GIVING BACK

Meredith Lavitt

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Meredith Lavitt has over 30 years of experience working in the independent film arena and with non-profits. Meredith is passionate about harnessing the arts for education, self-expression, and empowerment and is excited to focus on music and wellness. Lavitt was president of Original Thinkers, where she co-produced the annual Original Thinkers multi-media ideas festival and curated year-round programming for organizations and companies. Before that, she spent over 20 years at Sundance Institute, focusing on program development. She was the founder and director of the Sundance Ignite Program, where she cultivated and supported a new generation of filmmakers ages 18 to 25. Lavitt directed the Sundance Film Forward Initiative and spearheaded Sundance Institute's youth and community programs. Lavitt was also instrumental in establishing the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. Her producing credits include the critically acclaimed Home Front, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and on Showtime and The Grand Rescue, which premiered at the Mountain Film Festival in 2014 and first aired on PBS in 2016, and her newest project, The Garden Bridge in post-production. Lavitt has been a consulting producer for numerous award-winning documentary films. Lavitt lives with her family in Park City, Utah, where she enjoys mountain life and goes to live music whenever possible.

Courtney Caplan

PRESIDENT

Courtney has a deep love and appreciation for non-profit work and finds herself at live music shows near and far throughout the year, so when the opportunity to help with the start-up of Song Summit Foundation arrived, she jumped!  The mission of the organization resonates through and through as the focus of mental health and wellness intersects her life as well as her family and friends.  Courtney’s expertise lies in both new and established non-profits, having worked locally for Sundance Institute and Park City Chamber/Bureau and while living abroad in London, England, for Pilotlight.  She helped start and establish EATS (Eat Awesome Things) Park City and recently finished her term on the Board of Park City Community Foundation.  To her, the best thing about investing time and energy in non-profit work is the people and passion involved:  it doesn’t get better than having a product to represent that impacts others in a meaningful way.  Courtney enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially tied together with good food and traveling to new places.

Ellen Silver

VICE PRESIDENT

Ellen Silver has 45 years of non-profit experience.  A significant focus has been providing programs and services in support of individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, as well as their caregivers. Under her leadership, Jewish Family Service of Utah became the second community based agency in the country to provide the Music and Memory program to families and then trained a dozen other JFS organizations to do the same.  An outgrowth of this program has been the Gleeful Choir, composed of individuals with dementia and their caregivers, which performs throughout the Wasatch front and back.  Ellen recognizes the power of music and is excited to be involved with the Song Summit Foundation.

Sarah Henderson

TREASURER

Sarah Henderson has been an avid music fan since birth, attending her first concert before age two, seeing Jackson Browne. She began her career in finance in New York and San Francisco and has spent the last eight + years working in tech (Eventbrite, Amazon Web Services, Aumni / JP Morgan) in various leadership roles across finance and business operations.

She got involved with the Park City Song Summit in 2021, helping as a strategy and finance consultant. She joined the Song Summit Foundation in fall 2023 and is excited to raise awareness on such an important issue.

Julia GARLAND

SECRETARY

Julia Garland has many core memories tied to music. Key moments include frequenting local shows as a young child, attending festivals and concerts, and attempting (and failing) to learn various instruments.

Originally a Jersey Girl, Julia lived in Manhattan and London before making Park City home in 2019. In London, she served as Content Director at a prominent global PR agency. There, she led the social media team for brands including Levi’s, Aperol, and Nestlé.

Since early 2024, Julia has been contributing to the Song Summit Foundation, helping to develop social strategies and supporting marketing efforts. She lives in Park City with her husband, two feisty daughters, and two hairy dogs.

John W. Comerford

BOARD MEMBER

John’s motion picture writing and producing credits for Paradigm Studio include award winning, coming-of-age, music driven drama AROUND THE FIRE currently in rerelease for its 25th anniversary, The New York Times acclaimed documentary feature film/series ICONS AMONG US: JAZZ IN PRESENT TENSE. In his role as a producer, story guide and content owner, John has three feature films in active release. WALLFLOWER an EDM music community drama drawing raves in Variety and two documentaries: MARSHWAN LYNCH: A HISTORY an experimental race and sports film composed entirely from the internet clips profiled in The New Yorker and a sequel to wildlife conservation documentary THE BREACH, environmental award winner THE WILD which focuses on the successful fight to preserve wild salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. 

He is now helping produce Charles Hambleton’s (Academy Award winner THE COVE) and Johnny O’Hara’s (Sundance award winner FUEL) documentary KINSU MARU which tells the story of a treasure hunter’s return to the South Pacific to recover a treasure whose proceeds will be used for the good of local communities. John is also adapting David Harris’ book The Last Stand about the resistance to a hostile takeover of family redwood timber Pacific Lumber in the 1980’s by Wall Street junk bond kings. He served on the board of Seattle’s Earshot Jazz and now at Los Angeles’ The Jazz Bakery. John graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder where he was mentored by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage earning degrees in Psychology & Film Studies. His films have been distributed by Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon Prime, Showtime and Starz/Encore. 

Andy Hecht

BOARD MEMBER

Andy currently serves as the Climate Fund Manager at the Park City Community Foundation. Hailing from Chicago, he ventured westward to collaborate with the National Park Service. In 2008, with the support of over 30 public and private partnerships, Andy pioneered a natural resources education program for the U.S. Forest Service in northern California. His decade-long leadership of an environmental education site on the Oregon coast for a consortium of Northwest Oregon school districts earned him a spotlight on PBS NewsHour, thanks to his innovative collaborative strategies.

Adding to his academic accomplishments, Andy received a Master’s in Educational Business Administration in 2018. True to his passion for seasonal work, he consistently dedicated his winter months, from 2006 to 2021, to the Sundance Film Festival. In 2018, Andy and his long-time partner tied the knot, choosing Park City as their forever home.

Andy’s commitment to the community shines through his active participation in numerous committees and boards, such as Song Summit, Community Foundation Climate Collaborative, Park City’s Green Business Program, Park City’s Sustainable Tourism, and the feasibility study for the Bonanza Park project. When not immersed in professional or community endeavors, Andy and his wife, Brittnie, savor the myriad activities that Park City’s seasons offer. They’re also proud curators of an impressive board game collection.

Danika Knieriem

BOARD MEMBER

Danika is thrilled to be a founding board member for the Song Summit Foundation. Danika moved to Park City from Manhattan Beach, CA in 2019. Since calling Utah home she has turned her attention to the powerful collaboration between music, the arts and nonprofit work. Danika is passionate about how music aids in education, mental health, and undoubtedly strengthens both individuals and communities. She has previously held various positions in sales, marketing and design. While running her business in CA she also held a volunteer teaching position with Young at Art, a nonprofit organization providing art enrichment lessons seeking to make community resources in the Arts more available to children. In addition to Song Summit Foundation she currently serves on the board for Mountain Town Music, and also works with PC READS, a learning advocacy nonprofit. Originally from CO, Danika is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Danika’s hope is that Song Summit Foundation will provide unique educational opportunities and enriching experiences to all those it touches!

Paige Anderson

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Paige Anderson brings a wealth of experience and passion to the Song Summit Foundation. A retired Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for North America at a Fortune Global 500 company, Paige has worked with numerous nonprofits and currently serves on the board of the Park City Museum. Wanting to bring wellness into the music festival world, Paige and her husband, Ben Anderson founded Park City Song Summit. Amplifying the healing work of the music weekend, they went on to establish the Song Summit Foundation, with a mission of music for wellness. Paige is a lifelong Deadhead who believes in music’s unique ability to unite people and promote positive change.  As Jerry Garcia once said, "You need music. It’s one of those elements that pulls people together and lets them experience something greater than themselves." Paige is committed to advancing this vision, using music to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Julia Rametta

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Julia Rametta grew up in Utah and has claimed Park City as home for the last 14 years. She has spent her career in event and business management, most recently working toward building Park City Song Summit as a local music staple. She has consistently worked with startups (one of her own), non-profits and small businesses so is comfortable at executing ambitious ideas within narrow constraints and enjoys working with a variety of partners to ensure shared goals are reached. She participates on the Song Summit Foundation Board as an Advisory Board member representing the Park City Song Summit. She is a mom of two young boys and a very old dog and is active within the community as a committee member with the National Ability Center and Park City Education Foundation.