MEET OUR STAFF
Manal Toppozada
MA, LPMT, MT-BC
Executive Director and Founder
Manal is the founder and Executive Director of Note-Able Music Therapy Services. She obtained her master’s degree in music therapy from the University of the Pacific and completed her clinical internship at Oregon State Hospital in Salem. With more than 25 years’ experience in hospital, forensic, education, mental health, addiction, and community settings, Manal is an internationally recognized authority on community-based music therapy. Her current interests lie primarily in the areas of mental health and addiction. Manal has presented throughout the United States and in Europe, and is the western regional representative to the American Music Therapy Association’s Internship Approval Committee. As a member of the Nevada State Music Therapy Task Force, she helped draft Senate Bill 190, which created a state license that oversees the profession of music therapy in Nevada. Manal is a professional violinist and adjunct faculty at the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Wendy Firestone, MBA
Development Director/Dance Instructor
(she/her)
Wendy holds a Masters in Business Administration from WGU, along with a BA in Journalism and a minor in Women’s Studies from UNR and has more than 15 years of experience as a fundraising professional. Wendy began working at Note-Able Music Therapy Services in 2010 in a part-time position as the Advancement Director, where she used her extensive marketing and arts programming experience to help grow our programs. While she went on to oversee the development departments at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada and Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada, she remained connected to NMTS as the dance instructor for two weekly classes. Even with her full-time commitments, Wendy remained a passionate advocate and a crucial part of the NMTS team. Wendy re-joined as a full-time staff member in 2021, and continues to teach weekly dance classes for the organization.
Dena Sweigart
Operations Manager
(she/her)
Dena is a Reno native and holds a BA in Art History with a Minor in Women’s Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. She joined the NMTS team in June of 2015. As an artist herself, Dena utilizes her extensive experience in design, graphics, writing, and the visual arts to support all aspects of the organization, including event planning and the creation of all NMTS’ promotional and fundraising materials. She also serves as volunteer coordinator and oversees recruitment and training of more than 75 community volunteers per year. Dena appreciates being part of a non-profit organization because she knows her work goes directly back into her community. In her free time, she enjoys reading, working on her own creative projects, and being outside – preferably in the middle of the desert or floating in a lake.
Sharon Hickox
MM, LPMT, MT-BC, CCTS-I
Clinical Services Manager
Sharon completed a music therapy degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2016. She also has a Master’s of Music from Rice University and a Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Southern California, both in Percussion Performance. She has completed Neurologic Music Therapy training and is a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist. Sharon has been with NMTS since the summer of 2018. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with mental and behavioral health concerns as well as intellectual and physical disabilities. She enjoys working with Renown Health, providing music therapy for patients in pediatric, oncology, neurology and extended care units. She is proud to have been a part of developing the NMTS Music and Wellness Curriculum. Being active as a percussionist with the Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and Bella Voce provides a great balance to her work with NMTS.
Elizabeth Lenz
MM, LPMT, MT-BC
Lead Music Therapist
Elizabeth began volunteering with NMTS in 2009, and returned in the summer of 2015 to work as a music therapy aide. Elizabeth received her BA in music with a minor in dance from the University of Nevada. In 2014, she moved to Fort Collins, CO to pursue her Masters-Equivalency degree in music therapy from Colorado State University.
While at CSU, Elizabeth played violin in a graduate scholarship string quartet and worked both as a teaching assistant and as a violin and ukulele instructor at a local charter school. Elizabeth took the neurologic music therapy training with the NMT institute in 2016. After completing coursework at CSU, Elizabeth moved to Fishers, IN for her clinical internship with Opportunities for Positive Growth, where she gained experience working with people of all ages and various developmental disabilities. Elizabeth has played violin professionally in orchestras and chamber ensembles in Nevada, California, and Colorado. Elizabeth agrees with Stevie Wonder that “music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand.”
Nate Eng
Adaptive Music Instructor
(he/him)
Nate received his bachelors degree in journalism from the Reynolds School of Journalism at UNR in 2015, specializing in photography, graphic design, journalism, and audio & music production. Nate began volunteering with Note-Able Music Therapy Services in 2011, helping with our community drum circle and playing with The Note-Ables. Once he got to know several of our participants, he started coming in once a week to teach individual drum lessons. After volunteering for more than three years, Nate was hired as a contract music instructor in 2014. In 2019, Nate joined NMTS full-time as a Marketing Coordinator and music instructor. He teaches drums, percussion, piano, and our electronic music class. Nate enjoys using his variety of passions like photography, graphic design, journalism, and music production to help communicate and serve NMTS’ mission and values to our community.
Samantha White
MT-BC, LPMT
Music Therapist
Sam White is a music therapist rooted in relational therapeutic approaches with a specialty in using a product/process as therapy lens. She has worked in behavioral health systems in addition to memory care facilities, hospitals, community centers, schools, group homes, and 1-1 in clinic work. Sam’s therapeutic process often involves working with the client toward trauma informed therapeutic goals rooted in social/emotional needs, sensory integration, anxiety reduction, quality of life, emotional expression, grief, and trauma processing. One of her biggest philosophies for the therapeutic process is to “embrace the chaos.” Sam is also a classically trained vocalist and often uses this as a therapeutic tool in pairing with the piano and/or guitar in her sessions. She is so excited to be a part of the NMTS team and is excited to see what the future holds.
Eric Gieseke
MT-BC, LPMT
Music Therapist (They/them)
After volunteering at NMTS from 2016 through 2019, Eric went to study music therapy at Utah State University where they worked with children and adults of all abilities in a variety of settings. While in school Eric also worked as the teen development director at the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Utah before moving on to become the director of the Cache Pride Center working with high-risk LGBTQ+ youth. After completing their studies Eric went on to complete their internship at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, where they worked with a team of expressive therapists in a pediatric hospital setting. Eric is a classically trained vocalist and always loves to encourage everyone to use their voice (especially people who say they are "bad" at singing). In their free time you can find Eric exploring the great outdoors, hanging out with their dog, or enjoying local shows.
"I hope to help people achieve their personal goals using one of the most powerful catalysts of all, music." -Eric
Cony Linarez
Program Support Specialist
Born in Mexico, Cony came to the United States as a teen. Growing up with the best of both worlds, Cony comes to Note-Able Music Therapy Services with a full-rounded experience in the arts, non-profit and business worlds. As a business owner on Wells Avenue, she served on the board and as the president of the Wells Avenue Merchants and Property Owners Association. She also served on the board of directors for Artown for 2 years. She holds an associate degree in secondary education from Truckee Meadows Community College and has extensive experience in event planning, volunteer management and building management. She is excited to bring her skills to NMTS at this time of growth and expansion. In addition to a passion for art, culture and travel, Cony is happy to have the opportunity to serve NMTS participants and their families and improve the lives of people in her community.