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Meet the Team

In The Band was founded in 2002 to fulfill the need for an affordable and culturally relevant solution to cuts in funding for music education in public schools.

In The Band programs create a lifelong interest in and understanding of music, one band at a time!

Yasmyn Herrera

Maxwell Garcia

Trey McHugh

Kiana kavanaugh

Briana Washington

Randy Rodarte

Anthony Herrera

Lincoln Mendell

Jeffrey Smith

Catherine Goldwyn

Gale Feldman

Gary Rabishaw

Jonathan Zucker

John Maier

Joni Milken

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Yasmyn Herrera

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Yasmyn Herrera is a singer, songwriter, and drummer from Los Angeles, California. She began her musical education with In The Band in 2009, attending the Boyle Heights program. In 2014, she continued her music education at Glendale Community College before attending the five-week Summer Program at Berklee School of Music in Boston during 2016 via a full scholarship. Through In The Band, Yasmyn has been the given the opportunity to experience and work with professional musicians in the industry, leading her to Learn, work, and now teach as an instructor with the organization. Yasmyn has a passion for music and continues to expand her knowledge and education.

Maxwell Garcia

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Maxwell Garcia is a songwriter, guitarist, and bassist from northeast Los Angeles. He began his music education in middle school learning guitar, then continued his music education with In the band in 2010. he Then went to college to learn music theory and piano. During his time in college, he also taught guitar at his former high school. After graduating with his bachelors in English education he started to write songs for his band which sparked his solo project. Now he is learning how to produce music and teaching with in the band.

Trey McHugh

Instructor/Teaching Artist

A producer, arranger, music director and multi-instrumentalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, Trey McHugh is a life-long lover and student of music. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music in 2021, Trey now lives in Los Angeles and is an instructor with In The Band. Trey brings impassioned experience, and a diverse skill set from his time spent in the music industry. This includes producing and arranging for studio albums, music directing live shows, arranging and orchestrating for musical theater, performing as a multi-instrumentalist, as well as composing original pieces for film and orchestra. Trey teaches at a number of sites for In The Band. He loves to foster an early love of music by helping the students grow, discover, and have fun in the classroom.

Kiana Kavanaugh

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Kiana kavanaugh is a multi instrumentalist with a vibrant history of playing and touring in bands. Over the years years, she has also found immense joy in sharing her musical expertise as a teacher. her journey has been a harmonious blend of performing on diverse stages and cultivating the next wave of musical talent through inspiring the next generation of musicians.

Briana Washington

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Briana Washington is a professional keyboardist, pianist, singer, composer, originated from the Bay Area in California. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on full scholarship. She has 8 years of formal teaching experience at various schools and non-profit organizations. She performs and works with many Grammy award-winning artists in the music industry.

Randy Rodarte

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Randy has been teaching rock band since 1999. For 10 years Randy taught rock band at Ramona Hall Community Center in Highland Park. In 2009, Randy received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from California State University, Los Angeles, and began his current career teaching music for LAUSD at Pio Pico Middle School, in Mid-City Los Angeles. In 1994, Randy formed the band OLLIN, and has continued to this day to record and perform on a regular basis. In 2015, In The Band founder, Catherine Goldwyn and Executive director Jeffrey Smith visited Randy’s Pio Pico classroom, and immediately realized that joining forces was not only sensible, it was inevitable. Since then, Randy has taught at In The Band APRC on a regular basis and has enjoyed the Tuesday night sessions that permeates the air of Boyle Heights.

Anthony Herrera

Instructor/Teaching Artist

Anthony Herrera is a bassist and rhythm guitarist from Northeast Los Angeles. His interest in music began at an early age when he attended a music conservatory of fine arts in 2006. he furthered his music education and started his interest in rock music as a student of In The Band beginning in 2009, attending the Boyle Heights program. In 2014, he continued his music education by attending Berklee school of Music’s Five-week summer program on a full scholarship, awarded by In The Band. Through In The Band Anthony has had the opportunity to work with professional bands and musicians, leading him to learn, grow, and now teach as an instructor with the organization. to this day Anthony continues to further his education and knowledge in music.

Lincoln Mendell

Program Director

A multi-instrumentalist with an emphasis on keyed instruments, as well as a songwriter, arranger, and improviser, Lincoln Mendell has been teaching with in the band since 2013. As a working musician and an inveterate student of music, Lincoln brings a breadth of knowledge to the classroom that is both relevant and applicable in today’s music world, while also emphasizing the study of music as an opportunity for unending learning and growth. After three years in the classroom, Lincoln began developing curriculum for in the band, eventually becoming Program Director in July of 2018, while continuing to teach at multiple in the band programs around Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Smith

Executive Director

in the band Executive Director Jeffrey Smith is a lifelong musician and a graduate of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University where he earned his degree in Finance and Marketing focusing on Entertainment, Media and Technology. Jeffrey joined the teaching staff of in the band soon after Arriving in Los Angeles in 2007 and worked in the classroom for seven years before becoming the program director and later the executive director. Combining his background in business and years as a working musician, Jeffrey brings an entrepreneurial spirit and invaluable experience from his involvement in all aspects of in the bands’s operations.

Catherine Goldwyn

Founder
Chairwoman of the Board / Executive Advisor

Yasmyn Herrera is a singer, songwriter, and drummer from Los Angeles, California. She began her musical education with In The Band in 2009, attending the Boyle Heights program. In 2014, she continued her music education at Glendale Community College before attending the five-week Summer Program at Berklee School of Music in Boston during 2016 via a full scholarship. Through In The Band, Yasmyn has been the given the opportunity to experience and work with professional musicians in the industry, leading her to Learn, work, and now teach as an instructor with the organization. Yasmyn has a passion for music and continues to expand her knowledge and education.

Gale Feldman

Director of Development

Gale Feldman is a community development professional with over two decades of experience in non-profit management, strategic planning, grant writing/fundraising, needs assessment, program development, and evaluation. her emphasis has focused on the implementation of programs that increase access to integrated community services for disadvantaged youth. she earned a Bachelors in Fine Art followed by Masters of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles. previously, gale was the director of youth alive! in LA – a hospital-based youth violence intervention program and has served as a director or advisor to numerous agencies and commissions including the violence prevention coalition of greater Los Angeles, mayor Villaraigosa’s gang reduction youth development zone strategic advisory council, the Santa Monica workforce housing commission, cope health solutions, consortium of safety net providers and community corp affordable housing. Gale’s familiarity with the socio-economic demographics and special needs of Los Angeles communities combined with a strong aptitude for designing comprehensive fundraising plans and evaluations that maximize programmatic performance will continue to ensure long-term sustainability for in the band in Los Angeles.

Gary Rabishaw

Board Vice-President / Co-Chair

Gary is a Managing Director and Founding Principal of Intrepid. He is the Co-Head of the Commercial & Consumer Technology practice. He has since involved in numerous domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity capital raises and financing for companies spanning the consumer, industrials, healthcare, and business services sectors. In 2013 he was named among the “Most Influential M&A Advisors in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Business Journal. He was born and raised in Chicago, is a die-hard Cubs fan, music enthusiast, guitar player, and father to two fabulous kids.

Jonathan Zucker

Board Treasurer

Jonathan is the Head of the Capital Markets Group at Intrepid. He is responsible for advising entrepreneurs and private equity funds on raising institutional debt and equity capital for a variety of uses such as funding growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations or working capital. Jonathan has been involved in a wide range of capital transactions, from IPOs to early-stage venture financings. Prior to joining Intrepid, he served as Vice President and Head of the Los Angeles office of U.S. Capital Partners, a direct lender, and provider of capital-raising advisory services to middle-market companies. Previously, he worked at Credit Suisse and FBR & Co. An accomplished songwriter and musician, Jonathan is a voting member of the Recording Academy, which produces the GRAMMY Awards.

John Maier

Board Secretary

Mr. John Maier serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of Blue Microphones. Mr. Maier joined Blue Microphones in 2009 and had led its recent market-defying growth. He has been a leader in the music products industry for over 20 years, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of TC Group Americas where he successfully merged TC’s North American operations and doubled the size of the company by expanding into new markets. Before TC, Maier held leadership roles at Guitar Center Management and Alesis Studio Electronics. He holds a B.S. in business management.

Joni Milken

Board Member

Joni Milken-Noah is vice president of Mike’s Math Club (MMC), a curriculum enrichment program that makes math useful and entertaining while cultivating a sense of self-worth in students. The Math Club Team of teacher-mentors make class-time visits to Los Angeles-area public elementary schools and also correspond with students all around the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands of Grenada, Trinidad, and St. Vincent. The Club’s pen-pal program, which receives more than 1,000 letters each year, nurtures friendships and a sense of belonging by connecting each young letter-writer with a Team member. Present and former students—some now grown with kids of their own—visit Joni in her colorful MMC offices in Santa Monica, filled with art, photos and other memorabilia that reflect on MMC’s lasting impact. Aside from her work with MMC, Joni lends an enthusiastic voice to the Milken Educator Awards, Milken Scholars, the TAP system and other MFF initiatives. Passionate about football and music, she can be seen in her spare time rooting for the Oakland Raiders or taking in a Neil Young concert.

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