Interlochen Board of Trustees welcomes new members, leaders at July 2026 meeting

Dr. David Wu begins his role as vice chair as five new members—David Inglish, Paula Jo Kemler, Oguzhan Oguz, Chris Sogard, and Engagement Council President Lisa Laplace—join the Board.

August 19, 2026

The Interlochen Center for the Arts Board of Trustees welcomed four new members at their July 2026 meeting: David Inglish, president of the Towsley Foundation; Paula Jo Kemler, president of the Green Brick Foundation; Oguzhan “Ozzy” Oguz, AI Software and Services Director at NVIDIA; and Chris Sogard, businessman and philanthropist. Milbank LLP Deputy Pro Bono Counsel Lisa Laplace, who was recently elected president of Interlochen’s Engagement Council, will serve as an ex-officio trustee.  

“This cohort of trustees brings fresh and meaningful new voices to our Board of Trustees,” said Trey Devey, president of Interlochen Center for the Arts. “David, Paula Jo, Ozzy, Chris, and Lisa are joining our team at a particularly exciting moment in our institution’s history: As we celebrate our centennial and embark on our second century. Their multifaceted perspectives—from deep Interlochen connections to expertise in fields such as law and artificial intelligence—will be invaluable as we navigate this pivotal chapter.”

The Board also installed a new member of the leadership team during the proceedings: Dr. David Wu (IAC/NMC 76-79) joined Molly Ferrante as one of the Board’s two vice chairs. Dr. Barrett J. Rollins (IAC/NMC 65-66, 68) entered the second year of his initial two-year term as board chair.

As five new trustees join the board, five depart: Jeff Jacobs, private investor/director at Jacobs Endeavors, Ltd.; Lisa Herrick, president of the Herrick Foundation; Dr. Elaine Mischler, pediatric pulmonologist and professor emerita (ret.) at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; Sonja Perkins, venture capitalist at The Perkins Fund; and Kurtis T. Wilder, shareholder at Butzel Long.

“I am deeply grateful to Jeff, Lisa, Elaine, Sonja, and Kurtis for their dedicated service to Interlochen during their tenures,” Devey said. “Their commitment to our students, employees, alumni, patrons, families, and listeners was evident in the ideas they shared; the causes they championed; and the innumerable contributions they made—both tangible and intangible. While I will miss their presence at our meetings, I am grateful for their continued support as lifelong friends of the institution. Wherever life leads them next, they will always be part of the Interlochen family.”

David Inglish

In the summer of 1988, David Inglish stood in the bathroom in A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Bono walked up and used the stall right next to him. “You’ve turned A&M studios into a Gay Raj,” he said. Bono meant garage and he sort of meant it as a compliment—Inglish’s band had brought a youthful exuberance and lawlessness to the studio where Band Aid was recorded. For the last few weeks these sorts of incredible things had become commonplace. Three weeks earlier Inglish’s band had jammed with Neil Young in the middle of the night at a rehearsal studio in the San Fernando Valley. A few weeks later, Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) would ask the band, “Do you know anybody that could steal my car? It’s a brand new BMW 750. You look like the sort… that does that kind of thing.” For that magical summer of 1988, the band that he played in had been deemed the Next Big Thing. They even inked a seven-record deal with MCA. By December of 1989, all the rock n’ roll cliches—a supermodel love triangle, volatile lead singer, and staff change at their record label—resulted in the end of that seven-record deal and the end of the rock and roll dream. 

Inglish went back to college, graduated with an Econ degree, and worked in reality television, film, then later in real estate. He became obsessed with stories. This obsession resulted in two graduate degrees, first an M.A. in Theology/Religious Studies from the University of San Diego, second an M.F.A. from NYU in Creative writing. While at NYU he was granted the opportunity to teach undergraduate creative writing classes. Since graduation, Inglish’s fiction has appeared in literary journals, and he co-wrote the novel Avalanche with the world’s best-selling author, James Patterson.

After a 20-plus year hiatus, Inglish was asked to rejoin the old band. It has now been more than 15 years that they have been playing together again. The original singer has been battling cancer for eight years. While the rest of him has withered away, his voice is still resonant and powerful. When strangers stumble into a show, they can tell there is something special about this group of old band bros. In October of 2025 the band played a music festival with lots of other bands. After their slot, Inglish was walking through the crowd when a random stranger walked up to him and said, “You were in that last band. You guys burned the place down! Wouldn’t want to go on after you.” In the summer of 1988 the members of the band believed that their music was going to lead to something—money, fame, respect. They were totally wrong. The band was broke, forgotten, and ridiculed after they lost their deal. Now, when the band is on and the crowd is enjoying themselves, it’s pretty clear that it’s just about the music and nothing else. After playing hundreds of gigs, Inglish has seen the transformation that happens in the crowd: they go from separate groups of strangers—a bachelorette party, a couple on a date, a group celebrating a birthday—into one cohesive mob of people dancing and enjoying themselves. This all happens, as the kids would say, IRL. Inglish believes that humans need this catharsis brought on by live music. This is one of the many reasons he is a huge fan of the magic that happens at Interlochen.

Inglish also has extensive experience in the non-profit realm. He has served as a trustee on the Towsley Foundation for 30 years. He has been the foundation’s president since 2023. Both of David’s daughters went to Arts Camp at Interlochen. One of David’s daughters graduated from the Academy in 2025.

Paula Jo Kemler

Paula Jo Kemler is the president of the Green Brick Foundation, a philanthropic organization that primarily assists groups in the Grand Traverse region. The foundation’s philanthropic focus supports the vitality and sustainability of our natural environments, assists people in need, and promotes creative and artistic endeavors. Kemler has served on a number of boards and committees, sharing her passions and abilities with local organizations including Parallel 45 Theatre, the Glen Arbor Arts Center, Glen Lake Community Library, the Leelanau Conservancy, and Impact 100.

Kemler has lived in the Detroit area, Chicago, and Boston in addition to locations in Europe and Asia—studying classics and working in Athens, Greece; publishing a periodical in Munich, Germany; and accompanying her husband on extended business assignments in Geneva,
Switzerland and Hong Kong. Because of her interest in other cultures and her experiences as an expatriate, she appreciates how Interlochen welcomes and celebrates people from all over the country and the world.

Kemler is a lifelong fan and supporter of Interlochen. She attended concerts and listened to IPR as a child, sent her children to Camp as middle-schoolers, and has enjoyed Interlochen performances and classes throughout the years. As a permanent resident of the Grand Traverse area since 2016, one of Kemler’s greatest pleasures is experiencing Interlochen’s vibrant artistic offerings. Kemler is honored to join the board of this dynamic organization.

Oguzhan “Ozzy” Oguz

Oguzhan Oguz is AI Software and Services Director at NVIDIA, where he helps global partners bring NVIDIA’s enterprise AI software to life in practical solutions for their customers. He has more than two decades of product management and business development experience at Silicon Graphics and NVIDIA, with an international career spanning from Europe to Silicon Valley. He holds a master’s degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a mechanical engineering degree from METU. Oguz has also shared his passion for innovation as a guest lecturer at Boğaziçi University on Management of Technology, where it was a joy to interact with a new generation of young students eager to hear from the industry.

Oguz and his family have lived, worked, and studied in the U.S.A., France, the Netherlands, and Turkiye. These experiences, along with being a multinational family, have shaped how they see the world and given them a strong appreciation for different cultures and perspectives. They value the diversity, openness, and exchange of ideas that bring creative communities together.

Oguz’s family connection to Interlochen is deeply personal. Since their daughter first attended Interlochen Arts Camp and later graduated from the Academy, the experience has shaped her life as an artist and enriched their family’s world. He feels privileged to remain part of the Interlochen family and is committed to helping young artists thrive by embracing AI and learning how to use it as a powerful tool in both their creative and administrative work.

Outside of work, Oguz loves sailing and exploring new places with his family. He feels fortunate to share his life with his wife and daughter, whose artistry continually inspires him, as well as Milou, their dog, and PonPon, their cat, who bring their own joy to the family.

Chris Sogard

Chris Sogard currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he has been a successful husband, father, and businessman for the past 30 years. Throughout that time, he has founded and led several different startups varying in disciplines including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, software development and healthcare technology. He is the winner of the Indiana Tech Point Gazelle Award for fastest growing start-up and the Kelley School of Business MIRA Award for Technology Company of the Year. Sogard has also served as an advisor to Rolls Royce Ventures on acquisitions and investments.

Currently, Sogard works with DW Partners (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Mutual Capital Partners (Cleveland, Ohio) where he serves in Board and Board Advisory roles for various health tech portfolio companies. He also is responsible for administering the JCS Family Foundation and the Susanne Sogard Charitable Trust.

Sogard grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a 1984 graduate of Park Tudor School. He attended Miami University (Oxford, Ohio, 1989) where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with a minor in Public Administration. He also received a Professional Degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007) in Technology Commercialization.

Sogard is husband to wife Laura and has two children: Abigail Sogard, M.S.K., Ph.D., and Odi Sogard (IAC 23, IAA 25) who is currently working towards a Forensic Science degree at the University of New Haven, Connecticut. The family enjoys many sporting activities, the arts, and travel and splits time between their alternate residences in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada and St. Lucia, Eastern Caribbean.

Lisa Laplace

Lisa Laplace is an attorney, advocate, and lecturer with 20-plus years of experience encompassing public interest and corporate law. She is currently Deputy Pro Bono Counsel at Milbank LLP, where she advances Milbank's pro bono mission by helping design, implement, and manage well-supported, ethically sound, and impactful pro bono initiatives aligned with the firm's priorities. At Milbank, Laplace works closely with attorneys, nonprofit partners, and community organizations to expand pro bono legal advocacy, integrate pro bono work into the firm’s culture, and identify opportunities for impact litigation. 

Prior to joining Milbank, Laplace was a Senior Staff Attorney and Director of Pro Bono Program at the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she focused on litigation and advocacy concerning disability rights, First Amendment, privacy, police transparency, and accountability issues. She was responsible for program development and led the Pro Bono, Equality Watch New York, Summer Legal Intern and Legal Intake Programs. Laplace was a member of the Willowbrook Task Force, which advances the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and is a member of the Pro Bono & Legal Services Committee. Laplace also served on the Public Interest Pro Bono Association and the New York City Bar Association’s Civil Rights and Copyright & Intellectual Property Committees for several years. Prior to joining the NYCLU in 2005, Laplace was a litigation associate at the law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell and Paul Hastings, where she litigated a wide range of commercial and intellectual property law cases as well as pro bono matters involving civil liberties.

Laplace is passionate about the arts, yoga, and the opportunity to use her diverse arts background and legal skillset to preserve and advance cultural institutions. For several years, she was a guest lecturer at CUNY Graduate Center’s Ph.D. program speaking on the First Amendment’s impact on the arts. Laplace has been teaching yoga since 2025. A ballet, theatre, and piano enthusiast, Laplace attended Interlochen Center for the Arts and now serves as President of its Engagement Council and a member of its Board of Trustees. Within the Board, she is a member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee and Centennial Celebration Advisory Committee. As a Board member, she offers particular expertise in risk mitigation and the intersection of the First Amendment and the Arts. Laplace is a graduate of Duke University (B.A. 1987) and Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 1990), where she served as Articles Editor for the Brooklyn Law Review. She lives in Manhattan and has two adult children. They enjoy taking ballet classes together.