Porchlight Music Theatre Welcomes New Members To Its Board Of Directors

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre, currently presenting Cabaret, now extended through March 19 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, has announced the election of four new members to its Board of Directors, Joshua R. Goderis, Joseph Higgins, Kenny Ingram and Amy Jaine Wielunski.

"Our Board members and everyone at Porchlight are pleased and grateful to welcome new members of this caliber this season." said Board Chair Brian Troy. "Each person is generously bringing their unique skills and experiences to Porchlight to help us achieve our mission as the home of music theatre in Chicago. We look forward to partnering with them and learning from them as we continue to lead through unprecedented challenges."

The new members join current Board members, in alphabetical order, Michelle Freeman Cucchiaro, Brenda Didier, Jeremy D. Eden, Rhona Frazin, William Gilmer, Mark Hudson, Jim Jensen (treasurer), Jonathan Klein (secretary), Charles Laff, Michael Lowenthal, Cesar Rolon, Jr., Tamara Sims, Brian Troy (chair) and Gretchen Upholt (vice chair).

Josh Goderis (he/him/his) has more than 29 years of professional experience in progressively larger and more complex HR roles, including working in benefits, generalist and staffing roles, as director of global compensation, director of global workforce planning, director of global talent management, VP of HR for the Commercial & Industrial and Retail & Industry business units. He is currently VP or HR Global Services & Solutions and HRIS at UL Solutions. Goderis has lived and worked overseas in Denmark running HR Operations for Europe and Latin America, has completed UL's premier Leadership Programs - Global Leader Program (partnering with Northwestern University) and the Executive Leadership Program (partnering with Yale University) and attended the Leadership Development Program with the Center for Creative Leadership, the HRMAC Future CHRO Leader's Program and the Cornell CHRO Program. He received his M.S.H.R. in 2003 from Loyola University Chicago and is an executive committee member of UNEF (United Neighborhood Equity Fund), as well as co-owner of Chicago's premier custom floral design company, Bukiety Floral. Outside interests include foreign languages and cultures (Spanish major/French minor in undergraduate studies), traveling, movies, theatre, floral design and great food and wine.

Joe Higgins (he/him/his) is the director of External Affairs Comcast in the Greater Chicago Region. Serving Metro Chicago, Illinois, northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan, Higgins is responsible for advancing the community impact strategy, strengthening diversity commitments and leveraging broadband opportunity programs for the region. He is the market leader for partnership marketing and communication strategies that drive awareness and leverage brand value. Higgins also leads corporate social responsibility which includes a comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities. He currently is the executive champion for Out at Comcast, the company's employee resource group focusing on LGBTQ and ally issues. Higgins also serves on the board of Disabiltiy:INChicagoland. In the early part of his career, Higgins worked in public relations, marketing, communications and product management. Born and raised in the Chicago western suburb of Glen Ellyn, he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in communication and journalism from Western Illinois University.

Hailing from San Jose, California, Kenny Ingram's (he/him/his) dance career took him to Chicago where he was part of musical theatre for 25 years. On Chicago stages, Ingram has performed at Marriott, Candlelight Playhouse, Drury Lane, Goodman and Steppenwolf. In addition to Porchlight Music Theatre, as a choreographer he has worked with Marriott, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakes and Court. He was a part of Goodman's Summer Program where he choreographed for The Robert Taylor Homes and taught dance at the Music Theatre Workshop. He also taught in Chicago schools on the south side and Cabrini Green. In New York, he has performed in Disney's The Lion King on Broadway for 10 years and has choreographed Off-Broadway's Emojiland (New York Times Critic's Pick), Till ,The Musical and Turtle on a Fence Post. Regionally, he has worked at Paper Mill Playhouse, The Fulton Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Theatre by the Sea, New Bedford Festival Theatre and Zeiders American Dream Theatre. Ingram is the recipient of Jeff Awards for his portrayal of "Mr. Magix" at Candlelight, Best Choreography for 42nd Street at Marriott Theatre and, most recently, Best Direction for Blues in The Night at Porchlight. He has also received Black Theatre Alliance Awards for Dreamgirls and Blues in the Night.

Amy Wielunski is the vice president of Membership at WBEZ | Chicago Public Media and brings more than 20 years of cross-functional non-profit experience to her board service with Porchlight Music Theatre. Prior to joining Chicago Public Media, she was part of the membership teams at Minnesota Public Radio, New York Public Radio, WSKG Public Broadcasting in Binghamton, New York and WTMD 89.7FM in Baltimore, Maryland. She also worked in various roles at WAMU 88.5FM in Washington, DC - starting in digital, moving to programming, corporate sponsorship and eventually even co-hosting a Bluegrass radio show. She is dedicated to fostering inclusive and equitable work environments. She has served as co-chair of CPM's DEI Council and MPR/APM's Women's Employee Resource Group. Wielunski is a certified trainer of The Power Shift Project's Workplace Integrity curriculum and as a representative of WAMU, served on the executive board of American University's staff council. She holds a degree in print journalism with a minor in music performance from American University in Washington, DC.

Porchlight Music Theatre is the award-winning center for music theatre in Chicago. Through live performance, youth education and community outreach, we impact thousands of lives each season, bringing the magic of musicals to our theatre home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in the Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimagining classic musicals, supporting new works and young performers, and showcasing Chicago's most notable music theatre artists, all through the intimate and powerful theatrical lens of the "Chicago Style."

Porchlight's history, over the last 27 years, includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Porchlight's commitment to the past, present and future of music theatre led the company to develop the Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway program series, both quickly becoming audience favorites.

Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations, most notably the ongoing collaboration with Chicago Youth Centers. Porchlight annually awards dozens of full scholarships and hundreds of free tickets to ensure accessibility and real engagement with this uniquely American art form.

The company's many honors include 184 Joseph Jefferson Award (Jeff) nominations and 45 Jeff awards, as well as 44 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 12 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards, and was honored with eight nominations in both technical and artistic categories and won three awards in its inaugural year in this tier, most notably Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies.

Through the global pandemic, Porchlight emerged as one of Chicago's leaders in virtual programming, quickly launching a host of free offerings like Sondheim @ 90 Roundtables, Movie Musical Mondays, Porchlight by Request: Command Performances and WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio. Porchlight launched its annual summer series in 2021, Broadway in your Backyard, performing at parks and venues throughout the city.

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