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The NATEAC Advisory Board

	Joe Aldridge has been at UNLV since 1974, serving as Technical Director from 1984 to 2005. He has been a member of IATSE Local 720 since 1975 working in most of the major hotels and casinos. He currently serves as a Chair of the Nevada Resort Association/IATSE Local 720 Training Trust. Joe has also served as Third Vice President of IATSE Local 720. Joe does free-lance lighting design and events coordination for local conventions. Joe has been active in USITT since 1985, serving as a panelist, giving workshops at several Conferences and as Conference Chair of the 1995 USITT Conference & Stage Expo in Las Vegas. He has served two terms as a Director-at-Large, and as Vice President for Special Operations. Joe is in his second term as USITT’s Vice-President for Conferences. Joe also represents USITT on the Certification Council of the Entertainment Technician Certification Program, the governing body of ETCP.

	Richard Brett is a Chartered Engineer and theatre consultant specialising in stage planning and engineering. He specified the first computerized power flying installation and the famous Drum Revolve stage for the Olivier Theatre in London. Over 40 years he has worked worldwide on projects like the multi-form Derngate Hall, the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, the Kwai Tsing Theatre in Hong Kong, and on opera houses in London, Sydney and Copenhagen. He conceived the idea of Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conferences in the UK in 2002 because he was concerned that clients, architects, consultants and practitioners were not exchanging information and many basic mistakes were being made on a range of projects. He is a chartered engineer as well as a theatre technician and was made a Fellow of the ABTT for services to the technical aspects of theatre in 2006. For more information on the previous TEA Conferences, please see www.theatre-event.com

	Steven Ehrenberg, Vice President of Technical Production, BASE Entertainment. Steven began his career while attending Columbia University in New York. A career which has included work as a stage manager, stagehand, technical director, technical supervisor and production manager for Broadway and Off Broadway theatre, opera, events, music and dance across the world. At BASE Steven has the opportunity to work on both venue construction and show production. BASE is currently working on multiple theatre production and construction projects internationally. Recently Steven served as the technical producer for the Las Vegas Production of Phantom, acting as the producer’s representative on the construction of the Venue and the installation of the production. Previously, as VP of Technical Supervision at Clear Channel then Live Nation theatrical, Steven’s responsibilities included technical oversight for the touring network of Broadway Across America and consulting on construction of new buildings and renovations. Prior to work with SFX/Clear Channel/Live Nation, Steven was the Production Manager for Blue Man Productions during the mounting of their first Las Vegas production at Luxor. Since 1990 Steven has been the Production Manager / Technical Director for the Reich Music Foundation, working on Opera production and concerts throughout the world. He also serves on the ETCP Certification Council.

	David Johnson is the associate publisher/editorial director of Live Design magazine. He has been involved with the franchise since 1993 in all of its incarnations, first as a business editor, then as editor of Theatre Crafts International, which changed its name to Entertainment Design in 1999. He was intrumental in merging Entertainment Design, Lighting Dimensions, and Staging and Rental Operations into the multimedia entity Live Design in 2005. David is on the board of ESTA's Technical Standards Committee, and has helped spearhead the Live Design Honors benefit for Behind The Scenes. He is the father of two girls, Ella and Sadie, and lives in Manhattan with his wife Hannah.

	Gary Martinez has developed an internationally recognized expertise in the design of performing arts centers and the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic landmark structures over the past thirty years of professional practice in architecture. As a founding partner of Martinez & Johnson I Architecture, he has directed the growth and activities of the firm, executing projects involving landmark theatres and institutional structures. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer at conferences and summits on theatre design and restoration

	William Murray, AIA has established a national reputation for planning and designing theaters and performance spaces for both professional and academic uses. Building on his personal passion for theater and fine arts, his expertise includes balancing both the technical issues of state-of-the-art practice, rehearsal, teaching and performance spaces, with the design challenges of creating intimate spaces. His experience includes new construction, feasibility studies, and renovation of arts facilities. A member of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM), The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and a Vice Chair of the United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT). In 1986, he was named a National AIA Scholar and, in 1987, he received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon.

	Richard Pilbrow, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Theatre Projects Consultants, is one of the world's leading theatre design consultants, a theatre, film and television producer, and an internationally known author and stage lighting designer. Theatre Projects — celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2007 — has become the pre-eminent theatre consulting organization in the world, with over 1000 projects in 50 countries to its credit,. Mr. Pilbrow is a pioneer of modern stage lighting in Britain. In 2005 he was honored as Lighting Designer of the Year by Lighting Dimensions magazine and in the premier edition of LiveDesign was named as one of the ten visionaries among designers and artists, who were the most influential people in the world of visual design for live events. Mr. Pilbrow is a Fellow of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, the Association of British Theatre Technicians and is Joint President of the UK Association of Lighting Designers.

	Eddie Raymond is the Vice President of IATSE Local 16 and currently employed by the local as an assistant to the Business Agent with a primary focus on training and organizing. His career has included working for the American Conservatory Theater as well as variety of other employers including many stints at Industrial Light and Magic. He is on the ESTA board of directors and the ETCP Certification Council.

	Lori Rubinstein is the Executive Director of ESTA and a Board member of The ESTA Foundation where she also serves on the Behind the Scenes Committee. Her almost 30 years in the industry include work for a theatrical dealer, a consultant, and a manufacturer, as well as lighting designer, assistant LD and stage manager for a variety of arts organizations in San Diego.

	Bill Sapsis has been involved in the entertainment business for over 35 years. He has worked as a carpenter, welder, rigger, technical director and production manager. In 1981 he started Sapsis Rigging, Inc. and developed the company into an internationally recognized leader in the design and installation of stage equipment. Bill's seminar program has also garnered worldwide recognition. Bill has been a Board member of USITT and is currently a member of the ETCP Council and the co-chairman of the Rigging Working Group for ESTA.

	David Ship is the Manager of Production Services at the National Arts Centre. Located in Ottawa, Canada, the NAC is the only multidisciplinary, bilingual performing arts centre in North America, and one of the largest in the world. In the 20 years since he joined the NAC, David has enjoyed working in the many areas of technical theatre. Most recently, he has been involved in the equipment and infrastructure upgrade projects for all the production areas in the NAC.

	Robert Shook, ASTC, is a partner in the Chicago office of Theatre Planners Schuler Shook. Recent projects include the New York State Theater, McCaw Hall in Seattle, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall, and the Civic Opera House, Harris Theatre, Pritzker Pavilion, and Victory Gardens Theater, all in Chicago. He promotes intimacy and flexibility in theatre design and is a strong proponent of the collaborative process in the development of successful performance facilities.

	David Taylor is an internationally known theatre consultant and theatre designer who has led some of the most renowned arts buildings projects of the last twenty years, including the New Amsterdam Theatre for Disney, Verizon Hall for the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Kodak Theatre for the Oscars and the new Goodman Theatres in Chicago. He leads the Performing Arts Business Sector for the design engineering firm, Arup in New York and sits on the board of ESTA and the Showlight Conference Committee.

	Jackie Tien has 23 years of publishing and trade show experience in the entertainment technology industry. She has served on several industry boards, including the ESTA Entertainment Technician Certification Council (ETCP) and the USITT New York area section.

	Tom Young, Vice President, Marketing, J. R. Clancy, Inc. Tom first discovered theatrical lighting at age 15, and became involved with high school and community theatre. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he worked for Skirpan Lighting and Berkey Colortran developing new lighting control systems. This included work on the first computerized lighting systems in the network studios in New York and Los Angeles. Tom became involved with rigging automation systems in 1989, including the opera houses in Brussels, Seville, Barcelona. For the past 12 years Tom has been with J. R Clancy in international sales and product development. Tom continues to travel extensively working on international projects. He’s also served as an ESTA Vice President and as USITT Director at Large.


	Jack Suesse, a longtime friend and a member of the NATEAC Advisory Board, passed away on August 17, 2007. Throughout his career Jack was a strong advocate for better designed theatres and he had been eagerly looking forward to working with this conference. Jack graduated from Carnegie Tech with a degree in technical theatre. He taught at Onondaga Community College, owned Syracuse Scenery & Stage Lighting, and was associated with J.R Clancy from 1971 to 2005. He was Special Projects Advisor to Stage Technologies at the time of his death. Thanks for the memories, Jack. You will be deeply missed by all of us.