PHIL LISLE

President, Entrepreneur

Phil has been involved with both the travel and photography industries since 1975. He is currently President of Pacific Photo Studios and General Partner with Royalty World Cruises. In addition to The Young Americans, he serves on the Board of Directors for Music Theatre Academy of Orange County; Allard Artists, Inc; Lisle Corporation; EZ Way, Inc; Canyon Creek HOA; and Eagles Knoll HOA. Phil is married with three grown children and lives in Irvine, CA. He has been an ardent supporter of The Young Americans since 1981.

DREW MCGARITY

Treasurer & Secretary, Senior Engineering Manager

Drew joined The Young Americans in 1992 as a drummer, but was afforded subsequent opportunities as audio engineer, company manager, and associate producer. He left the YAs in 1996 to pursue an aerospace engineering career, but is always honored when asked to mix one of the group’s special event performances. He is most thankful to the group for introducing him to his incredible wife, Cynthia, a beautiful 1st soprano southern belle from Alabama. Drew has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University, and an MS in Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California (Fight On!). He is currently a senior engineering manager for The Boeing Company, a father of two, a golfer, and an avid runner.

HILDE BONESTEEL

Hilde Bonesteel has a passion for people and creating environments that lovingly support people in being who they are. This is the core philosophy Hilde brings to the two senior living care centers she owns and operates in Northern Michigan; Pineview Cottage and Cottage of Davison. The approach to care for Alzheimer’s and dementia residents Hilde has applied to her care centers has been describes as “radical; radical love, radical joy, and radical hope.”

Hilde and her husband Dean, reside in Harbor Springs, Michigan where Hilde also serves on the board of directors for the Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Little Traverse Yacht Club.

VANESSA BROWN

Professional Studio Musician

Vanessa Brown was involved with The Young Americans as a performer and musician from 1975 to 1982. She is currently a professional musician based in Los Angeles, California. Along with working as a percussionist for productions such as Disney’s The Lion King, Vanessa now plays for the ABC hit show Dancing With The Stars.

MINDY BROADLEY

Executive Producer, retired

Mindy began her career as a producer/director on the Creative Development team at the Walt Disney Company in the early 1980’s and stayed in international theme park production with Dr Jeekahn’s in Tokyo, Lotte World in Seoul, and Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Expanding into the world of sports and spectaculars, Mindy’s work continued with four MLB’s All-Star Games, three NFL’s Super Bowl halftime shows, FIFA’s 1994 World Cup Soccer opening and closing ceremonies and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, including the design and production of all entertainment for the host sponsor, The Coca Cola Company. In the world of politics, Mindy has produced events for past Presidents Bush and Carter, and late past Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, and for corporate clients including M & M/Mars, Delta Airlines, Philip Morris and Louis Vuitton/Moët/Hennesey. A Young American since 1976, Mindy is spending her retirement as a guest director with The Young Americans Music Outreach tour.

WILLIAM DEMMER

CEO, Demmer Corporation

Mr. Demmer received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University. He currently serves as CEO of Demmer Holdings, a group of companies located in Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Colorado, and Mexico. All companies produce complex metal components for the aerospace, chemical and computer industries. Mr. Demmer is also President and CEO of Demmer Properties, Airport Realty, Demmer Engineering and River Caddis Development, LLC. The combined companies employ over 1,200 people.

DAVID KLEIN

After one year of college studying business management, David took a leave of absence to help his father in his land development business which was going through huge growth in 1977. At the age of 20, David was the project superintendent om his first construction site.

In 1980, David stepped away from construction to join The Young Americans as primary bass player and multi-instrumentalist at Boyne Highlands, MI. During his time with The Young Americans David played bass at “Tibbies Music Hall” and for the first 3 tour performances of the Gershwin Tour. Prior to returning to the construction business David continued his Musca pursuits touring with MarkVII and forming a “Top 40” band.

After returning to the construction business, David moved from project superintendent, to projects manager and ultimately oversaw all design and development of properties. As a design and infrastructure engineer David developed “the Split Log,” “Carbon Monoxide Shut-off System” as well as dozens of processing systems that were revolutionary to the industry including “Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete”.

Today, David is married to his wife of over 35-years, Laurie Klein, and is co-owner of Dakota Works, with former Young American sound engineer, Trent Nelson. David and Laurie have four children, Natalie, Alissa, Gideon and Gabriel.

RICH LEIST

Rich Leist is from Muskegon, MI and joined The Young Americans as a New Kid in 1998. Now residing in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Katherine Leist, and 2 kids, Jaxon and Adeline.

Rich is the Head of Talent and Casting for All3 Media America. Prior to All3, Rich was a producer who oversaw casting for shows on FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC. His shows include hits Wipeout on ABC, Fear Factor on NBC, and Celebrity Undercover Boss on CBS. In addition to casting, Rich has produced celebrity talent on the shows Celebrity Name Game, and GSN’s Hellevator.

He has put thousands of people on TV and loves finding characters that have great stories and big personalities.

MICHELLE LUND

Following in her beloved mother’s footsteps, Michelle Lund is devoted to making the world a brighter and kinder place for all. She is honored to participate on the boards of several great organizations, many of whom focus on the arts or wildlife rescue and preservation. For more than 15 years, Michelle has served as president of the Sharon D. Lund Foundation where she and her fellow directors enjoy partnering with organizations who care about empowering children, strengthening families, and building vital communities. Michelle and her friends have also been spotted dancing, laughing, and wildly applauding as the Young Americans share their message of inclusiveness, love, and fun around the world.

KENNY MORRIS

Mr. Morris descends from two of the most influential names in American history: he is the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington. His mother, Nettie Washington Douglass, is the daughter of Nettie Hancock Washington (granddaughter of Booker T. Washington), and Dr. Frederick Douglass III (great-grandson of Frederick Douglass). Ken’s life until the year 2007 could be described as distinguished yet decisively disengaged from his lineage until Providence called.

Ken continues his family’s legacy of anti-slavery and educational work as co-founder and president of the Atlanta-based nonprofit Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI). His career and life path are driven by a clear focus on FDFI’s mission“[t]o Advance Freedom through Knowledge and Strategic Action.”

An accomplished and prolific public speaker, Ken regularly appears before charitable organizations, local, state, and federal government agencies, civic organizations, and students across the country. He has lectured at universities including Columbia University, Morehouse College, UNLV, Tuskegee University, Loyola University Chicago, and Yale University, and has appeared on CNN, Democracy Now!, PBS, NPR, The Tavis Smiley Show, and the CBS Evening News. Ken is honored to have been a keynote speaker at the United Nations on several occasions.

Prior to co-founding FDFI in 2007, Ken was a partner at C&A Marketing, a marketing and entertainment firm partnership, recognized as a leader in the field of corporate meetings, incentive travel, and the development of customized marketing programs. He has been a member of the board of directors for Kaleidoscope Arts Factory, a nonprofit performing arts organization for children in Corona, California, the Booker T. Washington Family Committee, and the Dean’s Advisory Committee at the University of La Verne. Ken is a director of the Frederick Douglass Ireland Project and an Ambassador for the nonprofit organization Human Rights First. In November 2017, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi named him to the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission where he serves as Commission Chair.

JASON OLTHOFF

Jason started with The Young Americans in 1992 and moved into live stadium shows with 3 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies and 22 Super Bowl half time shows to his credit. Movie and Television credits include High School Musical 3, Segment Producing for Nickelodeon teen programing and live television specials. He currently is the SVP/Managing Director at MKTG, a brand marketing agency, working with elite brands including Nike, Beats by Dre, and Gatorade. Of note, Jason also overbid a showcase showdown on The Price Is Right in the late 90’s. He lives in Chicago with his more talented wife Jamye, and their two children Sydney and Kalen.