Our Team

Board of Directors

Advisors

Shawn Gonzalez

Director of Membership

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.”

Garrett Lofgren

Fundraising 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.

JP Kaya

Creative Advisor

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 Cisneros

Nonprofit Advisor

Joseph 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.

Cameron Ljungkull

Creative Advisor

Cameron Ljungkull comes from a background in studios and audio engineering. He is a staff engineer at Voltiv Sound and the Founder of Secret Spot DTLA - a co-working studio and gallery space uniquely tailored to musicians, photographers, fashion designers, visual artists, filmmakers, remote workers and creative professionals.

Remy Ozer

Legal Advisor

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 Legal Counsel and Licensing Manager at Wixen Music Publishing.

Carolina de Salvo

Fundraising Advisor

Carolina is a creative professional with 20+ years experience in strategic communication, branding, event planning & production, content creation, fundraising and partnerships management.

The long-term work at one of the most prestigious non-profits in Brazil was vital to develop essential skills such as project management, teamwork, leadership and critical thinking. It also developed a hands-on way of working, turning her into an adaptable professional, with proven ability to organize, multitask and work cross-functionally.

Usha Venkat

Creative Director

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.

Aaron Raus

President + Founder

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 her 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.

USC

Karina Gironas

President

Karina Gironas is a Music Industry student at the University of Southern California. She is a first-generation Latina with aspirations to work in the Latin live music industry. She is originally from Ontario, CA, and enjoys concert-going, hiking, and trying new foods!

Alice Luke

Vice President

From Santa Clara, California, Alice is on her last year at USC studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Songwriting. Alice works in acoustic consulting while developing and gradually releasing her original music. Her favorite things include family, friends, nature and of course music.

JJ Mariselli

Director of Membership

As an older student, JJ has returned to school after spending many years away from music in the hospitality world as a catering pro, sales manager, and restaurant operator. She has worked in various music-related positions from dancer, DJ, music supervisor. As a mom, she is proud to support her daughter's musical aspirations, and together they are forging their paths in the music industry. She also serves on the board of the USC chapter of Women In Music and works full-time as an Uber driver (a surprisingly great way to promote her daughter’s band, washer).

Nikko Yanez

Director of Professional Development

Nikko Yanez is from Chicago, IL. He is a junior studying business administration with a minor in music industry. He is pursuing music, with production, as it is his burning passion and wants to integrate it with the executive sector. He plans on bringing new measures of impact and unity in the music community at USC!

Viktoria Ngo

Director of Social

Originating from the Bay Area, Viktoria is currently attending USC as a second year Music Industry major. Outside of The Fam, she has had her experiences working in the Music Industry through her time at the music industry educational non - profit Gen Admission, as well as working as social media representative at °1824.

Megan Chan