Board & Staff
Leadership
Board of Directors
The board sets direction for the association and is elected by the membership.
Chris Malone
President
A US Army veteran and retired FedEx Express employee, Chris is a professional landscape, nature, and aviation photographer who has served on the board of the Oregon Coast Photographers’ Association. He joined the ETPA board in 2022, bringing his photography, tech, and design skills to help preserve the Egyptian for future generations.
Chris Malone grew up in Oregon’s Bay Area after moving here at the age of 3 with his family in 1969. After High School Chris joined the US Army, he trained as a helicopter crewchief and mechanic. He was in a variety of units serving all over the world, including a medevac unit in the first Gulf War. After his time in the Army, Chris moved back home in 1993 to raise his family in the same community he was raised in.
Chris then worked for FedEx Express which turned into a career, and he retired from FedEx in 2021. He now spends his time as a professional Landscape/Nature and Aviation photographer. Chris is a current member of the Oregon Coast Photographer’s Association and has served on its board of directors as Secretary and President. Chris is a current member of the Worldwide and Oregon Professional Photographers of America. Chris’s photography has won numerous awards, recognitions and has been published in magazines and online.
One of Chris’s lifelong loves has been The Egyptian Theatre, and he feels that it’s time for him to give back to The Egyptian, the place that created so many lasting childhood and adult memories for him. “It’s our responsibility to preserve and promote our historic Egyptian Theatre so future generations have memories there too.” As a volunteer, member, and now director, Chris hopes to use his skills in photography, computer/tech, and image and graphic design knowledge to help accomplish his mission to help make The Egyptian Theatre live on!
Jeremy Conway
Vice President
Born in Coos Bay and trained in lighting design and technical theater at Southern Oregon University, Jeremy began working with the Egyptian in 2015 and joined the board as a director in 2016. He served as Treasurer starting in 2018 and now serves as Vice President, working to bring modern technology into the historic space while preserving its charm on both sides of the curtain.
Jeremy Conway, born in Coos Bay, studied lighting design and technical theater at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. After graduation he came back to Coos Bay where he began working with the Egyptian Theater. Like many, the Egyptian represents the most formative memories of his theater going experience and he hopes to help preserve that tradition for generations to come.
His experience includes working with community and school theaters as well as time at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he learned how a small theater, with a strong vision, could grow into a robust local and regional attraction that creates unique cultural opportunities within the community.
Jeremy started working with The Egyptian in January of 2015 with a special concert by a renowned local musician. He immediately recognized the potential of the space in serving the community as more than its traditional role of a movie theater and has worked to improve the current function of the space as a multipurpose entertainment venue. Fascinated by the idea of bringing modern technology seamlessly into a historic space, his goals for the Egyptian include the renovation of the stage house. This will enable us to safely host a wide array of live performance while protecting the flexible use and historic charm on both sides of the curtain.
Michelle Caldera
Secretary
Michelle has volunteered at the Egyptian’s concession stand for a couple of years, drawn to the camaraderie of the volunteer team, before joining the board as a director in 2025 and taking over as Secretary in 2026. She brings a strong record of community service: PTA president at Blossom Gulch, the Coos Bay Library Advisory Committee, the Coos Bay School Board Superintendent Advisory Committee, MHS Booster Club secretary, and director and secretary of the Coos County Board of Realtors.
Patti Bennett
Treasurer
An active concessions volunteer since the Egyptian’s 2014 reopening, Patti has poured wine and Sangria at the theatre’s Wine Walk events since they began. A longtime Zonta Club officer and community volunteer, she joined the ETPA board in 2022 and is honored to serve.
Patti has been a very active concessions volunteer since the reopening in 2014. She’s also been pouring wine, now Sangria, since the theatre’s first Wine Walk.
As an active member of Zonta, she was Club secretary under four presidents, and Foundation secretary for two terms, for a total of six years. She led several committees and participated on others.
She has also volunteered at the Clambake Music Festival as a site manager, at Shore Acres Festival of Lights, and for LTOB’s concession booth.
Patti has worked in the community since 2004, retired, and re-entered the work force. She failed at her first attempt at retirement, but COVID convinced her to retire a second time for good.
She loves the Egyptian and is honored to have a position on the board.
David Engholm
Director
A founding ETPA board member and its first president, David helped form the association in 2005 when the Egyptian’s future was uncertain. He built the platform that raised the Wurlitzer console, led the removal of the balcony’s mini-theatres, and helped ready the theatre for its 2014 reopening. His decades of service earned him the Golden Charioteer designation.
A founding Egyptian Theatre Preservation Association board member and its first President, David’s love of the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ and historic theatres began in the 1970s, when he first heard a Mighty Wurlitzer at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, CA. A lengthy career in theaters in California followed, before David and his wife Lupita moved to Coos Bay in 1990. Here he discovered the treasured Egyptian Theatre and its own Mighty Wurlitzer. In 2005, when he heard the news that the future of the Egyptian was uncertain, he joined with others to form the ETPA and has worked tirelessly since to support the restoration of the theatre.
Many accomplishments were made during his tenure as the ETPA’s first president and in the years since. A large banister was removed that was built in front of the orchestra pit that obstructed the view of the Mighty Wurlitzer. David built a platform for the organ console, raising it more than 2 feet. He was also the driving force behind removing the mini theaters that were constructed in the balcony and restoring the balcony. He also worked tirelessly in readying the Egyptian for re-opening after structural repairs and enhancements were complete. His background skills and willingness to serve have been pivotal in saving and restoring the Egyptian. David’s devotion, length and quality of service to the Egyptian have earned him the Golden Charioteer designation.
June Willoughby
Director
A retired high school guidance counselor who moved to Coos Bay in 1998, June has volunteered with the ETPA since its first year, starting behind the concessions counter in 2008. She served as Secretary from 2018 until Michelle Caldera took over the role in 2026, and continues to maintain the membership database and coordinate volunteers for concessions, box office, and projection. The board named her a Golden Charioteer in 2014 for her dedicated service.
June is a retired high school guidance counselor from New York state and moved to Coos Bay with her partner, Janet, in 1998. She taught basic computer skills at SOCC from 1999 to 2008 in the Adult Learning Skills Program and had a private computer business from 2004 until 2012.
June has been a member of the ETPA since its first year and started as a volunteer in 2008 by selling concessions a couple of times a month. When the theatre closed, she started helping out in other ways, primarily using her computer skills. She helps maintain the database, prepares the thank you notes that are mailed for the contributions and memberships the ETPA receives, puts together the newsletter for publication, sends the email notices the members receive and serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for Concessions, Box Office and Projection. The ETPA board elected her a Golden Charioteer in 2014 in recognition of her dedicated service to the ETPA. She used the monetary award from that to buy headsets for the hard of hearing and she uses them quite regularly.
She enjoys her computer work, but would much rather certify the popcorn as fit for sale and she is very happy to be behind the counter saying, “Would you like any butter on that?”
In memoriam: longtime director and former Vice President Paul Quarino served on the ETPA board from 2012 until his passing in December 2024, alongside his 40-plus years as steward of the Mighty Wurlitzer. Read his full tribute →
Executive Director
The executive director leads the theatre’s daily operations, programming, and fundraising, working with the board and the volunteer team.
Jill Rasmusen
Executive Director
Jill leads the Egyptian’s day-to-day operations, programming, and fundraising. Under her leadership the theatre has modernized its sound and lighting systems, expanded its slate of concerts and events, and continued the preservation work that keeps this 1925 landmark open for the community she calls home.
Governance
The board of directors is elected by the membership at the association’s annual meeting, so the people who care about the Egyptian help choose the people who lead it.
The ETPA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and the board serves as volunteers. Information about board meetings and minutes is available on request: get in touch.
Curious how the board itself is structured: the role of Directors, how Directors and Officers are elected, and term limits? Read our board governance policy →
Want a say in who leads the theatre? Become a member and help elect the board.
Past board members
The ETPA has been led by an all-volunteer board since its founding in 2006, and can seat as many as 23 directors at a time. We’re building this roster from the association’s newsletter archive, which goes back to 2011. It’s a work in progress, and more names will be added as we keep researching. Years are approximate where the record isn’t precise. Let us know if you served and don’t see your name, or spot an error.
Founding era, 2006–2013
- Anella Dumas: Director since the 2006 founding; served as Vice President, then President, then Vice President again.
- Susan Watson: Charter member and Treasurer from the founding through about 2015; a CPA who kept the books from day one.
- Helen Doving: Secretary from the founding through about 2017; the theatre’s historian, and the driving force behind its 2010 National Register listing.
- David “Dave” Abernathy †: Founding director and sound specialist who ran the sound board; died November 2013.
- Rachel Henke †: A founding ETPA member and former board member; died before 2015.
- Greg Rueger: President from about 2012 until stepping down in April 2016; led the capital campaign and the 2014 reopening.
- Lorry Fitzpatrick: Board Secretary, joined 2012.
- Robert “Bob” More: Director and Capital Campaign Coordinator, joined 2012; a grant writer.
- Bill Richardson: Director from 2013, later Vice President and then President from about 2017; a North Bend City Councilor.
- Kathy Erickson: Director, elected 2013; a journalist and congressional field representative.
- Joyce Jansen: Director, elected 2013; a retired City of Coos Bay assistant and interim city manager.
- Jenny Silva: Director, first elected 2013.
- Teri Fisher: Director serving as of 2013.
2014–2019
- Al Ellis: Director from 2014 into the early 2020s; managed area tire stores.
- Laura Fisher: Director from 2014, then Treasurer from 2015 into the early 2020s; a CPA.
- Kathy Henry: Director, roughly 2015–2019; oversaw the board’s outside financial review.
- Andrew Gordon: Director, 2015–2016; a business manager at a local dental practice.
- Denise Hunter: Director, joined 2015; a former Coquille Indian Tribe events and marketing manager.
- Lee Littlefield: Director, roughly 2014–2019. She spent decades as the Egyptian’s organist, a role she continues today. Meet the Wurlitzer →
- Brian Leigh: Director, roughly 2016–2021; carpentry, built lobby displays and staging.
- Karen Robb: Director, elected 2016 for a three-year term, serving into 2021.
- David Calvillo: Director, roughly 2019–2021.
- Whitney Calvillo: Director, roughly 2020–2021.
2020–2025
- Diane Beggs: Director, roughly 2020–2022.
- Jo Donaldson: A Wine Walk volunteer since 2015, later a Director around 2022; a retired nurse anesthesiologist.
- Mike Pellas: Director and grant writer, 2023.
- Patti Worthen: Director, November 2023 into 2025; gives theatre tours and served on the 100th-birthday committee.
† deceased. Also remembered from the Egyptian’s earliest volunteer years, though not on the board itself: Rick Shearer and Pete Kalina, founding concessions volunteers who staffed the counter from the 2006 reopening until 2014.
Get involved with the ETPA
The board and staff are only part of the picture. Volunteers make the Egyptian run. Come be part of it, or reach out with a question.