Brandi Haga-Blackman has been working on transforming Downtown Tucson for over 15 years. Getting her start with the Tucson Downtown Alliance in 2004, she began partnering with community members and key stakeholders to usher in the revitalization of Downtown Tucson. As the Director of Operations for the Downtown Tucson Partnership she provided leadership and support for the business improvement district. She placed a special emphasis on Downtown events, running the Downtown Parade of Lights, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and providing support to cycling and marathon events. After more than ten years with the Downtown Tucson Partnership she moved into the role of Administrative Director of the Rio Nuevo District providing expertise in operating a tax increment finance district. She continues to work for the Downtown and Tucson community, providing leadership to community events, including the Arizona Bowl Game Downtown Block Party, Second Saturdays, Tucson Jazz Festival, Dia de San Juan, Agave Heritage Festival, and many more. Brandi was honored to receive the Woman of Influence 2017 Rising Star Award.

Mary Ellingsen is a longtime jazz lover. She holds a B.A in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Temple University, a M.A in Linguistics from the U of A and National Certification by the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Mary has owned and managed Ellingsen & Associates, Inc since 1980, employing numerous professionals and support staff which provide speech and language therapy, social skills and occupational therapy to schools around the country. She is a member of the Tucson Jazz Society and has attended numerous Jazz festivals in the United States and Canada. Her daughter, Myra, and son-in-law, Joe, live in Phoenix. Mary is proud to be a board member of the Tucson Jazz Festival to help continue the successful jazz scene in Tucson.

Jonathan is a native of Tucson, born at Tucson Medical Center. He attended Harelson Elementary and Canyon del Oro. He is a graduate of Kenyon College where he majored in Philosophy and Theater. After graduating from Kenyon, Jonathan received his law degree from the University of New Mexico. Jonathan returned to Tucson where he practiced law at Mesch Clark Rothschild for 30 years. Jonathan took a sabbatical from the practice of law to serve as Mayor of the City of Tucson from 2011to 2019. Jonathan has now returned to lawyering where he concentrates his practice on Estate Planning, business matters, and mediation. Jonathan attended his first concert at the Tucson Community Center where he saw Chuck Berry open for The James Gang. That experience made an indelible impression on Jonathan who has been a lover of great music of all kinds ever since.

Photo by Steve Meckler Distinction 2021

Steven K. Pope has a background including significant managerial, training and consulting experience. Pope is a veteran of the print and electronic media industries and has also done consulting and training in the internet and financial arenas. Immediately prior to his retirement at the end of 2016 Pope managed the activities of Tucson Local Media in the position of Publisher for the Explorer, Inside Tucson Business, The Foothills News, the Marana News, Tucson Weekly and the Desert Times. Earlier in his career, he has worked in senior management positions for Gannett, Knight Ridder, the Tucson Star, Swift Communications, Media News Group and Huckle Communications and Freedom communications with regional and national responsibilities including the COO position of Huckle Communications. Pope has also operated his own newspaper and internet consulting company. Pope believes in community service and has served in leadership positions on numerous Boards in every location he has lived. Pope has a special affinity for the arts and has served on the boards or advisory boards of the Paradise Center for the Arts, (MN), the Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, (CO), the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival, Vail, (CO), the Houston (TX) Theatre Under the Stars, the Arizona Theatre Company, and the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance. Not for profit governance, marketing and capacity building are key knowledge areas for Pope and he currently serves on five not for profit boards including SAACA, Round Up River Ranch and the BRAVO Vail Valley Music Festival. Pope holds a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, San Bernardino, California in economics and a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a concentration in marketing and finance.

Louis Salute’s service to and results for organizations has spanned from coast to coast. The impact realized through his involvement has transformed nonprofits at the financial, programmatic, and service delivery levels. Recently retired from a distinguished 37-year career with the Boy Scouts of America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Lou continues to work with non-profits, professionally and as a volunteer to make the community a better place. Having raised annual, capital and endowment dollars from the community over his career gives Lou a unique perspective of not only fund raising, but friend raising. With a motto of “Good enough isn’t good enough,” Lou has always strived to be “The best of the best,” in all his endeavors with the organizations he guides. Challenges Lou has accepted and results he has attained include successful capital campaigns, retiring substantial organizational short and long-term debt while adding needed staff, establishing balanced operations and initiating an endowment program that secured more than $20-million in commitments in its first five years. Lou has also successfully taken operating funds to new heights. Lou serves on two non-profit boards in Tucson. He is currently Vice President of Development for the Catalina Council, Boy Scouts of America and Board Member for Jazz in January. His love for Scouting and passion for jazz continue to motivate Lou’s involvement in the community. Lou is a graduate of Valparaiso University, with a degree in political communications and a minor in journalism.

Jazz pianist Angelo Versace, a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, has been the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Arizona since 2014. He attended William Paterson University from 2004-2008, studying with Mulgrew Miller, a seminal figure in jazz and a man whom Versace cites as being a main musical influence. He subsequently earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Miami, studying jazz piano, jazz pedagogy, composition and arranging. During his time in Miami, Versace was on faculty at the Superior Academy of Music – an award-winning institution backed by the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. He also was on faculty at the CGCC Community Arts Program and Dillard High School – high school jazz band programs that found success at the prestigious Essentially Ellington competition. He began to work for the Tucson Jazz Institute (the two-time winner of the Essentially Ellington competition) after his move to Arizona in July of 2014.

Versace has performed on twelve studio albums: two as a leader and ten as a sideman, including Jazz Hymns with guitarist Jerry Hahn and Kristian 3.0 with Take-6 vocalist, Khristian Dentley. He has also had the privilege of working as a sideman with several internationally recognized artists: Lewis Nash, Warren Wolf, Terell Stafford, Brice Winston, Joe Saylor, Troy Roberts, Dave Stryker, Roxy Coss and Chuck Israels. Versace travels yearly to Taipei, Taiwan where he is on faculty at the Fu Jen University Jazz – a camp which coordinates with the American Institute of Taiwan Jazz Outreach Program. Most recently, he has been a member and appointed board director of the newly minted Tucson Jazz Collective (TJC). The group, which has performed for the SAACA Jazz Legends Concert with vocalist, Becca Stevens, continues to perform in and around Southern Arizona.