The Billings Symphony is committed to sharing the joy of music with others and nurturing a new generation of audiences and musicians. We’re excited to welcome two new board members to our organization, Pamela Avery and Betty Roy.

Pamela joins the board of directors after her longtime involvement with the Billings Youth Orchestra, and helped lead the merger between the Youth Orchestra and the Billings Symphony.

Betty Roy has been very active in a number of different boards and musical organizations, and moved to Billings in 2019. She quickly became an active volunteer with the Billings Symphony. “Betty has consistently been one of the hardest workers on the development and events committee, so it was very exciting to add to the board,” said Sandy Cantesano, manager of development and events.

Pamela Avery

Pamela is president of AveryMassey LLC, a marketing communications firm, with ties to Washington D.C., Denver, Colo., Omaha, Neb., and Billings, Mont. Pamela has created and implemented communications strategies for organizations ranging from Fortune 100 corporations to health, education and other nonprofit organizations. She is a media/spokesperson trainer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducting conflict resolution, and effective presentations courses and serves as a public involvement specialist for the Montana Department of Transportation. As a certified conflict resolution professional she has facilitated dozens of challenging social and environmental stakeholder meetings. AveryMassey also provides public involvement services to the Montana Department of Transportation. A former journalist, she was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor, the founding editor of Coping, a national magazine for cancer patients and their families, and executive producer of EarthWire, a nationally syndicated environmental radio program. Pamela also served as the founding deputy director of the Colorado Governor’s Office of Rural Health, which became a national model. She has served as an advisor and on the boards of youth orchestras in Denver, Omaha and Billings, and as an amateur violist, is a member of Billing’s Canyon Creek String Ensemble.

Betty Roy

After living overseas for many years, Betty and Joe Roy retired in Denton, TX and were soon involved in the University of North Texas’s well-known College of Music. They became active on its Advisory Board and Community Involvement Council, sponsored several international student orchestral musicians, hosted visiting musicians and actively participated in advancement efforts for the college. Upon moving to Billings in 2019, Betty contacted the Billings Symphony to find out about volunteer opportunities in her new community and found no shortage of ways to stay engaged. She describes herself as a lover of all music genres but has a particular fondness for symphonic orchestra performances.