Executive Office Staff

Jeffrey Loeffert is very proud to serve as Executive Director of The College Music Society.

Loeffert graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Music double major in Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies. A Frank Huntington Beebe Scholar, Loeffert studied in Paris at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise where he received the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Saxophone, and the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Musique de Chambre. Loeffert also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt where he received the diploma Cycle d'Orientation Professionnel. Loeffert completed graduate studies at Michigan State University (MSU) as the recipient of a University Distinguished Fellowship. He received a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance as well as a Master of Music degree in Music Theory Pedagogy.

Loeffert is a very active chamber musician. As a founding member of the h2 quartet, Loeffert has won numerous chamber music prizes including First Place at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and First Place at the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, among others. Loeffert is featured on seventeen commercially available discs and a DVD, as well as on a PBS television episode of Backstage Pass. His recording of Groove Canon by Marc Mellits was recently used as the monologue theme music for the Broadway show The Heidi Chronicles, starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Jason Biggs (Orange is the New Black).

Loeffert previously served as Professor of Saxophone and Director of the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University and currently serves as Professor and Director of the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech. During the summer months, Loeffert teaches at the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop (Oklahoma) and the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy (Thailand), and previously served on the instructional faculties for New Music on the Point (Vermont), Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan), and the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy).

Sarah Best is an administrator and educator whose career bridges higher education leadership, teaching and artistic performance practice. Her work focuses on strengthening alignment between organizational vision, operational execution, and long-term institutional sustainability through the lens of integrity and human-centered leadership. Prior to CMS, Sarah was the Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she worked in a dual role to lead executive operations while also supporting board governance and trustee relations.

Sarah’s foundation as an educator and performer deeply informs her organizational leadership philosophy. She has served as a university professor, teaching artist, curriculum designer, vocal coach, director, and choreographer, with experience spanning higher education, community-based arts education, and interdisciplinary programming. Her teaching and research interests for her 2022 dissertation centered on healthy, science-based vocal technique and the evolution of traditional performing arts practices into innovation for 21st-century professional standards. She previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at the College of Wooster and spent years as a K–12 teaching artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

Alongside her career in administration, Sarah works as an Executive Voice Coach, coaching leaders, executives, and organizations on strengthening communication, leadership presence, and professional confidence. With a background in curriculum design, she develops and delivers executive-level trainings focused on executive voice, emotional intelligence, performance psychology, and communication strategy, and has taught and guest-lectured at institutions including the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, The Cleveland Institute of Music, and the College of Wooster. Her private clients include higher education leaders, entrepreneurs, and internationally-based corporate organizations like Generali, Autodesk, and Conductor.

As a performer, Sarah has appeared with organizations across the United States; including collaborations with major cultural institutions, opera companies, orchestras, and encompassing a repertoire spanning traditional opera, operetta, sacred music, contemporary concert works, and musical theatre. She holds a DMA in Voice Performance (University of Michigan), an MM in Opera Performance from the Maryland Opera Studio (University of Maryland), and a BM in Voice Performance and Music Business (Mansfield University of Pennsylvania).

Shannon Devlin has worked in the CMS national office since 1994. Two years as Office Assistant, two years as Receptionist, and the past twenty-three years as Director of Membership Services. She is a graduate of Missoula’s Hellgate High School, and has other work experience in local food service and entertainment businesses. Shannon is a dedicated runner, mountain biker, and hiker. She also enjoys horticulture and her latest role as cat-lady-in-training:    

David Schafer has worked as the CMS national office’s Director of Information Technology since 2007. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Montana. Past professional experience includes eighteen years of C++ programming on Windows platforms and work on GIS based applications and imaging tools for the OEM market. Dave enjoys technology, cycling, and happy hour with his wife Deanna Schafer.

Charlie Chadwell is an active saxophonist, chamber musician, music theorist, and educator. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at Western Illinois University and recently completed a DMA in saxophone performance at Michigan State University, where he studied with Professor Joe Lulloff. Throughout his career, Chadwell has championed a variety of musical mediums and styles, and his performances have taken him across the U.S., to England, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and China. Well-versed in both classical and jazz, he has regularly participated in saxophone quartets and large ensembles, jazz bands, jazz combos and new music ensembles at Michigan State University, Oklahoma State University, and The University of Texas at Austin. He's also performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Lansing Symphony, in addition to performing as a concerto soloist with the UT Symphony Orchestra and Oklahoma State Symphony Orchestra.

An advocate of new music, Chadwell regularly commissions new works for the saxophone. Most recently, he premiered two new works at the 2020 National NASA Conference, Economic Shorts by Spencer Arias for saxophone duo, and Cathedral of Particles for saxophone duo and electronics, by Kakia Gkoudina. In July of 2020, Chadwell collaborated with composer Keaton Garrett and premiered Wandering, a work for solo tenor saxophone, which was performed remotely for the New Music On the Point's 10th Anniversary Commissioning Project. Chadwell has enjoyed participation in numerous award-winning chamber ensembles, from winning second place at the 2015 MTNA National Chamber Music competition with the Indarra Saxophone Quartet, to appearing as a finalist and semi-finalist in the 2018 and 2020 NASA Saxophone Quartet competitions respectively, with the Leaq and Sycamore saxophone quartets.

A native of Austin, Texas, Charlie has taught extensively in the central Texas area as a private lesson and master class teacher, as well as a band clinician. He holds a BM in Music Education degree from The University of Texas at Austin with a Performance Certificate, where he studied with Harvey Pittel and Stephen Page. He also holds a MM in Saxophone Performance from Oklahoma State University, where he studied with Jeffrey Loeffert and Tommy Poole.

Arisa Williams joined the College Music Society in May 2024. Arisa earned a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies at Oberlin College and Conservatory. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Arisa has been passionate about web development since high school. In addition to her work at CMS, she enjoys cooking, maintaining close ties with friends back in Japan, and spending quality time with her husband and three children.