About Houston Ballet Guild

Founded in 1973, Houston Ballet Guild has supported Houston Ballet, its Academy and special programs with passion and dedication for more than 40 years. We are committed to furthering the awareness of the art of ballet. And membership has its privileges!

The primary purpose of the Guild is to support the programs, projects, mission and performances of Houston Ballet and its Academy through active volunteer service and financial contributions.

The amazing women and men of Houston Ballet Guild love to celebrate the creativity of ballet. And we are social too! Our members enjoy a rich calendar of events, and there’s something for everyone. The Guild ensures that its members have a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the nation's fourth-largest ballet company.

Click here to view Houston Ballet Foundation's Mission and Diversity Statements.

OFFICERS

President Gaye Currie
President-Elect Leslie Alston
Vice President of Membership Traci Bocock
Corresponding Secretary Sarah Davidson
Parliamentarian Cecilia Campbell
Recording Secretary Joan Dunlap
Treasurer Michelle Maresh

BOARD

Bravo Events C.C. Conner, Renee Humphrey
Communications/Social Media Renee Humphrey
Directory Michelle Seymour
Fall Kickoff Michelle Iversen Jeffery, Melissa Jordan Johnson
Academy/ECE C.C. Conner, Laura Kazmiroski, Denise Perez, Dannika Simpson
Boutique Workshops Marcie Bristol, Helen L.-Toombs, Lisa Yelenick
Docents C.C. Conner, Sharon Roark
Student Matinees Ann Bean, Traci Bocock, Nkoyo Essien, Jean May
HBII Celebrations Brenda & Ricky Clem
Host Committee Michelle Barrett, Elizabeth Connelly, Erika Westberry, Tracy Williford, Ken Yanowski
Member Trip Labita Bodie
Membership Renewal Megan Kessler, Michelle Seymour
Needles En Pointe Casey Rowe
New Member Events & Recruitment Ann Bean, Mignon Gill, Karan Robinson
Social Events Lara Bell, Anne Boss, Cheryl Dzurec, Ann Graham, Julie McCuen, Denise Malone, Joanna Mitchell, Victoria Roca, Jana Stiffel, Elba Villarreal
Special Advisors Susan Binney, Cynthia Brown, Wendy Burks, Sharon Erskine, Michelle Iversen Jeffery, Jennifer Kushner
Spring Coffee Joan Dunlap, Liz Schlotzhauer, Elba Villarreal
Tutu Times Kate Walker

The 2025 Joanne Isaacman Award of Excellence honored Katrina Arnim. This award is given annually to a Guild member who best exemplifies the qualities of commitment, dedication, generosity of spirit and sensitivity as demonstrated by Joanne Isaacman in her years of volunteer service to the Guild.

Katrina Arnim was a devoted supporter to Houston Ballet for decades.  An active member of the Houston Ballet Guild for more than 20 years, she served as the 2016-2017 Guild President. 

During her time as Guild president, Stanton Welch was creating a blockbuster new Nutcracker for Houston Ballet, and Katrina wanted the Guild to be a part of that creation in a big way.  She led a very successful fundraising campaign among Guild members to underwrite the costume for Sugar Plum Fairy as part of the new production.   Her efforts helped forever cement a close relationship between the Houston Ballet Guild and the ballet's annual tradition. 

In 2023, she chaired Nutcracker Market, which had been her longtime dream.  Unfortunately, her health issues began just as planning for the 2023 Market was underway...but that didn't stop Katrina from giving her all to this important fundraiser.  She led the Nutcracker Market to a new record for funds raised and added many personal touches to enhance shoppers' experiences, including incorporating the Sugar Plum Fairy in the designs and decorations for the event for the first time. 

Throughout the years, Katrina and Cecil were mainstays at Ballet performances and special events...with Cecil serving as a long time trustee.  She always expressed her deep gratification about how being involved with the ballet had a profound impact on her life and one of the things she was most proud. 

Winifred Wallace, one of the original members of the Houston Ballet Foundation, had a dream: to build an auxiliary, or guild, to assist the goals and needs of the Foundation. Her dream came true on January 22, 1973, when the Houston Ballet Guild held its first meeting.

Houston Ballet Guild was blessed at its inception with a group of dedicated volunteers and supporters. Guided by the spirit of Winnie Wallace, many of the original members remained active for years and inspired the growth of our membership.

Houston Ballet Guild has grown from its original membership of 22 to more than 265 members with an active board of more than 79 women and men. Over the years, the Guild has expanded its commitment to the company and the academy and has grown in its importance to the Houston Ballet Foundation. The Guild provides and array of volunteer services and significant financial support (through Nutcracker Market revenue, membership dues and donations), along with events and programs designed to educate and to generate community interest in dance.     

The Guild hosts the phenomenal Nutcracker Market each year – which since its inception in 1981 has contributed more than $74.7 million for Houston Ballet Foundation.  In 2016, the group raised more than $50,000 to support the stunning new production of The Nutcracker by artistic director Stanton Welch AM and has donated generously toward Houston Ballet Foundation’s Endowed Artistic Positions Fund. The Guild has also contributed more than $50,000 to the Capital Campaign and is recognized on the Donor Wall in the lobby of Houston Ballet's Margaret Alkek Williams Center for Dance. And, for decades, the Guild has contributed $10,000 annually towards production costs for Houston Ballet News.

Click here to view Houston Ballet Foundation's Mission and Diversity Statements.