Jacob's Pillow Welcomes Andrea Sholler as General Manager

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces today that Andrea Sholler, former Associate Director of The Tow Foundation and Executive Director of Dance Theater Workshop, will join the organization as General Manager. Sholler will assume the position on May 18, 2015, returning to the institution where she began her career from 1983 to 1985 as the Pillow's first Development Associate. 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 General Manager, Andrea Sholler will work closely with Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff to achieve the Pillow's strategic goals. She will oversee the administration and overall operations of all areas of Jacob's Pillow, including the education, development, finance, marketing, operations, production, and preservation departments, and will manage staff in the successful implementation of their strategic, programmatic, and financial goals.

Ella Baff comments, "Andrea is an experienced and highly respected colleague in the cultural field. I am thrilled to welcome her back to the Pillow. Andrea brings all the essentials to the job: an impressive track record in arts administration and a long-held passion for Jacob's Pillow. The Board and staff look forward to working with her."

"I've been so impressed with the way that Ella Baff and the Jacob's Pillow Board and staff have led this American cultural icon forward over the last decade. I am honored to join the Pillow leadership team and am looking forward to becoming a member of the very dynamic Berkshire-area cultural community in which Jacob's Pillow flourishes," comments Andrea Sholler.

Prior to joining The Tow Foundation, Sholler was the Executive Director of Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, where she played a major role in the organization's merger with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She served as a program officer with both the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Altman Foundation, and was a producer of DANCENOW/NYC. Sholler is a trustee of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and a program consultant for The Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation. She is a founding co-chair of the Non-Family Senior Staff Peer Network for the National Center for Family Philanthropy and is currently serving as a mentor in Philanthropy New York's Young Leaders Breakfast Club. Sholler has been an active member of New York Grantmakers in the Arts, Philanthropy New York, Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, and Media Impact Funders. She earned a B.A. in American Studies from Barnard College.

Sholler was selected through a nationwide search conducted by the executive placement firm Lois L. Lindauer Searches. She succeeds the Pillow's General Manager of 12 years, Connie Chin, who relocated to Boston in November 2014 to serve as Chief Operating Officer for the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Jacob's Pillow, celebrating its 83rd Festival in 2015, 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 80 years 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. Virtual Pillow is 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. As part of the Virtual Pillow initiative, Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive is a curated online video collection of dance highlights from 1936 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.

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