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APAP Announces Second Cohort of Leadership Fellows Program
Ever changing landscape in the performing arts field demands personal and professional development from future leaders.

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) in partnership with the University of Southern California’s (USC) Arts Leadership Program announces its second class of participants for the APAP Leadership Fellows Program. The second cohort of 26 was chosen from a diverse pool of applicants. Building upon the program’s inaugural launch in 2015, the APAP Leadership Fellows Program continues to expand the knowledge and proficiency among mid-career professionals in the performing arts field.

The APAP Leadership Fellows Program invests time and training to create a dynamic knowledge network of professionals from across sectors that will bring greater value to the field of performing arts presenting.

“With the Leadership Fellows Program, we are challenging the current standard of what leadership is, how leaders are developed and what that means for the performing arts field,” says Mario Garcia Durham, president and CEO of APAP. “This program is not only an investment in our future leaders but an investment in the performing arts field as a whole – it is a shared experience and expansion of knowledge.”

Prior to the inception of the Leadership Fellows Program, APAP saw a need for leadership development among mid-career professionals in order to advance the presenting field in the future.

“Leadership capacity does not grow in a vacuum. This program focuses on peer-to-peer mentoring and not only providing but creating a community of support for these leaders to grow and transform the field,” says Durham.

Participants in the second cohort of Fellows have demonstrated a commitment to a collaborative process that will enhance the knowledge, skills and overall capacity needed to effect change in their current work and for the future. For long term impact on individuals and the field, the program has a 20-month arc, beginning with a five-day summer intensive at the University of Southern California (USC), followed by ongoing peer-based mentoring, annual gatherings at the APAP; NYC conference in New York City and continuous engagement in an online resource and discussion platform.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2017, APAP has been committed to leadership development in the changing ecology of the performing arts industry, providing avenues for members to expand and strengthen their leadership skills.

Kenneth Foster, director of USC’s Arts Leadership Program, and Scott Stoner, APAP’s vice president of programs and resources, are co-directors of the Leadership Fellows Program.

A core group of industry professionals will also lead the cohort and guide them through the program including: Rika Iino, founder and president of Sozo Artists; Ben Johnson, director of performing arts for the City of Los Angeles; Georgiana Pickett, executive director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center; Jessica Solomon, director of art at Praxis; and Sixto Wagan, director for the Center for Arts Leadership at the University of Houston.

APAP Leadership Fellows Program
Cohort II (June 2016-January 2018)

•Madeline Bell, programming manager, Flynn Center for the Performing Arts – Burlington, VT
•Celeste Chan, co-director, Queer Rebels – San Francisco, CA
•Raymond Codrington, executive director, Hi-ARTS – New York, NY
•Eddie Cota, founder and creative director, Champion City – Los Angeles, CA
*Matt Cox, director of operations, University of Florida Performing Arts – Gainesville, FL
•Ashley Walden Davis, programs director, Alternate ROOTS – Atlanta, GA
•Elizabeth Duffell, director of campus and community engagement, Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington – Seattle, WA
•Abby Eddy, director of marketing, Purdue Convocations – West Lafayette, IN
•Melecio Estrella, assistant artistic director, BANDALOOP – Oakland, CA
•Dani Fecko, principal, Fascinator Management – Vancouver, BC
•Danielle Hahn, head of music programs, National Gallery of Art – Washington, DC
•Ally Haynes-Hamblen, director, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts – Scottsdale, AZ
•Mark Jacobson, senior programming manager, University Musical Society of University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI
•Kaisha S. Johnson, co-founder/founding director, Women of Color in the Arts – New York, NY
•Laura Kendall, director, Office of Visual & Performing Arts at Millersville University – Millersville, PA
•Sarah McCarthy, owner/agent, Dandelion Artists – Reseda, CA
•Amy Miller, artist representative, Pentacle – New York, NY
•Lynn Neuman, director, Artichoke Dance Company – Brooklyn, NY
•Tiffany Rea-Fisher, artistic director, Elisa Monte Dance – New York, NY
•John Rich, manager of performance programs, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago – Chicago, IL
•Malik Robinson, executive director, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance – Denver, CO
•Max Rubino, programming manager and 21C Music Festival producer, The Royal Conservatory of Music – Toronto, ON
•Celeste Smith, CEO, 1Hood Media – Pittsburgh, PA
*David Wannen, executive director, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players – New York, NY
•Stephanie Wong, director of performing arts and culture, Asia Society Texas Center – Houston, TX
•Chisa Yamaguchi, marketing director, DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion – Los Angeles, CA

The APAP Leadership Fellows Program is partly funded by the American Express Foundation, The Wallace Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about the program please visit www.apap365.org.

About the Association of Performing Arts Presenters

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters, based in Washington, D.C., is the national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it. Our 1,500 national and international members represent leading performing arts centers, municipal and university performance facilities, nonprofit performing arts centers, culturally specific organizations, foreign governments, as well as artist agencies, managers, touring companies, and national consulting practices that serve the field, and a growing roster of self-presenting artists. As a leader in the field, APAP works to effect change through advocacy, professional development, resource sharing and civic engagement. APAP is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization governed by a volunteer board of directors and led by President & CEO Mario Garcia Durham. In addition to presenting the annual APAP; NYC conference - the world’s leading forum and marketplace for the performing arts (Jan. 6-10, 2017) - APAP continues to be the industry’s leading resource, knowledge and networking destination for the advancement of performing arts presenting.