BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kansas Ballet Leadership
Cathy Parcaro
Board Chair
Cathy Parcaro
Cathy Parcaro is a Topeka native and nearly a life-long resident. She has an accounting degree with a minor in economics from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, and a management and finance master’s degree (MBA) from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO. She is also a Certified Investment and Derivatives Auditor (CIDA). Currently she is the Director of Market Risk Analysis Strategy at FHLBank Topeka and has been with the Bank nearly ten years. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Mark, since 2002 and they have three wonderful children, Ashtyn (14), Kellan (11), and Payton (3). While never a dancer herself, she is very fond of the art and is blessed to be a part of the Kansas Ballet community.
Angela Smith
Vice-Chair / Secretary
Angela Smith
Ms. Smith graduated from Baker University with an accounting degree. Currently she is a Senior Accountant at Evergy, Inc. Ms. Smith also serves as a member of the Tecumseh South Elementary School Site Council and the Shawnee Heights District Advisory Council, as well as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels. She and her husband Travis have three children, Jo, Hayden and Hudson. Additionally, Ms. Smith completed several years of intensive classical ballet training as a youth.
Bill Tregemba
Treasurer
Bill Tregemba
Mr. Tregemba, retired, was formerly the senior vice president of commercial lending at Capital City Bank. He graduated from Baker University with a degree in Business Administration and earned a degree from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. He’s worked for several Topeka banks since moving to the city in 1983. Additionally, he has served as treasurer of the non-profit MBT and was a member of the Topeka West Rotary.
Dedra Duran-Gray
Dedra Duran- Gray
Dedra Duran-Gray is a lifelong Topeka native. She attended Shawnee Heights High School and went on to obtain her BBA and MBA from Washburn University. Dedra is currently the Director of Collateral & Safekeeping Operations for FHLBank Topeka. She is currently working towards obtaining her Masters of Legal Studies and also serves on the Finance Committee for the YWCA. Her love for ballet began when her oldest daughter started dancing with Kansas Ballet Academy (KBA) during its opening year. She has been involved from the very beginning and both of her daughters currently dance for KBA.
Jennifer Goetz
Jennifer Goetz
Ms. Goetz graduated from the University of Kansas in 2003 with a degree in graphic design. She went on to receive an MBA from Baker University in 2013. A native Kansan, Ms. Goetz is an active and ardent supporter of arts, small business and community betterment. She regularly finds herself assisting small business with graphic design, social media engagement, and business growth. After the birth of her daughter Jillian in 2010, ballet quickly became an activity they naturally gravitated toward.
Jennifer also serves on the ARTSConnect marketing board, serves as the KU Alumni Marching Band Board President, is a SilverThumbs team leader and was the event director for Discover the Edge, a benefit for Kansas Children’s Discovery Center.
Melissa McDonald
Melissa McDonald
Ms. McDonald studied Ceramics and Art History at the University of Kansas and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Washburn University. Currently she is an Enviromental Program Administrator for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Jason Thompson
Jason Thompson
Mr. Thompson is a native of Hutchinson, Kansas, and a resident of Topeka since 2007. He is an attorney in the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, the office that provides nonpartisan legislative legal expertise to the Kansas Legislature. Mr. Thompson has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and American Studies from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Karen, have three children, Neva Jane, Caroline, and Victoria. Kansas Ballet Academy has been an important part of their lives since 2013 when Neva Jane debuted in The Nutcracker and began her journey to Senior Company Dancer.
Past Chairs
Robin Wolgast
Robin Wolgast
Ms. Wolgast moved to Topeka with her family in 2009 after living and working in New York City for more than 20 years. She has an extensive background in media and marketing and has served in various organizations as vice president for marketing, senior creative director, and managing director. Most recently, after transitioning to the non-profit sector, she was responsible for securing gifts of more than $1 million as senior major and planned giving officer for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She is a graduate of Vassar College, studied architecture at Cornell University and continues to be an active volunteer for both schools. She also serves on boards at Topeka Collegiate School and Friends of the Topeka Zoo.
Joe Pennington
Joe Pennington
Mr. Pennington graduated from Washburn Tech with a specialty in engineering and began working at Stevenson Company, Inc. in 1991. He’s currently on the board of the Sheet Metal Apprenticeship Program in Kansas City, Missouri.
Clark W. Trammell
Clark W. Trammell
Mr. Trammell has more than 45 years of successful experience in business, banking, transportation, and economic development. He has a BSBA from Sacred Heart Junior College (now Newman University) with undergraduate work at Wichita State University.