Living Jazz Staff

Executive Director

Lyz Luke is a futuristic leader with over 15 years of dedicated work amplifying the intersection between arts, culture, and community empowerment. A resident of Oakland, Luke has presented concerts and events throughout the Bay Area and has worked with over 150 diverse local bands and over 2,000 local musicians. Her passion is building a stronger community through music and the arts. Lyz started as a member of Living Jazz’s Advisory Council in 2019 and officially joined Living Jazz as Associate Director in early 2020. In February 2023, she was selected to step into the Executive Director role. Luke’s performance management, production, and development background is bolstered by extensive experience nonprofit fundraising, event planning, and public relations. Lyz is known for founding the award winning series UnderCover Presents in 2010 and has since released 15 studio recorded albums and showcases as part of the series. She has also worked with Oakland Symphony, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), Embodiment Project, Red Poppy Art House, ArtSpan (SF Open Studios), AIDS Walk, The San Francisco Marathon, and others. Lyz Luke achievements include being a certified mediator, serving on the board of Californians for the Arts/Californian Arts Advocates, serving on the Advisory Board of the California Jazz Conservatory, former three-term Governor on the SF Board of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs); Leadership Oakland Class of 2017, serving as an Oakland Rotarian, 2017’s YBCA 100 List; East Bay Express "Best of", SF Weekly's “Best of” (2x), and SF Guardian "Best of", Grants Panelist for Oakland Cultural Funding Program and City of Denver Music Advancement Fund, 3 Oakland Mayoral Proclamations presented at UnderCover shows to Sly & The Family Stone, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, and Green Day, B.S. in Economics from St. John’s University, NCAA Championship ring in fencing.

Founder, Camp Director

Stacey Hoffman founded Living Jazz in 1985 with an extensive background in music, dance and fine arts, along with 7 years of experience in business management. She is thrilled to continue with Living Jazz as the Camp Director for both Jazz and Jam Camp West in 2023.

Stacey started Living Jazz originally to save a faltering music camp, Jazz Camp West, from extinction. Through Living Jazz, she has gone on to design and launch several Bay Area music programs, many of which have become Bay Area treasures. She has produced Jazz Camp West since 1984, co-founded the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir in 1986; the Fall and Spring Music Series in 1988; RhythmVoice in 1990; and Jazz Camp Weekend in 1991. She created the Oakland Jazz Choir in 1992, “In the Name of Love”, The Annual Musical Tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 2001; The Living Jazz Children’s Project in 2005, and Jam Camp West, a music camp for 10-15 year olds, in 2007. Through her love of the arts, commitment to Living Jazz and dedication to her work, Ms. Hoffman has been responsible for bringing literally thousands of people together, fostering a sense of inspiration and community within the Bay Area’s jazz scene.

Stacey has also worked as an MFT licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Berkeley since 1988 and is the mother of two adult sons.

Development Manager

Since 2004, Steffany has dedicated her time and energy to supporting events nationwide. She has volunteered for various nonprofit initiatives and worked as a production staff member. Her passion lies in helping to create an enjoyable experience for both musicians and the audience, and she is excited to bring this same energy and enthusiasm to her work at Living Jazz.

Before moving to San Francisco in 2016, Steffany obtained a Master of Nonprofit Management (MNM) from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She brings over ten years of experience in nonprofit leadership, including fundraising, donor cultivation, program development, business development, community partnership management, grant management, and DEIA outcome advancement to her position as Development Manager. She has collaborated with organizations to develop nationally scaled programs, secure support for organizational goals and growth, and raise awareness of organizational impacts in the community and beyond.

Before obtaining her master's degree, she focused on conservation social sciences and, more specifically, place attachment at the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources. Her studies and her deep love for the natural world shape her decision-making process and she continues to make conservation and regeneration priorities.

Steffany highly values neurodiverse accessibility and inclusion. She has supported AT&T, Stanford University, the City of San Francisco, Visa, and other organizations as a speaker, committee member, content creator, or project partner to promote and create best practices for inclusion.

When she's not attending live music events or at home with her records and dog bestie “Kyle,” you can find her strolling around town searching for a good thrift store find or volunteering as a docent at the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt.

Marketing and Community Partnership Manager

Heralded as a “foolproof, passionate, and infectious” performer by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Jesse brings a wealth of musical experience to our team. With a remarkable range, his vocal versatility has seen him share the stage with esteemed ensembles and artists, including the Young Americans Show Choir, Up with People, and the SJSU Choraliers, where he had the honor of backing Andrea Bocelli.

Jesse’s professional background is as diverse as his musical repertoire. He has excelled as a Marketing Officer, Recruiter, Educator, and Musician, showcasing his exceptional skills as an interdisciplinary collaborator.

His previous role as the Marketing and Communications Manager at California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) has prepared him well for our dynamic environment.

In previous positions, Jesse has led various teams at the SJSU H&A Student Success Center, and has been actively involved with the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

From a young age, Jesse has embraced the mantra his mentor passed down to him: “When I sing for you, I share my heart. It’s all I am and I want to be.” Joining Living Jazz allows him to fulfill this mission by advocating for music education within our public schools.

Grant Writer

Julie Kanter is an independent grant writer, with close to 20 years of experience working with Bay Area performing artists and arts organizations. She is a former development manager at Quinn Associates. Former and current clients include the San Francisco Film Society, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Epiphany Productions, Dancers' Group, Fifth Stream Music, Dimensions Dance Theater, San Francisco Live Arts, Cutting Ball Theater, Z Space Studio, Robert Moses' Kin, Rova:Arts, Word for Word, Trey McIntyre Project, Playwrights Foundation, University of Washington World Series, and many others.

Operations Manager

Phil Katague joined Living Jazz as Operations Manager in late 2023 and brings a background and perspective from managing operations at several prominent local music venues to continue his work creating the space to uplift and empower the next generation of the Bay Area’s musicians, artists, and creators.

As a lifelong musician and East Bay resident, Phil found his passion for building community around music when he and his friends started putting on DIY backyard punk shows in his hometown of Walnut Creek, CA. Shortly after graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology, Phil moved to Oakland and joined the inaugural cohort of The UC Theatre’s Concert Career Pathways Program (nonprofit) in Downtown Berkeley. He went on to become their Front of House Manager, overseeing the operations and budgets for around 300 different concerts across all genres and audiences, as well as managing daily administration of the venue. In 2021 Phil moved on to become the Venue Manager of Starline Social Club, a regular stop for a wide variety of national and international touring acts, as well as a space to showcase Oakland’s diverse art and music scene.

Phil is excited to continue his work of supporting a wide variety of music and arts, both local and beyond, with Living Jazz.

Education Manager

Nick Obando is a Bay Area native, Bi-Racial Filipino-American, saxophonist, composer, facilitator and educator who believes music and the arts is an integral tool for social change. His path to music began finding his dads saxophone in the closet and loving how it looked, felt, and sounded.

He earned his BA in visual and performing arts with an emphasis on music from CSU San Marcos where he studied jazz and recording engineering. After college he taught music for 11 years in independent schools across the bay area with students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade. He is a trained SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) facilitator and worked for a consulting company leading clients through cultural transformation holding the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nick has studied Filipino music accompanying young dancers at ACPA (American Center of Philippine Arts) which is now Agos Youth Program under Kularts. 

He was the music director and composer for the Palau’an Bird Call, a contemporary Filipino dance piece performed at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as well as band leader for the “The Color Ensemble” performed at Eastside Arts Alliance. 

Nick is grateful to continue his journey at Living Jazz making a positive impact in his community connecting his passion for music, jazz, education, and social change.

Artistic Director, Jazz Camp West

NYC-based drummer/composer/teacher Allison Miller engages her deep roots in improvisation as a vehicle to explore all music. Described by critics as a Modern Jazz Icon in the Making, Miller won Downbeat’s 67th Annual Critics Poll for “Rising Star Drummer” and JazzTimes’s 2019 Critics Poll for “Best Jazz Drummer.” Boom Tic Boom, Allison’s longtime band, won Jazz Journalists Association’s 2019 award for “Best Mid-Sized Ensemble.” Her composition, “Otis Was a Polar Bear”, is included on NPR’s list of The 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women+. She is also the first recipient of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Commissioning Grant. In January 2020 Miller along with her band, Boom Tic Boom, tap dancer-Claudia Rahardjanoto, and video designer- Todd Winkler premiered this new multimedia suite, In Our Veins, with a seven show tour sponsored by Jazz Touring Network and Mid Atlantic Arts. The project explores multimedia performance as a vital form of knowledge production through the poetic interpretation of historical events and their association with the geography, ecology and flow of specific rivers. Learn More about Allison at allisonmiller.com.