Serious music is in Kris’ DNA. Her Latvian parents brought their national choral traditions to Canada. Kris stepped away from music studies in her mid-twenties for a career in Finance. Since retiring, Kris has returned to her true passion, supporting young musicians and composers. Active with several charitable boards including the Canadian Opera Company, she supports music organizations in both Canada and the United States that program contemporary repertoire. A particular focus has been the commissioning of new works, from short chamber pieces to fully staged operas. Kris created Learn English Through Song (L.E.T.S.) in 2015 for Syrian refugee women moving to Canada.

Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD FACS is a Biochemist and Inventor whose scientific life is enhanced by volunteerism in non-profit organizations. Merkle is a founding member, Secretary and Treasurer of the Fort Worth Life Sciences Coalition (FWLSC), an active Executive Committee member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Local Section of the American Chemical Society (ACSDFW), and until 2024 served on the Board of the Fairmount Community Garden, Fort Worth TX. Having supported arts organizations by attendance, volunteer activities, and other contributions, Merkle is thrilled to join the Board of Luna Composition Lab and eagerly looks forward to
Luna Lab’s stellar future.

Nancy S. Sanders is the Chair of the Board of Beth Morrison Projects, as well as Chair of the Board of Luna Composition Lab. Additionally, she and her husband, LA Opera board member Barry Sanders, Co- Chair LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative. Nancy served on the board of The Los Angeles Philharmonic where she was a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Learning and Outreach Committee. She also served on the Philharmonic’s Governance, Philanthropy, and Marketing Committees. Nancy is a past President of the Art Museum Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and of the Los Angeles Planned Parenthood Guild. Additionally, she has served on the boards of Communities in Schools, LA’s Best, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, the Curtis School, the Children’s Bureau of Los Angeles, the UCLA Art Council, the NPR Foundation, and the Joffrey Ballet. Nancy and her husband reside in Los Angeles.

Lee Bynum (they/them) has been advocating internationally for more equitable and accessible practices and greater technological adaptation in the arts for more than twenty years.  Bynum has held roles at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Minnesota Opera, Columbia University, Indiana University, and Saint Francis University in Hong Kong.  Bynum received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University, and their research on race and culture has been published by the university presses of Oxford, Harvard, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and NYU.  A composer and librettist, Bynum’s work has been performed in the US and Asia, and their forthcoming collaboration with Nkeiru Okoye will have a European premiere with Opera North in 2026.

In Memoriam

Jim was a new music advocate. For many years he was President of the MATA Board. MATA commissions and performs works by emerging composers from all over the world. In addition to Luna Composition Lab, Jim served on the board of Contemporaneous, a new music chamber orchestra. Jim commissioned a number of new music works, mostly by female, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming composers.

Katharine Reece holds more than 10 years of experience in fundraising and storytelling for social justice-oriented nonprofits. Katharine currently serves as Director of Development for Impact on Education, a foundation that supports students and educators in the Boulder Valley School District. Most recently, Katharine served as a fundraising consultant for a firm in New York City, working with various nonprofits to secure transformative grants, build major gifts programs, develop corporate partnerships, and tell compelling stories about their impact and work. She also worked as a journalist for nearly a decade and taught writing at various community colleges. Katharine holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in English from Wellesley College. She relocated to Colorado from New York in 2018, where she serves on the board of Motus Theater.