Board of Directors - Officers
Melissa Alford - Past President (2024)
Melissa's love of theatre began at home where her family was inclined to break out into song with lines from musicals when appropriate. (Any praise or criticism of the women in the family almost always resulted in "There is nothing like a dame....." from South Pacific.)
Prior to joining Brunswick Little Theatre, she worked in the banking industry in the area of Human Resources. With a masters degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, she was fortunate to work as an Organizational Consultant partnered
with C-Suite executives as they focused on Diversity & Inclusion, Change Management and Executive Coaching. The bank also graciously supported her in her work with various non-profits focused on primary education and leadership development in public education.
Happily married to her college sweetheart, Bill, they are grateful to live in Caswell Beach & thrilled to have a wonderful adult daughter that lives in Wilmington. Additionally, Melissa and her husband are "owned" by two adorable pups, a Morkie named Roxie (Duchess Roxanne) and a new Malshi puppy Ralphie (Prince Ralph).
Dave Bracken - Treasurer
Recently retired from a career in accounting, Dave and his wife Ruth, of 34 years, relocated to Leland NC from central Pennsylvania in August of 2022. It wasn't long until they learned about Brunswick Little Theatre and wanted to get involved.
Dave was appointed Treasurer of BLT in May of 2023.
Having lived outside of Washington, DC for 20 years provided many opportunities for Dave and Ruth to experience live theatrical performance, from small, intimate dinner theaters to
Broadway productions at the Kennedy Center and Warner Theatre's.
Dave began his accounting career in the retail industry, moving into banking shortly thereafter. Ten years later, he began and spent the bulk of his career working in Federal Government contract accounting, first in the Health and Human Services sector, then in Defense Contracting. Moving on from there, Dave finished his career in the education system, working in the Business Office of a Pennsylvania school district.
Dave is active in his church and enjoys reading, travel and playing golf.
Deborah Skillman - Secretary
Deborah Skillman is a career music educator who holds both Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees from East Carolina University and a certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. She currently serves as the organist and choirmaster at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.
Her theater experiences include roles both on and offstage.
Deborah has directed 28 shows at the Brunswick Little Theatre (BLT), as well as appearing on stage in 10 shows, and as a frequent accompanist. She founded the youth performance division of BLT, the Stagestruck Players, in 2002, and the Youth Musical Theater training program, Musical Theater Apprentices, in 2015, with colleague Bev Veenker. She has spent more time than you can imagine in a practice room or at a rehearsal.
Deborah has been a member of the Brunswick Little Theatre Board of Directors since the early 2000s and is a past president.
Steve Rauschkolb - Past President (2023)
Originally from Westchester County, New York, Steven, and his wife Toni spent most of their married life working and raising their family in New Jersey. They moved to Leland in 2019. The vibrant theater scene in the Cape Fear region was a big reason for their relocating to this area.
Steven’s love for the theater began with his role as a paperboy, Joe Crowell, Jr. in a church production of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Our Town. Unfortunately, his terror at memorizing lines made this his final stage appearance in a speaking role, although he continued to work behind the scenes on many other productions over the years. The Arts have always been important to his family and have they been frequent attendees and contributors to the NYC Ballet and Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood for over 40 years.
Steven has a BS degree in Organizational Management from Nyack College and a MA degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University, where he was also an adjunct professor teaching courses in Organizational Culture and leadership. He spent most of his career in various sales, marketing, and organizational effectiveness roles in the telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries, at AT&T, Exxon, Merck, Pfizer, and Sanofi. In 2006 he formed his own consulting firm, The Crisfield Group which focuses on helping organizations increase the effectiveness of their sales teams and executive leadership. He has won multiple awards for producing industrial and training films and large corporate events featuring Fleetwood Mac, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Pointer Sisters, Earth Wind, and Fire, Huey Lewis and the News among others.
Steven is also on the Civil War Roundtable Congress's board of directors and an advisor to the Brunswick Civil War Roundtable. He is a past two-term president of the Life Science Training Network and in 2018 Steve was inducted into the Life Science Training Hall of Fame.