League of American Orchestras' Board Names Patricia A. Richards as Chair Elect

The League of American Orchestras' Board of Directors has named Patricia A. Richards Chair Elect. Ms. Richards will assume the position of Chair in June 2014, succeeding current Chair Lowell J. Noteboom, and will hold it for a one-year term, until June 2015.

Steven C. Parrish, Chair of the League's Governance Committee, said, "As Vice Chair of the League Board and Chair of the League's Development Committee, Pat Richards has proved to be a strong and engaged leader. She has been a vital member of the League board since 2008, and her appointment will ensure a continuity of leadership."

"The League is fortunate to have found such a gifted successor to Lowell Noteboom," commented League President and CEO Jesse Rosen. "Pat has an extraordinary breadth of non-profit leadership experience, and I'm grateful for her stepping up to this new role at the League."

Ms. Richards has been a member of the League Board since 2008, and was most recently Vice Chair; she also chairs the League Board's Development Committee. An experienced board leader, Ms. Richards has served as Chair of the Utah Symphony l Utah Opera Board of Trustees since 2005. She joined the Utah Opera's Board of Trustees in 1994, and, after the merger with the Utah Symphony in 2002, was appointed Vice Chair in 2004. Named #1 of "Utah's Top 25 Cultural Power Brokers" by The Salt Lake Tribune, Ms. Richards has provided strong leadership to the organization and currently serves on the Executive, Finance, Government Relations, Nominating, and Governance committees. She also served on the most recent CEO and music director search committees and provided crucial leadership and continuity for the organization during its time of transition. She is a member of the organization's Abravanel and Peterson Societies, Maestro Club, and Utah Symphony Chorus. In 2013 she received the National Opera Trustee Recognition Award from Opera America and the Governor's Leadership in the Arts Award from the State of Utah.

Her additional community service has included Chair of the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Board of United Way of Salt Lake, President of the Salt Lake Rotary Foundation, National Advisory Board of the David Eccles School of Business, Westminster College Board of Trustees, and Governor's Economic Council.

Ms. Richards was senior vice president and regional manager of Private Client Services for Wells Fargo Bank in Utah until her retirement in July 2009. She was previously the national director of endowment and foundation markets for Wells Fargo and held various executive positions at First Security Corporation. Ms. Richards holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and did graduate work in Business Administration at Northwestern and the University of Utah. She received the Athena Award from the Salt Lake Chamber in 2000 and The Distinguished Banker Award from The Utah Bankers Association in 2007.