Karen Geer Prior to joining Opus 118, Karen was a lawyer at Harris Beach LLP where she was National and Regional Counsel to major medical device and nutraceutical companies. Karen was responsible for a team of lawyers and staff which handled lawsuits nationwide in federal court. Karen also handled large document productions, attended court conferences and drafted complicated legal documents. Karen obtained her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, and an L.L.M. in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law. In addition to being a lawyer, Karen was a music teacher at the Ethical Culture School in Manhattan and taught general, vocal and instrumental music. Karen also led all School-Wide assemblies including the Holiday Assembly, various musicals. She also prepared and arranged music for Graduation ceremonies. Prior to teaching at Ethical Culture, Karen taught Music and Movement for preschool children at the prestigious Diller Quaile School of Music. Karen has taught in a variety of settings including “family music” at Caldwell College in New Jersey; singing and song leading at Pinewoods Music Camp in Plymouth Massachusetts, and brass choir at the Interlochen Music camp. Karen also received her Orff certification from the Bloomingdale House of Music and attended workshops in Austria and England for Orff teaching certification. Karen received her undergraduate degree in Music Education from Kent State University and her Masters Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Geer is currently the soprano soloist for the Leon Berger Chorale, and was the soprano soloist at the Brooklyn First Unitarian Church for the last ten years. She has performed with the Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony, Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, Kent Opera Theatre, The Opera Ensemble of New York, The Brooklyn Lyric Opera Company and was a regular performer with the Beekman Hill Recital Series in Manhattan. She currently studies voice with Elizabeth Cole.
Robert Gondola, Jr. Robert has worked in the nonprofit sector in fundraising, communications, and community organizing roles, blending his passions for the arts and government. Robert joined a team of international volunteers in the impoverished townships of South Africa and worked on career development and access to education initiatives for underserved youth, also teaching art classes. Robert has also served as a consultant to the Fuller Center for Housing, created by the founder of Habitat for Humanity. Robert is a painter, who completed his undergraduate degree in studio art at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. He also completed his degree in politics, with a minor in art history, in addition to the interdisciplinary honors program. While pursuing his passion for the arts, Robert spent a semester as well as a summer traveling and researching in Italy. While a sophomore in college, he was compelled to run for local office and was elected as a town meeting member outside of his hometown, Boston, Massachusetts. He has fundraised for the first HIV/AIDS orphanage in Kenya, Nyumbani, as well as Special Olympics Rhode Island. Robert has worked as a college coach for urban youth and currently serves on Rhode Island’s Governor’s Ball Committee, raising funds for student scholarships. Awarded a full scholarship to Harvard University and recognized as a Public Service Fellow, Robert earned his Master in Public Policy degree in Political Advocacy and Leadership with specializations in nonprofit management and the mobilization of support at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. |
