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Update
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FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
FAI Board of Directors 2027 Election + Call for Candidates
October 15, 2026
resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
Every year, Folk Alliance International members nominate and elect board members who represent folk music industry leadership and help shape the future of our organization.
The upcoming annual election opens November 8, 2026, and closes on November 23, 2026. There are five open seats in this election for three-year terms commencing January 2027.
Learn About Your Candidates
Here are the current six candidates on the ballot, recommended by the FAI Nominations Committee and approved by FAI’s Board following an open call for expressions of interest:
- Hilary Saunders*
- Ayappa Biddanda*
- Charlie Mosbrook*
- Andee Connors*
- Atiba Berkley
- Stephen Bond Garvan
- Daryana Antipova
*Incumbent
View our current board members and bylaws here.
To nominate yourself for a board seat you must be a member of FAI and fill out this nomination form with ten letters of support from FAI members. The deadline is November 1, 2026.
Learn more about each candidate below. (Sorted in alphabetical order by last name. This section will be periodically updated with more information.)
2027 Slate
Hilary Saunders
INCUMBENT
Managing Editor
No Depression
New York, NY USA
Hilary Saunders is the managing editor at No Depression (nodepression.com) and her previous work has appeared in Paste, ESPN, Next City, The Jewish Daily Forward, and more. She’s a proud member of the Recording Academy, National Press Club, and Society of Professional Journalists, an alumna of the University of Miami, and a unironic believer that rock and roll can save the world.
Ayappa Biddanda
INCUMBENT
Founder/CEO
Shiva Sounds
Nashville, TN USA
"I’d be honored to continue serving the FAI community. I’ve been able to serve as Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee--part of the collective efforts widening the voices we amplify, working on legislative initiatives protecting Artists, reinstating the Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy category, and more."
Ayappa Biddanda is the Founder/C.E.O. of Shiva Sounds, providing Marketing & Artist Development services for creatives, management teams, labels, and cultural organizations. Prior, Ayappa was at Concord for 22 years working with Artists across Street Teams, Tour Marketing, Promotion, and more. He graduated from The University of Tennessee and earned his Master’s of Public Policy from UCLA with a concentration in Art & Social Action. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for FAI and John Prine’s Hello In There Foundation; Advocacy Committee for The Recording Academy Nashville chapter; Leadership Council for the Salt Lick Incubator; and co-founder of the Pan Asian Pacific Islander Artist Collective.
Charlie Mosbrook
INCUMBENT
Program and Education Director
Roots of American Music
Cleveland, OH USA
"My goals as a member of the FAI board is to continue to provide steady and thoughtful leadership, advocate for all members, and to serve as a voice for greater access to FAI programming. As a music educator, I will work to make music education advocacy a priority."
Charlie Mosbrook has served the Folk Alliance community as President of FARM, and currently is Vice President of Folk Alliance International. His focus has been to continue to build a strong relationship with the regions, currently chairing the Regions committee. As a disability advocate, Charlie often moderates affinity groups for people with disabilities, providing him with a strong knowledge of how Folk Alliance can better serve all of its membership.Charlie is the Program and Education Director for Roots of American music, and is a performing songwriting, having released a CD of original music in 2025 and a collection of Woody Guthrie songs in 2026.
Andee Connors
INCUMBENT
Senior Manager - Creator Services / Head of Metal / Punk / New Age programming
Pandora AMP / SiriusXM
Ashland, OR, USA
"I have been in love with Folk Alliance since we first attended for the first time a few years ago. It was and is everything I ever wanted in a conference, and more importantly, in a community. I have been singing the praises of FAI ever since, to anyone who will listen (and even those who won't) so when I was presented with the opportunity to actually be a part of helping make it happen, I was honored, flattered and excited to contribute in any and every way I can!"
Andee Connors has been a touring, recording, and performing musician for 40 years. He owned aQuarius recOrds in San Francisco for 22 years, and has owned and operated the tUMULt record label since 2000. Andee is a frequent panelist and mentor at various conferences including FAI, SXSW and more. He currently manages the Creator Services team at Pandora, and is the head of programming for metal, punk, experimental, and new age music.
Atiba Berkley
President
Piedmont Blues Preservation Society
Greensboro, NC USA
"I want to help build 21st-century perspectives and solutions for folk institutions and communities. Learning from and serving those communities shapes much of my work. I scaffold a working definition of culture to guide sustainable futures for folk traditions."
Atiba Berkley, a Brooklyn native of Afro-Caribbean descent living in NC, is President of Piedmont Blues Preservation Society and Vice Chair and Global Affiliate Relations Chair of The Blues Foundation. He owns HUMbl Media Services, a production company with 25 years of tenure. A curator, presenter, production manager, and audio engineer, he has 25 years of credits spanning three Super Bowls, two Olympics, multiple festivals & venues in the private & nonprofit sector. After a decade leading telecommunications teams of up to 1,500, he brings servant leadership, business acumen, & cultural accountability to arts organizations and advisory panels.
Stephen Bond Garvan
CEO / Expediter
Garvan Management / MMF - US Board
Idaho USA
"A lifetime of passionate commitment to music and the creative arts as a manager and with numerous Board services. Dedication to the Board and extensive FAI community and world since 1998. I cherished my time as VP of Far West Board, serving on the Regions Committee, and working with committed fellow professionals. It would be an honor to continue that on our FAI Board."
Steve is a veteran artist manager, served on Americana Founding Council/Board, Swallow Hill Board Chair, Far West Board VP, Music Managers Forum (MMF - US), historic Panida Theater Board VP. He is a lifetime FAI member and has participated since 1998, plus all regional conferences multiple times, and service on FAI Regions Committee. Steve hosts FAI sessions "Coping with Grief and Loss," also. His work with artists has included management and guidance for a range in US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and France — Paula Fong, Cliff Eberhardt, Cidney Bullens, Small Glories, Eric Andersen, Mark Oblinger, Mickey Joe Harte, Lyal Strickland, and more.
Daryana Antipova
Folk Music Director
Overtuned Festival, WFHB Community Radio, Vedan Kolod
Bloomington, IN USA
"I bring an international, cross-sector perspective shaped by working directly with artists, media, radio, festivals, and music charts. I hope to strengthen connections across the global folk community, expand opportunities for independent and underrepresented artists, and contribute practical, collaborative thinking to FAI’s future."
Daryana Antipova is a music journalist, curator, producer, and folk musician working across North America, Europe, and Asia. She is the founder of the Russian World Music Chart and Folk/Roots Genre Director at WFHB Community Radio in Bloomington, Indiana, as well as a team member for Overtuned festival in Bloomington, IN. Daryana serves on international music juries, writes about folk and world music, and mentors artists on media, touring, and international market development. Her work particularly supports independent, Siberian Indigenous, and underrepresented musicians. She combines music industry experience while building connections among artists, media, festivals, cultural organizations, and audiences across borders.
