Often spotted as Ticket Takers, Ushers, and Parkers during the Big Top Tour, the board works tirelessly to keep our tent tops high, our popcorn popping, and our aerialists soaring above the crowd.

★ BOARD MEMBERS ★                                           

Justin LeBlanc, President
South Portland, ME
Justin is a former gymnast and a former minor league baseball and basketball mascot, turned attorney. At his law firm, LeBlanc Diggins, he focuses on estate planning, and trust and estate administration. He has served on several nonprofit boards in Maine and Georgia. Justin has two sons – Andrew, an organic chemistry student, and Theo, a professional circus artist who was a Smirkus camper and trouper. Justin is proud to be a three-ball juggler who can still safely complete some rudimentary tumbling without injuring himself.

Raber Umphenour, Vice President
Boston, MA
Raber is a developer of cultural institutions and organizations including the Midway Artist
Collective and the Museum of Scenographic Design. As a filmmaker, his work focuses on
feature films, documentaries, and architectural motion pictures. He has designed for opera,
ballet, and stage dramas, worked in real estate development and strategy, and is a regular
lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Raber was a Smirkus trouper in 1997-
1999.

Debra Ellis, Treasurer
Chappaqua, NY
Debra has over 30 years of experience in technology consulting. She is a Partner at Ellis
Partners where she provides strategic advice to mid-market technology companies. She
enjoys all things circus and shares her love of arts and sports with her husband, daughter
and son.  Her son was previously a camper and counselor at Smirkus Camp.

Toby Ayer, Secretary
Salisbury, CT
An educator and coach at Salisbury School in Connecticut since 2008, Toby’s previous pedagogic and coaching stints include MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern University. Today he is a physics teacher and the head rowing coach. He spends part of each summer in VT’s Northeast Kingdom coaching at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. One of the original Smirkus troupers, Toby performed and then worked with Smirkus between 1987 and 1999. He lives on the Salisbury School campus with his wife and two children, and juggles whenever appropriate in his physics classes.

Lydia Brosnahan
Cambridge, MA
Now pursuing a mid-career graduate degree in public administration, Lydia was a Producer
at MIT’s Office of the Arts. Earlier she worked at Macalester College and at the Institute for
Global Studies at the U of MN and interned at MASS MoCA and the Walker Art Center. Her
frequent world travels have included a volunteer stint with Crescer e Viver social circus in
Brazil. Lydia saw her first Circus Smirkus show in 1999 and was immediately inspired to run
away and join the circus, becoming a Smirkus camper 2000-2002 and trouper 2003-2006 &
2008.

Stephen Cebik
New Haven, CT
Stephen’s first paying job in high school at a little CT bookstore paved the way for a career
in the world of books. As Director of Sales at Yale University Press he manages all facets of
an operation responsible for over $20M in annual sales. For the past decade he has
volunteered with MakeHaven, a nonprofit makerspace. Earlier creative pursuits included
summer production and performing roles with Shakespeare & Company. Nowadays
Stephen trains in juggling at a local CT circus arts studio along with his daughter, a Smirkus
camper.

Kate Hayes
Scottsdale, AZ
In 1991 Kate ran off to the circus, attending Smirkus Camp and then joining the Big Top
Tour (1992-1997).  After a decade working in management in the service industry, she
moved into nonprofit sector work. Kate provides expertise and oversight for medical billing
and contract negotiation for healthcare organizations. She enjoys traveling the world with
her husband and two daughters while also spending as much time as possible outside,
volunteering in her kids’ classrooms and at the Desert Botanic Gardens. Her daughter is
now a second generation Smirkus camper.

Addie MacDonald
Northampton, MA
Addie is the Managing Director of Performing Arts and Film at Massachusetts Museum of
Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, MA. His career in the field of arts
management has included roles as Theatre Manager at The Academy of Music Theatre
(MA), Director at the Smith College Conference Center (MA), and work with the Directors Guild of America (NY). Addie joined Smirkus in the “early” years as a trouper 1989-1992. He
then returned to help run Smirkus tour concessions in the mid 1990’s.

Thomas (TJ) Michael
Annandale, VA
TJ has more than 35 years’ experience as a project manager with a focus on healthcare
systems, working at multiple federal agencies including Veterans Administration, Dept. of
Defense, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In his youth, he performed with
Circus Kirk, a PA-based, traveling big-top, all-student show where he met his wife. They
subsequently performed (him on wire and her as a clown) with other touring shows. These
days TJ volunteers to build show props for the new generation of performers at Circus
Smirkus.

Jenny O’Flaherty
Norwich, VT
Jenny is a pediatric anesthesiologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. As a frequent
volunteer with overseas surgical missions, she has worked and lived across the globe. Her
family was first introduced to Circus Smirkus when Jenny, her wife Beth, and three children
hosted troupers as part of the Tour Homestay program. Their son Liam later attended
Smirkus Camp and toured with the Smirkus Big Top show. Jenny’s interests and hobbies in
model building and home repair also include volunteering as a prop builder for the Smirkus
Big Top tour.

Debbie Steinig
Baltimore, MD
Debbie works in the field of education with a focus on literacy, math, and social studies.
Following positions at schools in MA, NY, and PA, she has been teaching at Kreiger
Schechter Day School in Baltimore since 2001. Debbie’s nonprofit volunteer work includes
more than two decades with Chevrei Tzedek Congregation, now serving on their executive
board. The family’s involvement with Smirkus began when her son Lev Eisner became a
Smirkus camper and later a trouper (2023-5).

★ HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS ★

Julia Child (1912-2004)
John & Lisa Hewett
Tim Holst (1947-2009)
Curtis Ingham
Ed Koren (1935-2023)
Norman Lear
Marcel Marceau (1923-2007)
Paul Zaloom

★ FORMER BOARD MEMBERS ★

Stew Arnold
Scott Atherton
Josh Aviner
David Barash
Beth Binns Schoellkopf
Laura Brewer
Jane Culbert
Tristan Avelina Cunningham
Jill D’Andrea Fischmann
Jane Fisher (Past President)
Shelley Glassner
Claire Grimble
Bob Grove
Kimberly Grove
Francey Grund
Mark Heyman
Peter Kunin
Michele Levy (Past President)
Pam Lodish
Tom McGrail
Brian Miron
Fred Nanni
Gail Neale (Past President)
Bruce Novich
Susan Novich
Carole Parker
Dick Plotz
Dan Reicher
Pam Reynolds
Richard Reynolds
Miriam Rosenblum (Past President)
Elinor Ross
Robert Sanson
Kathryn Sarken
Richard Saudek
Neil Saunders (Past President)
Linda S. Schiffer (Past President)
Bill Schubart (Past President)
Dan Seideman
Tom Shampnois
Steve Shepherd
Brian Slater
Nick Speltz
Rob Smart
Debby Stein Sharpe (Past President)
Joshua Wachs
Marvin Wang
Ben Winship
Nancy Wright
Jim Zien