Nick is a financial advisor with Edward Jones here in Jackson. In his practice, he makes it a priority to learn about what is most important to each of his clients before he helps them with their investment strategy. Helping people reach their goals has been a theme throughout Nick's professional life.

 

Before entering the financial sector, Nick focused on outdoor education.  He originally came to the Tetons to complete the Teton Science Schools graduate program in 2014. During that first year he fell in love with the landscape and the people that make this place so special. He went on to earn a Master's of Science degree in Natural Science Education from the University of Wyoming and his Master's thesis focused on professional development workshops for teachers in Bhutan. He has worked and volunteered for several nonprofits in Jackson, often with a focus on educational programming for children and adults.  

 

Music played a major role in Nick's life since he was a child. He benefitted greatly from music education in school and he went on to earn a music minor in college. He enjoys writing and singing songs for family and friends. By serving on the TMS board, he is excited to be a part of an organization that is expanding music education in our community. 

Over the course of her diverse and successful career as an actress (AEA), singer, director, educator, and now business owner, Nicole has dedicated thousands of hours to mastering the art of a compelling performance. She has extensive experience in the performing arts, with over 25 years performing on a stage or directing others in productions. She has two recorded albums. Her last album, In My Life, was recorded with the late Keith Phillips.  

 

Her business, PRESeNT, is a professional coaching service that specializes in presentation skills, clear and concise communication, and public speaking. Nicole is a Professional Coach through Co-Active Training Institute, an ICF accredited organization.

 

Nicole earned a degree in Theatre with a minor in French from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. As well as professionally coaching, Nicole is a certified teacher of Theatre Arts. She taught at Park City High School for three years and received the Excellence in Teaching Award all three years. She was also nominated for the Sarah Doiley Utah Teacher of the Year Award.  

 

In the non-profit arena, Nicole directed the Annual Youth Musical at Off Square Theatre Company for nine seasons and worked as their Education Director. Nicole recently served as Program Director for Boundless, a funding opportunity to support children in extra-curricular actives in Teton County, Wyoming.

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Charley Hutson is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for UBS Financial Services where he has worked for the past 38 years.

 

Charley first came to Jackson Hole in the 1970s for the climbing and mountaineering unique to the Teton Valley. Having had a home here since 2005, he and his wife Vicki permanently relocated to Jackson in 2014 from Washington D.C. They have three adult children who live in D.C. and Atlanta. Charley is an avid fly fisherman and outdoorsman. He volunteers for the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, as a ranger for the Wildlife Brigade, and for the winter Ski Ambassador program in Grand Teton National Park. 

 

He is a drummer and vocalist and is active in the local music scene. He is a graduate of Vassar College and is a native New Yorker.

Don Baker started his career as a chemical engineer at Chevron after graduating Tau Beta Pi with honors from UC Berkeley. He held a number of engineering, staff and management positions at Chevon and later, at Geon. He has also held executive and managerial positions in three start-ups: a wholesale distributorship, an electric motor technology company that improved efficiency and noise suppression, and an optical technology company.

 

In his nonprofit undertakings, Don helped coordinate a cyber-tutoring program for Upward Bound high school students. He was also a board member of Netiya, an interfaith organization that helps establish community gardens and promotes healthy food choices primarily in inner city locations. Don served for a couple of years as an advisory board member for Vertical Harvest.

 

After moving permanently to Jackson in 2014, he was appointed to the Teton County ISWR advisory board, has served as a Habitat for Humanity board member and is a Rotarian.

His hobbies include the typical outdoor Jackson stuff as well as woodworking, SCUBA and piano.

Mark is employed as Vice President of Operations for Crystal Creek Capital, a position he has held since 2022. Mark has extensive experience in capital construction projects, non-profit management and fundraising. He joined the staff after ten years as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Grand Teton National Park Foundation, and five years as vice president of a general engineering contracting firm in California.

 

Prior to relocating to California, Mark was executive director of the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyoming. In this capacity, Mark managed the organization during its formative years, including completion of its $35 million capital campaign and successful phased construction. Before that, Mark was a senior staff member at the Jackson Hole Land Trust for seven years. In all, Mark has over 25 years of professional nonprofit experience in Jackson Hole.

 

Mark earned a B.A. in geography from University of Oregon in 1992. As a member of Teton Music School’s board, his duties include work relating to budget, finance, and other governance activities.

Michele's duties include compliance with applicable laws and human resource matters. She is a practicing attorney who concentrates her law practice on mediation and arbitration, and workplace investigations. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University School of Law where she taught an advanced course on Dispute Resolution. She is licensed in Wyoming.

 

Before opening her own law practice, Michele served as an in-house attorney for a global technology company and was a partner at a prominent Seattle law firm, Preston Gates & Ellis. She has served as Past-President and Trustee of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington, and as Chair of the Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. Michele is a graduate of Oberlin College and Georgetown University Law Center. In her free time, Michele plays the piano.  Both of her grown children learned to play musical instruments and participated in jazz and marching bands throughout high school.

Lesli joined the Teton Music School board because she highly values music in her life and believes learning to play a musical instrument enriches a student’s life. She has played the flute and piano since childhood and more recently learned to play the cello. Over the years she has performed in bands, community orchestras, and ensembles and continues to play the flute today as a member of the Jackson Hole Community Band.  One of the highlights of her first year living in Jackson was playing patriotic songs on the back of a flatbed truck in the town Fourth of July parade. 

 

Lesli holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia Business School and a BA in Mathematics from Wellesley College. She worked as a marketing brand manager at Kraft General Foods and Del Monte and as a commercial banker at Marine Midland Bank. She served as PTA President, fundraising auction chair and trustee at the Bay School of San Francisco. Lesli’s other non-profit experience includes working with the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Santa Barbara Toba Sister City Group.

 

Lesli lives in Jackson with her blues guitarist husband and has two musically-talented adult children. Lesli hopes to contribute her marketing and business background and her experience as both a music learner and as a parent of musicians to expand music education for students in the Jackson community.

Vickie Mates brings over 25 years of leadership experience in government and nonprofit sectors, specializing in public lands visitor engagement and education. She has held senior positions at Grand Teton, Yosemite, Theodore Roosevelt, and Cuyahoga Valley National Parks. As the founding executive director of the National Park Friends Alliance, Vickie has been instrumental in fostering collaborations between public agencies and nonprofit organizations. Her consulting firm, Team Mates Ventures, focuses on building strong teams and effective partnerships within public land management and nonprofit sectors.

 

An avid pianist and passionate supporter of music education, Vickie is excited to contribute to Teton Music School’s mission. She is also a devoted dog lover and enjoys exploring the outdoors.

 

Vickie holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from Allegheny College and a Master of Science in Resource Interpretation from Stephen F. Austin State University.

A love of movement has always been a way of life for Jessica Zazzara. Growing up in Breckenridge, Colorado, Jessica’s passions for skiing, biking, hiking fishing and dance began at a young age. Continuing to pursue ballet, modern and ethnic dancing Jessica received a BFA with an emphasis in performance and choreography at Stephens College. This led her to work with Ballet Aspen and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, as well as danced and performed around the United States, Europe, South Africa, Brazil, India and Vietnam. 

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Jessica has been certified through the Pilates Studio of New York since 1997 and intensively trained & taught under the tutelage of Master Instructor Romana Kryzanowski, who trained under Joseph Pilates for thirty years. Jessica opened Pilates in the Tetons in 1999. She has a large passion for teaching Pilates, dance as well as the other body awareness disciplines she is certified in. Her extensive dance repertoire covers many ethnic rhythms East Indian, African, Russian and Tap are a few. 

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Jessica sold Pilates in the Tetons in 2019 and now spends most of her time supporting her three active children. Nurturing their education and passions. As a Teton music School board memberJessica is excited to represent and be a voice for other young sprouting artists in the valley.