NAMVC
Board Members
Dónal P. Noonan
Board President
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A native of Co. Kildare, Ireland, Noonan has been living and working in the United States since 2003. Dónal is the founder and Executive Director of the Atlanta Homeward Choir and has been serving on the board of NAMVC since its inception. Dónal holds a BA in Education and is currently working on a MA in Music and Music Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. Noonan serves as Director of Music Ministries at the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Atlanta and is the founder and director of the Archdiocesan Choir for the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Noonan has travelled extensively around the world, performing concerts and recitals with choirs and as featured soloist. With the Atlanta Homeward Choir, Dónal travelled to Washington DC in 2016 to perform at the White House and in 2019 to Chicago IL to sing with our sister organization Harmony Hope and Healing..
Kate Richards Geller​
Board Secretary
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Kate Richards Geller, singer-songwriter & vocal improviser, received an MA in Music Therapy from NYU in 1997 and maintains a National Board Certification and NY State License. She has worked in medical settings, schools, and community centers providing clinical services to individuals and groups of all ages with the goal of improving the Quality of Life through live, interactive music making. Her vocal improv approach, Sing for Yourself, demonstrates how a regular singing practice can create meaningful and lasting change in individuals and communities. Currently in Los Angeles, Kate serves as Managing Director & Music Wellness Director at Urban Voices Project, a nonprofit that offers group singing as a cultural community approach to addressing homelessness. She is co-founder of Inspired Music Play, a collective of early childhood music specialists. She serves on the Board at National Alliance for Music in Vulnerable Communities - NAMVC and regularly participates in gatherings of Arts and Homelessness International.
Jason Fishburn​
Board Treasurer
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Jason Fishburn is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Queen City Street Choir, a choir for people experiencing homelessness in partnership with Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati, OH. Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Jason is the Founder and former Artistic Director of Matthew’s Voices, a choir for people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis, IN (www.matthewsvoices.org). Jason also serves as Treasurer of the National Alliance for Music in Vulnerable Communities (www.namvc.org). He is the chairperson of the Communications Committee. Jason is a 2001 graduate of Ball State University (Muncie, IN), holding a Bachelor of Science in Choral Music Education. Jason also studied Choral Conducting at Indiana State University (Terre Haute, IN) from 2010 to 2012. While at Indiana State, he won the Bakerman Graduate Student Research Award for his literature review on “Singing and its Effect on Well-being.” Jason is pursuing an MBA in Creative Leadership from National University (San Diego, CA).Jason moved to Cincinnati in the fall of 2020 to continue his work as a finance professional. During the day, Jason works for Cincinnati Works (www.cincinnatiworks.org) as a Workforce Financial Wellness Coach. Jason lives with his partner Ricardo with their two dogs, Khleo, a German Shepard, and Fiona, a Neapolitan Mastiff.
Leeav Sofer​
Vice-President
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Leeav is currently on faculty at the Colburn School in Los Angeles where he teaches classes, directs choirs, and community engagement programs. He earned a performance degree in clarinet and voice from California State University of Long Beach and has performed at venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Ford Amphitheatre, and the Staples Center. In addition to co-founding Los Angeles’ only current Jewish Youth Orchestra, he also leads the band Mostly Kosher, dedicated to preserving and progressing cultural folk music of the Judaic heritage for future generations.
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Terrance Hunter​
Board Director
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A lifelong educator and community servant, Terrance Hunter, has worked with a variety of nonprofits, from the Orange County Regional History Center to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville to the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. His goal is simple: he creates deep, lasting relationships between institutions and the community because he knows the arts have an unparalleled ability to transform communities and give insight into the experiences of others. He serves on multiple boards, including Hope CommUnity Center, Central Florida Vocal Arts (secretary), Central Florida Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals (president-elect), National Alliance for Music in Vulnerable Communities, and the Florida Association of Museums.
Robert Shoup
Board Director
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Robert Shoup is the founder of the Norfolk Street Choir and serves as the Artistic Director of the Norfolk Street Choir Project in Norfolk, Virginia. In addition to directing the choir, he oversees the musical and visual art aspects of the NSCP, cultivating collaborations in the community with partners like Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Art Therapy program and WHRO Digital Media which featured the choir in an Emmy Award winning documentary entitled “City Voices: Homelessness to Hopefulness.” Robert is past Vice President and a charter Board member of the NAMVC and currently chairs its Advocacy Committee. Robert also serves as Chorus Master and Staff Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and as Director of Music at Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk.
Jonathan Palant
Board Director / President Emeritus
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Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Dallas and is founder and conductor of both Credo, a 115-member community choir, and the Dallas Street Choir, a musical outlet for those experiencing homelessness and disadvantage. In addition, Dr. Palant is Director of Music at Kessler Park United Methodist Church and is employed by the Dallas Independent School District to mentor middle and high school vocal music teachers.
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Sophie Wingland
Board Director
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Sophie Wingland is a musician, facilitator and yoga instructor, originally from California. She is a classically trained singer and plays ukulele, hang drum, cello, slide whistle, and toy accordion and enjoys creating instruments out of found objects. Rooted in the belief that everyone is a musician, her work explores the nature of collaboration, playfulness and healing. She has a Bachelors in Music from Oberlin Conservatory, a Masters in Music in Vocal Arts from University of Southern California Thornton School, graduating with honors. Sophie also has a Masters in New Audiences and Innovative Practice from The Royal Conservatory in the Hague, where she studied community building through music.
She has performed across the US and Europe, singing opera, jazz, contemporary and folk music. Sophie has over ten years of experience teaching private and group music classes to students ages 0-85. She has taught at the Abrons Center for the Arts in New York City, Old Town School of Folk Music, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Ravinia Music Festival’s Reach, Teach, Play program in Chicago. She has been a yoga instructor for over ten years, and, before coming to Harmony, Hope & Healing, worked for Mindful Practices teaching SEL (social and emotional learning) and yoga in Chicago Public Schools.
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