OUR TEAM

PVTC STAFF

Maddie N. Zdeblick

Executive Director

Maddie N. Zdeblick (she/her) has spent the last ten summers with PVTC as a teaching artist, director, IDEA consultant, and scholar in residence. At PVTC, Maddie has directed plays, musicals, and devised works, such as The Literati Awards (2019), Masked (2020), The Outdoor Office (2021), Frozen Jr. (2022), and Frozen KIDS (2022). She has also been instrumental in developing Access Previews for PVTC summer camp productions, which invite audiences of all abilities and backgrounds to experience theatre. In 2023, Maddie piloted a partnership between PVTC and the Open Mind School in Menlo Park to devise and perform an original play on the PVTC stage grounded in Disability Justice principles, featuring disabled and nondisabled students creating and performing together.

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As a Bay Area native, fresh from completing her PhD in Education at the University of Washington Seattle, Maddie is thrilled to step into the role of Executive Director at PVTC and return to the Bay Area full-time. In her work, Maddie is passionate about Disability Justice, educational equity, and innovating new theatrical forms in partnership with learners of all ages and abilities. Formerly, Maddie served as the founding Artistic Director of Parachute Players, a multisensory, immersive theatre company, and program manager of Dandylyon Drama’s Creative Adaptive Performance Ensemble (CAPE). Alongside her PhD, Maddie holds a graduate certificate in Disability Studies and a master's in education from the University of Washington Seattle, and a bachelor’s in theatre and sociology from Northwestern University, with a focus in Theatre for Young Audiences. She is a 2019 graduate of the Washington State Teaching Artist Training Lab.

Siena McMahon

Director of Production and Facilities

Siena McMahon, Director of Production and Facilities: Siena (she/her) has been a member of the PVTC community since 2007 as a student, intern, and teaching artist. Siena holds a BFA in Theater Arts Design and Production from Boston University. She has many touch points in the world of theater but most frequently finds herself as a production manager, teaching artist, milliner, props artisan or movement director. Her personal interest is in how art can be used to combat social and environmental injustice. Previously, she has worked with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and trained with the Accademia Dell Arte.

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Stephanie Knechtle

Administrative Associate

Stephanie Knechtle is an operations and administrative professional based in the Boston, MA area. She graduated with a Communication Arts degree from Gordon College and specialzes in working with nonprofits and small businesses to streamline processes. While never on the stage herself, she enjoys attending shows and has had many friends involved in theatre over the years.

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Anna cotter

community engagement Associate

Anna Cotter began her studies in Forestry at Cal Poly Humboldt before earning a BA in Business. After leaving the redwoods of Northern California, she joined Filoli, starting in events before transitioning to Learning and Engagement. There, she developed immersive experiences that connected visitors to the property’s beauty, history, and nature—discovering her passion for fostering community and belonging.

Though never an actor, Anna grew up competitively dancing in her hometown of San Carlos and is excited to introduce her young daughter to theatre at PVTC. She has a deep love for the outdoors, the arts, and, most of all, creating inclusive and meaningful connections.

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jackie Rivas

Development Associate

Jackie Rivas graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Communications, and finds purpose and joy in raising money for organizations that seek to amplify diverse voices and do good in the world. She has extensive experience working with nonprofits to fundraise and support programs focused on education, public service and community engagement. Her previous role involved working for the Rhodes Trust and fundraising for the Rhodes Scholarships. While Jackie has roots in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, she now calls Palo Alto, California home, where she resides with her husband and two school-aged girls. She enjoys attending community theatre with her family and also the many many dance and piano performances that her girls take part in each year.

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TEACHING ARTISTS

Raf Ornes

Teaching Artist
Fred Eiras

Teaching Artist

FOUNDING MEMBERS

Cheryl Goodman-Morris

FOUNDER

PVTC was founded by Artistic Director Cheryl Goodman-Morris, who also served as pastor of Worship and Arts at Valley Presbyterian Church. It was Cheryl’s desire, along with PVTC Board Chair, Tom Kelley, and the members of Valley Pres to create a quality theatre arts program that would open VPC’s doors wide to the community.