Bio

My passion is seeing arts and culture organizations thrive. This purpose has informed my lifelong work. My background includes nearly twenty years fundraising for Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of North America’s largest opera companies. I directed multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns, led major initiatives (and fell in love with opera). As I moved into consulting roles, I honed my ability to develop and critique strategy. I’m deliberate about focusing organizations on what needs to be done today, to ensure an excellent foundation for planning for tomorrow. Working with arts and culture professionals across the globe to empower them to make a positive impact on their communities has been a privilege and a joy. Now, as Tessitura’s Chief Strategy Officer, my work supports and manifests the vision of a day when every human in every community we serve has arts and culture as a meaningful part of their life. Tessitura is a nonprofit tech company with a member co-op model. CRM lies at the heart of our mission and our technology platform. We are dedicated to serving nearly 800 arts organizations and cultural attractions in ten countries. In my role I clarify and translate Tessitura’s vision into clear strategy, articulate shared purpose, and drive our prioritization. In addition, I lead the largest team of arts and culture focused consultants anywhere. This highly skilled collection of industry experts is Tessitura’s Professional Services group, and they are the best. Together we seek to align the business of Tessitura members with a holistic use of our technologies, and sometimes, with a partner who can extend our value. Cultivating new partners also falls into this strategic remit, as do partner integrations and services. As a seasoned conference speaker, nothing thrills me more than seeing an audience “get it” and lean in to learn more. I’m dedicated to offering new perspectives by sharing knowledge and expertise. I challenge my own paradigms all the time, including on the pickleball court where I spend a lot of time working through new hopefully winning strategies. Do you hold a leadership role in an arts and culture organization and want to explore Tessitura’s potential to support your goals? I can help you understand how to position your organization for success, create revenue-generating strategies, gain meaningful business insight, and maximize your use of CRM to connect audiences to your mission. Don’t hesitate to reach out to ask me questions or share your challenges. I’ll be happy to talk.