Introducing Our Candidates
We are pleased to announce the candidatesfor the position of President-Elect Designate for the Eastern Region of ACDA: Libby Gopal and Regina McAdam. Both candidates bring an incredible depth of experience, a passion for the choral arts, and a steadfast commitment to the growth of our organization. Below, you will find their biographies along with their personal visions for the future of the Eastern Region. We encourage all members to review these materials carefully as we prepare to elect the leader who will help shape the next chapter of our organization.
Libby Gopal
Libby Gopal graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Music Education, her masters in music education from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and a masters in school administration from Rowan University.
During her twenty year tenure as a high school choir director, Mrs. Gopal’s students were invited to perform in state and regional conferences, All-Eastern ACDA, the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall. She has been a New Brunswick Education Foundation (NBEF) mini grant recipient and two time recipient of the American Choral Directors Association Fund For Tomorrow Grant. Mrs. Gopal was awarded the 2019 NJ Governor’s Educator of the Year Award for East Orange. She received the 2022 National Federation of State High School Association Outstanding Music Educator Award for New Jersey. In 2024, Mrs. Gopal was inducted into the Westminster Choir College Music Education Hall of Fame.
Mrs. Gopal served as a teacher trainer for the East Orange School District, was the 2021-2023 NJMEA Advocacy Chair, and served as NJ-ACDA Inclusivity Chair from 2017 until 2021 when she became NJ-ACDA President-Elect. As NJ-ACDA Inclusivity Chair, Ms. Gopal piloted and established the Voices United Choral Festival to create an inclusive choral space where all students felt welcome, valued, and challenged within a meaningful, high-quality choral festival experience. She served on the ChorTeach editorial board from 2021-2023. In 2023, she served as one of the contributing authors for GIA’s publication of A Music Pedagogy for Our Time.
As the NJ-ACDA President (2023-2025), Mrs. Gopal started the Summer Honors Choir Festival to provide a low-cost, low-pressure opportunity for advanced choir students to perform in a large non-auditioned ensemble with peers from across the region. Now entering its third year, she serves as the Summer Honors Choir Coordinator for the 7th-9th grade SSA Choir and the 10th-12th grade SATB Choir. Mrs. Gopal currently serves as the K-12 Visual & Performing Arts Supervisor for the East Windsor Regional School District.
Vision & Goals
To my fellow choral educators:
I am humbly seeking this leadership role because I believe deeply in the transformative power of choral music and the positive impact it makes on the lives of students, educators, and communities. I believe in the collective responsibility we share to ensure those opportunities are accessible, inclusive, and sustainable across the eastern region. This includes broadening access to Honors Choir programming, supporting multiple ensemble structures that honor diverse voice parts, and ensuring that audition processes and participation requirements are inclusive, transparent, and student-centered. Every student who wants to sing should feel seen, supported, and valued.
Overarching Goal
My goal is grounded in nurturing a multi-prong approach to choral education, artistic experiences, and advocacy in order to continue creating equitable access to a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable K-12+ professional choral community. I believe our region thrives when we intentionally connect K-12 schools, higher education, and community-based choral organizations to create a continuum of learning, mentorship, and artistic excellence.
Objectives
Access
At the center of my leadership philosophy is access. I am committed to expanding equitable opportunities for students of all backgrounds, ages, and voice types to participate in high-quality choral experiences. This commitment has guided my work as Inclusivity Chair, President, and, most recently, Summer Honors Choir Coordinator.
One such initiative is the NJACDA Voices United Choral Festival, which I started in 2017. When I piloted this festival at East Orange Campus High School, my goal was to create an inclusive choral space where all students felt welcome, valued, and challenged within a meaningful, high-quality educational experience. What began as a simple idea has grown into a thriving and established festival that continues to serve students and educators. That same commitment to access and opportunity led to the creation of the NJACDA Summer Honors Choirs initiative during my first year as president. Now entering its third year, the non-auditioned 6-12 SATB and SSA Summer Honors Choir Festival provides a low-cost, low-pressure opportunity for advanced choir students to perform in a large ensemble with peers from across the region.
Community & Belonging
Community and belonging are foundational to my work because they are centered on a simple but important goal – to create space for directors to catch up, connect, and build relationships with colleagues. During my second year as president, I started the Winter and Summer Choir Director Socials in both central and northern Jersey to create informal gatherings that reduce isolation, foster collaboration, and strengthen professional relationships outside of a traditional setting. I believe that when educators feel connected to one another, they are more likely to remain engaged, supported, and invested in our collective vision.
Inclusivity, Representation, & Advocacy
An integral part of my leadership, I have worked to embed equity and representation into programming, decision-making, and professional learning opportunities. In my initial role as Inclusivity Chair, this included advocating for ensembles and communities that have historically been underrepresented. We can continue this important work by leveraging grant opportunities or creating new student scholarship opportunities.
Sustainable Leadership
Strong organizations are built through shared vision, transparent processes, and collaborative decision-making. I will continue to support leadership development, align initiatives with our mission, and help develop systems for sharing resources and best practices across the region so that our work today strengthens the foundation for future leaders.
I am honored to put my name forward and would be grateful for the opportunity to serve. Together, I believe we can continue to build an eastern region choral community that is inclusive, forward-thinking, and deeply committed to artistic and educational excellence.
Regina McAdam
Regina McAdam is in her 31st year as the Choral Director at North Smithfield High School in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. As an active member of American Choral Directors Association she has held the role of Rhode Island State President three times, has served as the 2024 ACDA Eastern Division Honor Choir Chair and is presently the site chair for the 2026 Eastern Region Conference. As a member of RIMEA (Rhode Island Music Educators Association), she currently serves as the All-State Festival Choral Chair. In previous years, Mrs. McAdam has managed Rhode Island Senior All State Choirs, NAfME Eastern Division Honor Choirs, and ACDA Eastern Division Honor Choirs. As a member of the RIMEA board, McAdam helped create an All-State Treble Voice choir and initiated the first steps in what is now called AIM, a financial aid program for RI music students in need.
Mrs. McAdam directs two hundred students in the high school’s Concert Choir in a school of just over five hundred students. She also directs an advanced Chamber Choir, Select Treble Choir, Testoster-Tones (Tenor-Bass Choir) and Jazz Choir. Throughout her tenure at North Smithfield her choirs have received superior ratings at local and national festivals. McAdam is an active adjudicator and clinician and has served as guest conductor in RI and MA. McAdam was named the North Smithfield Schools “2012 Teacher of the Year” and in 2013 was a finalist for the Rhode Island state Teacher of the Year. In 2013, Regina McAdam received the Rhode Island College Alumni Honor Roll Award for outstanding achievement in her field. Regina McAdam is one of the creators of the “Meet in the Middle” Project. This project supported by ACDA’s “Fund for Tomorrow” connected rural and inner-city high school choirs, giving students an opportunity to learn from each other.
Regina McAdam holds BS and MM degrees in Music Education from Rhode Island College. In addition to her teaching duties at North Smithfield High School, Mrs. McAdam works as the Director of Music Ministry at St. Gregory the Great Church in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Goals & Objectives
It is truly an honor to be considered for the role of ACDA Eastern Region President. I have dedicated many hours working behind the scenes for ACDA events and feel excited about the possibility of serving and leading the ACDA Eastern Region. A first-generation college graduate from a local college, with no grade-school choral background, I began my career as a high school choir director. A few years later, Dr. Michele Holt took me under her wing and insisted I join ACDA! ACDA Eastern Region Conferences provided me with the knowledge I craved and the performances that inspired me to go beyond what I thought was possible. I recall hearing the Cherry Hill West High School Choir under the direction of Christine Bass at the Eastern Region Conference and thinking “Is that really possible?!”. A conscious decision was made that day to seek out and learn from as many ACDA members as I could. ACDA has provided me with a wider view of the world, an openness to all styles and a sense of responsibility to share my knowledge and serve others. Through ACDA, I have found a community that continually educates and inspires me.
As President of the Eastern Region my hope would be to be of service to the whole membership. I would strive to celebrate the work you do every day, from the smallest of victories in the choral classroom to the most inspiring performances. I want the ACDA Eastern Region to be a community that supports the choral educator who wears many hats; choir director, manager, stage designer, accompanist! I want to connect those people in our field whose successes are rightfully celebrated on social media with the choral educator who feels they are on an island doing it “all by themselves”. ACDA Eastern Region is a place where ALL choir directors can learn. We as the Eastern Region are blessed with a multitude of talented individuals who excel at this “sport” we call choir! A long time ago, I was eager with no knowledge and hungry for excellence but had no idea how to get there. The members of ACDA changed who I was as a teacher and because of that, if elected, I want my presidency to be about making connections. Let us see ourselves without ego, or hierarchy but rather as equals, sharing the most wonderful gift we have to share with each other – our voices.