Board of Directors
President and CEO
Stefanie Etienne MD
Dr. Stefanie Etienne is passionate about uplifting youth in the community. It is her mission to help ensure that all youth have the tools and opportunity to be successful, regardless of their background. All three of Dr. Etienne’s children are strings musicians and have flourished due to their experiences with The United Strings of Color. She is excited about continuing to support USC’s efforts to increase the representation of children of color in classical music.
Dr. Etienne is a Board - Certified Family Physician who has been practicing in the Raleigh area for over 17 yrs. She has a passion for caring for underserved communities and has demonstrated this by practicing in these communities her entire career. Dr. Etienne is married and is the proud mother of two daughters and a son who attend public school. She serves on the board for Project Hope Community which provides valuable services such as educational enrichment, food support and economic empowerment to children and families in South East Raleigh. In her spare time, she likes to travel, read and volunteer in her community.
Suzanne Rousso
Treasurer
Violist Suzanne Rousso accepted an appointment as artistic director of the Mallarmé Chamber Players in 2008. In this capacity she is responsible for all aspects of Mallarme’s eclectic programming. Her previous administrative and educational engagements included service as Director of Operations and Education of the Portland (Maine) Symphony and Director of Education for the North Carolina Symphony. She was on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival and served as that organization’s personnel manager.
Violist Rousso has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, as Principal violist of the Greensboro Symphony, the Vermont Symphony, the Portland Chamber Orchestra and orchestras of North Carolina Opera, Carolina Ballet, the Choral Society of Durham, PortOpera and Opera Boston.
She has served on the boards of the American Federation of Musicians Local #500 and Arts North Carolina, an advocacy organization for arts and arts education in NC.
Margaret Partridge
Director
Margaret brings her wealth of experience as the former Executive Director of the Philharmonic Association (2005 -2020) to United Strings of Color. During her tenure, the non-profit Philharmonic Association tripled in the size of its programming and budget. She began United Strings of Color in 2018 as a project to address racial disparity in classical music. Knowing the importance of this work, she continued to direct United Strings of Color after she stepped down as Executive Director of the Philharmonic Association in June 2020.
Margaret is a respected freelance violinist, having served as Concertmaster for the Carolina Ballet, Capital Opera, North Carolina Opera, Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, Tar River Orchestra, North Carolina Master Chorale and Durham Chorale. From 1990 – 2006 she performed regularly with the North Carolina Symphony and currently plays with the North Carolina Opera and the Carolina Ballet. She has taught violin at Huddersfield Technical College (England), Arkansas Tech University and Hendrix College. She is also passionate about environmental issues and has been a Chapter Chair of the North Carolina Native Plant Society for over twenty years.
Candace Thomas
At-Large
Candace Thomas is a certified CNA and is a mom and wife for 18 years. Candace has 2 group homes that she circulates out of and volunteers in various clubs and organizations that help underserved communities
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