Ryan Barton (Vice Chair) has spent the last decade working in low-income communities in the Washington, DC, area focusing on youth education and volunteer engagement. He spent the last 10 years working for Enterprise Community Development (previously Community Preservation and Development Corporation), a non-profit affordable housing organization. In that time, he presented at numerous national and regional conferences on how to engage youth in volunteerism and after-school programming. In 2015, he was awarded with a Distinguished Partner Award by Fairfax County Dept. of Neighborhood and Community Services for his work in the South County area of Fairfax County. In 2018, he was invited to participate in the American Express Leadership Academy for Emerging Volunteer Leaders in Atlanta, GA. Originally from Indiana, Ryan fell in love with theatre at a young age and continued to perform through his time at DePauw University, where he earned a BA in English Writing, as well as his teaching certification in Secondary English and Language Arts. He lives in Alexandria with his wife and two dogs.

Shawn Bates (Chair) is an international lawyer, mediator, educator and trainer with over 15 years of experience in the international arena. He is currently Assistant Professor in the School of International Service at American University, and the Director of the Chile/Argentina Summer Law Program for the Washington College of Law. Shawn was the founder and former Academic Director for American University’s Washington Semester Program in International Law and Organizations. With the assistance of the Washington Semester Program staff, he developed the International Law and Organizations Program into one of the most successful visiting academic programs at American University. Shawn designed and led a study tour of Western Europe and international legal institutions, as well as directed the academic development of the students in Unit I of the program.  In addition to teaching, Shawn is actively involved with the American Bar Association and the American Society for International Law (ASIL). He is a frequent lecturer on cross-cultural conflict and mediation, as well as an advisor to various multilateral institutions.

Dr. Brandon Cochenour (Treasurer) is a scientist with the Department of Defense.  He is currently the deputy program manager for the SMART Scholarship, the DoD’s premier scholarship-for-service program. Prior to this role, Dr. Cochenour was a research engineer with the Navy, where he led over $2 million in basic research activities. He has over 50 scientific publications, 5 US Patents, and 1 textbook chapter on laser communications, all of which have been referenced in the scientific literature over 1500 times. In 2019, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding early-career scientists and engineers. He was named a DoD Scientist of the Quarter in 2019 by the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, a Top Navy Scientist of the Year in 2018, 2012, and 2006, and a Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Engineer in 2009.  Brandon has a 30+ year involvement with the performing arts as a musician, with experience in and out of the theater as a performer, educator, designer, and clinician. As a performer, Brandon is an active freelance jazz pianist in the DC area. In the theater, he has served in numerous productions as an orchestra musician or director, including a Kennedy Center ‘American College Theater Festival’ recognized production of “Working” with Lafayette College in 2000.  Brandon has a 20+ year involvement in outdoor pageantry activity, and is a former marching member of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.  He is actively involved in the pageantry arena as an instructor and visual designer for competitive marching bands and ensembles across the Mid-Atlantic.  He has received adjudication training from Winterguard International (www.wgi.org), and regularly adjudicates for both indoor and outdoor competitive circuits across the country.  As a volunteer, Brandon has worked with Music for All (www.musicforall.org), a non-profit advocate for music and arts education. He lives in Alexandria VA, with his wife, and 3 year old son.

Kate Comfort is a lifelong supporter of the arts and enthusiastically joined the AOTH board in 2021 to champion the love of and increase the accessibility of the arts.  Her professional experience includes 15 years of varied operational and organizational risk analysis and strategic assessments for the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, Department of Justice and private industry.  During that time, Kate founded and successfully ran a consultancy to provide mission support to various federal government entities. In 2019, she transitioned to the philanthropic sector at a private foundation with a mission focused on education, arts, and empowering historically disenfranchised and underrepresented groups.  Kate, her husband, and three young children live in Alexandria, VA.

Leslie Malone is a Public Affairs Specialist for the DC Government, recently transitioning from the U.S. Government where she supported media relations and outreach for the U.S. Census Bureau before, during, and after the 2020 Census. Prior to state and federal civil service, she served in a communications capacity for a large education leadership association, and prior to that, was in charge of external relations for the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Science for the University of the District of Columbia. She has served as a volunteer for Signature Theatre since 2018 and enjoys supporting local Arlington high school productions.

Julio Ramirez is Sr. VP of Finance at RS&H, a full service architectural, engineering and environmental services firm. Julio brings a broad range of experience leading finance and accounting for service-based organizations across different industries, including education, technology, and engineering.  Julio enjoys staying involved and giving back to the local community. In addition to Arts on the Horizon, he serves as member-at-large on the City of Alexandria Budget and Fiscal Advisory Affairs Committee, and is a lead organizer of the Peruvian Cultural Festival of Arlington, VA. Julio lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife and daughter. He is a musician and plays the guitar and the bass. Julio holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
 

Savonia Vassel currently works as a Business Operation Lead for Nava PBC in Washington, DC. Prior to her work with Nava PBC, Savonia was a Project Management Analyst for Brown and Caldwell, as well as a contractor for the United States Department of Justice, managing a series of projects such as the National Commission of Forensic Sciences.  In the evenings and on the weekends, Savonia frequents local theaters in the Washington, DC area such as the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Arena Stage, and The Kennedy Center.