Joffrey Ballet Announces New Chief Development Officer

The Joffrey Ballet and Executive Director Greg Cameron have announced that Sarai Hoffman has joined the Joffrey's executive leadership team as its new Chief Development Officer. Hoffman brings to the company over 20 years of experience in fundraising for some Chicago's leading cultural and educational institutions.

Hoffman, 52, believes in the power of people working collaboratively to transform lives through the arts, education and service, and is committed to facilitating philanthropy as a means to achieve this goal. She has previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago (3 years, from 2010-2013), the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (6 years, from 2004-2010, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (9 years, from 1996-2004). She holds a B.F.A from the University of Utah with Continuing Education from Kellogg Center for Nonprofit Management.

"I have known Sarai for over twenty years - we worked together at the beginning of our careers and over the years have developed solid professional and personal friendships," said Cameron. "Her career aligns with the Joffrey's mission. Her work at the School of the Art Institute was all about supporting artists, her work at the Lab School at the University of Chicago was focused on education, and her most recent work at the YMCA dedicated to ensuring that all Chicago children have an opportunity to develop physically, socially and emotionally. Sarai is creative, smart, and strategic - her love of dance (she took her first ballet class at age five and has been dancing ever since) and passion for Joffrey will be central to our growth and transformation."

As the Chief Development Officer at The Joffrey Ballet, Hoffman will be responsible for nurturing the Joffrey's philanthropic culture and developing donors and volunteers to support the organization.

For its next production, Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker, Chicago's most popular holiday tradition and America's #1 Nutcracker, returns for its seasonal run at the Auditorium Theatre, bringing Tchaikovsky's classic score to life with dancing snowflakes, battling toys, waltzing flowers and the splendor of the full Joffrey company on stage with over 100 young dancers from the Chicagoland area. Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker is presented in 23 performances, December 6 - 28.

For more information about The Joffrey Ballet and its 2013-2014 season, please visit joffrey.org.

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