KML’s Volunteer Staff

  • Just a small town girl, growing up in the Danish tourist town of Solvang, California, Emma McCool (she/her) is a self-proclaimed pastry snob with a deep love of comedy. Upon graduating from the University of San Francisco with a BA in Performing Arts and Social Justice, she immediately began freelancing in stage management (enter Killing My Lobster). While continuing to stage manage throughout the Bay Area, Emma pursued her interest in arts management at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and found herself on the Rental Events Team. Having been ripped away from live events and performances by the pandemic, she is excited to be fully immersed in what she loves: surrounded by amazing artists and ready to laugh.

  • Ela Banerjee has previously written for KML shows like Mythed Opportunity, Let's Do the Sex, J'Accuse, and Lobster Boil. She has taught sketch writing to both kids and adults (and loves it!). Ela is also the co-creator of the web series Sad SAC: Sad Second Asian Child.

  • Originally from the sleepy lil' East Bay town of Benicia, Nicole Odell (she/her) earned her B.A. in Drama from San Francisco State in 2010. Upon graduation, she went to Los Angeles and completed the Conservatory program through Second City Hollywood, performing sketch and improv all along the way. In 2014, she returned to the Bay Area, and began working in the comedy community. She taught and coached improv with Leela Improv Theatre, participated in various comedy festivals including The Denver Improv Festival, SFIF, Femprovisor Fest, and SF Sketchfest. She has appeared in productions around the Bay Area, including with Faultline Theatre Co, EXIT Theatre, and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. Nicole first began working with Killing My Lobster back in 2015 on the show Excellent Adventure. Since then, she's served as an actor, writer, head writer, and instructor, and began in her role as Artistic Director in November 2021

KML’s Volunteer Leadership Coalition (KML VLC)

  • Teacher Advocate & Curriculum Officer

    Kate Elston (she/her) has worked with Killing My Lobster since 2014 as a writer, head writer, director and instructor. She's had a hand in around 20 KML shows, some of her favorites being "Lobster, Actually" and "Vicious Cycle The Musical." By day, Kate's a Peabody Award-winning producer with an international news outlet. She and her husband (fellow KML writer/instructor Karl Keily) live in San Francisco and are having fun prepping their almost-3-year-old daughter to learn recorder so they can start a silly band together.

  • JB Tang (they/them) is a funnymaker hailing from the Bay Area. Having spent most of their career at the intersection of theater and education, they love supporting learners in their creative journeys and helping make comedy writing a more queer and colorful space. They’ve developed musical work for Berkeley Playhouse and co-wrote the QPOC musical Howdyland! with former lobster Dominique Gelin, which was selected for the 2022 Live and In Color workshop (NYC). JB has also written for the Baby Einstein YouTube series Ocean Explorers. JB has written for several KML shows since joining in the spring of 2020 (talk about comedic timing!) and feels grateful to have found such a hilarious creative home.

  • Matthew Beld (they/them) is a non-binary writer and storyteller living in the Bay Area. They've written and taught sketch comedy at Killing My Lobster the last four years while telling stories for shows like Bawdy Storyteling and KQED’s StoryCorps for over fifteen. 

    Matthew is the new KML Grants and Fundraising Associate. They are responsible for identifying grant opportunities, writing grants, and supporting the development and fundraising arms of KML. Despite the unwise fiscal decision of being a writer, they are very good at helping organizations get money.

  • Jason Duval (he/him) is a writer, improviser, comedian, and podcaster who prefers his obsessive hobbies qualify him as 'modern day renaissance man' as opposed to 'sweaty nerd'. Jason hosts the weekly comedy podcast, FIGHT COURT, which has featured dozens of the funniest comedians across the Bay Area over 230+ episodes (and it's something of an intellectual salon). Jason also produces and hosts Thunderdome at Endgames Improv in San Francisco, where the brightest new indie improv teams face off every other week. In joining the Volunteer Leadership Coalition, Jason hopes to expand the Killing My Lobster name and San Francisco's status as the goofiest most incredible city for sketch comedy. 

    Why I Love KML:
    I fell in love with KML almost instantly, watching some of the most talented people I have ever seen say the silliest, strangest things I had only ever heard before in my own head! The excellent community is what keeps me coming back to these lovable self-appointed dorks and goofballs, because there is nothing else like sharing a gut busting laugh with your pals.

  • Laura Domingo (she/her) is a writer & actor based in Oakland, CA. Laura wrote for Killing My Lobster's Legends & Laughter. As an actor, Laura has performed in Killing My Lobster's To Bard or Not to Bard, Let's Do the Sex, A Very Special Holiday Special, and J'Accuse. She has also been a part of the PlayGround writing pool, winning the 2025 June Anne Baker Award. When she's not in the writing room or on stage, she's playing mom to the cutest kid in the universe.

  • May Simon Ramos (they/them) earned their B.S. in Child and Adolescent Psychology and minor in Theatre from Saint Mary's College of California, and is a lifelong learner, educator, and artist. They have earned several certifications in a variety of people-centered fields, including their Crisis Counselor Certificate, Associate Teacher Permit, Teaching English as a Second Language Certificate, and Peer Support Specialist Certificate. They have not only served Bay Area communities in schools (specializing in preschool), foster care, and social justice organizations, but have also been active in the arts community, performing with theatres such as Shotgun Players, Hillbarn Theatre, SFBATCO, Oasis, and of course, KML - which they have been proudly involved with since 2018! Their love for arts, community, and advocacy go hand in hand, as they believe art can be a powerful space for joy and healing.

    Why I Love KML:

    I am so honored to be a part of KML's Volunteer Leadership Committee, and give back to a community that has meant so much to me! Since 2018, KML has given me the confidence to take bold, creative risks and has shown me that I can be anything (thank you to all my KML directors who have cast me in a variety of roles, from a lil' lad to a tomato head man to SATAN himself.) Also, being a part of my first KML show, Queering My Lobster, helped me fully come out as queer and a(ll)gender. <3

  • Jan (she/her) has been working with Killing My Lobster for 14 years <insert curmudgeon joke> as an actor, director and instructor. As a Drama Therapist in training, she directed KML's award-winning production of 'How Does That Make You Feel?,' written and acted by an incredibly talented team dedicated to making mental health and therapy certifiably laughable. Now a full-fledged Drama Therapist (yes, Allison, I may just marry the degree), she gets to work at the intersection of mental health and theatre arts. She's excited to bring a listening ear and lens for group dynamics to the volunteer leadership coalition as the VLC ASA. 

    Why I love KML:

    KML brings creativity, laughter and joy to the community. Even more, it brings connection. Through sketch, we relate to the world and each other through our experiences in a way that allows levity and humor to thread connections across cultures, times, and even languages. These connections remind us of our shared humanity, which I feel is the ultimate tool for building a thriving society. Kthx, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Our advisory board

  • JESSICA BALDWIN has 12 years experience in arts management, with a demonstrated history in the non-profit and cultural sector. Having received her BA from the University of San Francisco with a double major in Performing Arts and Art History and her MSc in Arts & Cultural Management from the Paris School of Business, she is currently an Assistant Director with the Enterprise Events team at SFMOMA. Jessica previously held positions with the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation and was the Director of Operations at the 500 Capp Street Foundation, overseeing the restoration and launch of the David Ireland House, San Francisco's first historic artist's home. Jessica is thrilled to be on Killing My Lobster's Board of Directors after having had the privilege of working with the company as a stage manager since 2011.

  • Carla is thrilled to join the KML Board and lend her combination of corporate, production, and performance experience to the team. Carla has performed and written with KML since 2016, and is the Creator/EP of her own WOC/QPOC-led sketch comedy project "Nice Tan.” In her past life, she managed corporate retail training and development programs at Apple, and managed client briefings at the Executive Briefing Center. She is excited to help KML continue to expand its mission of bringing fresh, smart, and inclusive comedy to the Bay Area and beyond!

  • Originally from New York, Kevin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from State University of New York College at Buffalo and a Masters degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Illinois in Chicago. He has more than 25 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). He has held senior leadership and resource development positions with the Chicago Youth Symphony, American Lung Association in California (Greater Bay Area and Sacramento), Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), YMCA of the Central Bay Area, Peralta Colleges Foundation, and Sierra Club. He is currently the Executive Director for the Book Club of California. Kevin joined the KML Board of Directors in June 2018.