Berkeley Repertory Theatre Names New Leadership Team Members

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has appointed three new employees to fill key leadership positions within the Marketing, General Management, and Development departments at the award-winning theatre company. Joining Berkeley Rep are Voleine Amilcar as the Director of Marketing & Communications, Sara Danielsen as General Manager, and Ari Lipsky as the Director of Development.

"I am so excited to welcome Voleine, Sara, and Ari to the leadership team at Berkeley Rep," said Parrish. "They each bring a diversity of experiences and fresh perspectives that will help take our theatrical storytelling, innovation, and community building efforts to new heights. I am looking forward to working and collaborating with them to continue building audiences and support for Berkeley Rep and ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment for the top artists working in the theatre field today."

Voleine Amilcar (Director of Marketing & Communications) brings over 15 years of experience as a communicator and marketer, elevating art and culture for social impact. She recently served as a vice president for Wonder: Strategies for Good, a communications firm specializing in messaging, branding, and public opinion research for mission-driven organizations. Prior to joining Wonder, she served as the marketing and communications director at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and director of public relations at Berkeley Rep. Before joining Berkeley Rep, Voleine served as the associate director of communications at the Independent Television Service (ITVS), a leading public media incubator and presenter of risk-taking independent films. Her other experiences include working as a strategist for MSR Communications, Fenton Communications, and global public relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller. A proud Haitian-American, Voleine lives with her husband and two boys in Oakland. She currently serves as a board member for The People's Conservatory, a nonprofit which provides high-level arts creation, study, and performance to promote cultural awareness and positive social change.

Sara Danielsen (General Manager) is a performing arts and not-for-profit professional with 20+ years of general management, producing, and arts education management experience. Sara most recently served as interim general manager at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Before joining Berkeley Rep, she was the general manager for Second Stage Theater, a Tony-Award winning theatre in New York with venues off- and on Broadway. Prior to Second Stage, she was with BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), where she was the primary general manager for the BAM Fisher, the newly opened seven-story complex housing BAM's community outreach and education efforts, a state-of-the-art flexible performance space, rehearsal studios, offices, classrooms, an art gallery, event spaces, and concessions. At BAM she was responsible for contracting, budgeting, and oversight of the 15+ annual mainstage Next Wave Festival productions in the Fisher, as well as large-scale productions like the Everybooty art party take-overs and Radio Love Fest, a campus-wide live radio performance collaboration with WNYC. While in New York, she also worked with Signature Theatre and New York Stage and Film. Sara is a Northern California native and has worked at ACT in San Francisco and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. She is very happy to be working with the incredible staff and leadership at Berkeley Rep, the first theatre she subscribed to as a theatre student in the '90s.

Ari Lipsky (Director of Development) has over 10 years of experience as a development professional, with background in fundraising strategy; major gifts; corporate, foundation, and government relations; membership program creation; grant writing; and event management. He most recently served as the director of development at the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and Chan National Queer Arts Center, leading all fundraising and capacity-building efforts for the organization. Ari arrived at the Chorus after more than four years with San Francisco Ballet, where he held several increasingly senior positions in individual giving. Prior to his time with SF Ballet, Ari worked at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, working closely with the Center's board of trustees and the Washington National Opera's individual donors. Ari graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in public relations. He is an East Coaster by birth but a West Coaster at heart. He lives in Oakland with his husband, David.

The appointments of Amilcar, Danielsen, and Lipsky culminated a robust multi-month search process. The search processes for the Director of Marketing & Communications and Director of Development were led and facilitated by BIPOC Executive Search Inc., one of the only executive search firms dedicated to developing robust networks in Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities, thereby helping organizations ensure an applicant pool that is as diverse and intersectional as possible.

ABOUT BERKELEY REP

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its ambition, relevance, and excellence, as well as its adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. Over 5.5 million people have enjoyed nearly 500 shows at Berkeley Rep, which have gone on to win six Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, one Grammy Award, one Pulitzer Prize, and many other honors. Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. To formalize, enhance, and expand the processes by which Berkeley Rep makes theatre, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work was launched in 2012. The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre engages and educates some 20,000 people a year and helps build the audiences of tomorrow with its nationally recognized teen programs. Berkeley Rep's bustling facilities - which also include the 400-seat Peet's Theatre, the 600-seat Roda Theatre, and a spacious campus in West Berkeley - are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org.

Photo credit: Muriel Steinke

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