MINNEAPOLIS — September 25, 2026 — In a major governance move designed to deepen community engagement and broaden corporate-philanthropic expertise, VocalEssence has officially announced the appointment of six new members to its Board of Directors. As the 58-year-old choral organization navigates an increasingly dynamic cultural and financial landscape, the addition of these highly accomplished leaders highlights a strategic imperative to combine artistic excellence with sophisticated executive stewardship, human resources expertise, commercial scaling, and deep-rooted civic involvement.
The newly appointed board members—Sooki Jalali, Harry Miller, Bunny Robinson, Carolyn Sleeth, Sunita Vongharath-Evenson, and Karen Voracek—bring a diverse array of cross-sector competencies to Minnesota’s premier choral institution. Tasked with serving as community ambassadors, overseeing key policy decisions, and ensuring the long-term financial resilience of the non-profit, this intake reflects a calculated strategy to align traditional arts administration with modern corporate governance, venture capital insights, and inclusive talent acquisition.
Executive Overview: A Strategic Pivot in Arts Governance
The governance expansion comes at a pivotal juncture for VocalEssence. Founded in 1968, the organization has spent nearly six decades shaping the cultural fabric of the Twin Cities and beyond. However, as non-profit performing arts institutions across the United States face evolving demographic shifts, changing audience habits, and complex fundraising environments, the demand for multidisciplinary board expertise has never been greater.
The board’s mandate extends beyond traditional advisory functions. Members carry direct fiduciary responsibility, guide long-term strategic initiatives, and cultivate vital networks across corporate, philanthropic, and civic sectors. The 2026 cohort brings expertise in high-growth enterprise scaling, diversity-focused executive placement, high-yield donor strategy, small-business advocacy, and HR transformation.
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| VOCALESSENCE GOVERNANCE EXPANSION |
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| Institution Age | 58 Years (Founded 1968) |
| Announcement Date | September 25, 2026 |
| Strategic Focus Areas | Corporate Scaling, Diversity HR, Philanthropic Strategy|
| Key Executive Leadership | Philip Brunelle (Artistic Director & Founder) |
| | Amy Jaine Wielunski (Executive Director) |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+Detailed Chronology & Governance Context
The formal induction of the six directors represents the culmination of a deliberate board development initiative designed to broaden VocalEssence’s strategic bandwidth.
Over its 58-year history, VocalEssence—originally established as the Plymouth Music Series by Founder and Artistic Director Philip Brunelle—has evolved from a local parish-based music performance series into an internationally recognized choral institution. Throughout this evolution, board composition has played a critical role in sustaining organizational growth, supporting international tours, commissioning hundreds of new works, and championing innovative community education programs such as WITNESS and Cantaré.
In recent years, under the dual leadership of Brunelle and Executive Director Amy Jaine Wielunski, the organization has systematically evaluated its governance architecture to ensure alignment with contemporary non-profit best practices. The September 2026 expansion reflects a comprehensive vetting process aimed at bridging the gap between artistic advocacy and high-level enterprise strategy.
Comprehensive Profiles of the Appointees
The six new directors bring distinct professional tracks spanning healthcare technology, corporate philanthropy, diversity recruitment, small-business development, and cross-cultural advocacy.
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| 2026 BOARD APPOINTEES AT A GLANCE |
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| Appointee | Key Expertise & Background |
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| Sooki Jalali | Business Consultant (MEDA), Entrepreneur, Wellness |
| Harry Miller | Strategy & Business Dev, SCORE Mentor, Non-Profit Governance|
| Bunny Robinson | Executive HR Consultant, Search Principal, Arts Panelist|
| Carolyn Sleeth | Med-Tech Executive (ex-Insulet, Medtronic), Growth Ops |
| Sunita Vongharath-Evenson| HR Executive, Organizational Culture & Leadership Dev |
| Karen Voracek | VP Thrivent Charitable, Marketing & Strategic Philanthropy|
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+Sooki Jalali: Cross-Cultural Entrepreneurship and Minority Business Growth
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and relocating to Minnesota as a teenager, Sooki Jalali earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Business from the University of Minnesota. An established serial entrepreneur, Jalali has founded three ventures across the health, wellness, and business development sectors.
She currently serves as a Business Consultant at the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), where she specializes in helping ethnic minority business owners scale operations, secure capital, and navigate economic expansion. Jalali’s personal background includes raising three biracial children—Mitra, Bijan, and Syrus—in a bi-cultural household where fluency in Farsi and Korean was actively cultivated.
A certified yoga instructor trained under Dr. Deepak Chopra, Jalali brings extensive non-profit volunteer experience to VocalEssence, having served with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (for which she was nominated for Man and Woman of the Year in 2017), the Ebenezer Foundation, Hunger Solutions, and the Alliance for a New Humanity.
Harry Miller: Four Decades of Organizational Strategy and Small Business Mentorship
Harry Miller enters board service with over 40 years of experience assisting commercial enterprises and mission-driven non-profits through structural transformation and strategic scaling. His core competencies center on organizational design, business development, partnership synthesis, and executive coaching.
As an active mentor and volunteer leader with SCORE Twin Cities, Miller counsels entrepreneurs and small business operators on long-term strategy, capitalization, and risk management. Within SCORE, he has led key development, fundraising, and governance initiatives, expanding the mentorship network’s regional reach. Miller’s strategic orientation will support VocalEssence as it refines its institutional operations and explores new audience development models.
Bunny Robinson: Human Resources, Diversity-Focused Executive Search, and Civic Governance
Bunny Robinson brings a distinguished career in human resources, executive talent acquisition, and civic leadership. She serves as an executive consultant with Navigate Forward, advising C-suite leaders during career transitions, and is the principal consultant at Robinson-Robinson & Associates (RRA), a retained executive search firm specializing in building diverse talent pipelines for senior management roles.
Robinson’s service to the arts and public policy is extensive. She previously 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. Her civic engagement includes directorships with United Way Minneapolis, the Conflict Resolution Center, Missions Inc. Programs, the Cultural Fluency Initiative, and the Women’s Association of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. Furthermore, Robinson concluded a 20-year tenure as an election judge in 2025 and continues to act as a contract mediator for the Minnesota Department of Education.
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from St. Catherine University.
Carolyn Sleeth: High-Growth Commercial Leadership and Med-Tech Expertise
Carolyn Sleeth brings more than two decades of C-suite and senior executive leadership within the high-stakes medical device industry. Most recently, Sleeth served as Senior Vice President and U.S. General Manager at Insulet, where she managed a 700-person commercial division and oversaw sustained annual revenue growth exceeding 20%. Prior to her tenure at Insulet, she held major leadership roles across Medtronic’s aorta, venous vascular, and cardiac disease divisions, focusing on global marketing, market development, and corporate strategy.
A native of California who has resided in the Minneapolis metropolitan area for two decades, Sleeth holds 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 corporate background in scaling large teams, executing commercial strategy, and optimizing operating budgets offers VocalEssence key executive insight.
Sunita Vongharath-Evenson: Culture Building and Strategic Human Capital
Sunita Vongharath-Evenson is a senior human resources executive and non-profit advocate centered on organizational design, corporate culture, and leadership development. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with mission-driven organizations to navigate periods of structural change, align internal culture with external goals, and cultivate resilient talent networks.
Vongharath-Evenson’s background will assist VocalEssence in refining its internal talent framework, enhancing staff and artist retention strategies, and broadening community-facing initiatives across the Twin Cities metro area.
Karen Voracek: Strategic Philanthropy, Marketing, and Enterprise Transformation
Karen Voracek serves as Vice President of Donor Experience, Marketing & Strategy at Thrivent Charitable, where she oversees enterprise-wide strategy, customer experience, product management, marketing, and service operations. With over 30 years of executive leadership spanning corporate and philanthropic sectors, Voracek specializes in business transformation, legacy giving models, and donor engagement strategy.
Before transitioning to non-profit financial philanthropy, Voracek spent nearly three decades directing strategy, marketing, and customer experience initiatives in the corporate sector. Outside of her professional roles, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality, plays the clarinet, and sings in her local parish choir. Voracek holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and German from Carroll University.
Supporting Context & Strategic Metrics
The addition of these six directors reflects broader structural shifts taking place within the American performing arts sector. Non-profit organizations are increasingly seeking board members who combine deep personal ties to the arts with hard-edged operational skills in finance, growth execution, and HR compliance.
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| CROSS-SECTOR COMPETENCY MATRIX FOR VOCALESSENCE |
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| Competency Area | Primary Board Contributors |
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| Enterprise Scaling & Ops | Carolyn Sleeth, Harry Miller |
| Talent & Diversity Search| Bunny Robinson, Sunita Vongharath-Evenson |
| Philanthropic Strategy | Karen Voracek, Harry Miller |
| Multicultural Outreach | Sooki Jalali, Bunny Robinson |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+- Commercial and Operational Scaling: The inclusion of executives like Carolyn Sleeth—who managed commercial orgs with hundreds of employees and driven double-digit growth—provides VocalEssence with high-level operational oversight as it evaluates revenue streams, ticket yield management, and operational efficiency.
- Philanthropic Velocity and Donor Intelligence: Karen Voracek’s executive leadership at Thrivent Charitable brings sophisticated insights into planned giving, donor lifecycle engagement, and wealth transfers—critical components for non-profits building long-term endowments.
- Diverse Talent Acquisition and Governance: With Bunny Robinson’s deep background on national and state arts panels (NEA, MN State Arts Board) and her expertise in diversity executive search, VocalEssence strengthens its commitment to equitable hiring and inclusive programmatic design.
- Grassroots and Minority Enterprise Synergies: Sooki Jalali’s ongoing work at MEDA and Harry Miller’s tenure at SCORE Twin Cities tie VocalEssence’s institutional posture directly into the economic and entrepreneurial fabric of the region.
Official Statements & Executive Commentary
Leadership at VocalEssence emphasized the alignment between the new board appointees’ skills and the organization’s overarching mission to unite diverse communities through choral music.
Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director and Founder of VocalEssence, highlighted the relational and strategic value of the appointments:
"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, focused on the specific operational skill sets the new cohort brings to the administrative table:
"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 & Institutional Legacy
As VocalEssence moves closer to its 60th anniversary milestone, the induction of these six leaders positions the organization to aggressively pursue its strategic objectives. Key priorities for the expanded board over the coming fiscal cycles are expected to include:
- Expanding Regional and National Reach: Leveraging digital media and community partnerships to project VocalEssence’s performance footprint beyond traditional concert hall settings.
- Enhancing Financial Resilience: Building sustainable funding models that combine traditional corporate philanthropy, individual giving, planned gifts, and earned income.
- Deepening Community Ties: Expanding educational and outreach initiatives across the Twin Cities, ensuring access to choral music across diverse socioeconomic and cultural demographics.
- Modernizing Governance Frameworks: Implementing progressive HR, strategy, and administrative protocols to ensure institutional flexibility in a rapidly evolving cultural sector.
By blending the artistic vision of Philip Brunelle with a modernized, cross-disciplinary board of directors, VocalEssence re-affirms its status as a vital anchor of Minnesota’s arts landscape—equipped to maintain its legacy of musical excellence well into the mid-21st century.
