July 1, 2026 represents the first day of service for our six new Region Presidents. These leaders will represent their Region membership on the National Board, direct the major initiatives and offerings of their Regions, and lead the 2028 Region Conferences.
William Campbell–Northwest Region
Bill Campbell is in his 21st year as the choir director at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he directs the school’s five choral ensembles. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Arizona and a Master of Arts degree from Oregon State University. In his 28 years of teaching, he has taught choir at both the middle and high school levels. Prior to his time in Lake Oswego, he taught at Crescent Valley High and Cheldelin Middle Schools in Corvallis, Oregon, and Molasky Junior High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bill has served as Oregon ACDA President (2017-2019), Oregon ACDA Treasurer (2012-2017), OMEA District 11 Chair (2005-2006), and is currently the Lakeridge High School fine and performing arts department chair. He is a graduate of Grant High School in Portland, where he lives with his wife Allison, kids Collin and Chloe, and their dog Elvis.
Penelope Cruz–Eastern Region
Penelope Cruz has taught vocal and general music at all grade levels, conducted community children’s and festival and honor choirs, and sung professionally in Illinois, Wisconsin, and New York. Since 2003, she has been the choral conductor at White Plains (NY) High School. Under her direction, the choirs have performed a body of varied repertoire, including newly commissioned works and major works, performing locally and in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
She was President of the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) Eastern Region from 2020-2022 and serves again as President from 2026-2028. From 2016-2020, she was co-chair of the inaugural National ACDA Diversity Initiatives Committee, through which she made contributions to the Choral Journal and was a part of an ad hoc committee on audition guidelines for honor choirs and auditioned choirs. She served as the Assistant Conference Chair for the 2023 ACDA National Conference and as program chair for the Eastern Region ACDA 2016 and 2020 conferences and Honor Choir Chair (2012 and 2014), where she initiated the Latino Repertoire and Chinese Repertoire Honor choirs. Cruz was NY State ACDA President (2014-2015) after serving as a Repertoire and Standards chair for both Women’s Choirs and Multicultural and Ethnic Perspectives. She has presented various workshops, aimed to bring quality repertoire to every situation, and fostered diversity of all kinds. Through this work, she has fostered systemic changes and championed wider viewpoints, resulting in more meaningful and relevant organization and profession. In a wish to contribute to the field of music education, Ms. Cruz was a writer on the Arts Standards Revision Committee for the New York State Education Department.
Penelope Cruz is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and earned the Masters of Music degree from Eastman School of Music. Born and raised in Wisconsin, she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Zachary Durlam–Midwestern Region
Zack Durlam serves as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), Artistic Director of the Master Singers of Milwaukee (MSM), and choir director at Grace Lutheran Church in Grafton, Wisconsin. He previously taught at Fresno Pacific University where he received the university’s Faculty Distinguished Service Award. Prior to that, Durlam taught secondary vocal music for twelve years – including nine at Iowa City West High School where his Chamber Choir was chosen to perform at the NCACDA conference and the music department was one of seven programs in the nation named a Gold Signature School by the Grammy Foundation.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Luther College, master’s from the University of Iowa, and doctorate from Michigan State University. UWM choirs under his direction were finalists in the American Prize competition, and MSM and UWM choirs have been selected for performances on conferences of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA), Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA), and the Midwestern American Choral Directors Association. Choirs under Durlam’s direction have also appeared on professional Milwaukee tour stops with Andrea Bocelli, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, and music from the Final Fantasy video games. Durlam has presented at state and regional conferences of ACDA and WMEA, and he frequently works as a guest conductor and clinician. In spring 2025 he was recognized with the “Distinguished Citizen – Professional in the Arts” award by the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. He is a past president of WCDA and is excited to begin his term as president of MWACDA.
Joshua Oppenheim–Southwestern Region
Dr. Joshua Oppenheim has served as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Kansas State University since 2008. Before this appointment, he served in a similar role on the faculty of the Crane School of Music in New York.
In 2025, he founded Re:Sound Ensembles, a professional choral nonprofit dedicated to advancing innovation, excellence, access, and impact in choral music. Re:Sound operates as a national choral institution encompassing professional, youth, community, and justice-centered ensembles. Re:Sound is known for uniquely immersive, multisensory concert experiences that integrate theatrical narrative and environmental design as unified artistic statements rather than traditional concerts.
He has served as a guest conductor throughout the United States, including engagements with the Southwestern ACDA Region Collegiate Honor Choir, Southern Region ACDA High School Honor Choir, Carnegie Hall in New York, Washington National Cathedral, and Orchestra Hall in Chicago. He has conducted honor and All-State choirs and presented workshops in 29 states. Internationally, he has conducted choirs in Austria, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
Choirs under his direction have been selected to perform at state, regional, and national conferences, including those of the New York State School Music Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, A Cappella Educators Association, American Choral Directors Association, and National Collegiate Choral Organization. He received a Bachelor of Music Education from Western Michigan University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Mississippi, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas.
Aimee Stewart–Western Region
Aimee Stewart is the Founder and Artistic Director of Chandler Children’s Choir in Arizona. Since its inception in 2008, CCC has grown from a young choir of 27 singers to a highly respected choral organization, with five performing ensembles, recently announcing a branch in San Tan Valley. CCC’s top ensembles performed at WACDA conferences under her direction in both 2020 and 2024. Mrs. Stewart directed choirs at Tempe Preparatory Academy for five years and conducted the Chamber Singers at Chandler-Gilbert Community College for five years. She continues to conduct the annual Tempe Community Messiah, and enjoyed directing the choir for Jenny Oaks Baker’s Redeemer project in Arizona in 2024 and 2025. She has been highly involved in ACDA and looks forward to serving as Western Region ACDA President for 2026-2028.
As a youth, Aimee sang with the Salt Lake Children’s Choir, studied voice and violin, played with the Young Artist Chamber Players and performed in a string quartet. She sang with the Utah Baroque Ensemble, the Connecticut Master Chorale, the Roanoke Symphony Chorus and the Phoenix Symphony Chorus.
In connection with her work with CCC, she was a 2012 nominee for the Governor’s Arts Award in Arizona for entrepreneurism in the arts. She was a 2014 nominee for the Beth McDonald Woman of the Year award, and in April 2019, received recognition as one of the influential Women in Chandler from Chandler Lifestyle Magazine. In 2022, she was awarded AzACDA Choral Director of the Year.
Mrs. Stewart earned her bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and recently received her Master’s degree in Conducting from Arizona State University. Her husband Adam and she have four children.
Damion Womack–Southern Region
Dr. Damion Womack, a GRAMMY Music Educator Award semifinalist, has dedicated his career to inspiring excellence in choral music education as a conductor, educator, and administrator at the elementary, middle school, high school, collegiate, and professional levels. He currently serves as Director of Arts at The Montgomery Academy, where he oversees the school’s comprehensive K–12 arts program and conducts the award-winning Upper School Chorus. During his tenure, he was honored with the McLemore Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to his current role, Dr. Womack served as Director of Choral Activities at Mississippi College and Chair of the Department of Music at Huntingdon College. Choral ensembles under Dr. Womack’s direction have been selected through a juried process to perform at regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).
A sought-after guest conductor and clinician, Dr. Womack has presented workshops and lectures at regional and national ACDA and NAfME conferences. His research interests include choral tone, expressive and unified singing, and the role of word stress in choral performance. He has conducted honor choir festivals throughout the United States and is recognized for his commitment to developing singers and advancing choral artistry.
Dr. Womack begins his term as President of the ACDA Southern Region in July 2026 and has contributed to numerous conference planning committees within the organization. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina and earned degrees in Music Education from Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University.
These leaders will serve in their roles as Region Presidents until June 30, 2028. Let’s welcome these new leaders and thank them for their volunteer service!
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