Cornelia Haag Molkenteller and Gayle Kirschbaum Elected to L.A. Opera Board of Directors

Marc Stern, chairman of LA Opera's board of directors, announced that Cornelia Haag Molkenteller and Gayle Kirschbaum were elected to the board at a meeting held today.

"As we approach the close of our highly successful 2016/17 season, we remaIn Focused on moving LA Opera forward in the seasons to come," said Mr. Stern. "I am excited for our dynamic new board members to take leading roles with LA Opera, helping us find new ways to fulfill our institutional ambitions and shape the artistic future of the company."

Cornelia Haag Molkenteller, MD, PhD, is vice president in clinical development at Allergan, where she serves as head of the Therapeutic Area of Internal Medicine, Women's Health and Urology in Clinical Development. Prior to this assignment, she was the head of the Neurology & Pain and Urology Therapeutic Area in Clinical Development. She is based in Irvine, California. Raised in Germany, she graduated from the medical school of the Johan Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main (Germany). She subsequently had medical clerkships in surgery at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. She earned her MD and PhD in medicine (magna com laude) from the University of Frankfurt, followed by residencies at teaching hospitals in Heidelberg and Giessen. She began her career in the pharmaceutical industry in Germany with positions at Hoechst AG and Hoechst Marion Roussel in Frankfurt, and Schwarz BioSciences in Monheim am Rhein.

Gayle Kirschbaum is president-elect of the Opera League of Los Angeles. Mrs. Kirschbaum, whose mother was a professional opera singer, has served for many years as an officer on the League's executive board, holding positions as parliamentarian, as secretary, as chair of the bylaws revision committee, and as a member of the nominations and elections committee. Her longtime volunteer service includes chairing the League's 2017 participation in LA Opera's Open House, coordinating more than 50 League volunteers for that event. She has a law degree from UC Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in history from UCLA (graduating Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude), and is a member of the California Bar. She has devoted many years to charitable work in the arts, previously serving on a Music Commission that produced classical and ethnic music offerings and serving on a private school board, co-running an enrichment program that provided speakers and arranged field trips and other events.

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