Celebrity Curtain Call Digital Playbill

Raymond Daniels is President and CEO of Equity Solutions Group a strategic sourcing and consultant company. Prior to founding Equity Solutions Group, Daniels worked 27 years serving many corporate level roles for Waffle House, Inc., including Disaster Relief Manager for Operations, Director of Diversity and Minority Affairs, Senior Vice President of Operations, and owner/operator of a 13-unit franchise Lexidan Foods for 13 years. He serves on multiple boards including the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Commerce Lexington, Community Ventures Corporation, Urban League of Lexington, Kentucky, Kentucky State Tourism Board and University of Kentucky board of trustees. Daniels recently co- founded the Ed Brown Society, a non-profit focused on increasing minority exposure and employment in the Equine industry.

For the past three years, Lori Halligan has served as Executive Director of The Living Arts & Science Center, a position made more challenging by the ongoing pandemic. She extremely dislikes the word pivot, instead choosing to focus on innovation, flexibility, and creativity. Lori especially enjoys building a sense of community and encouraging others to pursue their dreams and develop their innate abilities. (Looking at you, Ashlee Collins!) Lori’s background includes volunteer and paid positions in nonprofit, for-profit, scholastic, social service, and faith based organizations. Prior to moving to the Bluegrass, she served eight years as Executive Director of Hinsdale Humane Society in the Chicago area and is the proud pet parent of a rescue Shih Tsu, Zoe. From humble beginnings as a farm girl from Iowa, to marrying her college sweetheart, to raising a family while living and working in eight different states, Lori has been blessed along the journey in partnership with Michael Halligan.

Mark Mahan is a fourth-generation farmer turned construction service worker who decided to take his passion of photography and turn it into a career. Mark owns Mahan Multimedia, a studio that believes photography and videography should represent where light meets story. Mark and his team produce breathtaking images and videos that help tell those stories.  That journey has taken him to multiple Kentucky Derbies, countless UK games, video productions for inspiring nonprofits, and connected him to incredible clients like Lexington Children’s Theatre. Mark currently shares 50 acres on Shannon Run with his wife Melissa, two kids, two horses, and two dogs.

LaToi D. Mayo has advised, counseled and defended employers in regard to labor and employment matters for over 20 years. Most recently, LaToi has developed extensive skills in enforcing employment related arbitration agreements, defending and managing wage and hour class actions and advising employers on state and federal wage and hour compliance issues. She also routinely assists employers with respect to diversity, discrimination, and leave issues. She works frequently with hospitality and service-related groups, manufacturers, health care facilities, financial institutions and local city governments.  LaToi routinely presents at seminars focusing on labor and employment topics for a variety of professional organizations in Kentucky. She also conducts training for managers, supervisors and the general workforce and provides labor and employment compliance counseling. Bio

Andrew Shayde is an actor appearing in independent films and such stage shows as The Boys in the Band and Sordid Lives. He has also had two wild adventures on reality tv appearing on The Amazing Race on CBS as well as Discovery Channel's Naked and Afraid.  Andrew is the author of several critically-acclaimed graphic novel series and has been a panel speaker at comic conventions around the nation like New York City Comic Con.  Andrew has worked in nonprofit for nearly 20 years, raising over 10 million dollars for charitable organizations.  Currently, Andrew is the Development Director at Arbor Youth Services, an emergency shelter for kids in Central Kentucky.

Shericka D. Smith was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and is a mental health coordinator for Fayette County Public Schools.  Shericka obtained an undergraduate degree from Transylvania University where she studied Spanish and Psychology. She then went on to the University of Louisville, earning her Masters in School Social Work.  She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Social Work and teaching classes at the University of Kentucky. She also provides mental health counseling at Counseling Associates, working with people of all ages. Shericka credits her parents for instilling the desire to work with youth and has always been determined to pour into the same Lexington community that poured into her. In her free time, Shericka enjoys traveling and watching movies with her dog, Ellie Mae. 

Kevin Sutphin is currently an Executive Director with JPMorgan Chase’s commercial banking division in Lexington. Kevin has been a longtime board member and former Board Chair of Partners for Youth, an organization that works to improve the lives of economically disadvantaged youth. He also serves on the board of the Kentucky Chamber Foundation and as Treasurer of the 500s on Main Council of Owners. Kevin is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Lexington and a 2008 graduate of Leadership Kentucky. Kevin and his wife Stephanie happily live on Short Street next to the Lexington Children’s Theatre and will be pouring cocktails after the show!

Melissa Thompson is the Project Cost Manager at D&D Machinery Movers and Millwrights Inc., a family-owned and operated business established by her grandfather in 1976.  Melissa is the mother of a 14-year-old son (Holdon), who is currently an 8th grader at The Lexington School and will be a freshman at SCAPA this fall.  She has performed in several LCT productions, first as a solo artist over a decade ago and most recently sharing the stage with her son Holdon in Annie and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical.  She is a first-year LCT board member and is thrilled to be a part of LCT’s Celebrity Curtain Call in the Enchanted Castle!