California Shakespeare Theater

Cal Shakes Hires New Development Director

California Shakespeare Theater in Berkeley has hired Rozella Kennedy as the organization's new director of development. Kennedy arrives at Cal Shakes with more than 25 years of management experience across many sectors, ranging from arts and cultural organizations to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Originally from New York, Kennedy began her career in media, working in editorial management roles at Paris Passion magazine, Mothering magazine, Oxygen.com, Time Inc., and other media institutions. She helped establish three nonprofit organizations in New Mexico, where she lived for 12 years: the NM Centennial Commemoration, Creative Santa Fe, and the Santa Fe New Music (SFNM). She co-founded SFNM and helped lead the organization to many accolades, including 100 performances, nine major commissions, 39 world premieres, five American premieres, and the 2010 Santa Fe Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. An alumna of New York's Brearley School, she holds degrees from Tufts University and the Université de Paris, Sorbonne.

"We're thrilled that Rozie is joining the Cal Shakes family," the theater's artistic director, Eric Ting, said in a company press release. "I know that her depth of knowledge, creative spirit, and wide-ranging experience will bring a strong focus to our efforts to improve the long-term sustainability of Cal Shakes."

"I'm so excited to welcome Rozie to our leadership team," said Tirzah Tyler, interim managing director, in the release. "She believes—and we agree wholeheartedly—that philanthropy belongs to everyone, no matter the level of giving. Rozie will be an integral driving force of the organization's financial goals as we welcome more people into Cal Shakes' circle of cultural placemaking and stewardship."

"It's an honor and a delight to join this stellar team at Cal Shakes," Kennedy said in the release. "This is a truly devoted and creative group, and our focus on storytelling as a means of building shared understanding and giving voice to members of the community, both the traditional theater-going public and new audiences, is something I have worked around early in my career. To return to this kind of mission feels like a beautiful homecoming."

February 28, 2019

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