Co-Founder & Board President
Billy is a musician, recording engineer, and educator based in Sacramento CA. Billy D is an active drummer in the NorCal scene and toured the western US with acts like The Gold Souls, Boot Juice, Sun Hop Fat, and Ten Foot Tiger. With a love for many genres, and instruments, Billy D has lent his ear to a myriad of projects on stage and in the studio. As the owner and operator of Warm & Fuzzy Music, he’s digging deep to create classic records with the contemporary artists of Sacramento and beyond.

Co-Founder & Board Vice President
Juniper Waller is lead singer and band leader of Northern CA funk/soul band The Gold Souls. Juniper is also a teacher of singing, performance, songwriting, breathwork, and creativity coaching. She loves bringing people together in music community, and is especially passionate about creating more opportunities for women in music.
You can find Juniper at https://linktr.ee/junipersings

Co-Founder, Board Treasurer, Fund & Festival Manager
Winter is a Funk-loving event production macgyver from Oakland, CA with passions for creative concert curation and financial feminism.  Her tool kit includes 20+ years of impact banking experience, 35+ years of lessons learned as a community activist and an ethnic studies degree from UC Berkeley. More about Winter can be found at winterwilliamspresent.com.

Co-Founder & Board Secretary
Jason is a well known bassist and recording engineer who’s been heavily rooted in Seattle’s Deep-Funk and Soul music scene for the last 20 years, and founding member of Seattle’s Afro-Psych band, Polyrhythmics for 15 years. He’s also the owner and operator of Blue Mallard Recording Studio (founded 2010) where many a Seattle funk band has passed through to add top-quality recordings to their legacy. Several of these recordings have occupied top Billboard chart positions as well as Grammy nominations.

Board Member & Sound Guy
Josh, a local Sacramento favorite sound engineer, brings extensive experience and genuine enthusiasm to every project he touches. Born and raised a bluegrass festival enthusiast, Josh has built his life around a passion for live music and community building. Known for his warmth, expertise, and dedication, he is a trusted presence in the Sacramento music scene and a steadfast advocate for creating meaningful, connected experiences through sound and performance.

Fund Administrator
Funk music was Elaine de Coligny’s coming-of-age soundtrack. As a change maker with 30 years of nonprofit executive leadership in the field of ending homelessness, she resonates with funk’s community building power, and the festival’s commitment to putting people first. Until recently, Elaine worked and wrote poetry in the San Francisco East Bay. She now calls Carmichael CA home

Administrative Assistant
Via’s passion lies in fostering community and helping others reconnect to nature and one another. Originally from Quezon City, Philippines, they made San José their home in 2023 after earning a Master’s in Environmental Conservation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a newcomer to the region, they view every day as a chance to explore the rich culture and history of the Bay Area. You can often find them applying their keen attention to detail as the Operations and Development Coordinator of Environmental Volunteers, a nonprofit based in Palo Alto, or while creating intricate embroideries that feature local landscapes and wildlife.

Vendor Coordinator Trianna Feruza is a working musician and batik artist who has been vending at music festivals and fairs for the past eight years. Having grown up attending festivals since childhood, she brings a deep love for music, art, and community to everything she does. Trianna is excited to step into the role of Vendor Coordinator for Down to Funk, where she looks forward to supporting vendors and helping create a vibrant marketplace filled with the funkiest fits, crafts, and creations.

Lodging Coordinator‍ ‍ Rebecca Sparks was an owner/principal of High Sierra Music Inc for decades.  She oversaw production of the High Sierra Music Festival, DelFest, Hangtown Music Festival and many others across the country.  Now she consults for events and festivals lending her expertise in operations, budgeting and logistics.  She enjoys spending time with her family, going on hikes, and co-managing her daughter's bluegrass band, Sweet Sally.

Volunteer Coordinator ‍ ‍ Emily/Jeepa started her festival experience volunteering and has an understanding of what it’s like to be part of a great production crew.  Emily/Jeepa has experience organizing festivals, fundraisers and music events.  Emily/Jeepa has a background in Business Administration and Real Estate and has been involved in event production for the past 3 years and she can’t wait to boogie with you!

Pre-Production Assistant & Stage Manager Carol is a Funk-obsessed Product Manager and Stage Manager from Oakland, CA with passions for live music curation and building community. She’s on the production crew at Reverbia, Burning Man’s largest camp with 4 stages of live music. By day she manages teams building health apps. Oakland is her home base where she loves to build community around music, food and books.

Administrative Assistant ‍ ‍ Stevie is a singer, admin, and friend of funk. She is all about bringing people together with music, often supporting local bands with backup or main vocals from Santa Cruz to Sacramento. She attended her first festival in 2022, really enjoyed the community and nature aspect of festivals, and is excited to shake it at DTFF!

Video Editor‍ ‍ Brian is a visual media designer with a background in both creative work and operations. He enjoys helping bring ideas to life, whether through visual design or by supporting the structure behind the scenes.

Advisor Alan Rose from Ecstatic Sound Collective is a co-founder of the Olympia Funk Festival in Olympia, WA. He's been curating and promoting live music events in the PNW for over 30 years. "I can't wait to get Down to Funk! This thing we do keeps getting better and better......"

Advisor‍ ‍ Co-founder of  For The Funk Of It Music Fest. Bob is a cook in Chico California. He owned Bustolini's Deli for 7 years.  He has been promoting music and comedy shows for 20 years. He loves promoting, booking and supporting great music.

Advisor
Daniel heads Donahue Fitzgerald Attorney’s Music and Entertainment practice and co-chairs the Intellectual Property Practice Group. He helps creative people succeed by guiding their business and protecting their rights. His past and current clients include world-renowned musicians and companies in the music and technology space, including numerous members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, hip hop legends and China’s largest online content distributor. He also regularly teaches Music Law at his alma mater, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, provides California Lawyers for the Arts with pro bono services and seminars on the law and business of music and serves as pro bono counsel to two of Oakland’s Community Benefit Districts.

Advisor & Vibe Checker Darius is a music industry professional with over 30 years of experience as a front man, collaborator, recording artist, and live production contributor. With a background that includes performing with multiple artists, producing and promoting events, working in studio environments, and participating in filming and media production, he brings a full-spectrum understanding of what it takes to create powerful live and recorded music experiences.

Advisor For over 20 years, Sacramento photographer Elle Jaye has been playing with light, water and laughter to capture electric images in her work. She’s taken photos for G.I.R.L.S Rock Sacramento and held sessions with local acts like Katie Knipp, The Gold Souls, Jessica Malone and Dear Darling. She has a fiery passion to capture drummers and their instruments, enchanting musicians like Karen Wulff, Questlove, Daru Jones, Corey Strange and Mike Johnson.

Graphic Designer
American music artist, Joel Ricci (fka Lucky Brown), writes and records in his tiny forest cabin in the foothills of the North Olympic Mountains on the Olympic peninsula. When called to do so, he assembles and conducts dynamic live public ceremonies/spectacles employing some of the most sought-after Funk and Jazz artists in the Seattle, Washington, area. Via his dozens of self-produced vinyl singles released in Europe over the past two decades, he has been hailed by music mavens worldwide as a deep funk pioneer.

Advisor
Karl is a multi-instrumentalist. He has been moving air professionally for over 15 years with bands such as: Big Sticky Mess, Boca do Rio, ideateam, Jonny Gold Trio, Joey Carusi Organ Trio and more. You can find him and his shenanigans on insta @greazycharles.

Advisor
Liz is a content strategist who’s spent 10+ years in marketing and events. She runs a boutique social media agency working with clients across multiple industries to bring their stories to life online. She’s deeply passionate about building community through creativity and the arts, and inspiring people to chase their potential. She’s also the lead singer and songwriter of The Midnight Dip.

Advisor Madison Armstrong is a saxophonist and woodwind instrumentalist based in Sacramento, California.
Originally from Las Vegas, NV, she relocated to Sacramento in 2016 to attend Sacramento State University studying clarinet performance under Professor Sandra McPherson and jazz saxophone under Professor Mike McMullen.
Currently she plays and acts as the horn arranger/horn section leader in The Gold Souls, a powerhouse funk band based in Sacramento. 
In addition to performing around the greater Sacramento area, she also teaches privately out of her own home studio in Sacramento.

Advisor
Mannie Thompson is a New York City–based marketing and advertising professional specializing in experiential activations and strategic brand partnerships. With over a decade of experience across music, art, fashion, culinary, and finance, she creates meaningful experiences that connect brands and audiences in authentic ways. Mannie brings a unique perspective shaped by years of securing partnerships and leading large-scale events, with thoughtful collaboration at the center of her approach to reach and inspire the community.

Advisor
Matt is a professional full-stack software engineer with over 10 years of experience, and currently works for an educational nonprofit called Big Minds. He has also played trumpet, trombone and tuba with a variety of norcal-based bands since 2015. He is a lover of all things funk and assists Down To Funk Fund with technical work, including web development, payment processing, and Discord moderation.

Advisor Nicole Gentry is a multi-instrumentalist, music director, music event producer, educator, and artist developer based in Northern California. As a musician, she works across live and recorded settings, while her leadership extends into directing performances, producing events, and guiding creative process. Nicole is known for creating intentional musical spaces that value collaboration, artistry, and growth, supporting both her own creative work and the work of others through mentorship, curation, and community building.

Advisor Peter Stickney’s interest in photography and graphic arts was sparked by frequent visits to the Central Pacific Coast, Yosemite National Park, and the Ansel Adams Gallery. His aunt nurtured his budding passion by giving him her old cameras, an enlarger, and developing trays. 
Over the years, Peter has worked in graphic arts, technology, and business administration, each role contributing to his creativity and expanding his skills. 
Peter mentors students at City College of San Francisco and KPFA 94.1 FM, guiding them in photography, audio, and video production.

Advisor Founder of B.E.W. Productions & Event Services (a full-service event and production company that specializes in event logistics, management and hospitality), Theresa is an avid music lover with strong ties to the music industry. After managing and touring with renowned improvisational quartet Garaj Mahal for eight years, Theresa went on to help produce and develop a plethora of music festivals and music events. Her experience runs deep with festivals such as High Sierra Music Festival, DelFest and Jerry Day as well as Outside Lands Music Festival, SnowGlobe, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Guitarfish and Hangtown Music Festival.

Advisor Retired not-for-profit affordable housing developer who project managed new construction and substantial rehab of more than 1,000 units in the SF Bay area. Tom has experience bringing shared dreams into long lasting public serving reality. Familiar with not-for-profit operations, Tom co-founded a now 45-year-old development company and held significant roles in several not-for-profit organizations. A listener of many music genres and a groupie to The Gold Souls, Tom brings experience and understanding to assist Down To Funk Fund realize their dream to create an organization to recognize and promote Funk music and present it annually at a music festival.