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Photo Credit: Vanessa Kintaudi

Street art is no longer rejected as merely deleterious graffiti or vandalism, but rather, it can be the source of civic pride, public artistry, and outdoor engagement in cities across America. Strategically placed art—on the side of a business, under a bridge, on the exterior walls of a community center—not only helps with the beautification of a neighborhood, but also, it can be a return of investment for commerce...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wendyaltschuler/2020/03/23/americas-mural-magic-how-street-art-can-transform-communities-and-help-businesses/?sh=4ff8b5ad1739&fbclid=IwAR3-qMxkDf5OznTKWBx3Hnh0Q5USf96VjGql7sp5N3m9ST0_6DAF4pfm9FA ;

by Jan Ellen SpiegelNovember 5, 2023

The Chittenden beachfront area. The marsh is inundated from Long Island Sound, which has also washed up sand and debris. Nearby houses are in increasing jeopardy of flooding. JAN ELLEN SPIEGEL

Position Summary

The Chief Operating Officer (COO), in partnership with the Executive Director and CEO, will serve as a co-leader and the primary administrative, operational, and facility leader of the newly revitalized The Bruce Museum. An engaged leader, the COO will be committed to organizational excellence and possess a deep appreciation for the changing museum field, community engagement, and high-quality visitor experiences. The COO will be the primary liaison to the Town of Greenwich and will serve as a key advocate for the Bruce’s needs in seeking maintenance support, operational funding, and capital funding from the Town in partnership with the Executive Director and CEO. The COO will provide leadership and clear direction to guide the strategic direction of the Bruce with direct responsibility for key operations and facilities projects. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the COO will oversee, direct, and manage Finance, Facilities, Museum Store, Café, Security, IT Systems, Human Resources, and Communications (Public Relations, Marketing, Social and Digital Media). The COO will also collaborate closely with the Executive Director and CEO’s direct reports, including Exhibitions, Art and Science Curatorial, Audience Engagement, and Development to ensure the success of the operational goals of the Bruce.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategic Direction and Implementation

• Serve as a partner and thought leader to the Executive Director and CEO, supporting their vision of the strategic plan in collaboration with senior leadership, and developing clear short- and long-term work plans that balance strategic objectives and financial outcomes.
• Oversee work plan implementation through day-to-day operations, managing direct report departments and leveraging cross-departmental work teams.
• Strengthen museum-wide department management through effective and transparent communication.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships and expand activities to build financial resilience for ongoing programs and operations.
• Ensure the implementation of the strategic plan, working with the Executive Director and CEO, Board of Trustees, staff, and community stakeholders to attain the vision to drive significant growth, financial success, and community partnership opportunities.
• Embrace other strategic direction and implementation responsibilities as needed.

Financial and Organizational Resiliency

• Provide oversight for all financial operations, including the preparation of the annual operating budget in collaboration with the Chief Financial Officer and the Finance Committee with regular updates on financial operations to ensure the most effective use of financial, human, and technological resources.
• Provide concise, relevant, and timely information to the Board of Trustees so that they can fulfill their policy-setting and community ambassadorship responsibilities.
• Cultivate a visitor-centered operational plan to support the annual earned revenue goals and build financial resilience for ongoing programs and operations.
• Oversee and support the growth of the earned revenue aspects of the Bruce’s operations, including the Bruce Store, Café, and admissions, to meet revenue goals, DEI commitments, and museum values.
• Manage Human Resource, ensuring that the necessary organizational staffing structure, policies, systems controls, and procedures are in place and regularly reviewed for effectiveness.
• Inspire, mentor, evaluate, and guide a high-performing team that supports a culture of inclusion, growth, and continuous improvement in alignment with the Bruce’s values.
• Advocate for digital innovation and strengthen the IT and financial infrastructure of the Bruce and capabilities to ensure effective and efficient operations.
• Embrace other financial and organizational resiliency responsibilities as needed.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop an active community presence and build strong, positive relationships with Town officials, civic leaders, and residents to foster opportunities for ongoing support, new initiatives, and partnerships within the Town of Greenwich.
• Oversee Communications (Public Relations, Marketing, Social and Digital Media) in developing and executing a comprehensive plan that will engage the community, define the brand proposition, build trust, enhance reputation, and deepen loyalty.
• Deepen and refine all aspects of communication to support and strengthen the Bruce’s brand and visibility.
• Embrace other community and stakeholder engagement responsibilities as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

The COO will be a collaborative and people-oriented professional who is receptive to new ideas and innovative approaches while respecting the investment of human and fiscal resources. Proficient in setting, pursuing, and achieving goals in a timely manner, the COO will be driven to support others while ensuring that organizational goals are met. They will be a results-oriented relationship builder who maintains an engaged professional profile. They will value community commitments and work internally and externally to ensure they are met. Highly versatile, the COO will be a change agent who understands and can successfully manage the challenges associated with organizations that have undergone major change, either positive or negative. They will have the ability to move from dialogue to timely decision-making and action.

Other key competencies include:

• Time, Priority, and Project Management – The ability to prioritize and complete tasks and to oversee all resources and people to achieve desired results within allotted time frames.
• Planning and Organizing – The capacity to set and prioritize relevant, realistic, and attainable goals and objectives; to anticipate effects, outcomes, and risks; and to manage resources according to set priorities.
• Leadership and Diplomacy – The tenacity to organize and motivate others to set, pursue, and accomplish goals regardless of obstacles, with the capacity to tactfully handle difficult situations, and treat others fairly, regardless of differences, while maintaining positive relationships.
• Personal and Professional Accountability – The authenticity to self-evaluate, take responsibility for personal actions and decisions, accept setbacks, look for ways to progress, and understand how obstacles impact results.
• Flexibility – The ingenuity to respond promptly to shifts in direction, priorities, and schedules while maintaining productivity during transitions.

Experience and Qualifications

A master’s degree or equivalent experience with at least ten years of senior management experience or progressive executive leadership in a museum or related nonprofit organization is highly desirable. A proven track record with financial leadership, budget oversight, promoting innovative use of systems technology, and supervisory experience of diverse teams is essential. The ideal candidate will possess skill, passion, creativity, and an appreciation for art, science, natural history, exhibitions, educational programming, and community partnerships. A demonstrable commitment to the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion is necessary. As a place-based institution, the position will have a hybrid work schedule available in accordance with museum policy.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation is anticipated to be in the range of $200,000 to $225,000. Employee benefits include group health and life insurance, HSA account, vacation time, and a 401k plan. Relocation assistance is available.

Application and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments, please visit http://artsconsulting.com/opensearches. For questions or general inquiries about this job opportunity, please contact:

Wyona Lynch-McWhite, Senior Vice President

Josyanne Roche, Vice President

292 Newbury Street, Suite 315

Boston, MA 02115-2801

Tel       (888) 234.4236 Ext. 225 (Lynch-McWhite) or Ext. 240 (Roche)

Email    TheBruce@ArtsConsulting.com

Organization

The Bruce Museum (the Bruce) is a community-based, world-class institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums that offers a changing array of exceptional exhibitions and educational programs to promote the understanding and appreciation of art, science, and the intersections between the two disciplines. Now considered ahead of its time for taking this multidisciplinary approach over a century ago, the Bruce is at the heart of contemporary efforts to bring together art, science, technology, and creativity to generate moments of discovery and dialogue.

The first exhibition at the Bruce took place in 1912 and featured works by local artists known as the Greenwich Society of Artists, several of whom were members of the Cos Cob Art Colony. Their works formed the nucleus of the Bruce’s art holdings and continue to be a strength of the collection, which has expanded to focus on global art from 1850 to the present. Other strengths include Ancient Chinese sculpture, Native American Art, the Hudson River School, modernist works on paper, and photography. Parallel development of the natural sciences includes strengths in the mineral and avian collections. In all, the community, through its generosity, has built the Bruce’s varied collections of art and natural science to over 30,000 objects.

In 2020, the Bruce embarked on a project to construct a new building. This expansion doubled the Bruce’s size and tripled its exhibition spaces. The facility opened April 2, 2023, featuring state-of-the-art exhibition, education, and community spaces, including a changing gallery for art and five new permanent galleries in the William L. Richter Art Wing, a changing gallery for science, a permanent science exhibition titled “Natural Cycles Shape Our Land,” three classrooms in the Cohen Education Wing, a café, an auditorium, and grand hall. When the outdoor spaces are completed in the summer of 2024, the Bruce campus will feature a sculpture-lined, landscaped walking path and inviting spaces for relaxation and contemplation—natural enhancements to Bruce Park and an anchoring connection to Greenwich Avenue.

The Bruce is governed by a 36-member board of trustees led by Co-Chairs Bill Deutsch and Simone McEntire, and Robert Wolterstorff is The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director and CEO. There are 50 full-time and 13 part-time staff members. The total operating revenue in fiscal 2023 was approximately $6.8 million, including $2.7 million from contributions, grants, and special events, and $180,526 from admissions and programs. $3.9 million in additional revenues includes investment income, funding from the Town of Greenwich, and museum memberships. The operating budget in FY 2024, the first year in the new building, is $9.6 million.

Community

Known as the “Gateway to New England,” Greenwich, Connecticut, is a 50-square mile coastal town in Fairfield County on Long Island Sound. Greenwich is the largest town on Connecticut’s ‘Gold Coast,’ named for the prosperity of its inhabitants, many of whom work for hedge funds and financial service companies. Established in the 17^th Century, Greenwich was a farming community that was transformed by the arrival of the railroad, which brought new industry and immigrants to the area. The town also developed as a resort for New Yorkers who wished to escape city life, as New York City is 35 miles and a short train ride away. Greenwich has 32 miles of shoreline, 4,000 acres of parkland, more than 150 miles of trails for horseback riding, and four beaches on Long Island Sound where visitors can enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, or relaxing on the sand.

During the pandemic, Greenwich saw record growth with an influx of New Yorkers relocating to the community. Close proximity to major highways and four train stations makes Greenwich a very commutable town. Fairfield County has the fastest-growing population of any county in Connecticut and is the second-most diverse. The total population of Greenwich is 63,518. A significant and growing Spanish-speaking population that lives near the Bruce. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 16.4% of the Fairfield County population are native Spanish speakers. Greenwich has one of the strongest public-school systems in Connecticut. There are 11 elementary schools, three junior high schools, and one senior high school, along with several private schools. Local festivals and annual events provide a range of activities for residents and tourists, making Greenwich a vibrant community for residents and tourists.

Sources: greenwichct.gov; greenwichhistory.org; neilsberg.com; ctvisit.com

The Bruce Museum is governed and administered in a manner welcoming to all who promote its Mission and Vision. In all dealings, the Bruce shall not discriminate against any individual or group for reasons of race, color, religion, sex gender identity, gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, economic status, disability, or any category protected by state or federal law. 

The Bruce is dedicated to advocating for increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its activities including, but not limited to, staff, partners, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, members and exhibitions.

Photo Credit: Adi Goldstein

If you’re the kind of person who is always looking for someone to blame, welcome to the club! That was me. But I didn’t even realize that was what I was doing until I got into recovery. I’ve come to realize that I have an internal blamer that almost always wants to point the finger elsewhere.

I’ll give an example. One night, when I was sleeping at my sweetheart’s place, I woke up, and the pillow between my knees was missing. My first thought was, “That fucker stole my pillow!” Do you see that?! I went from unconsciousness right into blame! It was a reflex.

First of all, in my waking life, I have never once thought of him as “that fucker.” Secondly, the pillow was on the floor on my side of the bed. And third, he was sound asleep.

That’s how insidious that blaming part of us can be.

You get to stop blaming other people, circumstances, and institutions for your problems. Note I said, “get to” not “have to.” It’s a choice you can make.

If other people really are to blame for everything that's wrong with your life, you’re screwed! If that’s true, then you have no options, and you might as well crawl under a rock.

Now, of course, that’s not what I believe. When you realize other people are not to blame for your problems, you can then take responsibility for making change in your life. That is, you have options.

This doesn't mean nobody has ever done anything harmful to you. It means that if you focus entirely on what other people or society did to you, then you’re never going to try to make any changes in your life because you believe you don't have options. But you do. Blaming others is acting as if your fate has been sealed.

In part 2 of my 5-part series on victim mentality, I mentioned two perfect examples of people from history who were horribly harmed yet chose not to blame: Nelson Mandela and Victor Frankl. They both chose not to blame and instead, focused on what they could do. They lived through some of the worst atrocities that could be committed on humans but did not blame. They made choices about what to do with their lives given the circumstances they were faced with. 

That means it’s possible for you and I. You can make choices with your life - even if you don’t believe it’s possible right this moment. 

When you blame others, you keep the focus on them. That means you’re never going to have a different life because you’re not even going to try to do anything about it. Even if other people did cause something and are to blame, it's not helping you to blame them. Nothing is changing by you blaming them. It may very well be keeping you stuck where you are.

When you stop blaming other people and start looking for ways in which you can make a difference, that’s when everything will start to change. When you stop blaming other people, you’re coming out of victim mentality or what’s sometimes referred to as learned helplessness. 

If you've learned helplessness, then you can unlearn it. You can learn to help yourself and to reach out to the right kinds of people who can help you change things if you need such help.

When you blame other people, you will not focus on yourself and what you can do in the here and now. If your life sucks and you want it to change, stop blaming others. When you continually blame, you’re abandoning yourself. You’re abandoning yourself and putting the focus entirely on them while you’re the one who’s stuck.

This is yet another reason why one of the most important things that I teach my clients is to keep the focus on yourself. Like the Serenity Prayer says, we need the wisdom to know the difference between the things we can and cannot change. One of the central tasks of life is discerning if what’s going on is something we can or cannot change. Once we know, we can put our energy toward the things we can change and accept the things we can’t. When we’re stuck in blame, we’re not able to do that.

Once you understand what you can control and you put your focus on that, then it’s a matter of getting the courage to change the things you can. But you're never going to change anything if all you do is focus on other people and what they did or did not do to you. If you continue to blame others for things you haven’t accomplished, you’ll never accomplish them. This isn’t about beating yourself up (i.e., shifting blame from them to you) it’s about taking responsibility for your own life. You get to do that.

For most blog posts like this go to FridayFragments.news

We are excited to announce the search for the Executive Director of Christian Community Action. (CCA), based in New Haven, Connecticut.  The Board and staff wish to celebrate and honor the incredible 35 years of service, passion, commitment and impact of Rev. Bonita Grubbs, the outgoing Executive Director, by ensuring CCA remains a leader in promoting independence for local individuals and families. 

CCA’s Board of Directors seeks a new Executive Director who will provide strategic leadership, while bringing a fresh perspective, leveraging the organization’s talented staff, and further galvanizing its community and alliance partnerships.  CCA has engaged the services of NEGRON Consulting to facilitate the executive transition and search process.  Given your knowledge, experience and networks, we would appreciate you sharing this widely, as well as your assistance in reaching out to individuals who may be qualified and interested in this opportunity.

The complete position description with candidate application guidelines is attached, and background information on CCA is provided below.  You can also learn more about CCA at: https://www.ccahelping.org/ as well access the search announcement on CCA’s website at https://www.ccahelping.org/executive-director-search/

Any inquiries or suggestions of potential candidates may be sent to our Transition Consultant Michael Negrón at: CCAsearch@negronconsulting.com with the Subject Heading: CCA Executive Director Search

We appreciate your time and insights. Thank you in advance for your support.

Best regards,
Michael Negrón
NEGRON Consulting

The City of New Haven has allocated $8M in ARPA funding to launch a comprehensive “Career Pathways” initiative with goals like creating a vocational and technical academy as well as enhancing the training and entrepreneurial pipeline that guides New Haven residents through the process of attaining living wage careers in growing industry sectors.

The 2nd Request for Proposal (RFP) from the City of New Haven for Career Pathways grants provides additional programmatic support for many of the types of Career Exploration/Readiness programming your organization is already running or looking to get off the ground. You and your partners are encouraged to consider submitting a proposal should it align with regional economic development goals. The RFP is now posted at Bonfire site: https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/112549 (solicitation #2024-11-1614 with a closing date of December 12). 

Please also share with other networks as you think appropriate. Any further questions or comments on the RFP itself would go through the Bonfire site.  

I need a space to make a closet for the homeless and less fortunate, I have winter clothes and coats to give out.

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Feelings aren't facts.” Though this is true, they’re still real, and they matter. The point behind this saying is that feelings don’t need to rule your life. Take your feelings into account, but don’t necessarily use them as the only guide to your actions.

I used to let my feelings rule my life – if I didn’t FEEL like doing something I didn’t. If I was afraid of doing something, I didn’t do it. If I felt like indulging in a hot fudge sundae I did.

I now understand that just because you feel something, doesn't mean you should act on that feeling. We also want to consider facts when deciding on a course of action, not just our feelings.

Feelings are often based on the past rather than on what’s currently going on. This is particularly so for people who have any kind of trauma. When that’s the case, you’re likely to have feelings that are out of proportion regarding something that’s happening in the present.

I think of it like this - it's like trauma creates a kind of “fault line.” When something happens in the present, it bumps up against that trauma fault line, which causes a reverberation through your system. The way that reverberation gets expressed is through our feelings.

The problem is that when you don't know any of that is going on and something happens in the present moment to trigger you, you think it's the current situation that’s causing your feelings. Perhaps someone does something mindful of the past, so you think it's them who has caused your big giant feelings. If that’s the case, you might think “If they stop doing that, my big feelings will go away.” But what’s really going to help with the feelings is dealing with the original trauma. That will help get those feelings to be more “right-sized.” More about that in a moment.

Feelings are real. They matter. They tell us something about ourselves. Where we get into trouble is when we act as if it's a fact that our feelings are always coming from the current person or situation. When I decide you’re the cause of my problems, I then deal with my feelings like they’re facts.

What we need to do, instead, is focus on what we want, not on what we don't want: the shitty feeling. For example, I want peace. That means I need to ask myself what I need to do to get to peace. Focusing on other people and what they're doing is not going to get me to peace. It’s going to get me to focus on them and what they’re doing, which I can’t control. Trying to control them is impossible, so it’s fruitless and an endless drain on energy (i.e., not peace).

What I can control is me. I can control what actions I’m going to take regarding the things that are happening around me. This can be hard to do when we’re feeling triggered, but it is possible, especially when you pause before responding. Take a few deep breaths to get the signal to your body “I’m safe” so that instead of responding from your lizard brain (as I call it,) respond from your frontal lobe or the higher-order thinking part of your brain. If you need help with learning how to pause, I get it. It was monumental for me to learn how to do that, and I explain that here in this podcast episode. When you pause like this, you come out of fight-or-flight mode and can then look at the facts of the situation (e.g., he is not my mom scolding me for doing something wrong. He is my coworker, and I’m an adult).

I'm not saying you always need to control your feelings. It’s important to feel your feelings, to allow them to exist rather than resisting them. That resistance is much more of a problem than the actual feeling. Feelings are energy, which continually morphs and changes. They will not last forever. But it’s hard to remember that when you’ve been triggered.

Resisting those feelings makes them even bigger! When you couple that resistance with the fact that they’re often based on traumatic or dramatic incidents in the past, our feelings can seem HUGE! 

If we let the emotions go through us, they will dissipate. But if we resist, they build and create tension in our bodies. So allow yourself to feel those feelings, just don't let them rule you. We should allow feelings to inform us, but not the exclusion of facts, especially if those feelings are rooted in the past. 

It’s important to honor your feelings. You were given them for a reason. But it’s also important to make sure you’re not treating them as facts. They’re not necessarily indicators of what’s really going on. You won’t know until you’ve done some investigating. If your feelings are way out of proportion, it may be that you’re dealing with trauma. If that’s the case, you may very well need the help of a therapist who specializes in the treatment of trauma.

For most blog posts like this go to FridayFragments.news

Stop Solitary CT is hosting a Pre- Thanksgiving dinner on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 5-8pm at WhitneyVille Commons, 1253 Whitney Ave, Hamden CT.

We are coming together to honor the lives of those lost in DOC custody this year as well as to show support to the families of incarcerated individuals. We have invited an amazing experienced clinical psychologist, Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia to engage in a discussion about incarceration and its impact on incarcerated people, their loved ones, correctional staff and whole communities. "It's a system that is making all of us sick". She is a former warden from Chicago who led the Chicago Beyond partnership with Cook County's Sheriff's office to reduce harms caused by correctional institution using a framework developed from her experience working in correctional institutions. 

Free and open to the public to the public. Dinner will be served.

photo credit: Kyle Nieber

One afternoon at the beach nearby, I happened to sit next to a couple of women who were just bitching up a storm. Before recovery, I would have stayed there and been pissed off that these assholes were sitting next to me. It would never have occurred to me to get up and leave.

BTW, that’s called victim mentality—when we feel like we have no choice other than to put up with stuff.

Instead of listening to those women bitch and complain, I moved. Here's where my Higher Power rewarded me for having the “courage to change the things I can,” as the serenity prayer says: I sat near a young mom with her two little kids and a friend. I witnessed some of the most incredible parenting I had ever seen in my life.

Through my recovery journey, especially the reparenting aspect of it, I learned that healthy parents nurture, affirm, and set boundaries with their children. That was precisely what this young mom was doing!

She was nurturing her two and four-year-old by speaking very lovingly to them and continually referring to them with loving names like sweetie, honey, baby, and darling.

She set boundaries by saying to her four-year-old, who was playing by the water, “In about 15 minutes, we're going to go home and have lunch.” Then she gave the child a 10-minute and a 5-minute warning. When it was time to go, the kid threw a fit.

She affirmed the child by saying, “I know. You’re having so much fun. We're going to come back later, but it's time to go home for lunch, so we're going to go now.”

The child continued to throw a fit, and she said, "Yeah, I hear you. You're having so much fun, and it's really difficult to leave when you're having fun. But we're going to come back later. Right now, we're going to go home and have lunch.”

I was so flabbergasted by this beautiful display of healthy parenting that I took notes! I wanted to capture what she was saying so I could remember it for my own reparenting journey.

When she acknowledged that her child was having so much fun and that it's hard to leave when you're having fun, she was affirming that child's feelings. That’s what most of us want, especially children. When she set boundaries by staying firm to the deadline for when to go home and have lunch, she also added some hope by giving them something to look forward to by saying, “We're going to come back later.”

As they got up to leave, I walked over to her and told her that I’d been listening to her interacting with her children and that she’s a fantastic parent. I told her how I’d grown up in a dysfunctional family and didn't hear things like what she said to her children.

I told her about what I’d learned about healthy parenting through my recovery—that healthy parents nurture, affirm, and set boundaries with their children—and that she just gave really perfect examples of that.

Her friend agreed that she is an amazing parent, and the mom got tears in her eyes. She was extremely grateful and said, “This means so much because I often wonder if I'm doing and saying the right things.” I told her she absolutely was!

I said, “The most important thing I think you did was validate your child's feelings.” I didn’t get that as a child, and it’s affected me deeply. I also mentioned the importance of letting them know that you're in charge by setting the boundary about going home for lunch.

I’ve carried that encounter with me for years. It’s a perfect example of recovery in action. If you’re sitting in the chaos, drama, or negativity that’s going on around you, get up and leave! You don’t have to stay there and be victimized by the situation or by your thoughts about the situation. You just might get rewarded by a beautiful display of what healthy relationships look like, so you can use that as a model for your relationships.

For most blog posts like this go to FridayFragments.news

Organization

Long Wharf Theatre (LWT) is embarking on an unprecedented journey, building a theatre company that can belong to the people of the city and region, centering possibility as a guiding ethos with an unwavering commitment to creating a boundary-breaking theatre with, for, and by the people to reimagine the experiment that is the American theatre.

Located in New Haven Connecticut, LWT was established in 1965 on a dream of starting a professional theatre company in Connecticut. The guiding ethos for LWT is “Theatre is for everyone.” This ethos is supported by a commitment to a culture of collaboration, equity, and inclusion and enriching the community through programs and partnerships to engage audiences of all ages. The 2022-2023 season included new play readings with Black Trans Women at the Center, a work-in-process sharing of Dignity, Always Dignity; a concert reading of Jelly’s Last Jam; a play reading of Flying Bird’s Diary; I AM: Muslin/American film and dialogue, a production of Live From the Edge, and Kristina Wong for Public Office.

Long Wharf Theatre is seizing the change sweeping across American theatre, facing head-on both the provocative questions and new opportunities these times demand. In 2022, LWT departed from its longtime space at Sargent Drive to bring theatre to spaces and stages around the Greater New Haven area. The company is embedded within the city, making the work more accessible to the entire community. This departure from anchoring performances to a single space is shaping a new model of theatre that engages all people and actively builds bridges to those who have historically not been in relationship to LWT.

Long Wharf Theatre is driven to be an exemplar in using the power of theatre to strengthen communities through its work onstage and offstage. It is committed to a culture of inclusion and anti-racism that inspires fellowship; sharing stories that provoke empathy, acceptance, and understanding; removing real or perceived barriers to learning and discourse; seeking renovated or new facilities that are inviting to all members of its expansive community; uncovering contemporary resonance in classic works; and nurturing new voices to help make sense of our times. In its next chapter, LWT will use the power of theatre to build bridges, spur new thinking, and excite our collective imagination through performance, education, and community partnership.

LWT has a 22-member board of directors led by Chair Nancy Alexander, Jacob G. Padrón as Artistic Director, and Kit Ingui as Managing Director. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, LWT reported a total revenue of $3,070,000 with $2.87M from contributions, grants, and endowment disbursements and $200,000 from program services.

Community

New Haven is the cultural capital of Connecticut—a vibrant and welcoming community that celebrates arts and culture as catalysts for civic engagement and spiritual uplift. Founded in 1638 and one of the first planned cities in America, New Haven is home to Yale University, whose presence offers access to top notch medical care at Yale New Haven Hospital, renowned art museums, music, theatre, and lectures featuring internationally known speakers. Greater New Haven hosts a rich diversity of higher education institutions, including Quinnipiac University, Wesleyan University, University of New Haven, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, and Gateway Community College.

A coastal city with New England charm and a distinct cosmopolitan influence, New Haven has a population of nearly 130,000 residents and is ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 100 best places to live. New Haven is recognized as a city of innovation and prosperity with a small town feel. New Haven Green, a privately owned park and recreation area, remains a social center. As the birthplace of a wide variety of inventions—from the frisbee to the hamburger—it is no surprise that New Haven’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, whether in the start-ups at Science Park or the craft breweries and artisanal bakeries appearing in once-abandoned warehouses. The local economy is defined by health care and social services. There is a strong tech community and a world-renowned architecture and design sector with principals like César Pelli. Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital provide many of the area's job opportunities, attracting highly specialized physicians, researchers, and academics.

New Haven is also a welcoming city to immigrants and, as result, has seen a growing population in contrast to some other places in Connecticut and the Northeast. In fact, a recent study by FiveThirtyEight that reviewed the education level, age, and ethnic diversity of every metropolitan area in the United States concluded that, of any place in America, New Haven most accurately reflects the demographics of the country as a whole in those areas. Demographically, the city is approximately 35% Black or African-American, 32% white, 27% Hispanic or Latino, 5% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 4% of people who identify as two or more races. Its surrounding region of 860,000 residents is 65% white, 14% Black or African American, 17% Hispanic or Latino, 4% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 2% claiming two or more races. The changing face of America is personified in New Haven.

Sources: bls.gov; usnews.com; gnhcc.com; fivethirtyeight.com

Position Summary

The Director of Marketing and Communications, in partnership with the Artistic Director and Managing Director, will create the most compelling narrative to tell the exciting new story of Long Wharf Theatre. This person will use innovative tools and initiatives to communicate the message that LWT makes exciting art and tells impactful stories that are for everyone. The Director of Marketing is an extension of the company’s artistic leadership and will work in deep partnership with the entire artistic staff. Reporting to the Artistic Director and the Managing Director and working closely with the senior leadership team, the Director of Marketing and Communications will ensure that all advertising campaigns, external messaging, and collateral materials fully represent the mission, vision, and values of LWT. They will develop brand awareness and will create and implement innovative initiatives to drive earned revenue through ticket sales. This individual will be a bridge builder who creates accessible pathways to underrepresented audiences, with the goal of radical inclusion in all marketing materials, social media platforms, and press strategies. They will create strategies to enhance relationships with existing members and subscribers while simultaneously inviting and encouraging them to join Long Wharf on its journey. They will be instrumental in supporting and communicating the theatre’s work in all areas of inclusion and anti-racism. This individual will speak with the voice of New Haven, have the capacity to represent that voice externally, and be a central hub for communication materials across all departments.

Roles and Responsibilities

Community Visibility and Earned Revenue

• Actively collaborate with the Artistic Director on artistic programming and season planning.

• Create a strategic marketing and communication plan to support all LWT’s initiatives.

• Support marketing and communication efforts across the organization, including development, education, and community partnership needs.

• Manage content and messaging for website and digital communications, including targeted email marketing, video production, and social media.

• Serve as the brand manager and develop key messages for all of LWT’s external communications.

• Provide leadership in the creation of visual assets that dynamically tell the story of LWT’s programming, new play development programs, and membership /fundraising campaigns.

• Cultivate opportunities for audience development and community connections that serve and engage underrepresented and marginalized audiences.

• Direct the implementation of an integrated marketing strategy and sales plan to support subscription, single ticket, and group sales goals through traditional tactics as well as in contemporary channels of digital media, direct response, and out-of-home advertising.

• Ensure that the highest level of customer service is delivered during all moments of the patron experience by proactively managing the Box Office and Front of House team.

• Guide all media relations, including writing and approving press releases, providing timely responses to media requests, and generating consistent local, regional, and national media interest.

• Represent LWT as a media spokesperson, as deemed appropriate by the Managing Director and Artistic Director.

• Negotiate media placement, marketing sponsorships, and promotional partnerships.

• Embrace other community visibility and earned revenue responsibilities as needed.

Data Analytics and Financial Accountability

• Regularly conduct and analyze audience and market research to assess audience satisfaction, understand demographic and psychographic profiles, and hone tactics for increasing audience size and market footprint.

• Prepare annual income goals for earned revenue with the Managing Director.

• Create and manage expense budgets for all ticket sales campaigns, institutional marketing, and other related expenses.

• Monitor sales, forecast revenue, and provide analysis of season and single ticket sales throughout the season.

• Recommend appropriate demand-based pricing adjustments resulting from sales analysis.

• Initiate additional promotions for events that experience lagging sales in a committed effort to achieve attendance and revenue goals.

• Establish standardized reporting metrics to provide business intelligence regarding direct response rates and website data analytics.

• Embrace other data analytics and financial accountability responsibilities as needed.

Team Building and Internal Communication

• Manage the performance of and inspire a results-driven environment for the marketing and communications team.

• Effectively delegate, actively initiate, and personally complete marketing projects.

• Establish and maintain productive and collaborative working relationships with senior staff and board members.

• Collaborate with the Director of Development to ensure necessary support for Long Wharf Theatre’s fundraising and organizational advancement initiatives.

• Provide strategic marketing and public relations support for all education and community partnership programs.

• Share research and results, revenue and expense projections, and other marketing updates with the marketing team, senior staff, and board committees as required.

• Embrace other team building and internal communication responsibilities as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

Long Wharf Theatre is looking to build a boundary-breaking future and is seeking a visionary leader to support the company’s evolution. As the company enters a new era, the Director of Marketing and Communications will lead from a place of collaboration. They will provide focused and strategic leadership that is grounded in creativity, rigor, curiosity, and joy. Guided by the core pillars of artistic innovation, radical inclusion, and kaleidoscopic partnerships, they will exhibit a commitment to life-long learning with a healthy disregard for the status quo and a relentless curiosity. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be hungry to think outside the box and have a passion for activating fresh and potent channels of communication with a vast variety of people. They will boldly and effectively message the unique role LWT plays in the dynamic civic life of the city. This individual will be a collaborative senior leader and an organized project manager with a robust understanding of organizational culture and change management. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be a participative manager who inspires a team by modeling behavior that achieves revenue goals through integrated marketing plans and a commitment to reaching new audiences. They will keep integrity in sharp focus at all times and effectively communicate with judicious directness, both internally and externally.

Other key competencies include:

• Collaboration – The capability to work empathetically and effectively with others towards a common goal that benefits the team.

• Creativity and Innovation – The ability to imagine, research, and implement new approaches, processes, and systems to achieve organizational goals. A willingness to suggest calculated risks as an active pathway to reach beyond what has been accomplished in the past.

• Project Management, Planning, and Organizing – The capacity to develop procedures, processes, and systems for order, accuracy, efficiency, and productivity and to deliver desired outcomes within allotted timeframes.

• Diplomacy – The facility to demonstrate superior cultural competence and awareness; effectively communicate with people across hierarchical and functional boundaries; understand cultural climate and organizational issues; and build rapport while displaying a sincere interest in the professional success of others.

• Customer Focused – The clarity to anticipate internal and external customer needs, wants, and expectations and to demonstrate initiative and willingness to work with the goal of meeting or exceeding those needs.

• Goal Orientation – The integrity to take ownership of situations, accept responsibility for actions and results, and prioritize and complete tasks necessary to meet deadlines and achieve revenue goals.

• Flexibility – The agility to embrace and implement change when needed, serving as an inspiring leader.

Qualifications

A minimum of five to seven years of leadership experience in the field of marketing, public relations, and communications with increasing financial responsibilities is required. Experience in interpreting statistical data that advances decision making and a demonstrable track record of earned revenue results are also necessary. Excellent verbal, written, and listening communication skills are critical to success in the role. A nuanced understanding of inclusion and anti-racism with demonstrated leadership will be essential. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be an enthusiastic supporter of the theatre arts with a proven track record of success.

Compensation and Benefits

Long Wharf Theatre offers a starting salary range of $95,000 to $100,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include paid time off, health insurance, dental insurance, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance.

Applications and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments, please click here or visit artsconsulting.com/opensearches. For questions or general inquiries about this job opportunity, please contact us at:

Jenna Deja, Vice President

201 West Lake Street, Suite 133

Chicago, IL 60606-1803

Tel       (888) 234.4236 Ext. 227

Email    LongWharf@ArtsConsulting.com

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that indigenous peoples and nations have for generations stewarded the lands and waterways of what we now call the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land. We are standing on the unceded territory of the Paugussett, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger peoples. We remind ourselves that along with stolen land came stolen people. It is our responsibility to the future to know our past.

Long Wharf Theatre is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes and values diversity, inclusion, and equity in all forms.