BalletCollective Appoints Cara Lonergan As First Executive Director

BalletCollective, the New York-based interdisciplinary arts nonprofit known for its collaborative model, has announced the appointment of Cara Lonergan as its first Executive Director. She arrives in the role via a unanimous vote by the Board of Directors, led by newly-appointed Board Chair Karin Day Kingsley, and will work alongside Founder and Artistic Director Troy Schumacher to expand operations, develop strategic partnerships, and articulate an inspiring and inclusive picture of what ballet can be in the 21st century.

Lonergan is an award-winning executive who brings leadership experience across industries, including media, retail, and talent management. Notable roles include those at O, the Oprah Magazine; Macy's, Inc; and at her own consultancy, Collective Nouns. She is a graduate of Harvard College.

From August 2022 until her executive appointment in January 2024 she served on BalletCollective's Board of Directors, showcasing a level of both collaboration and leadership-including inaugurating the organization's highly successful, first-ever gala-that inspired fellow Board members and BalletCollective Founder and Artistic Director Troy Schumacher to ask her to take on a larger, executive function. Lonergan will retain a seat on the Board of Directors in an ex-officio, non-voting capacity and work alongside Schumacher to guide BalletCollective through its current stage of tremendous growth leading into its 15th Anniversary Season in 2026.

Schumacher said, "Today is a day I have thought about for some time, and that at many points has felt like we could only achieve in a dream. It arrives now as a result of a significant amount of time spent thinking about BalletCollective's future, our purpose, and the value we have brought and can bring to the arts world. It is a testament to Cara's thoughtful understanding of our potential and her ability to help BalletCollective achieve our goals during her tenure on our Board that we are here today."

"Since joining the Board of Directors in 2022, I have felt so lucky to have a role in stewarding BalletCollective's commitment to interdisciplinary artistic excellence in the pursuit of forward-thinking ballet-based works. I truly believe Troy's genius, extending across both operational and artistic matters as it does, is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent. I am honored to have been asked to step into this larger role and bring my professional experience into the day-to-day of the company as we step into all that the future holds for us," said Lonergan.

Additional leadership changes by Schumacher include guiding the BalletCollective Board of Directors to introduce two new roles, Board Chair and Board President. In December 2023, the Board of Directors again in a unanimous election named Karin Day Kingsley their Board Chair and Stephen Kroll Reidy their Board President.

Kingsley said, "I am proud and honored to have served BalletCollective for more than ten years. My election to Board Chair comes at a time of immense growth for us and I am excited to work with Troy, Cara, Stephen, and the rest of the Board to lead BalletCollective through our greatest opportunities to date."

Reidy added, "Our hard work has brought us to this moment, and this new leadership structure will only help us in further refining our mission of creating forward-thinking works of art that reflect the world we live in. Karin, Cara, and Troy are exceptional talents and I know we have assembled the right team at the right time. BalletCollective's future is very bright."

Karin Day Kingsley (Board Chair) has been a member of the Board of Directors of BalletCollective and its principal legal advisor since 2013. She is currently Senior Counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she has been an attorney for over 30 years. She was previously a Partner in Davis Polk's Finance practice, where she represented major global companies and financial institutions in complex financings and restructurings, and was a member of numerous firm committees, including the partner compensation committee. In addition to her work with BalletCollective, Kingsley has acted as a court-appointed special advocate for children in foster care. Kingsley is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Stephen Kroll Reidy (Board President) has been a member of the Board of Directors of BalletCollective since 2013. With over 30 years of experience supporting growth-stage businesses via private equity investing, he is currently a major supporter of innovation in dance and has recently or currently serves on the Board of Directors for New York City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Works & Process, and Dance Lab New York. Reidy is a graduate of Middlebury College and holds an M.B.A. and a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Additionally, two new visionaries in their respective fields have been elected to the Board of Directors as of October 2023, bringing the total number of Directors to ten. Eric Lee and Carole Postal will serve alongside Elissa Kramer, Claire Mann, Ashley Laracey, and Sara Jane Mercer in addition to Kingsley, Reidy, Schumacher, and Lonergan in her new, ex-officio capacity.

Eric Lee is a General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe ("WCAS"), a private equity firm founded in 1979 and managing over $31 billion since inception. During his 25 years at WCAS, Eric has helped lead the firm's Technology sector investment practice, and served on its Management and Investment Committees. Prior to WCAS, Lee spent four years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., first in the Mergers & Acquisitions group and then in the High Technology investment banking group. He has been a long-time supporter of choreographers and new choreography and has extensive nonprofit leadership experience, currently serving on the Board of Directors of Sponsors for Education Opportunity (SEO) and volunteering time both with Greater New York and the Partnership for New York City. His prior Board appointments include the Dalton School, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Mt. Carmel Holy Rosary School in East Harlem. He is a graduate of Harvard College.

Carole Postal is the Founder and President of Spotlight Licensing, a licensing and marketing agency representing entertainment brands for product and services. Her portfolio includes properties such as Downton Abbey and Outlander. A licensing industry pioneer, she is a nine-time Licensing Excellence Award winner and 2023 inductee into the Licensing Hall of Fame. Prior to founding her own agency, Postal served as Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Licensing for the Americas for the Children's Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop). Her nonprofit experience includes service on the Board of Directors for Delivering Good, as an Officer and on the Board of Directors for LIMA, the licensing industry trade association (now called Licensing International), and as a Trustee for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. She is a graduate of Queens College and holds a Master's in Social Work from New York University.

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