Board Members

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Codrut Birsan

President

Codrut Birsan serves as the Artistic Director of Chicago Summer Opera. Born in Brasov, Romania, he began piano lessons at age 6. By age 17, he was one of the accompanists for Opera Brasov. While a voice student at the Academy of Music in Bucharest, Birsan was also a piano accompanist for the Academy’s opera class. Birsan moved to the United States in 2005. He obtained a Master of Music degree in Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, while also collaborating as a vocal accompanist in that setting. 

Shelley Shepherd

Treasurer​ 

Shelley Shepherd has 32 years of Marketing & Innovation experience with leading CPG companies in both Canada and the U.S. Shelley specializes in Market Innovation and is the Treasurer on the board since 2011.
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​Don Fouts

Board Member

Donald E. Fouts has a notably broad background in both public and private higher education, with expertise in state and federal policy processes, institutional relations, and program development. He currently serves as president of the Illinois Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities, a 501 C 3 organization dedicated to serving private higher education in Illinois.

Lucy Su

Board Member

Lucy Su is the World Wide Vice President Global Customer Service at BD. Delivering professional services, ongoing remote and field service & support, education services and account management.

Alex Soare

Secretary

Alex Soare has over 12 years experience in business development ranging from transportation to arts and technology. After serving as the CEO of Artrise (2007-2013), an online platform focused on connecting artists with businesses, his career shifted towards Opera.. He has performed leading roles at several opera houses around the country.

Susan Murphy​

Board Member

 Susan Murphy has 28 years of experience in advancement to assessing the needs of her clients and guiding them to build their unique development programs. She is a development consultant with extensive experience helping clients achieve their nonprofit missions through strategic and diversified fundraising and organizational development.

Cristian Luput

Board Member

Cristian Lupuț is the founder and CEO of Optimus Realty, a full service real estate company based in Chicago. After having successfully completed multiple real estate partnerships, consolidations, mergers and acquisitions, Cristian became actively involved in several charitable organizations.