration of the past, present, and future.

Manuel has been cited for his accomplishments by The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Newsday, Jazz Inside Magazine, Jazz Ed Magazine and has been actively involved with global educational outreach to Havana, Cuba, Monrovia, Liberia and Port Au Prince, Haiti. Manuel dedicates his professional efforts to both the preservation of Long Island’s jazz history as well as presenting it to future generations and has received several honors for his dedication to the American born art form of Jazz including: Stony Brook University’s 40 Under 40 Award, several Suffolk County Proclamations, the East End Arts & Humanities Council 2020 Music Masters residency, the 2019 Applied Improvisation Network International Conference artist presenter, and the 2016 Person of the Year in Brookhaven award from the Times Beacon Record.

Ray Anderson

Vice President

Mr. Ray Anderson has distinguished himself as a preeminent jazz trombone player who has received international acclaim. Currently the Director of Jazz Studies at Stony Brook University, Anderson still maintains a thriving performance and recording career that has spanned more than three decades. Described by preeminent jazz critic Gary Giddins as “one of the most compellingly original trombonists,” and by the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD as ”the most exciting slide brass player of his generation” Anderson is by turns a supremely lyrical player and footloose innovator, a bold texturalist and polished nostalgist.

Michael Ardolino

Director of Development

Michael, owner of Team Ardolino/Realty Connect USA, resides in Setauket with his wife and two daughters. He is a recognized expert in his field who was named “Residential Real Estate Agent of the Year” by Long Island Business News.

Kathryn Butkevich

Treasurer

Ms. Butkevich is a C-Level executive with an extensive track record of adding value to companies in diverse industries as an operating manager, private equity investor, lender and board director. She is proficient in the development of execution of growth, turnaround and cash flow maximization strategies for middle market companies. She is currently the COO/CFO for Recyclebank, a VC-backed marketing company focused on the recycling industry. Over her 30+ year career, she has held numerous financial and operational leadership positions in middle market, PE/VC- backed companies as well as a Certified Public Accountant. She holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Miami and is also a graduate of GE’s world-renowned Management Development Institute at Crotonville.

Laura Landor

Director of Education & Community Outreach

Laura has been a music educator for 20 years and currently works for the Hauppauge Public Schools as their Director of Fine and Performing Arts. Previously, she was a music teacher for the Three Village Public Schools where she primarily taught band, music theory and an exploratory music class for students with special needs. She has a Bachelors degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music as well as a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from CUNY Hunter College. She recently completed her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at St. John’s University where her research focused on how the absence of multicultural music in public school music classrooms contributes to the marginalization of minority students in the public school setting.

Judy Greiman

Trustee

With nearly 30 years of advocacy experience, Judy has been a staunch supporter of funding for research and student aid. She recently retired from helping to run a major research university with an academic medical center where she also oversaw all government and community relations. She continues to provide strategic guidance for various higher education leaders. She sits on the boards of The Jazz Loft, Inc. and the New York Climate Exchange and on the national advisory committee of Legend Labs. She was a 24/25 Hear My Voice Advocate for Living Beyond Breast Cancer and is a member of the Susan G. Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Advisory Council. She has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and DePaul University College of Law and completed a certificate in Crisis Leadership in Higher Education given by the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.

Cynthia Wong-Lippe

Director of Philanthropy

Cynthia Wong-Lippe is a passionate volunteer for a number of nonprofit organizations, working primarily in the areas of fundraising, institutional development, and strategic planning. She sits on multiple boards, serves as an advisor to several smaller nonprofits, and chairs the capital campaign to raise funds and awareness to build a Ronald McDonald House in Suffolk County. She was trained as a classical pianist and has a PhD from Columbia University in Ethnomusicology. Her work focused on early Asian American rap music and on the rock scene in Mainland China. She’s taught at Columbia University and briefly at Stony Brook University. Cynthia lives in East Setauket with her husband, David, and their two children.

Oliver Nelson Jr.

Special Collections Management

Oliver Nelson Jr. is an adjunct lecturer in music business at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, a Master of Music degree in Classical Performance and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance. Nelson studied with the late David Baker, Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies at Indiana University, Jonathan Keeble, flute professor at the University of Illinois, and Karen Moratz, principal flutist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra and has recorded with Bela Fleck, Benny Golson, James Williams, Jamey Aebersold, David Baker, and Grady Tate for a tribute CD dedicated to his father, the late composer, arranger, and saxophonist Oliver Nelson Sr. Nelson’s expertise in the areas of music copyrights, music licensing and music publishing have made him a sought after presenter at workshops and conferences nationwide at higher education institutions and school corporations. Nelson also presents Jazz improvisation clinics and continues to be an active performer and teacher.

Christopher Paradysz

Trustee, Director, Monteleone: Art of the Guitar Festival

Chris Paradysz has been building connections with and between people for decades with notable success in Adventure Travel, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Data Analytics, Film and Music. He is the Co-founder & co-CEO of PMX, a performance marketing agency, an active venture investor in startups (Adventure Explorations, PebblePost) and in various music industries (VCI, Delvecchio, Articulate Passion Publishing, Chase the Moon Music); as well as a documentary film producer (A Second Chance, For the First Time), with Gold wins for Best Short Documentary, Film Score, Original Song. Beyond business endeavors, Chris brings his passions and support to nonprofit ventures specifically in medical research, investigating new outcomes and treatments for Lupus, a life-threatening disease affecting young women and men. Chris holds the US 24-hour cycling record at the Lehigh County Velodrome.

Dr. Darrell Smith

Trustee, Assistant Director of Education

New York City native Dr. Darrell Smith is a New York based Drummer, Historian, Composer and Educator. As a band leader Dr. Smith frequently performs with his Dal Segno Trio at popular New York venues where they are celebrated for high-energy, spirited performances. A recent tour brought the Dal Segno Trio to Mumbai, India as a headliner for the 2019 NCPA Jazz Festival.

As a composer and drummer, Dr. Smith also has extensive experience with musical theater in Off-Broadway and national productions. His original music for the New Orleans-themed play “Interludes” was featured in multiple off broadway runs in New York City. In addition to working as a band leader and drummer, Dr. Smith is a highly-respected and gifted educator. His current tenure as Director of Jazz Education and Performance at the world renowned education program at Jazz House Kids has given him a platform to spread his passion for jazz to hundreds of talented young musicians around the city. Dr. Smith recently graduated with his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from SUNY Stony Brook where he studied under Director of Jazz Studies Ray Anderson. As of 2019, Dr. Smith is endorsed by Canopus Drums and in 2021 was named Music Director of The Universal Temple of The Arts Annual Staten Island Jazz Festival.

Robert Taylor

Business Affairs

Rob has more than 40 years of business and accounting experience with a broad array of not-for-profit clients, including business management of a not-for-profit organization. He has worked with senior nonprofit executives to develop and implement strategic plans, three-year financial plans, and critical performance measures. In addition, he has overseen cross-departmental process improvement and led software implementation design and structure projects. Rob also has significant experience advising business corporations and partnerships.