board of directors

Filco Events, Board Chair

Fil envisions Levitt Pavilion as a premier venue for live outdoor concerts in Downtown San Jose. Fil is an event planner, comic book collector, former night club owner and public space programmer. Levitt won’t be his first turnaround story either — as the owner of F/X in the SoFA District, he transformed a former adult theater into an iconic entertainment destination for live alternative music, hosting bands such as No Doubt, SmashMouth and hundreds of others.

Vice Chair

Michelle believes that Levitt Pavilion will transform an already beautiful park into a vibrant space the entire community can enjoy. As a lifelong resident of San Jose, and a resident of the Hensley neighborhood adjacent to St. James park, she is ready for more music downtown San Jose. Michelle is the Director of Philanthropy for Major Gifts and Campaign at The Computer History Museum and also an active musician.

Messenger Events, Treasurer

Laura Wolford envisions St. James Park alive with families, workers, students, and neighbors from across Silicon Valley—smiling, sharing picnics, and dancing together. She brings a passion for building community and a background in logistics, operations, and planning to help bring that vision to life. A proud Naglee Park resident, Laura has called downtown San Jose home since her days at SJSU.

Hoge Fenton, Secretary

Emma is a member of Hoge Fenton’s Business Litigation, Real Estate, and Construction practice groups.  Emma represents clients in complex commercial disputes and actions arising from contracts, business torts, construction, and real estate disputes. Emma loves music and is committed to building her local San Jose community where she lives and works.  She is passionate about ensuring accessibility of high-quality live music for all and revitalizing historic St. James Park into a vibrant and thriving space where everyone feels welcome and inspired. 

Tommy Aguilar is an artist, curator, and DJ based in San Jose. Since 2001 he has presented and promoted visual artists, DJs, filmmakers, literary authors, and musicians from all over the globe under the moniker Universal Grammar (UG). He has always produced with a forward-thinking mission to present quality artistry and emerging contemporary voices. UG has helped introduce artists into the Bay Area market and influence music festivals around the country. Since 2007 he has worked with San Jose Jazz to curate performances on the Jazz Beyond Stage at the annual SummerFest and Winterfest. He is also co-founder of the groundbreaking culture hubs Sonido Clash (2009) and POW! WOW! San Jose (2017).

Michael Brilliot joined the Levitt Board because he is passionate about building great cities with thriving arts and culture, and vibrant communities. As an Urban Planner, and the Deputy Director leading citywide planning for the City of San Jose, he focused on retrofitting auto oriented suburbia auto into walkable, urban great places. As an arts and live music advocate he co-produced music festivals and concerts in Downtown San Jose. Michael is also a drummer who plays semi professionally and has performed throughout the bay area in Jazz, NOLA and County Americana bands.

Debbie Degutis knows the power of connection, collaboration, and celebration. And she believes that’s what Levitt Pavilion will bring to the community. Born and raised in San Jose, she and her family spent decades in service to Christmas in the Park. A career in tech marketing doesn’t get in the way of her volunteer and board work.

Melissa Durkin is Vice President of Development at Republic Urban Properties and has over 14 years of experience in land-use planning in the Bay Area. Her expertise includes urban design, land-use planning, entitlements, CEQA, and project management. Ms. Durkin is responsible for overseeing the entitlements for new projects, including General Plan Amendments, Rezonings, Site Development Permits, Tentative and Final Maps, and Improvement Plans.

Scott Hartman is a symphony musician and teacher. He has performed with many Grammy, Emmy, Oscar and Tony award winners and can be heard on several video game soundtracks. He was a lecturer at Santa Clara University for many years and a busy clinician, coach and private instructor and member and player negotiator for Symphony San Jose. He is on the board of the Santa Cruz County Symphony and raises and trains service puppies for Canine Companions. He supports and works for FLPSJ because he believes the best community improvements come from inside the community.

Katie Hoch is a Bay Area native, having made downtown San Jose her home for over ten years. Her career at Focus Partners and volunteer efforts have been dedicated to helping the community flourish. With a strong track record of producing major local events, including the San Jose Jazz Festival and Cinequest. Katie brings a wealth of experience and a passionate, community-first perspective to the board.

Michael McDermand serves as VP of Partner Support at Pax8, where he channels his passion for building community and teams into delivering support to Managed Services across North America. Since moving to San Jose in 1988, he has been a proud downtown resident for 15 years, deeply connected to the vibrant urban core of Silicon Valley. When he’s not strengthening professional networks, Michael nurtures his abiding love of music, which serves as both a personal passion and another way to build community connections.

Jeremy Metz, as a local architect, is always looking for ways to improve the local community environment.  St. James Park is a place he walks through several times a week and has thought it might be a great catalyst for the downtown.  He hopes that the Levitt Pavilion will boost community participation in the arts and better utilize the public space and beautiful weather we have here in San Jose.

Sally Schroeder has been a resident of downtown San Jose for the past 23 years. She believes San Jose needs a central public gathering space for our San Jose community to enjoy together. She has experienced the magic on the Levitt lawn of building community through music and is excited to help make the dream of a Levitt Pavilion venue at St. James Park a reality!

Deanna C. Sisneros is a mission-driven professional with over a decade of experience in event production, fundraising, business development, and strategic communications. Deanna is the founder of Creative Movements, through which she helps lead San Jose Day and La Ofrenda Festival in Gilroy-events that celebrate culture and uplifts communities. With a background in nonprofit leadership and higher education, she successfully drives engagement, builds lasting partnerships, and secures critical funding. She currently serves as the Special Events and Community Outreach Manager at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and is a working board member of Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose.

Geri Wong is Senior Managing Director at Newmark’s San Jose office, specializing in commercial leasing and sales transactions, and is a consistent top producer company wide.  She is dedicated and passionate about her work, family and friends, and pouring back into the community that she has so much gratitude toward and has such a bright future for generations to come.