Board of Directors
Vanessa Vassar, President
Vanessa Vassar grew up in a home filled with music. At the age of four, she began piano lessons. She went on to play the clarinet and eventually to study voice—singing in quartets and choirs as well as solo— including an exciting performance in an opera chorus and on stage at Carnegie Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horn. After years of classical training, Vanessa stepped into the music recording world, releasing three albums with her band Phonoroid. She wrote lyrics and composed melodies to music that encompassed everything from her folk roots to her opera training.
A storyteller first, Vanessa worked as a writer at MTV, directed documentaries, music videos and short films, and loves relating the narrative of a good story through her photography. Her children’s story Evan and the Skygoats won 3 Purple Dragonfly awards and the NM/AZ book award for Parenting & Family.
Vanessa is mom to Sky and Evan and Stepmom to Samantha and Mamie.
Huitzil Bennett Perez, Vice President
Huitzil Bennett Perez is a student at the University of New Mexico pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a focus in Media Studies and a minor in Flamenco Dance. With experience in community and social media outreach, Huitzil also currently works at MediaDesk, a local marketing company that serves non-profit organizations.
As a child, Huitzil studied violin through the Suzuki Method and, in 2010, she was one of the first musical youth to receive a Skybird Scholarship to Hummingbird Music Camp. Seven years later, she joined the SVVMF Youth Board and eventually graduated to the SVVMF Board of Directors. In 2021, she served as Secretary to the Board of Directors and is now honored to continue to create opportunities for youth as SVVMF’s Vice President.
Velina Vassar, Treasurer
Velina joined the Sky Velvet Vassar Music Foundation Board of Directors in 2017. She understands how powerful a musical education can be and wants to share the opportunity with New Mexico youth. Like her niece, Sky, Velina studied violin and piano.
Velina is pictured here with tuning forks which she incorporates in each of her healing treatments as a Massage Therapist. She says that tuning forks are like music in that they both create sound and healing vibrations on a cellular level.
Velina is a nationally certified massage therapist and a member of AMTA and NCBTMB. She has worked and taught in the Healing Arts for over 30 years, developing her own unique methodology, ReVassage.
Samantha Daitz, Spokesperson
When Samantha Daitz was a small child, her family melded together with Sky's family and the two became very close. After Sky passed away and the Sky Velvet Vassar Music Foundation was formed, Samantha often attended board meetings with Vanessa Vassar. She was the first member of the SVVMF Youth Board of Directors and brought the invaluable perspective of a young musician to the group.
Samantha eventually became the Spokesperson of the foundation and has performed regularly singing and playing her ukulele or guitar on the KUNM Children’s Hour and at fundraising events. She was honored as one of the "Great Kids" by New Mexico Kids Magazine for her work with the foundation. Samantha is currently majoring in Journalism and Media Studies at New Mexico State University.
Sitara Schauer, Scholarship Coordinator
Sitara Schauer is an interdisciplinary multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, teacher and performer. She has orchestrated numerous compositions for theatre, operas, festivals, art installations, schools and film. Classically trained, Sitara has been influenced by many masterful violin and voice teachers. Each teacher encompasses a different cultural genre to fulfill her unique approach to crafting composition, arrangement and melodies.
Sitara’s primary creative expression is her band, Rumelia Collective. This traditional and contemporary ensemble presents the exotic and delightful sounds of the Balkans. Playing together for over a decade, Rumelia’s repertoire is derived from traditional and popular tunes of Albania, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Her diverse musical arrangements and performances have lead her to collaborate with Wise Fool New Mexico, Circus Luminous, Lifesongs, AMP Concerts, New Mexico Gay Mens Chorus, Performance Santa Fe, Pomegranate Dance Studios, Opera in the Schools, Zozobra, Grasshopper Music, Santa Fe Youth Sympony, Street Legal Theatre and Santa Fe Classic Theatre.
In 2019, she was the Musical Director for the Santa Fe Classic Theatre production of “Romeo and Juliet.” She is honored to remain the Musical Director for “As You Like It,” premiering in 2020. Sitara has been on the SVVMF Board of Directors since 2012. She had the honor of being Sky’s first violin teacher.
Sofia Resnik-Cornet, Media Coordinator
Sofia Resnik-Cornet is a visual artist with experience in graphic design, web design, and branding. She serves as Editor in Chief of Zephyr Magazine, a Southwest-based fashion photography magazine. Her installation work has been shown at 516 Arts, Thomas Robertello Gallery, the Albuquerque Museum, and SOMOS Abq.
Sofia shared a wonderful friendship with Sky and joined the SVVMF Board of Directors in 2019 to honor Sky’s memory. She provides support in sharing the foundation’s message as SVVMF’s Media Coordinator.
For eight years, Sofia worked as an assistant art teacher at the Albuquerque Museum. She has also worked with preschoolers and teenagers in a volunteer capacity. Seeing firsthand the difference extracurricular activities can make in the lives of young people, Sofia is passionate about connecting the youth of New Mexico to opportunities to express themselves and develop skills in the arts.
Teresa Gallegos
Teresa Gallegos was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She studied piano and clarinet and says music has always played an important role in her life.
As a nurse in critical care, she incorporates classical music into her work as a way to relax the tension-- even while flying in a helicopter to get a critical patient. Teresa currently continues her work as a nurse in New Mexico, a community she has served for over 25 years.
Teresa finds sanctuary in the outdoors and has a passion for dogs and music. Teresa joined the Sky Velvet Vassar Music Foundation in 2019. She is pictured here with her dog, Bexley, who loves classical music too.
Ayanna Freeman
Ayanna Freeman has always loved music. In her youth in the southern United States she excelled as a saxophonist, and her musical tastes have only expanded with the incredible experiences she’s had as an adult. As a clothing designer, Ayanna travelled extensively in Asia frequenting India, Hong Kong, and China. At the age of 29, she moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, India to run a fashion design department. There she immersed herself in the local culture—music, art, entertainment, traditions, and natural remedies.
It was an organic progression for her to then start her own skincare company, Ayanna Denise Skin, for which Ayanna hand-makes all of the products. She is also a regular contributor to Encantado and Los Ranchos Village magazines, writing about skincare topics and do-it-yourself remedies. Though Ayanna never knew Sky, she says, “Sky’s soul has touched me through her beautiful mother and siblings and I am honored to continue Sky’s efforts in sharing the contagious love of music.”
Mark Michel
Mark Michel is President, CEO, and co-founder of The Archaeological Conservancy. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Missouri and is a former management consultant and executive assistant to the governor of New Mexico. He was instrumental in the Society for American Archaeology’s efforts to pass the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, which is now the principal law protecting archaeological sites.
Mamie Yanu Willis
Mamie Yanu Willis was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico into a community of BIPOC, Queer folx, artists, actors, musicians and activists. She began acting, singing, dancing and playing the violin before the age of eight. At nine, she met Sky and they bonded over music, dance, social justice and romcoms. They considered each other sisters. At the age of 12, Mamie moved to Belize, where she began playing guitar and later moved on to the electric bass. Her childhood experiences helped to shape the kind of art she makes today, which is focused on community healing and resistance under the settler-colonial state, specifically under the lenses of the African diaspora.
Mamie joined the Sky Velvet Vassar Music Foundation when she returned to the states for her senior year of high school. She moved to Oakland, CA in 2017 and is currently a Music Major at Mills College. Additionally, Mamie works in multiple venues in the San Francisco Bay Area as a stage technician and actively uses her experiences in our historically inequitable entertainment industry as well as with SVVMF to open up opportunities, train and provide resources to underserved musicians and artists.
Fae Ordaz
Fae Ordaz was born and raised in the vibrant music scene of Santa Fe, New Mexico and is a graduating senior of New Mexico School for the Arts, studying music. She is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, composer, vocalist, and performer. She began playing music with the violin at the age of two and has since then learned guitar and bass for her Santa Fe based band Rubylyth, acted in musicals like The Addams Family as Alice Beneike, won National YoungArts Award for voice, performed a jazz set at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, and much more.
Fae met Sky when she was very young, and Sky was her babysitter. As the Sky Velvet Vassar Foundation was formed, she started attending meetings for the SVVMF Youth Board. Through that experience, she helped with multiple music fundraisers. She will continue to study music at Oberlin College & Conservatory in the departments of Jazz Voice and Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA).
Youth Board of Directors
Queen Freeman
SVVMF Youth Board Member Queen Freeman is a true abstract artist. She also enjoys painting rainbows and waterfalls more than anything. Born in Bangalore, India, Queen has grown up with a global view on music, art, and culture. Her laugh is infectious and she loves being creative. Queen is excited to be part of the Sky Velvet Vassar Music Foundation--a loving organization that feeds her heart.
Evan Daitz
Evan Daitz follows in the footsteps of his sisters Sky, Mamie and Samantha in his appreciation of musical studies. Evan loves all things music, most especially playing cello and composing for larger ensembles. His recent composition, A Balloon’s Breath: Three Short Pieces for String Orchestra, premiered in April 2024. Evan has participated in writing and performing an operetta, Problems With The Apocalypse, with the Albuquerque Academy Opera Club. He plays cello with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and has also studied flamenco guitar, piano, marimba, voice.
Board of Directors Alumni
Lisa Donald
Eric Sewell
Peter Kaplan
Cyd Riley
Stephen Michael Bennett
Maryellen Missick-Tow
Elizabeth Pelz
Donna Schmidt
Robert McNeill
Daniel Gutierrez
Amy Williams
Gerard Kerbleski
Keith Jordan
Sara Jo Fischer
Todd Resch
Nathan Kaplan
Meztlitonali Bennett Perez
Pearl Sandoval
Ysabel Sandoval
Todd Resch
Betsy VanLeit
Steve Paternoster
Michele Minnis