Current Staff Members:
Theresa VanWetten
Artistic Director
Theresa received a BA in Public Relations from the School of Journalism at the University of Oregon, along with a dance emphasis. For 20 years she was a certified fitness/dance instructor for Nautilus Plus of Oregon and Gold’s Gym. She has been on, coached, and choreographed for professional dance teams including The Portland Trail Blazers and The Portland Forest Dragons. She taught at June Taylor’s School of Dance, Thunderbird High School Dance camp and coached and choreographed for several high school dance teams in Oregon. Her CYT involvement began in the fall of 2012 when three of her kids joined classes and were cast in Oliver. From there she has choreographed more than 19 CYT productions. She teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced dance classes. Theresa has been married to her husband Ray for 32 years and they have nine children and four grandchildren.
Jeff Lippert
Managing Director
Jeff received his BS from Willamette University, where he also met his wife of 25 years. Following graduation, they got married and moved back to southern Oregon where he spent 5 years working in his family company. In 2001, he and his wife made the move to the Portland area. They have dedicated the last 20 years to helping people build thriving marriages, healthy families and profitable businesses which has given them the freedom to achieve their dream of raising their two children together.
John Espie
CYT Portland Financial Controller
John Espie is the Financial Controller for CYT Portland/Vancouver. He is a retired corporate controller for Unified Grocers where he worked for 15 years. Prior to that he was a Partner and Consultant for On-Site Accounting. John is a retired Naval Officer and has been married to his lovely wife, Peg, for 32 years. They have two married sons and are expecting their first grandchild this November.
Jen Straite
CYT Portland Class & Production Coordinator
Jen is a former high school teacher and current full time mom. She became involved with CYT through her daughter’s love for theater in 2017. Jen is excited to work with class planning and organization for CYT, using her teaching experience to aid such an amazing organization.