MEET THE BOARD
HOPELESS MUSIC ACADEMY HAS A PASSIONATE BOARD of industry EXPERTS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS.
President, Hopeless Records
HMA Board Member, Executive Committee
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Louis Posen is the founder and CEO of Hopeless Records. Hopeless was founded in 1993 when Posen, a 22-year-old aspiring music video director, used $1,000 to release a seven-inch by the band Guttermouth. The label is now an indie institution that touts well over 400 releases, with several Billboard top ten albums and Gold and Platinum records under its belt.
Posen currently serves on the board of several prominent industry organizations, including Merlin and A2IM, and has previously been a board member for the Music Business Association and the Worldwide Independent Network. Posen has also been named one of Billboard Magazine's Indie Power Players five years in a row. Posen, who is blind, has had his inspirational story told in numerous publications including Businessweek, the Los Angeles Times, Alternative Press, and Billboard.
He has built an unignorable community of alternative artists that have touched the lives of many. Posen has been tirelessly working to give back to that community, not just through ethical business practices but by his commitment to community service and charity work. Sub City, Hopeless’ 501(c)(3) non-profit offshoot, has raised over $3 million for more than 50 causes since its inception in 1999. The label’s Songs That Saved My Life series is an emblem of Hopeless' dedication to releasing music with a positive impact. He is proud the label has raised money to open two recording studios in Los Angeles to serve and educate burgeoning musicians who lack the resources to practice and record their music.
Chief Growth Officer, FYI
HMA Board Member
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Julie Pilat is an award-winning music, media, and digital entertainment executive based in Los Angeles, known for building culturally relevant platforms at the intersection of creativity, technology, and community.
She spent eight years as a global executive at Apple Music after being recruited by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre as the first Head of Music at Beats Music. Following Beats’ acquisition by Apple, Julie helped launch Beats 1, the first live global radio station broadcasting 24/7 from Los Angeles, New York, and London to audiences in more than 150 countries.
For the past four years, Julie has served as Chief Growth Officer, Community & Culture at FYI.AI, where she focuses on scaling community, driving cultural adoption of emerging technology, and turning experimentation into impact. Her work includes growing RAiDiO, an intelligent media platform, and co-launching EDU.FYI, a joint venture expanding access to next-generation creative learning.
A lifelong learner, Julie has recently completed Quantum for Executives and The Agentic Self at ASU, continuing her exploration of leadership, technology, and human agency.
A Billboard Women in Music honoree, Julie also partners with companies, public agencies, and startups including The Recording Academy, AI LA, DataShapes, The White House, Invisible Narratives, and Jammcard. She is a dedicated advocate for artists and, outside of work, for children in foster care. She is also a proud foster mom of three.
Co-Founder & Managing Director, EnterGain
HMA Board Member, Executive Committee
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James is the co-founder of EnterGain, and personally leads executive recruiting, leadership upskilling and strategy projects for companies across the music ecosystem and beyond. Previously James led human resources teams as a Vice President at The Madison Square Garden Company, Warner Music Group and TVT Records. Early in his career he advanced from Research Associate to Managing Director at Korn Ferry, working in the entertainment and technology practices, and in leadership roles contributing to the rapid growth in the early years of the firm's Futurestep division.
During high school and college James worked as a music teacher, drummer, live sound engineer and recording engineer. After earning his undergrad degree in psychology, he worked as a juvenile probation officer and social worker. Once he started his business career in New York City, he also spent seven years as a volunteer creating and running a new business incubator at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), where he recruited MBAs and lawyers to mentor teen founders on their startups. Later James served as an adjunct professor developing curricula and teaching and mentoring graduate students first in the masters in human resources program at The New School and later at the masters in music business program at NYU Steinhardt.
James holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and holds a SPHR certification.
“I feel fortunate to have had generous mentors when I was a teenager. They helped shape me as a musician, as a teacher, as an entrepreneur, and most importantly as a person. I'm excited to have the opportunity to pay that forward in my work with Hopeless Music Academy as the program provides students with unparalleled education and access in music and the music business.”
Sr. Marketing Manager, Hopeless Records
HMA Board Member, Marketing Committee
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Brandy is the Senior Marketing Manager at Hopeless Records. She is passionate about helping artists realize their full potential. She got her start writing for a number of major print and digital magazines in New York City such as Billboard, HollywoodLife, INSIDER, and more. She also previously worked at Music Choice for 3 years in the marketing department. She is now based in sunny Los Angeles and is proud to work at a label that prioritizes charitable work.
EVP & Chief Credit Officer, American Business Bank
HMA Board Member, Operations Committee
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Jeff Munson serves as American Business Bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. In this role, he manages Credit Administration, along with the SBA and Real Estate departments for the Bank. Jeff joined ABB in May 2018 as a Regional Vice President of the San Fernando Valley Regional Office. He was then promoted to Regional Executive Vice President in 2021. Prior to joining ABB, Munson worked at California United Bank as a Senior Vice President / Loan Team Lead, First Regional Bank, and US Bank, acquiring over 27 years of banking experience.
Jeff lives in Thousand Oaks, CA with his wife of 23 years and their two children.
Business Consultant at Mitchell Wolk Consulting LLC
HMA Board Member, Operations Committee
HMA Board Member, Development Committee
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Michelle has a Master’s Degree in Public Health with an emphasis on health education and promotion. She is driven by the desire to help people as her nature is to be a connector. Supporting and creating ways to help an organization grow and expand has always been an important focus of along with making a positive impact on helping individuals and families along the way.
CEO, Walnut Wallpaper
HMA Board Member, Programming Committee
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Norinne DeGal, the innovative founder of Walnut Wallpaper in Los Angeles, has been pivotal in the resurgence of wallpaper trends since establishing her business in 2004. With a passion for design and an impeccable eye for detail, DeGal has transformed Walnut Wallpaper into a leading name in the industry, renowned for its unique and contemporary wallpaper collections. Walnut has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, House Beautiful and many more.
Before launching Walnut, DeGal was a journalist in the 1990’s and early 2000’s covering the Los Angeles City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for Copley News Service the L.A. arm of the San Diego Tribune. She then worked for the Los Angeles Business Journal. During her tenure as a reporter she also wrote extensively about the music industry with features on music attorneys, A&R personnel and Soundscan, among other stories. In 1994, DeGal managed the indie band Crumbox and a few years later secured them a record deal with TimeBomb records, a Universal subsidiary. Crumbox, went on the tour with the leading artists of the day including Presidents of the United States of America.
Although her main focus is design and running Walnut on a daily basis, at night she is often at clubs like The Lodge in Highland Park or The Echo Plex seeing emerging bands. A so-called indie music nut, she currently has an open invitation from one of the last music print magazines to write concert and album reviews if ever she chooses.
CFO, Hopeless Records
Multi-talented Performer + Percussionist
HMA Board Member, Operations Committee
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Currently the CFO of Hopeless / Sub City Records, Alan Person is responsible for all company operations including the supervision of company staff (20+ employees), budgeting, accounting, the processing of all incoming and outgoing company royalty statements, and many business and legal affairs functions. Mr. Person holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Industry Studies from CSU, Northridge, and over the years has occasionally taught various Music Industry Studies courses as needed at CSUN and USC.
Mr. Person also is an active performing drummer and percussionist in the LA Area.