Our Board of Directors:
Bliss Lanier
Founder
Bliss Lanier began her involvement with CYT in San Diego County in 1989, when her daughter started taking classes at the North County Coastal location. Bliss served on the CCT/CYT Board of Directors before a move to the Pacific Northwest led her to a new locale and the opportunity to co-found the first affiliate outside San Diego in Spokane with Bryan and Amy Pitotti. In 2007, Bliss was led to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where she co-founded CYT North Idaho, and served as Executive Director from 2007-2018. In her 21 years of service to CYT, she has been a cast and crew parent, a production team member, a board member of three CYT boards, a director, an area coordinator, a teacher and also contributed in CYT fundraising.
Leslie Johnston
Chairman
While Leslie did not grow up in theater herself, that did not stop her from encouraging her children to explore and fall in love with the stage. She has cheered her five children on from the house seats since 2009, with no plans of stopping. She and her husband, Rob, have both been heavily involved behind the scenes, with Rob utilizing his technical expertise as a member of the Production Team. Dedicated to both her family and her community, Leslie balances full time homeschooling with her nursing career at Kootenai Health, while still attending nearly every showing of the 50+ CYT North Idaho musicals her children have participated in. She is proud that her children have grown to be mentors and mindful members of both the theater community and society. As her teenage daughter still passionately performs on the stage, her older children have found ways of contributing through teaching classes, choreography, music, sets, tech, green room and costumes. Leslie is grateful for the CYT North Idaho family and is proud to be a part of the CYT Board of Directors, contributing to the arts community for Coeur d’Alene’s youth.
Stephanie Orr
Founding Board Member 2007 - Treasurer
Stephanie began working for CYT in 1999, as an assistant to the Area Coordinator at CYT Spokane. Through the next twelve years, she worked in varying capacities in the CYT organization – Teacher, Director, Office Manager, and Managing Director. She was honored to be part of the founding board of CYT North Idaho, where she worked as Managing Director and started directing productions (Tom Sawyer, Annie). Currently, Stephanie lives in Spokane while working as Artistic Director at a children’s theater in Canada.
Karen Pearl
Secretary
Karen has lived in North Idaho since 2002 after graduating from Eastern Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations. While enrolled in a Theater 101 class her junior year, Karen tagged along with a select group of theater majors and travelled to New York City. She was introduced to the world of Broadway which fostered her passion for theater and the performing arts. When her son, Harrison, showed strong interest in theater at an early age, CYT North Idaho was a natural outlet. Karen has found true enjoyment and satisfaction in seeing her son’s confidence skyrocket in such a positive environment surrounded by amazing kids, teachers and role models. She now has four children who are active in shows and classes at CYT North Idaho. Karen is proud to serve as a member of the CYT North Idaho Board and is excited to see the program flourish and serve the next generation of aspiring artists. In 2004, Karen and her husband, Joel, founded Pearl Realty in Hayden. Pearl Realty is a proud supporter of CYT North Idaho.
Anne Subia
Board Member
Member of the original CYT Board in San Diego with Paul and Sheryl Russell for 14 years beginning in 1982. Anne is a marketing professional and was the CCT house manager of San Diego’s Mt. Helix shows for many years, even in a couple of shows there herself, helped start San Diego’s Coastal division in 1989, was a member of a San Diego Tri-City Production Team as House Manager through 2020. Anne considers herself blessed to have had the joy of involvement CYT for almost 40 years, and of witnessing her son and her grandchildren being involved in the program.
James Wigdahl
Board Member
James' involvement with CYT began as a student back in 1982. While enjoying the spotlight, he developed an interest in sound and began engineering and designing shows in 1990, leading to career #1 in the field of pro audio. That eventually gave way to interests in computers, but he continued performing and running sound through present day. Both of his kids did many CYT classes and shows, and his wife, Jessica, got roped into one show and served as props chair for several years. With over 90 show credits, he now lives in Hayden with his family, moonlighting as a patented technologist and real estate investor, serving on the CYT North Idaho board of directors and running audio for his church.
Lisa Kelly
Board Member
Lisa moved to North Idaho in 2015 with her husband, Jason, and two daughters, Chloe and Mack. Her oldest, Chloe, auditioned for her first CYT North Idaho play the year they moved here and was immediately hooked. Chloe’s younger sister, Mack, soon followed. Lisa is passionate about CYT North Idaho and began serving as a parent in a variety of parent committees. In 2023, Lisa joined CYT’s Board of Directors. Her oldest daughter is pursuing a degree in musical theater, and Mack is currently loving CYT and being part of the Highschool Youth Pursuing Excellence (HYPE) team. As a family, they have developed a love for live musicals, and have enjoyed seeing numerous shows locally and on Broadway.