Meet New ARS Board Member Barbara Stark

Barbara Stark retired at the end of 2021 after over 30 years spent in the Telecom industry. During that time, she served on the Board of several different non-profit industry groups (501(c)(6)), including the Broadband Forum, Homegrid Forum, and HomePNA Forum. On all these Boards, she provided financial oversight. As Chair of Homegrid Forum, Barbara was responsible for approving all financial transactions. In 2020, Barbara was a founding member of the Industry Network Technology Council (INTC), which tracks the impacts of technology standards and specifications on enterprise networks. Barbara filed the 1023 form with the IRS to help create this industry nonprofit and is currently on the INTC Board serving as its Financial Officer.

In addition to experience with industry groups, Barbara has served on various 501(c)(3) early music groups. Barbara served for 6 years on the Atlanta Early Music Alliance board. Several of these years were as President and as workshop director for the Atlanta Midwinter Workshop. She is currently on the Board of Mountain Collegium workshop for early and folk music. Barbara has been Treasurer of that organization for the past 7 years and in 2022 successfully filed the IRS 1023 form for nonprofit status (previous status had been through Country Dance and Song Society group exemption). Having moved to Austin in 2020 and finding other amateur early music instrumentalists who wanted an opportunity to perform, Barbara is currently working with her husband, David Lawrence, to create Lauda Musicam of Austin (attempting to replicate Lauda Musicam of Atlanta). Barbara is the Treasurer of this newly formed nonprofit corporation.

Barbara’s early music journey started at a very early age; her parents had a standing Friday night playing session with friends in Mobile, AL from the 60’s through the early 2000’s. They played recorder, viola da gamba, and harpsichord. While Barbara was a very good trumpet player during grade school, she didn’t start playing early music until 2006 when she began playing the Dolmetsch one-handed “Gold Series” recorders (due to an absence of fingers on her left hand). She quickly learned to play both the soprano and alto. Having moved Barbara’s mother, Trudi, to live across the street from them in 2007, Barbara and David played music with Trudi for an hour every night until Trudi’s passing in 2011. During this time, Barbara and David started attending music workshops local to the Atlanta area and joined the Atlanta chapter of ARS. They then joined Lauda Musicam of Atlanta in 2012 for additional playing and performing opportunities. Barbara is also a good sackbut player, since being introduced to that instrument by some early music friends in Atlanta.

Barbara received a BSEE and a BA (major in German language) from the University of Texas and a MSEE from Stanford University.