Board of Directors

Kenton Popovich (he/him/his) is a CPA working for Aldrich CPAs + Advisors LLP with an emphasis on auditing and financial reporting for not-for-profit entities. He is also a lyric baritone with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University and has been a singing and dancing member of PGMC since 2011. He hopes that his love of music and his nerdy fascination with accounting will allow him to help PGMC continue to be a place where all can gather to pursue the beauty and power of music.

Charlie Hersman (he/him) joined PGMC in 2016, shortly after moving to Portland. He found the chorus while searching for gay men’s choruses in the area and knew he would join before even lining up a job or a place to live. Charlie brings an extensive background in business and organizational leadership to the board.
He owns Break Free Technology Consulting, where he draws on 20 years of experience to help companies and organizations navigate their strategic technology journeys. Deeply committed to supporting organization leaders from marginalized communities, Charlie is a super connector who is passionate about creating inclusive, high-trust partnerships that lead to meaningful growth.

Grant Vermillion (he/him) is a long-term supporter of PGMC, having attended nearly all of PGMC’s performances over the last decade; and is excited at the opportunity to officially join the organization as a Board member. Professionally, Grant works in the Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) space as a Senior ML Scientist, where he helps companies, organizations, and governments leverage state-of-the-art AI/ML techniques and their existing data to solve problems and streamline processes. Grant has also served as Board Treasurer for Transpose PDX–a gender-affirming community choir in Portland–for the past two years. He hopes to bring this diverse skillset and his advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community to PGMC to help the chorus find new data-driven opportunities and to build and strengthen relationships with other queer organizations in our community.

Ty Smart (he/him) serves as Director of Business Development at Morel Ink, a union print shop rooted in Portland that specializes in print, mail, apparel, signage, and branded merchandise. Over a career that carried him from VP of Sales into business development leadership, he has built his work around relationships and around helping organizations tell their story well. A longtime supporter of Portland’s arts and LGBTQ+ communities, Ty brings that same relationship first spirit to the PGMC board, where he is beginning his second three-year term. He is proud to help sustain a chorus that gives voice to connection, joy, and belonging across the city he calls home.

Wayne Gregory joined PGMC in the fall of 2008 and PGMC remains the most important community in his life. Over those years Wayne has served PGMC in a variety of ways: as Marketing Team Chair, Chorus President (twice), Board Secretary, Board Treasurer, Wellness Team, and Chair of the Executive Director Search Committee. Wayne spent thirty years in higher education as a professor and academic administrator. Wayne is the father of six children and grandfather to fourteen grandchildren. He loves the outdoors, and loves singing with this Chorus.