Trinity Rep Interim Executive Director Named Industry Leader

Trinity Repertory Company congratulates Interim Executive Director and Director of Development Jennifer Canole on receiving the Providence Business News 2022 Business Women Award for Creative Services Industry Leader.

Canole has been an integral part of Trinity Rep for over 22 years, working in external relations and development to ensure that Trinity Rep has resources needed to advance its mission and vision. In 2016, she was promoted to director of development, a member of the theater's senior management team, setting strategy for and leading Trinity Rep's fundraising and development operations.

In October 2021, Canole stepped in as interim executive director following Tom Parrish's departure. In this role, she has led the administrative operations of the organization, overseeing the development, marketing, resource management, and service and experience teams, and helping to advance the theater's equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism work as the theater resumed in-person performances and engaged in a national search for its next executive director. She is the first woman to serve in this executive leadership role at Trinity Rep.

"Jennifer Canole is a true woman of the theater," Trinity Rep's Artistic Director Curt Columbus said. "Her passionate commitment to Trinity Rep, and to the arts in Rhode Island broadly, is remarkable for many reasons. First and foremost, she is deeply engaged in thinking about how we fund cultural projects sustainably and equitably, and she shares that thinking with other organizations statewide. She is also a powerful yet understated leader in all aspects of cultural presentation, challenging long-held assumptions and engaging the community in dialogue. She is a tireless worker and advocate for everyone who works in the cultural field. Put simply, Jen is a great mind, but she has a great heart as well. It has been an honor to partner with her for the past year in leading our company."

The Providence Business News (PBN) Business Women Awards are presented annually to recognize women's achievements in businesses and non-profit organizations across Rhode Island. Canole and 29 other honorees were recognized at an awards luncheon held on May 25. She was named this year's Creative Services Industry Leader for her outstanding leadership at Trinity Rep as it transitions to a permanent executive director.

Canole's work was previously recognized by Providence Business News with a 40 Under Forty Award. She is a graduate of Ithaca College, and lives in Lincoln, RI with her husband and two sons.