Board of Directors

Melissa Vandergriff (President) co-founded the Cleveland Chamber Choir along with artistic director Scott MacPherson in 2015. She is currently Director of Continuous Improvement at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, previously serving for six years as Director of Operations and Continuous Improvement at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital. Before joining the Cleveland Clinic, Melissa spent 10 years in process improvement and project management in the IT and healthcare industries. She received her MBA from Case Western Reserve University, holds a Master of Arts in sociology from Lancaster University, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). In addition to singing with the Cleveland Chamber Choir, Melissa performs with the baroque vocal quintet Alchemy and in 2021 co-launched Collaborative Music Cleveland.

John Carl, M.D. (Vice President) is the Chair of the Center for Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Children’s and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He has conducted and published results from numerous clinical trials as well as outcomes research studies. Through the Clinic and other professional organizations, he has been recognized at state and national levels for his research contributions as well as role in child health advocacy. Internationally, he has participated in medical and economic sustainability efforts in El Salvador. Dr. Carl’s love for music began in childhood, blending classical piano training from his mother’s family with his father’s career as a broadcast jazz radio personality, programmer, and manager of stations in various U.S. cities. Although not vocally trained himself, Dr. Carl is no less passionate about Cleveland Chamber Choir’s mission to perform and educate about choral music, and was honored to have been asked to join the CCC Board in 2017.

Michael Dylan Brennan (Secretary) joined the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Chamber Choir at the beginning of 2018, and serves as its Secretary. While not a member of the ensemble, Michael studied woodwinds and piano as a student, and still plays the alto saxophone. His love of the arts, and of the performances of the Cleveland Chamber Choir in particular, inspired him to support the organization by joining its Board of Directors. Michael has served on numerous non-profit boards, has been an attorney for over twenty years, and is the Mayor of University Heights, Ohio.

Lee Scantlebury (Treasurer) has performed with various choral ensembles over the past fifty years. He has sung with the Cleveland Chamber Choir since their inaugural concert, and serves as Treasurer of their Board of Directors. He also sings with The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and serves as Vice-Chair of the Operating Committee. In the past, he has performed with the Erie Philharmonic Chorus, the Penn State choir, and was an active singer and soloist in high school. Lee has enjoyed a long career in Information Technology, serving in management for more than twenty years. Currently, he is an IT System Analyst Consultant at Progressive Insurance, providing analysis, insight, and guidance in establishing new IT systems at Progressive. During his management career, he was responsible for multiple teams and managers, and typically managed multi-million dollar budgets for his departments and projects.

Charles Edward McGuire (Grants Officer), Professor of Musicology at Oberlin College Conservatory, studies the music of Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, sight-singing techniques, and the intersection of choral singing and moral reform movements. His publications include Music and Victorian Philanthropy: The Tonic Sol-fa Movement (Cambridge University Press, 2009), Elgar’s Oratorios: The Creation of an Epic Narrative (Ashgate, 2002) and The Historical Dictionary of English Music (Scarecrow, 2011), which he co-authored with Oberlin colleague Professor Steven Plank. He is currently writing a history of British musical festivals. His series, The Great Works of Sacred Music, is available at thegreatcourses.com as a video or audio series, as well as on iTunes as an audiobook. He has presented papers at numerous international musicological conferences, and is a frequent invited speaker for panel discussions and pre-concert talks. Charles has been a Fulbright Scholar at the Department of Music of the University of York and a Humanities Writ Large Fellow at Duke University, is a past president of the North American British Music Studies Association and Vice President of the Midwestern Victorian Studies Association. He serves the Board of the Cleveland Chamber Choir as their grants officer, and frequently delivers pre-concert lectures before their concerts.

Laurel Dolejs is a registered nurse at South Pointe Hospital working as a Program Manager of Nursing Quality to help the Department of Nursing improve the quality and safety of patient care. As a hospital diploma nursing graduate, she went on to earn her Master of Science in Psychology in 2009 from Walden University and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2012 from American Sentinel University. In addition, Laurel holds certifications in Professional Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and as a Healthcare Accreditation Professional (HACP). She is a member of the board for Ohio Association for Healthcare Quality (OAHQ), where she has served as the President and is currently the Treasurer. Laurel’s appreciation for music, theatre and the arts has been lifelong and she is pleased to be joining the Board of Directors to continue to develop the Cleveland Chamber Choir’s mission.

Elise Leitzel grew up in Monroe, Louisiana, deeply influenced by the Southern Baptist culture in the church community and while earning degrees from Ouachita Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She absolutely loved it but was curious about what might lie beyond those borders. No longer satisfied to learn about other people through the lens of her own culture, she moved to Seattle where she studied spirituality at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Her appreciation for diversity continued to develop while acquiring a Masters in Counseling Psychology. Marriage to Tim, who she met at The Seattle School, led them to Cleveland where she earned a certificate in Ignatian Spirituality from John Carroll University. Elise completed spiritual care internships in Clinical Pastoral Education with the Cleveland Clinic and Summa Health and was employed as a hospice chaplain. Always a fan of choral music that was seeded by her mother, nurtured by participation in various college groups, and revitalized by the musical talent she has discovered in Northeast Ohio, Elise is delighted to be associated with the Cleveland Chamber Choir as a board member. Elise also sings alto with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. When not supporting or participating in music, Elise can often be found on the pickleball court.

Scott Markov is a Key Account Manager at Nagase Specialty Materials, a hybrid supplier and distributor of functional ingredients for a variety of markets. Focused in NSM’s Life & Health Care division, Scott builds key relationships at brand-name manufacturers such as Mary Kay, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Amway. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, Scott has had the opportunity to work in a variety of roles throughout his career, including chemical distribution and global accounts management, as well as technical marketing, research and development, and environmental lab operations. Scott’s love of music began quite early, as both parents were musicians. Dad passed down not only his trumpet, but also his love of jazz, balanced by mom’s devotion to the viola, as well as her classical and opera leanings. Not surprisingly, Scott has a keen interest in both jazz and classical music, and has participated in various choruses over the years, including the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus as a bass-baritone for 25 years.

Amy Lynn Teleron, M.D. is an Internal Medicine Physician and Academic Hospitalist, a physician that leads the plan of care for patients admitted to the hospital and teaches the next generation of physicians. She is also Deputy Medical Director in Medical Operations for the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise, where she leads projects to optimize healthcare processes to improve each patient’s journey while being treated in the hospital. Dr. Amy grew up in a home full of music – her mother was a child concert pianist in the Philippines; her brother discovered his gift of synesthesia (where he sees notes in color) as a child through jazz piano and now performs as an electronic music DJ at music festivals as a hobby. Dr. Amy fostered her appreciation and love for music starting at an early age playing classical piano and volunteer singing in choral groups. She joined the Cleveland Chamber Choir Board of Directors in 2022, inspired to share and spread the beauty of choral music.

Peter Vanden Broeck is a Registered Investment Advisor and Sr. Portfolio Mangager for Carnegie Investment Counsel in Pepper Pike, Ohio. Peter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Macalester College in 1983 and has worked in the financial services industry since 1985. A devoted follower of the Warren Buffett approach to investing, Peter has been managing client assets since 1993. While not an active member of the Cleveland Chamber Choir, Peter’s inspiration to join the board sprung from his daughter Lauren who is an active singer in the ensemble. Lauren earned her Master's degree in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory and as of January 2023, is now giving vocal lessons at the College of Wooster as an Associate Professor. Peter and his wife Sabrina moved to Cleveland in 1998 and are avid supporters of Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Chamber Choir.