MINNEAPOLIS–ST. PAUL, MN — In a major governance expansion reflecting the evolving landscape of arts management and institutional philanthropy, VocalEssence has announced the addition of six high-profile professionals to its Board of Directors. The appointments—effective September 2026—bring a potent combination of corporate executive leadership, human resources expertise, venture consulting, and public arts governance to the 58-year-old choral organization.
As performing arts institutions across the United States navigate post-pandemic donor shifts, changing audience demographics, and complex operational environments, VocalEssence’s strategic expansion signals a proactive approach to board stewardship. The newly appointed directors will act as regional ambassadors while providing fiduciary oversight, driving long-range strategic planning, and safeguarding the financial resilience of one of the nation’s premier choral arts non-profits.
Executive Overview: A Strategic Convergence of Business and the Arts
Founded in 1968, VocalEssence has grown from a local choral ensemble into an internationally recognized arts institution, operating multiple performing groups, educational outreach programs, and commissioning initiatives. As the organization approaches its sixth decade of operation, its leadership is prioritizing cross-sector governance capabilities designed to pair artistic excellence with corporate-level operational discipline.
The six new board members—Sooki Jalali, Harry Miller, Bunny Robinson, Carolyn Sleeth, Sunita Vongharath-Evenson, and Karen Voracek—represent a deliberate cross-section of Minnesota’s corporate, philanthropic, and civic ecosystems. Their combined backgrounds span Fortune 500 executive suites, global medical technology enterprises, specialized human capital consultancies, and state-level arts commissions.
Arts Advocacy & Public Policy: Leveraging state and national arts administration experience to navigate cultural policy.
Profiles in Leadership: Broadening Institutional Capability
Healthcare Strategy and Executive Leadership: Carolyn Sleeth
Carolyn Sleeth brings more than two decades of senior executive experience within the highly regulated medical device sector. Most recently, Sleeth served as Senior Vice President and U.S. General Manager at Insulet, where she commanded a 700-person commercial organization and sustained annual revenue growth exceeding 20 percent. Prior to her tenure at Insulet, she spent years in executive roles at Medtronic, guiding marketing, market development, and corporate strategy within the company’s cardiac, aortic, and venous vascular divisions.
A resident of the Minneapolis area for two decades, Sleeth’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts in History from Stanford University, a Master’s degree in Russian, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Her appointment adds substantial organizational management, commercial scaling expertise, and complex operational insight to the board’s strategic oversight committee.
Philanthropic Innovation and Marketing Transformation: Karen Voracek
Karen Voracek joins the board with over 30 years of corporate and non-profit leadership experience focused on strategy, customer experience, and organizational transformation. Currently serving as Vice President of Donor Experience, Marketing & Strategy at Thrivent Charitable, Voracek oversees enterprise strategy, service operations, brand marketing, and product management for charitable giving vehicles.
Before entering the philanthropic sector, Voracek spent nearly three decades directing strategic corporate initiatives. Her specialized work bridging corporate operational standards with charitable giving models provides VocalEssence with valuable insight into modern donor engagement strategies. Voracek holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and German from Carroll University. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality and maintains a lifelong personal connection to music as a trained clarinetist and active parish choral singer.
Arts Governance, Human Resources, and Public Policy: Bunny Robinson
Bunny Robinson brings a unique dual perspective to VocalEssence, possessing deep credentials in both executive talent management and public arts policy. Robinson currently acts as an executive consultant with career transition firm Navigate Forward and serves as principal consultant at Robinson-Robinson & Associates, a retained executive search firm specializing in building diverse talent pipelines for senior management roles.
Robinson’s public service career includes board appointments with the Minnesota State Arts Board, Arts Midwest, and the State Programs Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, D.C. Additionally, her non-profit governance experience encompasses terms with United Way Minneapolis, the Conflict Resolution Center, Missions Inc. Programs, the Women’s Association of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, and the Cultural Fluency Initiative.
A Chicago native who held a 20-year tenure as a local election judge through 2025, Robinson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL) from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She also serves as a contract mediator for the Minnesota Department of Education.
Entrepreneurial Scale and Cross-Cultural Advocacy: Sooki Jalali
Sooki Jalali’s appointment bridges business development with multicultural community engagement. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Minnesota, Jalali graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Business before founding three successful enterprises across the wellness and business development sectors.
Jalali currently serves as a Business Consultant at the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), where she provides strategic advisory services to minority business enterprises (MBEs) seeking to scale operations and access capital. Her community involvement includes volunteer leadership roles with the Ebenezer Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Hunger Solutions, and the Alliance for a New Humanity. A certified yoga instructor trained under Dr. Deepak Chopra, Jalali was nominated for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year fundraising campaign in 2017 and brings a broad network of business and civic relationships to the board.
Organizational Mentorship and Long-Range Planning: Harry Miller
With over 40 years of experience advising business enterprises and mission-driven entities, Harry Miller brings extensive expertise in corporate governance, organizational design, and strategic partnership creation.
As a volunteer mentor and leader with SCORE Twin Cities, Miller counsels entrepreneurs and small business leaders on operational expansion, risk mitigation, and structural strategy. Within SCORE, he has led key development, fundraising, and governance initiatives designed to expand organizational capacity. His focus on the board will center on sustaining institutional stability, refining governance protocols, and designing long-term strategic growth plans.
Human Capital and Organizational Health: Sunita Vongharath-Evenson
Sunita Vongharath-Evenson brings executive-level human resources expertise focused on organizational culture, leadership development, and change management within non-profit frameworks. Her professional practice centers on building resilient workplace cultures and managing structural change within mission-aligned institutions. Vongharath-Evenson’s focus will support VocalEssence’s internal organizational development, equity initiatives, and staff development programs.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Navigating the Modern Non-Profit Landscape
The strategic expansion of VocalEssence’s board comes at a critical time for performing arts institutions nationwide. Data from national arts research organizations indicates that post-2020 operational models require non-profit boards to diversify their skill sets beyond traditional philanthropic giving. Arts boards are increasingly tasked with overseeing digital transitions, adapting to shifts in corporate sponsorship, and addressing complex human capital requirements.
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VOCALESSENCE INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE
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• Year Founded: 1968
• Years of Operation: 58 Years
• Artistic Director & Founder: Philip Brunelle
• Executive Director: Amy Jaine Wielunski
• Geographic Focus: Twin Cities Metro Area, Regional, & National Touring
• Core Governance Focus: Fiduciary Oversight, Strategic Growth, Community Access
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Minnesota maintains one of the highest concentrations of choral ensembles per capita in North America, making the Twin Cities a nationally recognized hub for choral innovation. Within this environment, VocalEssence maintains a distinct position by operating both professional and community-based ensembles—including the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, the VocalEssence Chorus, the VocalEssence Vintage Voices ensemble for older adults, and the VocalEssence Lullaby Project for new parents.
Maintaining these programmatic offerings requires a multi-layered funding model. By onboarding board members with deep roots in executive management (Sleeth), private philanthropy (Voracek), diverse recruitment (Robinson), and economic development (Jalali), VocalEssence is positioning itself to weather economic fluctuations and expand its donor base across new corporate and demographic sectors.
Official Statements and Executive Commentary
Institutional leadership framed the appointments as a key step in expanding the organization’s reach and ensuring long-term operational resilience.
Philip Brunelle, Founder and Artistic Director of VocalEssence, emphasized the connection between community representation and artistic growth:
"I’m delighted to welcome our new board members to the organization. Our mission is to unite our community in song, and each one of our new board members creates an opportunity we deeply value—to connect with the new voices and new networks that are always growing in the place we’ve called home for more than half a century. Serving on our board is a generous contribution of time, skill, and spirit, and we know these incredible professionals have insights and perspectives that will enhance VocalEssence beyond measure."
Amy Jaine Wielunski, Executive Director of VocalEssence, underscored the practical management capabilities the new class brings to the organization:
"These new board members bring a powerful mix of executive leadership, HR, marketing, philanthropy, and arts governance experience to VocalEssence. I am thrilled to welcome them on board! Just as inspiring are their personal connections to our mission, from lifelong choral singers to newer enthusiasts, all united by the belief that singing has the power to bring people together. I am excited at the opportunity to work with each of them as we grow our impact across the Twin Cities and beyond."
Future Outlook: Strategic Roadmap and Governance Trajectory
The onboarding of these six board members marks the beginning of an intentional strategic push for VocalEssence as it heads toward its 60th anniversary decade. Over the next three to five fiscal years, the refreshed Board of Directors is expected to focus on several strategic imperatives:
Expanding Regional and Digital Footprints: Capitalizing on modern marketing methodologies—led by insights from corporate strategists like Voracek and Sleeth—to broaden digital patronage and regional audience capture.
Deepening Community Partnerships: Leveraging Jalali’s business networks and Robinson’s extensive arts advocacy history to establish new community access points across historically underrepresented neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.
Strengthening Capital Foundations: Utilizing executive fundraising experience and strategic planning oversight from Miller and Vongharath-Evenson to build long-term endowment reserves and diversify institutional revenue streams.
Elevating Equity and Governance Standards: Implementing modern board governance frameworks that reflect current standards in workplace equity, procedural transparency, and community accountability.
By pairing a historic artistic mandate with sophisticated executive leadership, VocalEssence continues to demonstrate how legacy arts institutions can adapt to contemporary governance challenges. As the new board members take up their roles, the organization remains well-positioned to maintain its status as a vital cultural force across Minnesota and the national choral community.
