Category Archives: Members of the Year

Annett Andriesen is the Managing Director of the International Vocal Competitions at Hertogenbosch. She has been the artistic and financial director of the International Vocal Competition for nine years.

The International Vocal Competition’s Hertogenbosch (IVC) was founded in 1954 and is the sole classical vocal competition in the Netherlands that involves oratorio and art song as well as opera, with much attention also being paid to 20th century and to contemporary music. It is a unique cultural institution with long-standing connections to the province of Noord-Brabant and to the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Annett was previously the opera singer at DNO Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, May 1974. He has regular guest roles as the mezzo-soprano with Dutch Opera in Amsterdam and has sang over 100 operaroles during the last 36 years in The Netherlands, Belgium and Europe as well as USA. When not working she enjoys politics, sports, and culture.

Mary Ross’s career in special events spans 37 years including 23 years as Founder, Owner, and President of Five Star Productions in Napa California. Five Star Productions is committed to excellence in special events. The company has developed a loyal following, leading businesses in the wine and food industry for national and international corporations and a discerning list of wedding and social clientele. Five star Productions contributes annually to the success of numerous charitable events and organizations through event management and design support for fundraising events throughout our region.

Mary was the Recipient of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, from The Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, March 2011. This award is presented annually to 20 women in Northern California for their entrepreneurial success and service to their community. The Women’s Initiative supports education and scholarship for beginning women entrepreneurs and through their support helps to create over 5,000 jobs a year in Northern California.

Jessie Liu is a Designer for Simple Pair Fashion Design. She is from the small coastal town of Penglai in the Shandong Province of China. Prior to entering the fashion industry, she was a corporate executive based in Toronto, Canada. But her talent and passion in fashion design led her to the creative hub of San Francisco where she earned a Master of Fine Art degree from the Academy of Art University.

In the fall of 2011, among many contending designers competing for the opportunity, Jessie’s evening gown was jury-selected to be shown at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Then again in 2012, her graduation collection was selected to be shown at that year’s Fashion Week NY.

She received the best young designer award from Arts Thread/WGSN and was sponsored to present her collection in the Who’s Next show in Paris. She also won the CDFA-sponsored Vitamin Water Fashion Design contest in 2012.

Today Jessie is the proprietor and chief designer for Simple Pair Fashion Design, a line of elegant and expressive women’s apparel based in San Francisco. Her inaugural collection, titled “The Incense of Color,” won first place in InspiRare’s fashion design contest, which entitled her to a sponsored fashion show at the 2014 Vancouver Fashion.

She recently completed her degree in Master of Fine Art from the Academy of Art University (AAU), San Francisco, USA. Prior to joining the fashion industry, Jessie was a corporate executive based in Toronto, Canada. Jessie was originally from a small coastal town of Penglai, Shandong Province, China. When not working she enjoys reading, hiking, and yoga.

Sabine Mescher is a highly sought Graphic Designer and artist located in Stuttgart, Germany. Sabine began her company with the mission of developing high-impact, winning graphic solutions across a range of media. Sabine creates unique, engaging, and eye-catching graphic solutions for a variety of media.

Sabine applies creative thinking across the communications spectrum, from print, book, and publishing design to environmental design. In addition to the high impact designs she provides to her clients, Sabine engages with her clients in branding, by rendering marketing solutions that span identity and web site development, and public relations. Sabine Mescher is a client focused, boutique design company focusing on B to B business and image advertisement.

Joan Martin is a college admissions consultant and founder and owner of College Start Online, established in 1995. College Start Online is comprised of coaches and editors that work with students across the US and around the world through Skype, phone, and email. All coaches and editors are ivy-educated, published authors, and have many years of experience on admissions committees. Her goal is to help students get into their university of choice. Joan received a PhD from MIT, a Master’s degree from Harvard University and a BA from Michigan University. Her professional and personal success is attributed to her drive, determination, and problem solving skills. When she’s not working to further build her business and achieve goals, she works in affiliation with Bandages for Builders and enjoys swimming, reading, and traveling. Other published books include: How to Jumpstart the College Application Process How to Write the Common Application How to Write Supplement Questions