Guest Blogger: Mariam Khalili

Mariam Khalili is the Executive Director of Opera in the Heights in Houston, Texas. She has been with the organization since its 2013-2014 season, and is the first Executive Director to be promoted within the company. Opera in the Heights, a non-profit, regional, professional company, provides a stage for emerging opera performers and brings affordable opera to the Greater Houston Area.

As Executive Director, Ms. Khalili’s primary focus areas are fiscal management; day-to-day operations, including management of artistic and administrative staff; development and fundraising initiatives; community and education outreach programs; marketing; programming that bolsters the careers of emerging artists; and growing a collaborative network with non-profit arts partners across the city and nation.

Key accomplishments during Ms. Khalili's tenure at Oh! include establishing a Young Professionals Organization called YOLO (Young Opera Lovers Organization); developing and producing a new December concert series, ConciertOh! de Invierno, featuring Oh!’s Hispanic opera singers; implementing a new company website; and creating an annual free season kick-off party that promotes multiple art organizations while featuring Opera in the Heights.

Ms. Khalili began her career in property management and hospitality. Her love of the arts eventually led her to pursue an eight-year entrepreneurial career working as a successful designer and photographer. During this period, Ms. Khalili obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography and design with a major focus on business from the Art Institute of Houston.