PA Ballet Expands Leadership And Operations Team

Pennsylvania Ballet announced today the expansion of its leadership and operations team. David Chambers will succeed interim chief development officer Laura Fredricks, as chief advancement officer and chief campaign officer. Kara Callahan has been appointed head of marketing and will be joined by digital promotions and marketing manager, Andrew Hungate.

"I'm ecstatic to welcome this group of visionaries whose distinctive expertise and commitment to the arts make them well suited to lead Pennsylvania Ballet in its next phase of development, while meeting the long-term goals of this treasured organization," says Shelly Power, executive director of Pennsylvania Ballet. "We have designed the organizational structure to combine marketing and development departments in order to promote strategic collaboration and ensure sustainable success for the Company for years to come."

David Chambers

Chambers will leverage his decades of deep leadership, fundraising and marketing experience to maintain and grow Pennsylvania Ballet's base of individual and institutional support, while building a major-gifts-focused fundraising culture. In his new role, Chambers will provide fully integrated leadership and direction to reflect the larger strategic goals of Pennsylvania Ballet to drive continuous growth and improvement. Chambers will oversee organization-wide development, marketing and communications functions to enhance and refine audience development, philanthropy and patron services. Prior to this position, Chambers has held executive leadership roles at world-class performing arts organizations where he led a broad range of revenue-generating and external-facing functions to establish a robust foundation for long-term sustainability. These organizations include Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and most recently, the San Francisco Symphony.

"I am honored to join this esteemed institution that is so vital to the cultural soul of Philadelphia," says Chambers. "In this new role, my intention is to pave the way forward for Pennsylvania Ballet by inspiring philanthropy, strategically expanding our reach and actualizing our development, and marketing and communications goals that are central to the success of the organization."

Kara Callahan

As a seasoned marketing and business development executive, Callahan will lead full-service marketing functions at Pennsylvania Ballet. With a proven track record of spearheading notable marketing and sales-driven campaigns and partnerships in for-profit and non-profit sectors, Callahan will work to effectively position Pennsylvania Ballet and drive public and audience engagement. Callahan has previously lent her expertise in key markets across prominent cultural organizations, including Madison Square Garden Entertainment, The Franklin Institute, Visit Philadelphia and Lucky Seat, among others.

Andrew Hungate

Hungate began in his role as Pennsylvania Ballet's digital promotions and marketing manager in December 2020. With a deep commitment to the performing arts and his specialized experience in marketing, Hungate executes strategic digital marketing strategy based on data analyses to increase brand awareness, reputation and patron engagement in his current role at Pennsylvania Ballet. Hungate is an accomplished writer and solutions-oriented marketer who has previously served as director of marketing and patron experience at The Princeton Festival.

For more information about Pennsylvania Ballet, visit Paballet.org.

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