Chris Siefert Announced as New Board Chair of East End Special Players

The board of the East End Special Players has announced the appointment of Chris Siefert as the new Chair. Siefert brings 20 years of non-profit management experience to the EESP, a theater group of learning challenged adults who have been performing in our area for the past 30 years. In 2014 the EESP launched the Explorers Program to provide a broader range of enrichment activities.

Paul Rogers, the outgoing Chair, served for over 10 years and will continue to be an active member of the nine-person board. "My association with East End Special Players," Rogers says, "has been one the most rewarding experiences of my life." His leadership has seen the organization grow from a small Saturday program to "an organization today that provides an underserved population not only a platform on which to find skills they never knew they had-tap dancing, for instance-but to create a new and vital place for themselves in our community. I could not be more pleased that someone with the credentials, creativity, and dedication of Chris Siefert has agreed to take over leadership of this growing and thriving organization."

The mission of the East End Special Players, formed in 1985, is to enhance the lives of adults with varied needs and abilities through theater arts; to create in each Player a strong self-image; and to develop skills and talents which have heretofore not been tapped. In 2014 the EESP launched the Explorers Program which offers cooking, creative activities, field trips, and socializing events.

As the Deputy Director of the Parrish Art Museum, Chris Siefert's knowledge of the arts and non-profit community is considerable. "I am honored by the invitation to assist the essential work of the East End Special Players and Explorers Program. On behalf of the board, I wish to express our deep gratitude to Paul Rogers whose legacy and contributions are enduring. I look forward to working with the board and the creative staff incluidng Jacqui Leader, Gabrielle Raacke, Samantha Kinney, and Matt Kuriloff, and all of the dedicated individuals who give so much to the EESP, to continue to bring visibility and understanding to the talents in our society. The East End Special Players and Explorers Program are model examples of the vitality and importance of the arts in this region."