Staff & Board


The Folk Dance Federation of California assists in organizing dance clubs and councils, promotes dance activities generally in Northern California, sponsors festivals, institutes, and teacher training, supports research in dances, music and costumes, and maintains this web site: folkdance.com. The list of officers below is accurate through May 31, 2023, at which time the new officers will take office and this web page will be updated.

The Federation exists to promote folk dancing, to bring more potential dancers into our dance halls, and to keep current dancers informed and connected. The work the officers and committee members do (in addition to paying annual dues) is all volunteer labor—from attending meetings to maintain the Federation website, from processing membership checks, to reviewing scholarship and promotion grant applications, from writing articles for Let’s Dance!, to planning our major dance festivals, and more…

The current by-laws of the Federation are available here

Federation Officers:

Ulrike Narins

Ulrike Narins, President

Laura Richardson

Laura Richardson, Vice President

Sabine Zappe

Sabine Zappe, Treasurer

Clem Dickie

Clem Dickey, Secretary

Much of the Federation work is done by the following committees. Per the Federation Bylaws, Article V, section 2c, the President is an ex officio member of all committees except those dealing with nominations of officers, recalls, audits, and grievances.

  • Archives — Kevin Greek (chair), Joe Croco, Loui Tucker
  • Communications — Susan Gregory (chair), Kevin Greek, Loui Tucker
  • Finance — Laura Douglass (chair), Sabine Zappe
  • Institutes — Lon Radin (chair), Loui Tucker
  • Insurance — Michael Giusto (chair), Loui Tucker
  • Nominating — Adony Beniaries
  • Past President — Marian Snyder
  • Promotion — Marija Hillis (chair)
  • Publicity — Susan Gregory (chair), Loui Tucker
  • Research — Cricket Raybern (chair), Martha Awdziewicz, Laura Carman, Joyce Clyde, Kevin Greek, Stacy Rose, Marina Troost, Loui Tucker, Joyce Uggla, Karen Wilson-Bell
  • Scholarship — Betsy Moore (chair), Adony Benaires, Wendy Ellis, Marian Snyder, Sabine Zappe