Thomas G. Walsh, Ph. D.

President & Chair

Thomas Walsh is the Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation; he also serves as Chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation and as Co-Chair of the Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations. With academic training in the field of Religious Studies and Ethics, he earned his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. He has been a teacher, author and editor, with specialization in areas of interfaith relations, religious studies, religion and peace, philosophy and social theory. From 2015-2019, he served as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut, USA). Dr. Walsh is Vice Chair of the International Council of the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, and on the board of directors of The Washington Times. He is Executive Editor of Dialogue and Alliance, a scholarly interfaith journal.  He has contributed to and edited more than twenty books related to interfaith, peacebuilding and renewal of the United Nations; among these volumes are Renewing the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace and The Millennium Declaration of the United Nations: A Response from Civil Society.

Pamela Gonzales de Cordova

Executive Director

Pamela Gonzales de Cordova is a Korean-American lawyer, who now serves the Kirov Academy of Ballet as Executive Director. She served on Kirov Academy’s Board and acted as Chair of the Development Committee from 2012-2017.

Before joining KAB, Ms. Gonzales de Cordova practiced international financial law in Europe for over 30 years and made her transition back to the U.S. as General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance, before joining Kirov. Her prior positions include General Counsel to Volvo Financial Services Europe, foreign legal consultant in private law practice in Luxembourg and Brussels as a member of the Banking & Finance team of Loyens & Loeff. Ms. Gonzales de Cordova served as Resident Counsel to J.P. Morgan, working in London, Paris, and Brussels and in-house counsel with Merrill Lynch in NY and London. She developed the first cross-border collateral system, Trinity, for use by banks and financial institutions and sold the software and system to JP Morgan in 1999, allowing her to donate $2 million to leukemia research.

She is a passionate lover of classical ballet and has taught classical ballet in a Belgian orphanage for many years. She studied at Harvard and Georgetown University Law Center, speaks English and French and has studied Japanese. She is the mother of 5 children.

Adrienne Dellas Thornton

Artistic Director Emeritus

Born in Detroit, Michigan to parents who immigrated from Greece and Australia, Adrienne Dellas began ballet instruction at four years of age. She studied with an array of teachers, including Enid Ricardo, Robert Joffrey, Hector Zaraspe, Richard and Barbara Thomas, Alexandra Danilova, Perry Brunson, Birger Bartholin, Vera Volkova and Ludmila Morkovina. She turned to teaching at the age of 20, following a career-ending accident.

A master teacher for more than 40 years, Adrienne Dellas trained and coached dancers from all over the world. As her reputation grew, she was invited to South Korea to launch the new Ballet Department of the Little Angels Arts Middle and High School. Based on its success, she established the now internationally acclaimed Universal Ballet Company in Seoul. As the company’s Founding Artistic Director, she choreographed numerous original full-length ballets, as well as restaging many of the classics.

Soon after the Universal Ballet Company began, Ms. Dellas choreographed an original full-length classical ballet “Shim Chung,” which was performed for the Tenth Asian Games 1986 Arts Festival and at the XXIV Olympic Games Seoul Arts Festival in 1988. She was awarded the Gold Medal for Artistic Achievement in Teaching and Choreography by the Korean President in 1988.

Returning to America, she taught for nearly ten years at the newly established Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, which was born out of the foundation of the Little Angels Arts Middle and High School and the Universal Ballet Company. As the only American teacher among the Russian faculty at the Kirov, Ms. Dellas trained hundreds of dancers, many of whom are now principal dancers of major international ballet companies. During her tenure at the Kirov, she was invited to teach and choreograph at the world-renowned Vaganova Academy of Classical Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.

From 2001-2008, she was the Academy Director at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, where she directed the master teachers of ten dance programs ranging from classical ballet to hip-hop.

Adrienne Dellas is internationally known for her expertise in teaching and choreographing for ballet companies, television and cultural events, directing and teaching ballet intensives, judging competitions, creating and conducting specialized teacher seminars, and coaching professional dancers.

Oleg Vinogradov

Founding Artistic Director

Born in Leningrad in 1937, Oleg Vinogradov graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy where he and classmate Rudolf Nureyev studied under Alexander Pushkin.  Vinogradov commenced his career at the Novosobirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet, becoming ballet master in 1961, and soon thereafter began his career in choreography.  In 1972, Vinogradov became Director of the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet, leaving in 1977 to become Artistic Director of The Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky).

His choreographic accomplishments include, “Yaroslavna”, “The Inspector General”, “The Spellbound Prince”, “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin”, “Potemkin”, and a new “Petrushka”.  At the Kirov Academy, Vinogradov played a significant role in preserving the ballets of the Russian classical legacy and in promoting innovation and cultural exchange with the West.  Vinogradov has introduced the choreography of Bejart, Bournonville, and Petit to Russian audiences.  Mr. Vinogradov has also been appointed Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Classical Ballet and Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Joan Boada

Ballet Artistic Director

A native of Havana, Cuba, Joan Boada received his impeccable training and foundation of classical repertory from the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Ballet in Cuba. After graduation, he moved to Paris to train with Gilbert Mayer, Jacques Namont, and Manuel Legris. He danced with seven companies (including Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Ballet National de Marseille Roland Petit, The Australian Ballet, and Royal Ballet of Flanders) before joining San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 1999. During his long performing career, he danced coveted roles in full length classics ballets including Don Quixote, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Eguene Oneguin, and Cinderella. He excelled in classical, dramatic, and neo-classical roles, created by some of the most celebrated choreographers including Balanchine, Robbins, and Ashton.  

Boada’s honors include an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for ensemble performance, and various awards and medals in the highest ballet competitions in Varna, Paris, Osaka, and Shanghai. 

After retiring from San Francisco Ballet in 2017, he began his teaching career and worked with reputable ballet programs for pre-professional and professional dancers in California, Florida, Washington DC, and Virginia. His most recent role was as a Ballet Master and Assistant Choreographer with Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid, Spain. 

One of the most celebrated dancers of his generation, Joan Boada has reached a level of artistry that few dancers achieve. His recognition and skill in classical technique are second to none. Mr. Boada passes his unique experience and vast understanding of the art form on to other dancers and students, so they too may share their gifts with their audience.