MINNEAPOLIS–ST. PAUL, MN — September 25, 2026 — VocalEssence, one of the nation’s premier choral music organizations, has announced a major expansion of its executive leadership with the appointment of six new members to its Board of Directors. Entering its 58th year of continuous operations, the Minneapolis-based nonprofit has assembled a high-powered cohort of directors spanning corporate executive leadership, human resources, healthcare management, strategic philanthropy, and cross-cultural entrepreneurship.
The newly appointed board members—Sooki Jalali, Harry Miller, Bunny Robinson, Carolyn Sleeth, Sunita Vongharath-Evenson, and Karen Voracek—join at a critical juncture for performing arts organizations nationwide. As arts institutions navigate post-pandemic audience engagement, shifting philanthropic dynamics, and evolving community demographics, the expanded governing body is tasked with ensuring financial sustainability, broadening regional outreach, and executing strategic policy decisions for the organization.
Executive Overview: A Governance Model for Modern Performing Arts
The governing board of VocalEssence serves a dual mandate: acting as community ambassadors across the Twin Cities metropolitan area and broader Midwest region, while exercising fiduciary oversight and long-term strategic planning for the 58-year-old institution. Founded in 1968, VocalEssence has built an international reputation for artistic excellence, commissioned works, and transformative community engagement programs.
The induction of these six leaders represents a deliberate alignment between executive-level corporate acumen and mission-driven cultural advocacy. The incoming class brings decades of combined expertise in scaling commercial enterprises, guiding complex organizational restructurings, leading state and national arts endowments, and managing multi-million-dollar philanthropic portfolios.
"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," stated Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director of VocalEssence. "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, emphasized the strategic breadth of the appointments. "These new board members bring a powerful mix of executive leadership, HR, marketing, philanthropy, and arts governance experience to VocalEssence," Wielunski noted. "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."
Detailed Chronology of Appointments & Appointee Profiles
The incoming class of directors brings diverse trajectories from the private, public, and social sectors. Below is a detailed breakdown of the professional backgrounds, civic contributions, and strategic domains represented by each newly appointed board member.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| VOCALESSENCE NEW BOARD MEMBERS (2026) |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Board Member | Primary Core Competencies |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Sooki Jalali | Business Scaling, Minority Enterprise, Wellness |
| Harry Miller | Enterprise Strategy, SCORE Mentorship, Governance |
| Bunny Robinson | Executive Search, HR Strategy, State/National Arts Board|
| Carolyn Sleeth | MedTech Execution, Commercial Growth (700+ org) |
| Sunita Vongharath-Evenson| Organizational Culture, HR Transformation, Leadership |
| Karen Voracek | Philanthropic Strategy, Marketing, Donor Experience |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+Sooki Jalali
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and relocating to Minnesota during her teenage years, Sooki Jalali has carved out a distinguished career at the intersection of enterprise development, health, and multicultural advocacy. Jalali earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Business from the University of Minnesota before embarking on an entrepreneurial trajectory that saw her establish three separate ventures within the health, wellness, and corporate development sectors.
Jalali currently serves as a Business Consultant at the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), a regional organization dedicated to helping ethnic minority business owners scale operations and secure capital. Her professional philosophy emphasizes sustainable business practices, equitable wealth creation, and community resilience.
Beyond her consulting work, Jalali is a Chopra Center–certified yoga instructor under Dr. Deepak Chopra, M.D., and maintains an active philanthropic presence. A mother of three biracial children—Mitra, Bijan, and Syrus—she prioritized raising her family in a bilingual environment, teaching her children to read and write fluently in both Farsi and Korean. Her civic record includes board and volunteer commitments with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (where she was nominated for the Man & Woman of the Year fundraising campaign in 2017), the Ebenezer Foundation, Hunger Solutions, and the Alliance for a New Humanity.
Harry Miller
With more than 40 years of operational experience, Harry Miller brings deep governance and enterprise strategy expertise to VocalEssence. Throughout his four-decade career, Miller has focused on helping commercial and non-profit organizations optimize business models, develop leadership pipelines, and navigate structural transformations.
As an active mentor and volunteer leader with SCORE Twin Cities—a chapter of the national network providing free, confidential business advice to entrepreneurs—Miller works directly with small business owners to establish scalable strategies and growth frameworks. Within SCORE, he has led key development, fundraising, and governance initiatives designed to expand organizational capacity and reach. His appointment to the VocalEssence board provides the choral nonprofit with seasoned operational oversight and expert fundraising strategy.
Bunny Robinson
Bunny Robinson brings a unique blend of human resources mastery, executive headhunting, and state-level arts administration to VocalEssence. Robinson serves as an Executive Consultant with Navigate Forward, a specialized consulting firm supporting C-suite executives through professional transitions. Simultaneously, she is the Principal Consultant at Robinson-Robinson & Associates (RRA), a retained executive search firm specializing in placing diverse management talent across broad enterprise slates.
Robinson’s public service and arts governance resume is extensive. She has served on the Minnesota State Arts Board, Arts Midwest, and the State Programs Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, D.C. Currently a board member of the Cultural Fluency Initiative, her past governance involvement spans the United Way Minneapolis, the Conflict Resolution Center, Missions Inc. Programs, and the Women’s Association of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities.
A native of Chicago, Robinson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) 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. Her civic commitment is further highlighted by a 20-year tenure as a local election judge, concluded in 2025, alongside her ongoing role as a contract mediator for the Minnesota Department of Education.
Carolyn Sleeth
Carolyn Sleeth joins the VocalEssence Board of Directors bringing over two decades of high-level executive experience in the medical device and technology sectors. Sleeth most recently held the positions of Senior Vice President and U.S. General Manager at Insulet Corporation, where she directed a 700-person commercial organization and spearheaded annual top-line revenue growth exceeding 20 percent.
Prior to her tenure at Insulet, Sleeth spent many years in executive leadership at Medtronic, managing the company’s aorta and venous vascular business units while holding strategic marketing and market development roles in its cardiac disease division.
Originally from California, Sleeth holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University, a master’s degree in Russian, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. A resident of the Minneapolis metropolitan area for two decades, Sleeth’s background in commercial execution and large-scale operational oversight offers VocalEssence robust corporate discipline as it evaluates structural expansion.
Sunita Vongharath-Evenson
Sunita Vongharath-Evenson is an established executive in human resources and social-sector leadership. Specializing in organizational dynamics, Vongharath-Evenson has partnered with diverse mission-driven organizations to re-engineer talent frameworks, cultivate inclusive workplace cultures, and guide executive teams through complex institutional transitions.
Her governance philosophy centers on the belief that healthy communities require vibrant cultural touchpoints. Vongharath-Evenson’s background in organizational culture and workforce design will support VocalEssence in refining its internal governance, managing staff development, and building sustainable workforce practices across its artistic and administrative divisions.
Karen Voracek
Karen Voracek brings more than 30 years of corporate strategy, marketing, and philanthropic leadership to the VocalEssence board. She currently serves as Vice President of Donor Experience, Marketing & Strategy at Thrivent Charitable, where she oversees enterprise strategy, donor relations, brand management, product development, and service operations across the organization’s philanthropic footprint.
Before entering the charitable sector, Voracek spent nearly three decades leading commercial strategy, market innovation, and customer experience initiatives in corporate environments. Her current work focuses on maximizing charitable giving efficacy and connecting donors with high-impact community missions.
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. A lifelong music advocate who began playing the clarinet in fifth grade and continues to sing in her parish choir, Voracek brings a personal commitment to the choral arts alongside her expertise in planned giving and donor strategy.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Sectoral Impact and Organizational Rigor
The addition of these six directors reflects a deliberate effort to strengthen VocalEssence across key metric areas: financial strategy, community inclusivity, operational scale, and governance experience.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| KEY GOVERNANCE METRICS & EXPERTISE |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
| Professional Metric | Collective Impact Across New Appointees |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
| Large-Scale Commercial Leadership | Management of 700+ employee commercial orgs |
| Corporate & Non-Profit Experience | Over 120 combined years of strategic counsel |
| Revenue & Growth Management | Track record of 20%+ annual growth execution |
| State/National Arts Panel Service | Past leadership at NEA, Arts Midwest, MSAB |
| Civic & Board Tenure | Over 20 years in mediation, governance, & HR |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+- Enterprise Execution & Scale: The inclusion of corporate leaders like Carolyn Sleeth—who managed commercial teams of over 700 staff while driving double-digit growth—and Karen Voracek brings Fortune 500 operational methodologies to the non-profit board room.
- National and State Arts Policy: Bunny Robinson’s prior panel service with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Minnesota State Arts Board equips VocalEssence with deep insights into public arts funding dynamics, grant compliance, and regional cultural policymaking.
- Inclusive Entrepreneurship & Community Connectivity: Sooki Jalali’s active work scaling minority-owned enterprises through MEDA, alongside Sunita Vongharath-Evenson’s focus on workforce dynamics, ensures that VocalEssence’s programming and administrative hiring remain aligned with the evolving demographics of the Twin Cities metro area.
- Donor Engagement and Philanthropic Engineering: With Karen Voracek’s role at Thrivent Charitable and Harry Miller’s track record in non-profit development through SCORE, VocalEssence is well-positioned to modernize its fundraising mechanisms, cultivate major gifts, and design sophisticated planned-giving models.
Official Statements & Institutional Leadership Insights
The restructuring of the board comes at a pivotal period for VocalEssence, which balances an expansive portfolio of professional ensemble performances, community education initiatives, and youth outreach programs.
Artistic Perspective: Broadening Cultural Access
Founder and Artistic Director Philip Brunelle stressed that board governance must directly reflect the artistic and social fabric of the community:
"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."
Executive Leadership: Strategic Alignment & Financial Viability
Executive Director Amy Jaine Wielunski highlighted the alignment between executive capacity and passion for the performing arts:
"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: Navigating the Next Era of Choral Excellence
As VocalEssence prepares for its upcoming performance seasons and educational campaigns, the integration of these six leaders establishes a strong operational foundation for long-term growth. The immediate strategic priorities for the augmented Board of Directors include:
- Expanding Regional Impact: Broadening community engagement and choir education programs throughout the Twin Cities and rural Minnesota communities.
- Diversifying Revenue Streams: Blending traditional donor patronage with structured charitable giving, corporate sponsorships, and strategic foundation partnerships.
- Institutional Governance & Succession: Codifying best-practice governance frameworks to ensure organizational resilience over the coming decades.
- Elevating Artistic Innovation: Supporting ambitious commissioning projects, international collaborations, and diverse repertoire that reflect global choral traditions.
By uniting business acumen, civic leadership, and artistic dedication, VocalEssence’s expanded Board of Directors reinforces the organization’s status as a vital cultural pillar in Minnesota and across the broader American choral landscape.
