The Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra has added four new board members to its Board of Directors. They are Sherwood Wagner, Lisa Cabiness, Vallerie Dontes and Barbara Sypult. Doug Haloftis is the new Board Chair. 

Sherwood Wagner’s involvement with the arts and other civic activities shows her passion for making a difference in our community. She served as president of Women’s Auxiliary of Girls, Inc. of Dallas for two terms and has held board positions for the USA Film Festival and Parish Episcopal School. Most recently, she served as Honorary Chair for the 2016 Dallas Symphony Orchestra Opening Gala and was Honorary Chair for the 2015 Mad Hatter’s Tea. She is a longtime supporter of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society and has supported the 2015 DSO Gala, Cattle Barons Ball, Crystal Charity, and Association of Major Symphony Volunteers. Sherwood has west Texas roots and has held various board positions for The Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center (Midland) and The Ellen Noël Art Museum (Odessa). 

Lisa Cabaniss is Artistic Director of Sote Performing Arts Center and with Cabaniss Management Company. She and her husband Edwin are owners of the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff. Together they reinvented the old theater on Davis Street as a gallery space, performance venue, and retail and office center. The vacant building was transformed into one of the city's leading entertainment venues helping to revitalize the area. The property has been an Oak Cliff landmark for nearly 75 years and gained a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Vallerie Dontes is a community volunteer serving as a current board member for Promise House and Dallas CASA. She relocated from Chicago five years ago when her husband took a head position at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Vallerie continues her work as a consultant with the Department of Psychiatry for University of Illinois in Chicago. 

Barbara Carlyle Sypult is actively involved in the community and is a notable arts patron. She has served many nonprofit organizations in a director capacity. Her roster of past and current board involvement includes the Fine Arts Chamber Players, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Alzheimer’s Association, AT&T Performing Arts Center, A.W.A.R.E. (fundraising arm supporting the Alzheimer’s Association), Chiapas International, Mentoring Arts Magnet School, New Conservatory of Dallas, and Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, among others. She enjoys working with young people and enhancing the performing arts experience that Dallas offers. 

Douglas Haloftis is the new Board Chair. He is a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in the Labor & Employment Law Department and was previously a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. He is a frequent author and speaker on corporate governance topics, he serves on the board of the Vision Forum (a human rights speakers’ forum), and was a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships from 2008-2010. Doug has hosted untold number of musical events in his home featuring his Bösendorfer grand piano.