Theatre Communications Group Executive Appointed to National Association Board

The Board of Directors of the Educational Theatre Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Laurie Baskin to a term on the Board from April, 2017 through July, 2020.

Baskin joined Theatre Communications Group (TCG) in 1997 and is the Director of Research, Policy and Collective Action. In addition to her oversight of education programs and surveys for TCG, she created and administers the Blue Star Theatres program, which fosters engagement between theatres and military families. She also played an integral role in the development of theatre education assessment models. Baskin is TCG's liaison to the Performing Arts Alliance and directs advocacy efforts at the federal level on behalf of the professional, not-for-profit American theatre field. Prior to joining TCG, Baskin worked at the New York State Council on the Arts. She attended Mount Holyoke College, earned her B.A. from Colgate University, and a degree in arts administration from Adelphi University.

EdTA is a professional organization with approximately 100,000 members nationwide. EdTA's mission is shaping lives through theatre education through honoring student achievement in theatre and supporting teachers. EdTA operates the International Thespian Society, an honorary organization that has inducted more than 2.2 million theatre students into Thespian troupes since its founding in 1929. EdTA also produces the International Thespian Festival and publishes Dramatics, a monthly magazine for high school theatre students, and Teaching Theatre, a quarterly journal for theatre education professionals.

The 11-member EdTA board has eight directors elected from among the organization's membership, most of whom are professional theatre educators, and three appointed positions. Appointed Board Members diversify the makeup of the EdTA Board of Directors. It is vital to the Association, as a leader in the theatre education world, to have firm and lasting connections to the creative leaders, producers, and individual artists currently working in the field.