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<font style="font-weight: bold;" size="5"><span style="font-style: italic;">National Arts Strategies
</span>Names <br>
Two Northeast Ohio Executive Directors to <br>
List of 100 Leaders in Chief <span style="font-style: italic;">Executive Program</span></font><br>
<br>
<font style="font-style: italic;" size="3"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Evalyn Gates of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and
</span><br style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bob Taylor of Great Lakes Theater will represent
</span><br style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Northeast Ohio in the national program.</span></font><br>
<br>
CLEVELAND, OH – After an extensive search and interview process, <span style="font-style: italic;">
National Arts Strategies</span> (NAS), recently announced a list of 100 leaders chosen to participate in its new
<span style="font-style: italic;">Chief Executive Program</span>. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s (CMNH) Executive Director and CEO, Evalyn Gates, Ph.D., and Great Lakes Theater’s (GLT) Executive Director, Bob Taylor, who also serves as Executive
Director of GLT’s partner company, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, were selected for the prestigious program.<br>
<br>
The <span style="font-style: italic;">Chief Executive Program</span> is a multi-faceted, two-year initiative designed to unleash the collective power of 100 of the top executive leaders in the cultural sector to solve problems facing the industry. These leaders
will re-imagine what cultural institutions will be and how they can contribute to civil society. According to NAS, the 100 leaders chosen to participate in the
<span style="font-style: italic;">Chief Executive Program</span> were selected from a wide range of cultural forms, locations and perspectives. These executives have proven themselves to be effective, innovative, collaborative and open-minded, and were chosen
from a pool of open applications and nominations from industry stakeholders<br>
.<br>
“I am grateful to be a part of this program,” said GLT Executive Director, Bob Taylor of Lakewood. “This is a chance to work with my peers from across the country on issues that affect us all. I look forward to sharing the knowledge gained from this opportunity
with my peers in the greater Cleveland community.”<br>
<br>
“It is an honor to be invited to participate in this outstanding program,” said CMNH Executive Director and CEO Evalyn Gates of Shaker Heights. “The topics we will be exploring are very timely for cultural institutions such as ours and I’m looking forward to
jumping into these sessions to learn, exchange ideas and collaborate with colleagues from around the globe.”<br>
<br>
In addition, Gates was among one of five leaders to receive the Willard L. Boyd Fellowship of NAS for 2011 to 2013. Boyd was instrumental in helping shape the education work of NAS as it made the transition from the National Arts Stabilization Fund, and gave
11 years of service to the board of NAS.<br>
<br>
The <span style="font-style: italic;">Chief Executive Program</span> will explore the changing nature of competition, money and relevance through three multi-day educational convenings that will take place at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business,
the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business and Harvard Business School. The Program will not only provide participants with opportunities for learning, innovation and collaboration, but will also publicly highlight their work in an effort
to raise the level of discussion on the critical issues facing the cultural sector.<br>
<br>
“We are proud that two of our community’s arts leaders have been selected for the first class of this important professional gathering of nonprofit leaders,” stated Kathleen Cerveny, Director of Institutional Learning and Arts Initiatives with The Cleveland
Foundation. “Bob Taylor is among the Cleveland community’s most innovative arts executives and has created a culture of eye-open ownership among the Theater’s staff and Board. Evalyn Gates is proving to be a dynamic and progressive new leader for The Cleveland
Museum of Natural History, embracing a commitment to the Cleveland community and to a value-added practice of collaboration that is making the Museum a leader in place-based issues.”<br>
<br>
Development of <span style="font-style: italic;">National Arts Strategies’ Chief Executive Program</span> was made possible by the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fidelity Foundation and The Kresge Foundation. Additional information about the
Chief Executive Program is available at www.artstrategies.org. <br>
<br>
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, incorporated in 1920, is one of the finest institutions of its kind in North America. It is noted for its collections, research, educational programs and exhibits. The collections encompass more than 5 million artifacts
and specimens, and research of global significance focuses on 11 natural science disciplines.<br>
<br>
Great Lakes Theater, one of the nation’s most prestigious regional theater companies, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, Great Lakes Theater
programming reaches 85,000 adults and students annually. Great Lakes Theater celebrates its 50th anniversary season in 2011-12.<br>
<br>
# # #<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">MEDIA CONTACTS:</span><br>
Glenda Bogar<br>
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History<br>
gbogar@cmnh.org<br>
(216) 231-2071<br>
<br>
Todd Krispinsky<br>
Great Lakes Theater<br>
tkrispinsky@greatlakestheater.org<br>
(216) 241-5490 x317<br>
<br>
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