About Napa
Regional Dance
Foundation

Alyssia Walden is a dynamic professional with an MBA in Wine Business, boasting extensive experience in hospitality and business management. Specializing in the launch and management of boutique wine brands, she demonstrates expertise in business operations and strategic planning. Alyssia has left an indelible mark at prestigious wineries such as Frog’s Leap, Progeny Winery, Pulido Walker, Arborum, and more.

Growing up in the Napa Valley, Alyssia thrived in Tae Kwon Do, earning national recognition. This experience instilled in her a deep respect and dedication to technically demanding disciplines. Inspired by her daughter’s early passion for ballet, Alyssia prioritized her daughter’s artistic development, finding a supportive and nurturing environment at NRDC. Alyssia remains dedicated to preserving ballet as a vital form of artistic expression and advocates for its accessibility to all who desire it.

Christine is the proud mother of two young daughters, one of which has been dancing at Napa Regional Dance Company for the past few years. Christine grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she danced in ballet and jazz performances as a young girl. She understands the discipline, mindfulness, and confidence that dancing brings to children and adults and is an advocate for the performing arts.

In 2010, Christine moved to Napa from San Francisco and in 2012, married her husband, who is a wine marketing consultant and advocate of the arts. Christine and her husband have attended every NRDC Nutcracker performance with their daughters since they were old enough to attend, which has instilled a deep love and appreciation for ballet.

Christine graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Business/Economics and a minor in Accounting. She brings business and finance expertise to the Napa Regional Dance Foundation Board as a CPA and in her role as the CFO of Chappellet Winery.

In 2006, Jeanmarie answered a casting call seeking adult dancers to join in the upcoming production of The Nutcracker. An avid community theater performer and wannabe ballerina, it was the perfect marriage and she has been active in NRDC productions ever since. Jeanmarie consults on special events and marketing projects and has spent many years in the non-profit sector. She currently sits on the board of The White Barn, a restored carriage house turned theater located in St. Helena. As the parent of a high school student, she maintains an active role in the parent group and serves on the steering committee of their annual fundraising campaign. Originally from Chicago, she holds a BA and MA in communication from Bowling Green University in Ohio. While Jeanmarie has two daughters of her own, she still feels like a proud parent of every one of the NRDC talented performers.

Wanda Martin McGill has been teaching Classical Ballet and Contemporary dance in the Bay Area and Napa Valley for over 30 years. She received her professional dance education with Dance Theater of Harlem in New York City and studied contemporary dance at The Alvin Ailey School. Returning to the Bay Area, she continued studies with Alonzo King, director of Lines Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco.

Wanda holds graduate level K-12 and Community College credentials in the areas of Fine Art and Dance. Since 1981 she has taught classical ballet and contemporary dance for Napa, Solano and Diablo Valley Community College Districts. She directed her own contemporary ballet company, Visual Moves, which performed in the Bay Area along with producing numerous dance productions for the colleges and the community. Wanda continues to provide professional dance education to hundreds of students each year and maintains the business operations for Napa Regional Dance Company.

Originally from Chicago, Regina graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, English, and Spanish and a minor in music. An avid musician, she has frequently experienced dance from a different perspective – as a flautist in the orchestra pit for numerous ballets. She worked in Houston after college and moved to Napa in 2010. She and her husband have six young children, two of whom are dancers with Napa Regional Dance Company. The former President of Napa Regional Dance Foundation, Regina is an executive recruiter and career services professional with a large education non-profit and brings a wealth of experience in education, the arts, fundraising, and non-profit management to her role in supporting and advising NRDF.

Maggie is an advanced ballet student at NRDC. She began her life long love of ballet at a young age in Corpus Christi, Texas where she danced throughout her youth before moving to England to attend boarding school and train in the Royal Academy of Dance method. She continued taking ballet classes while studying English at the University of Georgia and in her post college life at the Ballet Austin community school. Maggie moved to the valley in 2011 to pursue a culinary degree at the CIA Greystone after which she worked as a baker for three years before taking an indefinite hiatus from the professional kitchen to join her boyfriend, Reed, in growing his business. Together they run a small company selling previously owned clothing – primarily menswear – on eBay. She enjoys this new, somewhat unconventional, career that allows her more time to perfect her pliés and pirouettes back in the ballet studio.