Black and white logo for Oregon Piano Institute featuring a stylized mountain range with pine trees.

Board of Directors

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  • President & Co-Founder

    Maria Dossin feels comfortable conducting a large choir or orchestra, playing the organ, singing or designing a complex software application. A musician by calling and passion, she graduated with honors from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. After moving to the US and working for two decades as a choral conductor, organist and teacher, Maria decided to pursue a career in business. In 2010 she received an MBA from the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business in corporate finance and security analysis.

    Since then, she has been busy working in the financial industry and technology field. Currently a software engineering manager at Gen Digital, Maria keeps her passion for music alive through her involvement in the Eugene art scene and as the co-founder of the Oregon Piano Institute. 

    An avid skier, she enjoys all that Oregon has to offer in outdoor activity with her husband and grown-up kids.

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  • Social Media & Communications

    A native of Oregon, Amy was raised by parents who recognized the importance of a musical education.  Amy studied Suzuki violin, beginning at age 5. While she did not make music a career, Amy credits her focus, patience, and work ethic to those early years of musical training.  

    After studying psychology at the University of Puget Sound, Amy earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Psychology from Springfield College in Massachusetts.  A one-time expert on the use of teleconferencing tools in the workplace, Amy’s research focus was the effectiveness of virtual team collaboration.  Amy’s passion is applying the tools of science to the understanding of human behavior; in particular, helping organizations best understand their customers. Her decade of work in marketing research found her based in several metropolitan areas including Seattle, Minneapolis, and Sacramento, where she continued to attend arts events.

    Amy eventually traded in her business hat to focus exclusively on raising her three children.  Each of Amy’s children have learned musical instruments and, most importantly, have learned the value of being audience members.  Amy believes that a strong community is an inclusive community where coming together for arts is available to everyone.

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  • Treasurer & Advertising Manager

    Although born in the United States, Andrew grew up in Germany and Turkey. He holds a PhD in Russian History from Columbia University and is the author of The Crisis of Russian Autocracy: Nicholas II and the 1905 Russian Revolution. He taught at Swarthmore College and the University of Illinois. After obtaining an MBA, he started a new career as a university administrator, retiring from the UO Lundquist College of Business in 2017.

    As a teenager, Andrew fell in love with classical music, opera in particular. Sadly, his piano lessons never advanced beyond the beginner level. Eventually, voice became his favorite instrument, and Maria Dossin his guide to Russian choral music.

    Andrew is involved in the local community as a two-time president of his Rotary club and the long-time treasurer of the Oregon Association of Rowers. He likes to travel, garden and do home improvements. He has been married for more than a half century and is the father of two boys and grandfather of two girls and one boy.

  • Webmaster & Graphic Design

    Dr. Juan Avendaño is a Colombian pianist with degrees in piano performance, collaborative piano and piano pedagogy from the University of Oregon, National University of Colombia and Western Michigan University. Juan has won several prestigious competitions and taught at institutions like the National University of Colombia and Western Michigan University. His performances include collaborations with the Rogue Valley Symphony, Orchestra Next, Eugene Symphony, Oregon Mozart Players and participation in festivals such as Bowdoin and Gilmore. Beyond music, Juan is also a visual artist, serving as a visual artist director, videographer, and photographer for organizations such as the Columbia River Chamber Music Festival and Piano UO Festival. He’s thrilled to join the Oregon Piano Institute team. More on his visual arts can be found at www.sebastianavendano.com