Board of Directors
Ryan Nykamp is a west Michigan native and a long-time music maker. Despite being born with a severe hearing impairment, Ryan began singing at a very young age. He first performed in his church's youth chorus and continued in school choirs throughout his childhood. Ryan started his first band, a country act, in 1993. He has fronted many other local groups, covering a variety of genres including Gospel, Rock, & Funk . Ryan finally found his calling in the Blues and presently co-leads The Left Handed Rollers with his wife. If he is not on a stage somewhere singing the blues, he is being entertained by his grandkids!!!
Ryan Nykamp - President
Sheila Solomon Shotwell has been a board member since 2015. She is such a fan of the blues that she considers Clarksdale, Mississippi her second home. She has taught improv in many settings including the teen center in Clarksdale, Ms. when she attends the annual Juke Joint festival. In addition to performing improv for twenty years, Sheila is also a free-lance actor, a former nurse's aid, bookseller, Jewish educator, and the author of three novels and several published essays. She is honored to be a board member and finds it to be the perfect avenue for keeping the blues alive.
Sheila Solomon Shotwell - Vice President
Mark Jilbert formerly served on our board as a president, secretary, and treasurer. He is a local musician with a "profound love and appreciation for blues as the truly American art form that it is." He's been playing in blues bands in west Michigan for the last twenty years. Mark has a background in business management in local transportation companies and will bring these organizational skills to the WMBS board.
Mark Jilbert - Treasurer
Ann joined the WMBS board of directors in January of 2017. Her love of blues music and the desire to assist the WMBS in meeting their mission lead to the opportunity to serve. Like many, she was introduced to blues music through rock and roll. Being a Woodstock attendee in her early teens, live music continues to be an enjoyable pastime with friends and family. Ann is an interior designer and semi-retired.
She is a former business owner of a hair salon/barbershop in Downtown Grand Rapids. Raised in the great Western Catskills of NY she moved to Grand Rapids in her 20s, and continues to enjoy nature, travel, and her grandchild.
Ann Bower - Secretary
Felix is the man, the myth, the legend. As a founding member of WMBS Felix has been a loyal servant of all things blues and is a staple in the Michigan Music scene. His guidance and thoughtfulness to the artform has kept WMBS on track for years.
Felix Ybarra’s passion for the blues has been a steadfast vehicle for him to showcase his many talents. As a writer and social worker, he was a natural to write for Big City Blues Magazine for ten years, interviewing many blues greats including Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, and even his lifetime musical hero, Dion. His musical prowess has been sought time and again as an International Blues Challenge judge throughout the state of Michigan and also in Memphis at the national IBC level.
Felix Ybarra - Trustee
Steve Salter is the President and Founder of the Killer Blues Nonprofit Company, aka; the Killer Blues Headstone Project who’s mission is to provide headstones for blues artists lying in unmarked graves. In the 15 years of existence, the project as purchased 159 headstones in 16 states. Steve received the prestigious “Keeping the Blues Alive” award from the Blues Foundation in 2017. He has served as a judge for the IBC several times and is responsible for bringing numerous blues concerts to the Playhouse at White Lake in Whitehall, MI where he is also the Mayor. Steve has stated that he is looking forward to reinvigorating the WMBS’s presence on the lakeshore.
Steve Salter - Trustee
Leanna discovered her love and talent for creating music at a young age and got her first solo stage experience in the children's choir at her hometown church.
Growing up in rural East Texas, she was raised a devoted daughter of the blues. After moving to Michigan in her early teens, Leanna spent several years branching out into other genres, including country, rock and pop before returning to her deep blues roots.
Leanna is currently co-leader of a local blues band (The Left Handed Rollers) with her husband of 20 years. When she isn't writing, performing, or attending blues shows, you can find her kayaking Michigan's waterways or playing and creating with her grandchildren.
Leanna Nykamp - Trustee
Adam McMillan has been around music all of his life, starting when his father sang to him as a baby and later when he and his nieces and nephews would sing, dance, and play music for the adults. When he began to play piano and joined the choir, his talents were recognized by his teachers. As a teenager, he joined a band called Youngblood and later formed the band Total Eclipse. At the end of his senior year, he played in a band called The Funk A Sonics. He came back to Michigan after a ten-year hiatus in California and found his new love of music in playing the blues. He is now keyboard player and band manager for Asamu Johnson and The Associates of the Blues. He has his own business, Just Friends Music & Entertainment and he is a member of Local 56 Musicians Union.
Adam McMillan - Trustee
Thomas got his first real dose of the blues when he saw Luther Allison at the 1975 Blues and Jazz Festival at GVSU. Luther played and played until the campus police threatened to turn the power off to the stage. It was a powerful experience that led to a lifetime appreciation of the blues.
Thomas was born in Grand Rapids. He lived in both Grand Rapids and Boyne City during his childhood, graduating from high school in Boyne City. He returned to Grand Rapids to attend GVSU, and has has lived in west michigan ever since. At GVSU he worked at the student run radio station WSRX-FM and was fortunate enough to work on the stage crew for many of the concerts GVSU hosted.
He is also a fan of surf and rockabilly music. The two artists he wishes he could have seen perform are Jimi Hendrix and Ella Fitzgerald. A past member of the WMBS board, he is looking forward to being part of the continued growth of the organization in carrying out its mission.
Thomas Syrek - Trustee
West Michigan has a rich history of outstanding blues musicians. Dan would love to raise the visibility of West Michigan blues talent by encouraging bands to work together and by helping fans connect with the music they love. Dan began playing jazz and blues professionally at the age of 16, but was distracted by a job as a resident musician at Fort Mackinac, where he learned to play traditional fife and bagpipe. He has played a wide variety of styles from punk to polka and was a member of a North American champion pipe band drum corps - Glendaloch. He currently plays drums with The Butler Street Drivers, The Quartet at the Sand Bar Saloon, Radio deciBella and anyone else who will let him play drums, guitar, bagpipe, fife or jaw harp.
Dan Mish - Ex Officio
Ever since attending a B B King concert at Fountain Street Church in 1972, Tim Carmody has been a serious devotee of blues music.
Embracing the cultural history of the genre, he has been on a long-time mission to appreciate and perpetuate the blues. A member of the board sine 2014, Tim has found a natural outlet for this pursuit. A small business owner in the Eastown neighborhood, while not attending blues events, he enjoys cycling, tennis and reading. Tim is the father of four and the grandfather of six, with the newest addition welcomed to the world on May 30th!
Tim Carmody - Ex Officio
We are always looking for new, dedicated board members to serve in a variety of ways. If you are interested, please fill out the contact us form and we will get back to you!