Board of Directors

Meet The Executive Board

KATHLEEN HALE – Founder, Executive Director Senior Vice President, Universal Music Enterprises, a division of the Universal Music Group.

Kathleen Hale is the founder of Rising Star Music Fund. She is currently Senior Vice President, Universal Music Enterprises, a division of the Universal Music Group.

Kathleen began her twenty-five year career with Universal as a paralegal in the Business Affairs Department of MCA Records and together with UME/Verve President/CEO Bruce Resnikoff created the Universal Music Special Markets division. Drawing from the world’s largest and most diverse music catalog, she created custom music premiums, incentives and retail compilations with such brands as Starbucks, Bellagio, Wrangler, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Target and many others.

Throughout her career she has worked with some of the most popular and influential artists in the music industry including: Sting, Elton John, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Andrea Bocelli. She has for many years been a member of the Music and Entertainment Industry Committee for the City of Hope. Through its annual Spirit of Life dinner it has raised millions of dollars for the City of Hope.

With a life-long passion for music and her career as an executive in the music industry she wanted to share her passion. Giving to those that may not otherwise be able to benefit from the power of music seems to be a perfect path. The Rising Star Music Fund was realized after seeing countless music programs eliminated due to budget cuts or the complete lack of funding due to the crumbling economy.

MARK HARWELL – President

Owner and General Manager of the Los Angeles Lightning Basketball Team

“For me – maybe it’s my simple West Texas upbringing and maybe I’m still child-like in this – I’m a dreamer. Everyone has their own pursuit of happiness. So why not try it?”

Los Angeles (Jan. 6) –The weekend rain began to come down on cue Friday afternoon, pelting the streets and messing with the traffic outside the trendy Culver City restaurant.

Mark Harwell walked briskly across the slick sidewalk – without an umbrella – and made his way inside. A basketball was tucked under his left arm.

Considering he’s the owner and general manager of the new Los Angeles Lightning, Harwell’s entrance would have been more appropriate if it was accompanied by a few flashes of electrical charges breaking apart the gray skies, preceded by a few claps of thunder. Those Hollywood effects will come in due time. At this point, helped by some investor power from associates in the entertainment industry, Harwell storms forward with an idyllic plan to bring the Valley its very own fan-embraceable pro hoops franchise as the newest member of the fast-paced International Basketball League.

His first rule: If you must compare this to the Lakers or Clippers, don’t dare call it a minorleague operation. “This is a lot like producing a film,” said the 44-year-old Woodland Hills resident, who actually does such things with his True Grit Entertainment company at Culver Studios, where he’s involved in acquisitions and development of TV and movie projects.

“You can take a $1 million film and put it up against a $100 million film. The difference is in the quality. But with that $1 million film, if you make some nice trailers for it, and then market it right, pretty soon, it looks like a $100 million film. It comes down to being in the people business, and getting people to buy into your vision. For starters, maybe because too many starry-eyed entrepreneurs ended up with “Ishtar” stories when they tried to premiere entries in sub-NBA leagues around here.

The Hollywood Fame of the supposedly revived American Basketball Association was the latest crash and burn. The franchise touted an ownership group that included Nick Lachey, John Salley, Kyle Boller and Stacy Keibler, and even dressed Syrus Yarbrough from MTV’s reality series “Real World: Boston” as a player. Former Clippers coach Don Casey signed on. But it went straight to DVD after a couple of months of public disinterest. Other ABA teams have come and gone before even taking the court.

Only the Lakers-owned D-League Defenders seem to have no fear of being unplugged. Yet. Harwell, who has marketing training with teams in the World Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association and U.S.Basketball League, is either smart enough to have learned from other’s mistakes or naive enough to believe the IBL won’t cannibalize itself.

“I don’t want to be critical of other leagues, but a lot of them start with good intentions but the process doesn’t come together,” said Harwell, a former 6-foot-4 point guard who once played at Ventura College. “This league is only four years old, it has no black eyes like many others and it has a great business plan.”

The first of more than a dozen Lightning home games is targeted for mid-April at Cal Lutheran’s new 1,500-seat Lundring Events Center in Thousand Oaks. Harwell has tickets specifically set in the $6-$25 range with ample free parking – try finding that at Staples Center. Food and souvenirs are price-pointed to family budgets. But for those who demand (and can afford) the star treatment, courtside seats in the $100-$200 range, complete with a catered VIP area will be offered. Harwell comes off a crash-course in IBL operations from helping out a friend on short notice run the SantaBarbara Breakers franchise last spring.

The team – with former Lakers forward Samaki Walker, one-time Clippers first-round pick Lamond Murray and ex-UCLA star Toby Bailey – finished 17-6 and was a game short of making it to the IBL championship game in July. Hollywood types such as Rob Lowe, Michael Douglas, Christopher Lloyd and Kathy Ireland were recruited to support the cause.

The experience inspired Harwell to raise about $1million for his own franchise. He has got a couple of coaching candidates in mind, a few former NBA players who have interest in still competing, and roster tryouts planned at the end of March. Although the team is geared more toward generating support from those in the West Valley, Harwell senses that the Los Angeles name brings more clout in a 22-team league that has seemed to thrive best in smaller markets. “To me, this part of the Valley is more like the area I grew up in – very tight knit,” said Harwell, a native of Abilene, Texas. “That appeals to me. But we don’t have to sell it like a small-market venue. I don’t believe in that. Everything we do will be first class. L.A. will always be talent-based and we’ll bring in the right players. We want it to feel bigger than life by doing all the little things right.” OK, now cue the thunderbolts.

THOMAS A. ROWLAND – Vice President

Senior Vice President Film & Television Music Universal Music Enterprises

Mr. Rowland began his music career as a college radio DJ, recording artist and songwriter before starting an independent label in his hometown of Washington, D.C., where he also wrote a music column for the Washington City Paper. After relocating to Los Angles in 1988, he was hired by the Warner Music Group as a Film & TV Music executive. Tom was recruited to join the Universal Music Group in 1991 where he continues to serve as the head of Film & TV Music for the largest collection of recorded music in the world.

Mr. Rowland serves as Rob Zombie’s music supervisor (Halloween, Halloween II, The Devil’s Rejects) and has produced many soundtrack albums. He recently produced, mixed and engineered the first posthumous Michael Jackson release, The Stripped Mixes, which charted in the top ten digitally, and remained in the Billboard top 100 for several weeks after release. He is a voting member of NARAS (Grammy Awards) and is a member of the Producers and Engineers wing of that organization. As a songwriter, he has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Barry Weeks (multiple Dove Award Winner) and Minor Threat, among others.

Prior to his career in music, Mr. Rowland worked in political and corporate public relations and counted among his clients Senator Bob Dole, Vice President George Bush, Philip Morris USA and the Distilled Spirits Council of America.

Mr. Rowland is a graduate of the College of William & Mary, where he studied psychology, religion and music. He studied music privately with Jaco Pastorius, Jeff Berlin and Peter Princiotto (Michael Manring, Trapezoid etc.). Mr. Rowland has been happily married for 15 years and has two children. He is an Eagle Scout and is the Cubmaster of his son’s Cub Scout Pack.

GLEN SANATAR – Treasurer

Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer of Universal Music Enterprises

Glen Sanatar is Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer of Universal Music Enterprises. He has held this position since Universal Music Group formed the division in 1999. He has over 20 years experience in the Music Industry. Prior to his position at Universal Music Enterprises, he worked in various financial capacities at EMI Music from 1990-1998. He began his career in Finance as a Certified Public Accountant for Laventhol & Horwath, LLC from 1987-1990.

KATIE GILLON – Secretary

President/Owner The Gillon Group

A music industry veteran of more than 30 years, Katie Gillon serves as President/Owner of The Gillon Group, which she founded in 2003 to provide turnkey marketing services including art direction, packaging, artist development, artist management, public relations and consulting to record companies and recording artists. Some of her clients include Clint Black, Chely Wright (management), Shannon Lawson, Equity Records, and The Barbershop Harmony Society and the CMA.

She served most recently as Executive Director for the Crescendo Music Community Fund, a non-profit organization based in Nashville whose mission Is to develop a retirement community for music industry retirees and to provide financial assistance to those retirees who qualify. The current economic downturn has the project on indefinite hold at this time.

Her previous extensive experience in the music industry includes working in various capacities at MCA Records, ABC Records and Dot Records. She served most recently as Senior Vice President of Creative Services and Production for MCA Records in Nashville, where she was responsible for the visuals for all the company marketing, PR and promotional campaigns. The roster included such greats as Vince Gill, George Strait, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna, Josh Turner and many other artists.

Katie has actively served on the Board of Directors for many non profits including the NARAS National Board of Trustees, NARAS Nashville Chapter, Leadership Music, The Ear Foundation and Reading, Writing and Rhythm. She also has served in leadership roles having served two terms as President of the NARAS Nashville Chapter and two terms as President of the Leadership Music Board as well as chairing many committees on those Boards. Katie is an alumnus of Leadership Music and Leadership Nashville and is a member of the CMA, ACM, NARAS, and SOURCE. She attended Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama where she earned her BS degree in Secondary Education.

Our Directors

Tom Cartwright – Writer, Consultant, Member of NARAS & Harley Owners Group

Tom Cartwright is a 30 year veteran of the music business. His passion for music began when he attended the first Woodstock festival in 1969 and then soon began working in local record stores after school. In 1980 he moved to Los Angeles and started in the mailroom at Capitol Records, eventually working his way up to become a respected marketing executive.

Tom has produced hundreds of CD compilations and reissues and worked with a diverse lineup of artists, from Al Green to George Thorogood. From 1990 to 1994 he served on the town council of Altadena, CA and continues to be an advocate of improving pubic education.

Tom currently serves as a consultant to various labels and artists and is also an active member of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) and H.O.G.(Harley Owners Group). He is also a contributing writer to Hot Bike Baggers Magazine and has recently completed his first children’s book on motorcycles, The Adventures of Biker Bucky.

Tom is married and currently lives in Pasadena, California.

Tena Clark – Founder and Chief Executive Creative Officer of DMI Music & Media Solutions

As Founder and Chief Executive Creative Officer of DMI Music & Media Solutions, Tena Clark is responsible for driving the company’s strategic direction. DMI expresses her vision of combining the power of music, digital entertainment and non-traditional distribution to connect brands to consumers wherever they are.

Clark has bridged music and marketing throughout her colorful career. Whether composing and producing milestone commercial campaigns such as McDonald’s “Have You Had Your Break Today” or her years of writing for film and television, with credits that include My Best Friends Wedding, Where The Heart is, Hope Floats, French Kiss, Twins, CBS This Morning, and Entertainment Tonight, Clark has connected to audiences through music and has become a true thought leader on the power of music branding. Clark’s musical expertise and deep understanding of audience preferences have also resulted in the gold- and platinum-selling songs she has penned for many of the music industry’s leading artists.

Clark’s musical talents are wide reaching and varied. Most recently, Clark was the executive producer for the highly anticipated albums Still Unforgettable from Natalie Cole and This Christmas Aretha from Aretha Franklin. She also composed an original song for the Desperate Housewives soundtrack, recorded by LeAnn Rimes, produced Dionne Warwick’s first Holiday CD, My Favorite Time of the Year, as well as Church: Songs of Soul & Inspiration a dual music CD and CD-ROM box set featuring Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and top African-American female artists such as Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan, performing a collection of favorite R&B, pop and gospel songs. Clark wrote and produced the single “Way

Up There”,” recorded by Patti LaBelle for the Church CD that was nominated for a GRAMMY®

Bruce Resnikoff – President and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises

Bruce Resnikoff is President and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and the Verve Music Group. Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) is the centralized U.S. catalog and ancillary marketing entity for Universal Music Group. Verve Music Group is the world’s largest jazz recording company and includes the premier jazz label Verve. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and UCLA Law School.

Dr. Paul Young – Director, Music Industry minors program, Lecturer of Music Industry and Music Education.

Instruments/Expertise: Music Industry, Trombone

Dr. Paul Young is a full-time lecturer in the areas of music industry studies and music education, and serves as the director of the music industry studies minors program. Always an accomplished trombonist, Young began leading and booking professional groups from age 13. Earning his bachelor of music degree from University of the Pacific in 1993, he majored in music business/management under Dick Etlinger (former attorney for RCA and Casablanca Records) and Don Gorder (founder of Berklee College of Music’s music industry program) while performing all four years as the lead trombonist and a regularly featured soloist with the UOP Jazz and Wind ensembles. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1993, Young started his private teaching studio and performed at night while working by day at Lee Solters Public Relations as a junior publicist for Paul Anka, Michael Jackson’s MJJ Records label, and actors from the TV show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. In 1995, Young joined MCA Records working as a paralegal and a sample use coordinator for new releases by their artists, including Mary J. Blige, Heavy D, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sublime. Moving over to their Licensing Department in 1997, Young became a licensing contract specialist and royalty collector for the label as they merged with PolyGram Records (later re-named Universal), and produced several compilation records for their re-issue imprint, Hip-O Records. By the time Young left in 2004, he had become director of Licensing and Contract Administration for Universal Music Group (now the largest record label in the world) and a highly in-demand performer and arranger for hire, effectively becoming a working professional in literally all styles of music.

To further his inter-disciplinary musical interests, from 2004-09 Young attended USC Thornton to earn his master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees, working closely with professors Bill Watrous, Shelly Berg, Kim Richmond, Terry Cravens, Sheila Woodward, Mark Goldstein, and Dick McIlvery. While still a student he served several years as the lead trombonist in the Thornton Jazz Orchestra and as a lecture assistant for the music industry department.

Now a full-time instructor at USC Thornton, Young specializes in teaching about music publishing, record companies, intellectual property, the business and legal aspects of the music industry, and other general music/technology classes for future performers, arrangers, and educators. Young is a certified member of the Technology Institute for Music Educators (“TI:ME”), teaches computer music notation classes for the American Federation of Musicians in Hollywood, and is on the board of the Rising Star Music Fund charity program run by former music industry professionals to benefit under-funded music education programs. Young has performed with countless artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, Bill Watrous, Bill Holman, Gerald Wilson, Les Brown, Med Flory, Steve Miller, Michael Bolton, Stevie Wonder, Take 6, Patti Austin, Wynonna Judd, Natalie Cole, Seth McFarlane and Ron Jones’ orchestra for the TV show Family Guy, and many more. He is a regular member of the John Daversa Progressive Big Band, Tex Beneke Band, Ron King Big Band, Budman-Levy Orchestra, Swing City Orchestra, and still freelances regularly throughout Southern California.

GENE ZACHAREWICZ – Vice President for Special Markets and New Business Development for UME, a division of the Universal Music Group

Gene Zacharewicz started his career in the music business pretty soon after his graduation from George Washington University in the mid 1980’s joining a small start-up company called Heartland Music. Heartland Music specialized in selling recorded music via direct response television commercials, and it was a pretty fortuitous time for this type of business due to the rapid increase of households being wired for cable television.

Pretty much starting on the ground floor, he worked his way up to be a customer service representative, an assistant media buyer, media buyer, television commercial producer, executive producer, and finally general manager/vice president of Heartland Music. By the early 1990’s, Heartland had well over a million active customers on a yearly basis, and had one of the largest mail order music catalogs in existence.

In 1994, Heartland Music was sold to Time Warner and was folded into the very successful Time Life Music division. Working with a small group of enterprising individuals, Gene began creating and producing 30 minute long-form infomercials under the Time Life Music brand. These long-form infomercials which sold large box sets of music were hugely successful and expanded even further the Time Life Music brand. Many of these box sets were multi-platinum selling, and the shows themselves won awards for their creativity.

Between Heartland Music and Time Life Music, Gene established many relationships with the heads of many of the major recording companies. It was these types of relationships that led to Gene moving over to Universal Music in 2004. In the new challenging climate of digital platforms and the changing business model of the music business, Gene’s unique abilities to market and sell music are essential.

Gene Zacharewicz is currently the Vice President for Special Markets and New Business

Development for UME, a division of the Universal Music Group.