Huntington Names Elisabeth H. Saxe As Chief Development Officer

Elisabeth H. Saxe has been appointed Chief Development Officer at the Huntington Theatre Company, in Boston, Massachusetts. She joins the Huntington after serving as the Senior Vice President for Advancement at the Mystic Seaport Museum since 2013. In her new position at the Huntington, Ms. Saxe will oversee the Huntington's comprehensive fundraising efforts, including a campaign to renovate and expand the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a state-of-the-Art Theatre facility for the Boston community.

"I am delighted to welcome Elisabeth to the Huntington and to benefit from her 38 years of cultural fundraising experience," says Managing Director Michael Maso. "She is a highly accomplished non-profit professional and I'm certain the Huntington will benefit from her leadership as we embark on our next chapter and enhance our services to artists, students, and Boston audiences."

Ms. Saxe stated, "I am thrilled to join the Huntington - an institution with an illustrious past and vibrant reputation - during this pivotal time for the organization. My goal is to help the Huntington set a course for its future on Huntington Avenue and to deepen relationships with those who can provide philanthropic support to transform the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a premiere cultural asset for Boston right here on the Avenue of the Arts. We will work to ensure that the Huntington flourishes, so that the power of its world-class productions can be experienced by audiences for generations to come."

Ms. Saxe has a diverse fundraising background, with an area of specialization in the cultural sector. While at Mystic Seaport she attained a record level of success in fundraising for annual giving, revived a planned giving program, and surpassed their most recent capital campaign goal.

Her affiliation at Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut, a theatre then under the artistic direction of Joanne Woodward was marked by the successful accomplishment of a $30.6 million campaign to restore and revitalize the historic theatre which reopened in 2005. She then returned to the Playhouse four years later as Director of Institutional Advancement, and was a part of the new "turn-around" leadership team to achieve fundraising expansion and build meaningful connections with donors. During her tenure, she broadened and deepened support from corporations and foundations and increased revenue and participation from individuals dramatically.

At Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York, Ms. Saxe served as the Director of Development, and was a catalyst for strategic philanthropic growth as the organization expanded its music programming. She was responsible for raising funds for operations, programs and special projects, and endowment for the internationally-acclaimed cultural institution.

At Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, Ms. Saxe was an integral member of the visionary team responsible for founding the 20,000 square-foot, educational resource which opened in March 2000. She participated in funding strategies to raise $11 million for construction and creation of the new institution.

She began her professional career in development in the early 1980s as the Director of Special Events and Membership at the highly-acclaimed School of American Ballet (SAB) official school of the New York City Ballet (NYCB) at Lincoln Center, having first been a development and press intern for SAB and NYCB while attending Skidmore College.

Ms. Saxe has been a frequent presenter at conferences, for non-profit organizations, and for higher education institutions on topics such as "Building a Collaborative Board/Staff Advancement Team," "Fundamentals of Major Gift Fund Raising" and "Capital Campaigns from the Ground Up," and serves as a mentor to young development professionals new to the field.

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