The Mockingbird Foundation has no salaries and no paid staff. The board, the inquiry review process, and Phish.net content, IT, and user management are all undertaken on an entirely volunteer basis. From the Phish.net site credits to the Inquiry Review Committee, and more, Mockingbird couldn’t operate without the donated hours and often daily dedication that our volunteers provide. These are largely informal efforts, and somewhat ad hoc. We also acknowledge a handful of supporters each year who’ve gone above and beyond, designating them Mockingbird Ambassadors for helping further our mission and spread the Foundation’s word.

The governing body of the Mockingbird Foundation is the board of directors. Its fourteen members represent various age groups and professions, but all share a common passion for the music of Phish. With no salaries, staff, office, or endowment, the directors live in 8 states and work with volunteers worldwide.

Executive Officers

  • Charlie DirksenPresident & Associate Counsel: Charlie Dirksen (141 shows) is an antitrust and securities lawyer practicing with Cera LLP in Boston and San Francisco. He has been assisting the Foundation with a wide variety of projects since the inception of the Foundation in 1996. [1997-2021]
  • director skews-coxVP & Director of Technology: Peter Skewes-Cox (41 shows) saw his first Phish show in 1999, right around the time he decided to give himself to science. After studying Molecular and Cell Biology as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and Bioinformatics as a graduate student at UC San Francisco, Peter joined the Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research in 2011, where he now heads the Infectious Diseases Bioinformatics group. Around that time, he finally created a Phish.Net account after a decade of lurking. He spent a few years inundating the setlist team with tease submissions, and ultimately joined the Phish.Net staff as a member of the Jam Charts team in 2014. While he continues working on many different parts of the site, including hosting the weekly Mystery Jam Monday contest, he and his dedicated team of volunteer software developers are currently focused on enabling the various groups within Phish.Net and the Mockingbird Foundation through technical support and innovation. Peter lives in his hometown of San Francisco, CA, with his wife and their three children. [2016-2019]
  • Secretary & General Counsel: Steve Paolini (169 shows) is an attorney and Director in the Compliance department of a foreign banking organization. Steve ran his car into the ground driving to his first Phish show on 11/15/91. A mere $5,000 later he considers it money well spent. Steve is the editor of the song histories section of phish.net and a member of the setlist team. Steve lives in New York with his wife Mo, daughter Lucy and, and dog Zara. [2017-2020]
  • dir-harrison-smTreasurer: Phil Harrison (28 shows) has a professional background in corporate finance and real estate development. In recent years, he has devoted a significant amount of time to volunteer work with a variety of non profit organizations. His involvement with the Foundation dates to 2011, when he answered Charlie Dirksen’s call for help with the new, online jam charts. He lives in Hanover, NH, with his wife Kate and their 3 children. [2015-2021]
  • Ellis GodardExecutive Director: Ellis Godard (135 shows) is Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Northridge, where he teaches Statistics, Research Methods, and Criminology. He saw his first Phish show 10/10/90, has volunteered for Phish.Net since 1991, and never believed the “breakup” would be permanent. Ellis lives in Ventura County with his wife Kristen (113 shows) and two children (Noah and Maya; 6 shows). [1997-2020]

Non-executive Directors

  • Chris Bertolet (__ shows). [1997-2016, 2018-2021]
  • dir-demeter-sm John Demeter – Director of Outreach (112 shows) grew up in New Jersey, studied public policy and economics at Duke University, and has made his home in Vermont since the winter after Phish Destroyed America, when he moved to the sticks to snowboard for a season. A civil servant with the state government for over 10 years, John has also worked cutting trees, at a brewery, in produce distribution, and selling falafel on lot. As time allows, he enjoys good food and beverage, the outdoors, working with his chainsaws, and traveling with his wife to Burlington, New York, Miami, and beyond for electronic and live music events. Oh, and also that band from Vermont. [2015-2021]
  • Brian Feller (110 shows). [2018-2021]
  • dir-hitz Andrew Hitz (187 shows) has performed and given master classes in over 40 states and 30 countries, both as a soloist and as the former tuba player for Boston Brass.  He is a co-founder of Pedal Note Media and teaches music at George Mason University and Gettysburg College.  Andrew’s first show, New Years ’93, changed both his life and career.  He lives with his wife Tiffany, their son Nicholas and their dog Izabella in the Washington, DC area. [2013-2020]
  • dir-lebowitz  Jack Lebowitz (124 shows) is an environmental lawyer and law firm partner in Saratoga Springs, New York, specializing in the permitting of new industrial plants. A “Deadhead” since his college days in 1970, he has seen over 50 Phish shows since 1993 with his wife and fellow Mockingbird contributor Kathleen (“Kat”) Griffin. He and Kat have two teen-aged children, Gavin and Annie, who are following in their parents’ Phish-fan footsteps.  [1997-2019]
  • dir-marks-sm Scott Marks (289 shows) played trombone for over a decade while growing up and saw his first Phish show on November 26, 1997. Scott graduated from Bryant College in 2001 with a degree in marketing and has worked in the insurance industry since 2002. Scott joined the Mockingbird Foundation and the Phish.net setlist team in 2009, helped revamp the entire setlist file with numerous updates, and curates the tease chart. Scott lives in Cranston, RI, loves to ski, travel and see live music. [2015-2021]
  • ScheinbergAdam Scheinberg (60 shows) can trace his first contributions to Phish.net back to notes in the FAQ in the mid-90′s, followed by an improved random setlist generator in the early 2000′s. In 2009, Adam officially became webmaster of phish.net, unveiling the first entirely dynamic site. Since then, he has introduced the Phish.net API, Phish.net mobile, and scores of ancillary features, such as Phish.net jam charts, setlist stats, and tease charts. Adam lives in Orlando, FL, with his wife Jennifer and two children, Jillian and Jack, both of whom are chasing Harpua. Adam serves as the primary architect of phish.net as well as the Director of Technology for The Mockingbird Foundation. [2010-2021]
  • dir-sexauer-sm Matt Sexauer (73 shows) is a veteran public school music educator and band director of fifteen years as well as a freelance woodwind player and recreational cellist. His history with Phish began on July first, 1995. Some twenty years later he and his wife Kate were fortunate to be able to introduce their two daughters, Abbey and Nora, to the live Phish scene at Magnaball. Matt and his family live, teach, and perform in the greater Boston area. [2015-2021]
  • dir-steinberg-sm David Steinberg (340 shows) earned his Masters degree in Mathematics from New Mexico State University in 1994, and is currently a computer programmer in Seattle. He first saw Phish in his undergraduate days at Bard College, later created the Phish Stats web site, and used that knowledge to create the statistics for the first two editions of The Phish Companion. [1997-2019]

Current geographic distribution of board members:

Board gathering, 12/31/02

Emeritus Directors

  • Marco Walsh (1997-2018; Past President)
  • Elayne Best (2014-2018)
  • Dan Purcell (1997-2017)
  • Herschel Gelman (1997-2015)
  • Jeremy Goodwin (1997-2015)
  • Jim Raras (2004-2014)
  • Marcie Vogel Frahm (1997-2014)
  • Craig DeLucia (1997-2009; Founder)
  • Dan Hantman (1997-2009; Past President)
  • Charlz Franz (1997-2003)
  • Dave Donohue (1997-2002)
  • Mark Toscano (1997-2001; Past President)
  • Mark Goldberg (1997-2000)
  • Dan Seideman (1997-2000)
  • Eddie Dinel (1997-1999)
  • Joe Rioux (1997-1999)
  • John Wood (1997-1999)