Our Team

Board of Directors & Advisors

Aaron Raus

Usha Venkat

Via Perkins

President + Founder

Creative Director

Director of Marketing

Aaron Raus founded The FAM in an Entrepreneurship class at USC. As a Business and Music Industry student, he saw the value in community and collaboration. He has experience in event production from his time as the Social Chair and Philanthropy Chair of his fraternity (where he started Sammy Showcase - a talent fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association) and working on the VIP Headliner team for Insomniac. Additionally, he has managed artists both independently and with another manager.

Usha Venkat is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer who recently graduated from CalArts. She worked as the Graphic Designer for the USC Chapter in 2021 and has since expanded her role to become the Creative Director for the entire FAM and our brand.

She is left-handed and loves making little clay sculptures.

Via Perkins is an award-winning marketer with nearly a decade of experience across music, writing, strategy, management, and more. In her board-level Director of Marketing role at The FAM, she consults on organizational and creative strategy, supports ideation and marketing efforts for events, and sources partnerships and collaborations that push The FAM's mission and goals forward.

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JP Kaya.png

Fundraising Advisor

JP Kaya

Garrett Lofgren

J Cisneros

Creative Advisor

Nonprofit Advisor

Remy Ozer

Shawn Gonzalez

Membership Advisor

Legal Advisor

Garrett Lofgren has founded production companies, recording studios and publishing companies.  He has a Masters from USC in Music Industry, and is currently the Chief Vision Officer for Haven Recording in Los Angeles and the bassist for Two Smokin’ Barrels.

Jean-Philippe Kaya has been in LA for the past 6 years. Originally from Bordeaux, France, he moved  to upstate NY at a young age and eventually completed his bachelors of Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal , Canada. Now based in LA, JP first started his career interning at Hans Zimmer’s remote control productions and later worked at William Morris Endeavor for over 2 years in the Electronic Music Department. After a stint working at Netflix and the pandemic, JP pivoted to pursue a full time career as a pianist / songwriter and DJ, under the name KAYA.

J brings 10 years of experience in non-profit governance through the Boys & Girls Clubs movement. They spent four years at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard & Port Hueneme as their Orchestra Leader. In 2012, they moved to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley to become the Performing Arts Director of the Richard & Mary Carpenter/Alliance for the Arts Music & Performing Arts Program.

They also run a successful Melodica page on Tik Tok.

Remy Ozer has played many roles as an Advisor to The FAM since its inception at USC in 2016. Currently, she is guiding the development of our programming and hopes to one day create a legal clinic to educate the young generation of artists and professionals about the basic legal aspects of the music industry so they can protect themselves.

She received her law degree in the accelerated program at Southwestern and currently serves as the Manager of Business Affairs at Capitol Records.

Shawn is an alumnus of Florida Atlantic University with a B.M. in Percussion Performance. When he isn’t touring the world as the keyboardist for Dirty Heads, he serves as President of Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation - a 501c3 that supports music education programs in schools while preserving Blues heritage. To date, his teams have secured $2M in funding for music educators, students, and performers. “Music and philanthropy are my passions and passions fuel purpose. I’m grateful to be in a position to provide an inclusive and collaborative space for aspiring musicians to reach their full potential in an otherwise ruthless entertainment industry.” 

Volunteers

Madelyn Bradley

TJ Cho

Jaja Tong

Membership Committee

Membership Committee

Membership Committee

Victor Amaral

Membership Committee

Victor has been playing music since he was a kid. He recently started writing and producing his own music outside of his full-time job as a software engineer. He enjoys volunteering with the FAM to help people connect, grow, and create together.

TJ is experienced in ticketing production for festivals with Goldenvoice, See Tickets, and Koncept. His day job is in project management in real estate and construction. But his love for music has me pursuing ticketing for music festivals in his free time. TJ has been with The FAM for a year and wants to give back what was given to him. 

JaJa Tong is a long-time member of the FAM, having joined in her freshman year at USC, and served years in eboard of the USC chapter. Originally from South Carolina, JaJa is a songwriter and producer who goes by the artist name Goldlove and specializes in pop. She also enjoys working on many other genres such as indie and electronic. Having studied accounting and music in college, JaJa hopes to use her business background to positively influence the music industry.

USC Chapter Exec Board

Sylvia Ettinger

Taylor Aaronson

Karly Ramnani

President

Vice President

Creative Director

Ellen Cheng

Emily Geanious

Madelyn is from Los Angeles and works as a behavior therapist, while also studying sociology and psychology in school. She plans to dedicate her future to academic pursuits and advance her career as a therapist, as well as live out her passion for performing and music. She’s been immersed in the music world her whole life, as she grew up playing various instruments, and she now plays live shows at famous venues in LA. She has been volunteering with The FAM since early 2024, and during her time with The FAM, she has helped organize events and contribute ideas to fulfill the organization’s mission. She loves being able to help musicians do what they love and blossom their careers.

Director of Professional Development

Social Chair

Sylvia Ettinger is pursuing a BM in flute performance at the USC Thornton School of Music with a minor in Spanish. She has served as the Director of Member for the FAM, Director of Special Events for USC FemFest, and as an A&R Committee member for 840 West Records. Previously, Sylvia was an Executive Committee member of Voces Fuertes, a youth-led nonprofit that supports immigrants and refugees through art and performance. As a performer, Sylvia has attended Interlochen Arts Camp and the Atlantic Music Festival on merit scholarship and won third prize in the SDFG Collegiate Artist Competition in 2022. She has performed in masterclasses for Alberto Almarza, Leone Buyse, Jim Walker, Jenni Olson, and Nancy Stagnitta. Sylvia is passionate about the union of music and social impact as well as collaborating with artists of all genres.

Taylor is a Sophomore Music Industry Major at USC. She dreams of one day becoming a Record Label Executive and her favorite album is 5/8/77 by The Grateful Dead!

Karly is a Senior Music Industry Major at USC whose dream career is a Music Journalist. Her favorite album is Reputation by Taylor Swift and she has been to over 10 Eras’ tour shows all over the world!!

Ellen is a Junior double major at USC studying Flute Performance and Business Administration. Her dream career is a studio musician and her favorite album is 21 by Adele!

Emily is a Sophomore Music Industry Major a USC. Her dream career is to be a Singer/Songwriter making money as an artist. Her favorite album is Silence Between Songs by Madison Beer.