What is the Happiness Happens Arts Foundation?
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of our foundation is to provide crucial, targeted financial relief to highly talented, financially-disadvantaged fine arts students, ensuring that the burden of program fees and/or some travel does not deter or prevent them from seizing advanced artistic opportunities earned through competitive audition and acceptance. We exist to make these pivotal experiences financially feasible.
Mission Statement
To empower exceptional, financially-disadvantaged fine arts students (Title I eligible) by providing Needs-Based Grants and Supplemental Funding that significantly offset the financial burden of attending elite summer camps and distinguished honor ensembles, thereby fostering their talent and making advanced artistic study attainable.
Vision Statement
We envision a vibrant future for the arts where financial barriers are substantially mitigated, allowing a broader, more diverse pool of talented students to participate in pre-professional artistic development. Our vision is to significantly increase the number of Title I eligible students who successfully complete high-caliber honor ensembles and camps, strengthening the pipeline for future artists, scholars, and arts educators.
The people who help make happiness happen
Founder, Board Member & Executive Director
Miss Cathy Benford is the Founder and Executive Director of the Happiness Happens Arts Foundation. She was born in Tokyo, Japan and is both an English & American Citizen.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Texas State University (then Southwest Texas State University) and her Masters of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Sam Houston State University. While attending Texas State University, she performed with the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensembles, Athletics Bands and was also a member of the Panorama Steel Drum Band. At Sam Houston State University, she conducted the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic…
Board Member
Bio & photo coming soon!
Board Member
Lisa Weinheimer Roebuck grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin, a Kodály Music Certification from Texas State University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Lamar University. She taught general music at the elementary level and choral music at the secondary level for 21 years. Lisa taught in both public and private schools before entering the world of full time fine arts administration in 2006. She served as a Fine Arts Administrator in Round Rock ISD until her retirement in 2021. She became the Director of all the Fine Arts programs for Round Rock ISD in 2015. This large school district serves approximately 50,000 students that attend the district’s…
Board Member
John Lynch is a leading international conductor and a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. He is currently Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and was formerly Director of Bands at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. There he created the first comprehensive university band program in the nation’s history and founded the Verbrugghen Ensemble, the professional faculty ensemble-in-residence.
Prior to that he served as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Georgia and the University of Kansas. He was the conductor of Chicago’s Northshore Concert Band…
Director of Communications
Bio & Photo coming soon!
Advisor
Jim Machajewski’s career as a design leader is rooted in a simple belief: technology should serve people, and the best digital experiences come from listening deeply to the humans using them. Over more than two decades, Jim has built a reputation as a thoughtful executive, strategist, and mentor who excels at translating complex technical systems into intuitive experiences, whether that involves scaling teams at Fortune 10 enterprises or driving product strategies in high-growth environments.
After starting his career during the early dot-com days…