Jacob's Pillow Names New Director of Development

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces today that Elissa Haskins-Vaughan will join the organization as the Director of Development beginning April 4, 2016. Jacob's Pillow, located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, is a National Historic Landmark, National Medal of Arts recipient, and home to America's longest running dance festival.

As Director of Development, Elissa Haskins-Vaughan will work closely with incoming Director Pamela Tatge and Managing Director Andrea Sholler to determine and achieve the Pillow's fundraising goals. She will oversee the six-person development department at Jacob's Pillow and manage staff in the successful implementation of their strategic and financial goals. Haskins-Vaughan comes to the Pillow from Hancock Shaker Village, where she most recently served as the Director of Development.

Managing Director Andrea Sholler comments, "As soon as I met Elissa I saw that she possessed the grace, intelligence, wit, love of dance, and commitment to the Berkshires that Jacob's Pillow needs its Director of Development to embody. This is a very important position at the Pillow and I believe Elissa will prove to be a tremendous asset."

"The Pillow has a very devoted group of supporters who are passionate about dance," says Elissa Haskins-Vaughan. "I'm looking forward to getting to know that community and am excited for the 2016 Festival with its lineup of amazing performers."

In joining the staff at Jacob's Pillow, Haskins-Vaughan returns to her dance roots. Her mother, a graduate of The Juilliard School, owned a ballet studio where Haskins-Vaughan spent much of her youth, leading her to eventually dance with the Richmond Ballet. Haskins-Vaughan will join the Pillow following a six-year tenure in the development department at Hancock Shaker Village, a National Historic Landmark accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) located in nearby Pittsfield, MA. Prior to joining Hancock Shaker Village, she was the Manager of Individual Giving at esteemed local producing theatre and actor training center Shakespeare & Company, located in Lenox, MA. Haskins-Vaughan holds a B.A. in Women's Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters in Museum Studies from University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom.

ABOUT THE PILLOW: Jacob's Pillow, celebrating its 84th Festival in 2016, is a National Historic Landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and home to America's longest-running international dance festival. Each Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and 350 free and ticketed performances, talks, tours, classes, exhibits, and events. The School at Jacob's Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S., encompasses the diverse disciplines of Ballet, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre Dance, as well as an Intern Program in various disciplines of arts administration, design, video, and production. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public, chronicle more than a century of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and videos. Year-round Community Programs enrich the lives of children and adults through public classes, residencies in area schools, and an extensive schedule of free public events. Through Jacob's Pillow Curriculum in Motion, a nationally recognized program, Artist Educators work with Berkshire County teachers and students grades K-12, transforming curricula such as biology, literature, and history into kinesthetic and creative learning experiences. Creative Development Residencies, in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time; choreography commissions; and the annual $25,000 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award all support visionary dance artists and choreographers. The Pillow's digital initiatives are aimed at expanding global audiences for dance and offers the opportunity to experience dance and Jacob's Pillow from anywhere in the world via online interactive exhibits, global video networks, and social media. An important part of the Pillow's digital presence, Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive is a curated online video collection of dance highlights from 1933 to today. On March 2, 2011, President Obama honored Jacob's Pillow with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the United States Government, making the Pillow the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award. For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.